[Previous entry: "Council Presented Draft Rules on Whale Watching"] [Next entry: "Island Air Ambulance Celebration Sunday"]

04/11/2007: "Is The County Liable For Bicycle Accidents?"

(SJI Trails Committee Photo)
Are county roads too narrow, too “rough”, and should the county -or anyone- invite bicycle riders to the county; and if so who, if anyone, is liable? A lot of questions are being asked of the County, and by the County.

If you Google: “bicycle trips, san Juan county, wa”, the first hit that comes up is Biking in the San Juan Islands. The link that takes the web searcher to a SJC Public Works webpage called: “Bike Smart”, which does everything it can do -short of saying “Danger, Do not come here!” -to inform and caution those who may wish to take a bicycle ride in the San Juans. In doing so, it states “Riding a bicycle here requires constant attention to the condition of the roadway”, a fact that will come as no surprise to anyone traveling county roads; even when in a car. The site also explains that ”As beautiful and inviting as our roads are for bicycling, they are also: narrow, winding, hilly, without shoulders, and often not paved.”

But in a web search, one also finds: “San Juan County Brain Injury Lawyer / WA Wrongful Death Attorneys”. It is a website for personal injury attorneys, who helpfully point out that, one of the leading causes of brain injury is bicycle accidents.


The County website adds that ” the safety of bicyclists has become a major concern in San Juan County”. There is an area of concern for Councilman Gene Knapp also has, and that is the potential for a major lawsuit against SJC. Last week Knapp asked: Is the County involved in attracting people to come and ride the roads of SJC? And if so, is the County liable in the event of an accident? (Related Story) Knapp (a former SJC Prosecutor and an attorney that dealt in insurance claims) had suggested that County Risk Manager David Zeretzke report to the Council on the matter.

Zeretzke responded with a written report to the Council that outlined his office’s research, which indicated that from 1988 to date, there have been only two bicycle related injury claims, one in 2001, which resulted in a payout of over $22 thousand , and one this year that has yet to be settled.

Leaving aside the recent, and current, condition of the roads, Zeretzke’s summary states ” Third party liability claims from bicycle accidents are not significant in the recent history of San Juan County, nor are they in the experience of the other current 27 counties of the Washington Counties Risk Pool.”. What would count as “significant” was not defined.

Knapp said he had two concerns, one that our roads not be the cause any injury, and two, a concern about the recent King County jury award of $14 million to a skier; what would it mean to SJC if the County got hit with such an award. Zeretzke said the County has a $20 million insurance package; and agreed with Knapp that the bottom line is that the County does not want anyone to be hurt.

In matters related to the condition of the roads, and the call from citizens and groups for a review of road policies, the Council may take a look at the “Scenic Roads manual” that dictates that county roads should not have wide shoulders.

There have been calls for 3 foot wide shoulders; and/or a system of paths or trails suitable for walkers and bicycles. Public Works was less than happy when the Scenic Roads manual had been adopted in response to what some had called at the time the “highway standards” followed by Public Works. And when Roche Harbor road was rebuilt, there was a call for some scaling back in the widening and straightening of the roads, and the fear that the projected rebuilding of the Westside road at Limekiln park. would result in tree cutting and the destruction of what is now a designated Scenic Road.