The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-03-28
THE Wheel and THE Law
Legal Status Of the Bicycle Not Yet
Clearly Defined.
1T, HOWEVER, IS A VEHICLE
some Of tho Legal DsciSious Which Have
heen Called Forth by the Wonder.
ful Growth Of tho Great
Wheeling Sport
From the petroi. Free Press.

The use of the bicycle for the pur-
nose of locomotion and trarel"1s 80
recent that as yet there IL little ad)uui-
cation as to the rights and Liability OF
travellers employing II upon IN" nlgh-
way: but the trend of judicial author-
NV seems to place the wheel on a plane
OF equality with other vehicles.
The early advent of the bicycle met
with strenuous opposition. both from
pedestrians and agencies of the road,
the former contending that II was
vehicle. and should be excluded from
the sidewalk and the latter asserting
that it was an object of terror. the use
of which was perilous in that 1t fright
ened horses. But by degrees this child
of adversely began to be recognized Dy
the courts and it's legal status estab-
lished Finally its paternity was es-
tablished and it was placed In the cate
cory of carriages and vehicles.
Although Blackstone. Coke and other
common law jurists never experienced
the sensation Of a spin on bicycle, yet
we look to the law of the mother coiin-
try for the earliest cases involving
the law OF the wheel.
A LEADING CASE.
The authorities, almost without eX-
ccption, now recognize the bicycle as
carriage" or "vehicle." entitled to the
rights Of carriages and vehicles in gen.
eral, and no longer regard 1t az an op-
struction to or an unreasonabls use OF
the streets or roads, but rather new
and improved method of using the
same. and "eermane to their principal
usc as q pathway" One Taylor, an
Englishman, was the first to take the
bicycle into court, and the case or
Taylor against Goodwin is leading
one, Mr.. Goodwin sprinted on GER
tain road in violation of statute max
ing the furious driving of carriage
on the highway an offence. Upon the
trial he did not deny the imputation OF
immoderate speed, but cOntended that
the bicycle was not a carriage. and
that the word "driven" as ordinarily
understood was not applicable to the
bicycle. and that the mere fact that it
had wheels did not make 1t carriage
any more than wheelbarrow or roller
skates. But the court was OF the opin-
ION that it was carriage In the full
sense OF the word. and that persons
riding il might he said to drive" it in
the same sense that an engineer drives
an engine. although he guides as wei!
~ Dropcls it.
Investigation discloses American au-
thorities.
In applying the established law of
the road to the wheel. probably il is not
entitled to the dignity of carriage,
and while there Is no authority for the
statement it seems that the wheel
man in riding on the road should be
governed by the immemorial usage
and custom applicable TO horsemen. II
has been held that there Is no law re-
quirlng n man on horseback to turn Ia
either the right or to the left hand. He
should be governed by his notions OF
prudence. 4 horseman should yield
the travelled track TO q vehicle where
hc can do so without peril.
p A bicycliSt and a horse can pass
along Il track much narrower than that
required for carriages; they also oc-
cupy much less linear space. In both
cases the control of the traveller l.
more absolute than In the case of
horses attached to carriages. but the
bicyclist cannot be forced to ride his
machine on dangerous ground. The
cardinal rule, however. Is to keep tC
the right
Summing up the law pertaining tc