Georgia law requires that cars passing a bicyclist keep at least 3 foot gap between their car and the bicycle. We settled a case against State Farm where a truck driver broke the 3-foot rule by striking an Athens man riding his bicycle with his truck’s mirror, causing the bicyclist to wreck and break his collarbone. The settlement was for $50,000, which was the total amount of the driver’s State Farm insurance policy. We were able to settle the case for the total amount even though the police incorrectly found our client at fault for the accident.
THE ACCIDENT
Mr. J was riding his bicycle on 441 South at about 5:30 AM and was on his way to work. Georgia law requires a bicyclist to ride as far to the right of the road as possible and Mr. J was doing so by riding his bicycle on the right shoulder. A Chevy truck approached Mr. J from behind and the driver apparently did not see Mr. J until the last second. The truck driver swerved to the left to avoid hitting Mr. J but the truck’s right-side mirror hit him, throwing him off the bicycle and breaking his collarbone. The police officer who investigated the wreck found Mr. J at fault because his bicycle allegedly did not have reflectors on it. We secured and photographed the bike after the wreck and it clearly had the reflectors that Georgia law requires. Unfortunately, some police officers automatically blame a bicyclist for a wreck instead of investigating what actually happened and it appears this may have been one of those situations.
THE SETTLEMENT
We sent a settlement demand to State Farm and argued that the truck driver obviously broke the 3-foot rule by driving close enough to Mr. J that his right-side mirror could hit him. We also argued that Mr. J was obeying Georgia law by riding his bicycle as far to the right as possible and by having reflectors on the front and rear of his bike, which would have made him visible to the truck as it approached from behind. State Farm accepted our demand and agreed to pay Mr. J $50,000, the total amount allowed under its insurance policy. The settlement will allow Mr. J to pay his medical bills and compensate him for the time he’s missed from work as a result of the wreck.