Can Copenhagen’s Bicycling Ideas Work in Seattle?

I am starting to prepare for a trip to COPENHAGEN.  I plan to meet with some of the folks behind that city’s rolling to the top of the cycling world and hope to bring back ideas to use here.

One of the ideas I’ve been advocating for the last few years is a change in our laws so that motorists who hit bicyclists or pedestrians are PRESUMED to be at fault without evidence that, for instance, the bicyclist was riding at night without reflectors or lights.   My understanding is that this is the law in much of Western Europe, but it’s hard to get clear information about exactly what these laws are and how they came to be.  I hope to get a better handle on this during my visit.

Do you have other questions or concepts for me to research?  Please let me know.

If you haven’t heard about Copenhagen as bicycling Nirvana, WATCH THIS video celebrating Copenhagen bicycling.  Also, this blog is excellent.