39 Trial Lawyer • Fall 2022 See Bicycle Technology p 40 these will also provide data, they are not as accurate as actual measured power. Because GPS locates the computer, some high end and now even some midline cycling computers (now called “head units”) have mapping abilities. These head units will often use Bluetooth to sync with other devices, allowing their data to be uploaded to the cloud. There are many different levels of mapping depending on the head unit being used and the apps being used. Some head units show where the user is on a real map, much like car navigation systems that show where the vehicle is in real time. An increasing number of cycling head units have the ability to offer navigation very similar to a car or phone navigation system. Some apps (again, which can run on a phone or a head unit) can even download maps in advance, so a rider can be in a place without cellular service and still follow a map via GPS, or even be given turn by turn directions. Phone v. computer Phones provide less data than head units or fancy computers. Phone apps provide much of the same basic information as head units or fancier computers. Their data is also easily shared. The most common app measuring rides is Strava. It is worth spending a little time getting familiar with the specific app used by your client. People may use these apps to privately measure their own rides. More frequently, it is used publicly to not only record a ride, but also to show others how fast the user completed their ride. Strava has a feature that divides rides into smaller segments. A segment might be a hill or a part of a trail, and people will ride it and compare their time (and therefore speed) against other prior riders. Many segments and complete rides are available to Strava users to see, download and use. If the client is using Strava, you should expect the adverse carrier or counsel will look at their Strava usage, the segments they have ridden and their general usage. Many people use Strava to compete against friends (and strangers), but some also use the segments feature to see their own improvement (or not) over time. Strava can be very compelling to show damages and how hard a client has worked to try to return to pre-injury status/fitness. Strava tells a story By way of example, we had a client (in 2011!), using the Strava app on his phone while riding his bicycle. He turned Strava on, put his phone in his cycling jersey’s rear pocket and went for a ride. The older Strava maps were of poorer quality, but they still told a compelling story. He was out for a ride, averaging about 15 mph. Then, a truck hit him from behind. The impact showed a small spike in speed discernible on Strava’s graph as a sudden acceleration. His tracking apps remained on as he was spirited away by EMS. The next thing on the graph is his maximum speed of 66.5 mph, which was his ambulance ride to OHSU. Not guilty North Plains is a small rural community in Washington County with beautiful country roads that are often enjoyed by cyclists. It also has two stop signs very close together as a person goes though the town. For years a North Plains police officer would wait at the dual stop signs and issue tickets to cyclists who failed to stop at them. (In 2019, the Legislature updated ORS 811.260 and 811.265 to allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs.) Our client received a citation at this intersection. Thankfully, our client was using both a cycling computer and a separate power meter. We were able to show the power go to zero, meaning the cyclist was not pedaling, then the speed drop to zero, meaning he stopped. Then the power increased, and speed increased when he left the first stop sign, then again his power dropped to zero and followed by speed of zero, meaning a stop at the second stop sign. The court agreed and found our client not guilty of the traffic violations. A nice long ride, with a bad ending Our cyclist client was coming to the end of a group ride approaching 50 miles. He was with several other riders on their last leg home. Our cyclist was traveling in a pack of cyclists in the bike lane, exercising their right of way. They approached a four way intersection without any traffic control devices. The pack cleared that intersection several seconds before our client, who was following slightly behind. When our client entered the intersection, he was struck by an oncoming vehicle making a left turn across his path. The cyclist sustained several fractures in this crash. The liability insurance carrier requested we preserve and maintain all documents relating to the ride, including
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