Welcome to FloridaBicycleLaw.com
I am a personal injury lawyer and here I answer your questions, direct you to resources, share with you stories of bicyclists and the laws governing bicycles.
Olmsteads setting out on a bike ride
I understand bicycling. My cousin Tom Godwin started The Great Bicycle Shop in Tallahassee, Florida in 1971. In 1976 my brother bought the shop and is still running it today. My first job was as a bicycle mechanic for my cousin. Since becoming a lawyer, I continue to do what I did in the bicycle shop: help bicyclist get back on their wheels. I drove my bicycle to class in college and used it recreationally. I drove a bicycle to law school and I drive my bicycle every week now.
If you have any questions about your cycling and the law, please look under the “Florida Bicycle Law” menu tab above. If you would like to speak with me about cycling or an incident, please feel free to contact me.
— J. Steele Olmstead
Bicycle News
Bicycle Prejudice Fail. Bikes Break Traffic Laws Less Than Motorists Study Finds
Prejudice is defined by Merriam-Webster as: “a (1) : preconceived judgment or opinion (2) : an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge.” Some prejudices we get from our parents, peer group or make up ourselves. It goes without saying that as we age as we get more experience many […]
Laws that Will Make Cycling Safer
Call your State of Florida Senator… There’s a pro-cyclist and consumer insurance bill that will get bad drivers off the road and another bill that will make motorists “move over.” The Florida House of Representatives Commerce Committee approved legislation on November 7, 2017 that would have Florida join 48 other states in requiring drivers to […]
Claiming the Place that is Yours as a Florida Bicycle Driver.
How many times you have driven on the road and you hear the rumble of a gas-powered vehicle behind you and clench your teeth for the sound of the swish of the front end or right mirror of within inches of your left handlebar. How many of you have been grazed by a right rearview […]
Who Do I See after My Injury from a Car Crash (“Accident”) or if I Fell?
As a personal injury lawyer, I have to guide my clients to the best care possible so they can get the best recovery possible. Like a painting in my office, “Recovery,” my job is to help my clients recover. You see billboard lawyers advertising how much money they get from their clients but that is […]
Shout out by Bike/Walk Tampa Bay for Advocacy Work by FloridaBicycleLaw.com
Here’s a picture of me with Mayor Bob Buckhorn of Tampa and former Chief Jane Castor of the Tampa Police Department. (It’s on the front of this website.) I was presenting them a check for $2,000.00 to put “Three Feet” stickers on the Tampa police cruisers (120 of them). As the police department was getting […]
Driving a Bicycle is not an Invitation to Hit a Cyclist
I recently read an article in the Irish Times about a push by police (the Garda) to require bicyclist to wear helmets and high visibility vests when riding. Here’s the link to the article. Of course, the import of the article was “cyclists should do something to prevent being killed.” The “authorities” behind this idea must have […]