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ASK OUR LAWYER
BY ROD TAYLOR
December 2001
Question: I seem to recall that way
back last year, you promised that there would be a website that
would allow us to report road hazards. WHERE THE HELL IS IT?
Answer: Ask and ye shall receive, as
the Good Book says. By the time you read this, www.roadhazard.org
will be live and ready for your use. For those of you who don't
yet know what I'm talking about, let me give you some background.
For several years, ABATE Legal Services has sponsored the Little
Yellow Card program. These post cards allowed riders to report hazardous
situations on the nation's highways and byways to the proper authorities.
Now, that same service will be available on the Internet.
The notification provided by the Road Hazard program is important
for a couple of reasons. Generally, the problems we run into as
we ride are ones that can and should be corrected. However, under
most laws, a rider injured by a road hazard can't sue the government
for damages unless the government agency is on notice of the hazard.
The Road Hazard program makes sure that the government is on notice
of the hazard. Our experience has been that once the government
entity is on notice, the hazard gets corrected quickly.
The website will make this process even easier. It allows a rider
to describe a hazard easily and quickly. This information will be
sent to ABATE Legal Services for sending on to the appropriate governmental
agency. This will allow ABATE Legal Services to keep up-to-date
on the hazards and their repair. Also, if the road doesn't get repaired
and another rider gets hurt, we have the proof we need to recover
damages for that rider's injuries.
Remember, check out www.RoadHazard.org
and report those hazards. We will be upgrading and modifying the
site in the coming months, but it is live right now and waiting
for you. We hope to expand the site to all fifty states, the provinces
of Canada, and anywhere else we bikers are wont to go. If you have
comments or suggestions about the site, feel free to contact us.
And for those of you who aren't on line yet, the little yellow cards
will still be available.
If you have any questions you would like to ask the lawyer, please
submit them to: ASK OUR LAWYER, P.O. Box 2850, Indianapolis, Indiana
46206-2850.
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