Bicycle Accident Claims in Rhode Island

Bicyclists have the rights and duties of vehicle drivers and may ride on highway shoulders. A driver may pass a bicyclist only at a 'safe distance', enough to prevent contact if the cyclist fell into the driver's lane ('Frank's Law'); this does not apply to a driver in a lane next to a designated bike lane or going 15 mph or slower. Riders and passengers 15 and younger must wear a helmet; failure to wear one may not be treated as contributory or comparative negligence or admitted as evidence in a civil case. Bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks and crosswalks unless signs prohibit it, and riders there have the rights and duties of pedestrians.

Pure comparative negligence. An injured person's own negligence, or the fact that the danger was open and obvious, does not bar recovery; damages are reduced in proportion to the injured person's share of negligence, even if it is greater than the defendant's.

A qualifying owner's liability policy must provide at least $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $50,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more people in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage, or a $75,000 combined single limit.

Actions for injuries to the person must be filed within three years after the cause of action accrues. Claims for spoken words (slander) have a one-year deadline.