Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 February 1897 — Rights of Bicyclers. [ARTICLE]

Rights of Bicyclers.

A bicycle rider was run down and Injured by a street-eag going in the direction in which he was going. His suit against the railway company to recover damages for personal Injuries was dismissed by the lower court on the ground that his admitted failure to look behind him was contributory negligence on his part. The appellate division of the Supreme Court, after reviewing the case, decided that a person riding a wheel must, first of all, keep a good lookout in front and on both sides; that if this be done, the rider cannot keep watch behind; and that to require a constant rear lookout would amount to prohibition of bi-cycle-riding. Therefore, to say the least. the question whether this rider was guilty of contributory negligence In not seeing the oncoming car should have been submitted to the Jury. A new trial was ordered. The result of the new trial will interest several millions of persons in the United States. The bicycle has come to stay, and the statutes and decisions relating to Its use will constitute an important feature of the law.—Youth’s Companion.