The Road Rights and Liabilities of Wheelmen
Encyclopedia
The Road Rights and Liabilities of Wheelmen, written by George B. Clementson
at the height of the bicycle's golden age, in 1895, was the first treatise
on bicycle law
. In the 1880s and 1890s, the prevailing legal issue cyclists (or wheelmen as they were then called) faced was the question of the right to the road. In a series of seminal right to the road cases, cyclists gained legal rights that form the basis of cyclist's legal rights today. Although bicycle law has developed substantially since 1895, The Road Rights and Liabilities of Wheelmen continues to serve as an outstanding resource for those early right to the road cases.
George B. Clementson
George Burr Clementson an American attorney and author of The Road Rights and Liabilities of Wheelmen. Published in 1895, The Road Rights and Liabilities of Wheelmen was the first treatise to address the legal rights and duties of cyclists; thus, Clementson was the first attorney to develop...
at the height of the bicycle's golden age, in 1895, was the first treatise
Treatise
A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject.-Noteworthy treatises:...
on bicycle law
Bicycle law
Bicycle law is a specialized field of law relating to the use of bicycles. Although bicycle law is a relatively new specialty within the law, first appearing in the late 1980s, its roots date back to the 1880s and 1890s, when cyclists were using the courts to assert a legal right to use the roads....
. In the 1880s and 1890s, the prevailing legal issue cyclists (or wheelmen as they were then called) faced was the question of the right to the road. In a series of seminal right to the road cases, cyclists gained legal rights that form the basis of cyclist's legal rights today. Although bicycle law has developed substantially since 1895, The Road Rights and Liabilities of Wheelmen continues to serve as an outstanding resource for those early right to the road cases.