Its now a first that bikes are legally OK in the Rose Quarter Transit Center. I bet that TriMet bus versus bikers will result in injury crashes despite the coordinated efforts to develop a plan by TriMet, BTA and the City.

Among the multiple point safety precautions like rerouting some buses there will be a Max warning sounding horn to alert bikers.

So given that this bike corridor is sorely needed and will be among the most used it remains to be scene whether safety will come out on top for Oregon bicyclists.

Not wearing a helmet risks serious brain trauma and concussion and raises the question of whether the Oregon requires a biker to wear a helmet.

In Oregon whether the bicyclist is riding in Portland, Gresham or La Grande helmets are mandatory for cyclists under age 16 unless wearing a helmet “would violate a religious belief for practice of the person.”

The purpose behind the Oregon mandatory helmet law for minors is to encourage safety and reduce the likelihood of a head injury.

Having handled many bike crashes (involving cars) in Oregon these last 17 years I know bikers get the bad rap. Often in bike versus car crash and this applies equally well to recumbent bike car crashes. Recumbent bikes are designed to ride lower to the ground making visibility often a recurring issue in bike car cases whether involving settlement or litigation of the injury case.

Biking laws in Oregon and Washington do not differentiate between recumbent bike law and non recumbent bike law so the regular rules of the road apply. I have seen more serious injuries involving recumbent bikes versus non recumbent but I have also seen a much higher knowledge of bike rules and biker expertise of those who ride recumbent bikes.