Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

[Eden]

The article posted above makes it clear that it was a problem with the road surface, so I can understand why the family went after the county. I'm not sure why the county thinks that shutting down the bike ride will end their liablility. Sure, if fewer riders ride their roads the likelyhood of an accident may decrease, but I think they need to view it differently. If any person, on an orgainized ride or not is injured because they haven't taken proper care of their roads, then they are still open to being sued over it - and should also view it in terms of a person's life too! Rather than blame the organization that puts more bicycles on their roads to find the flaws, they should be more dillegent about fixing them (and you would think if they can prove that they are being dillegent about keeping their roads safe they may be less liable too, even if someone is hurt). Their position at the moment says to me that they care much more about reducing their risks than reducing the risks to their road users.

I know this is kind of a simplified view and that taking care of roads anywhere is a big job. Even the most dilligent crews may miss something that is hazardous, and weather can open up big holes and cracks seemingly overnight, but can we just excuse it as an impossible task or use it as an excuse to exclude some road users? Around here (which admittedly is easier because this is a city, with many more people on the roads to see things) we can report road hazards to the city via the internet and they are *very* good at fixing things promptly when they are reported. I've reported several areas that were taken care of within a week or so and others have had the same experience.