All of my fellow avid bicyclists know Bob Mionske, the former Olympic and pro cyclist who also happens to be a top-notch Oregon bicycle collision lawyer who wrote THE book on bike law, “Bicycling and The Law.”

I and Jim Reed, a top notch upstate New York bike collision lawyer, were recently honored to be interviewed by Bob for his blog, BicycleLaw.com.

For bicycle collision lawyers, being featured in Bob’s blog is like an athlete being featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It doesn’t get any better!

Jim and I were interviewed because we were both selected to represent NY for BikeLaw.com a national network of the top bike crash attorneys in the Country.

Jim and I discussed:

• How we got started as bicycle collision lawyers.
• The state of bicycling in New York, upstate and downstate.
• Our work with the New York Bicycling Coalition. We are both board members.
• The statewide political climate in Albany for bicycling.
• Our best advice for bicyclists involved in accidents.

You’ll have to read the interview for those comments but here are some of the other excerpts:

• Historically, the cycling movement hasn’t been particularly well-received in Albany but things seem to be warming and we are cautiously optimistic that there are better days ahead. I think many NY politicians and state agencies are starting to see the huge benefits cycling can offer in many different respects—health, improving urban transportation, tourism dollars and reducing fuel consumption.
• NYBC is the largest cycling advocacy group in New York and … is really on the move. NYBC is targeting a few key legislative projects: E-bike legislation, a 3-foot safe passing law, and specific inclusion of cycling safety education to the new driver curriculum and driver permit test.
• Proper insurance coverage can mean the difference between financial devastation versus successfully surviving the financial damages caused by a bad bike crash. One quick insurance tip: if you are a NY cyclist who also owns a car, make sure you have at least $250,000 of SUM (Supplemental Under-Insured Motorist) coverage on your auto policy. This coverage protects you if you get hit by a car that is either uninsured or under-insured. You can read more about SUM coverage on my blog, New York Bike collision Blog.