FWIW the editorial about the 97.1 radio show debacle is up.
Tom,
Thanks.
I always love your words of wisdom too. These are some more great ones: “never pick a fight you can’t finish.”
Tom, well written and fair to both sides as usual. It is true that many police officers are unsure of the exact laws pertaining to cyclist on the road. I once had an rookie officer pull me over and attempt to write me a ticket for “obstructing traffic”. His superior promptly pulled up behind him asked what he was doing and gave him a dressing down that any drill sargent would have been proud of. That particular officer will forever remember that a bicycle is a vehicle. Bicycles and cars remind me of a point taught to me in the navy concerning the “rules of the road” for the operation of seagoing vessels. By law the smallest vessel has the right of way. Therefore, technically our aircraft carrier would have to move out of the way of a canoe. However, the petty officer instructing me told me that if you are the guy in the canoe, never forget the law of gross tonnage. It takes a hell of a lot of time and force to slow down, turn, or god forbid, stop an aircraft carrier. Better just paddle your canoe out of the way, because you will lose this arguement. The same may be said of bikes and cars.
Thank you for reading. I wish I could have gotten this up sooner. We have been so busy.
“beer drinking, NFL loving overweight white males”
Hey now! I resemble that remark!
Notice I didn’t make any judgements about that demographic…
“The best politics speak for themselves”
Tom,
The link from the editorial menu doesn’t work (takes you to the 3D piece).
Steve
As usual, an excellent, and fair, piece of writing. My only gripe with it is that since cyclists are considered to be the equivalent to a motor vehicle, the police should be more strict in prosecuting drivers who hit riders, or simply harrass them. The fact that there are inadequate consequences associated with poor behavior on the road encourages drivers to act with ignominy. Nonetheless, I try to should all due respect to the laws of physics when on my bike.
Should be working fine now. I just tried it on three seperate machines here at IBS.
As a Police officer and a cyclist I have a couple things to answer/add to your comment. First of all, if it is an accident between a motor vehicle and a bicycle we work the accident the same way as ones involving just motor vehicles. That is, we can write a ticket to the person who violated a traffic ordinance. In a normal traffic accident no one is “prosecuted” because there is no crime, but simply a traffic ordinance violation.
Secondly, the police are not responsible for prosecuting anyone. We charge the person with whatever crime has been commited. All of our reports are forwarded to the D.A.'s office and it is then up to the prosrcutor’s there to prosecute the defendant.
I admit that there are a lot of cops who are unfamiliar with how to handle incidents involving cyclists, although I see that improving.
I also see A lot of cyclists who are not aware that traffic laws apply to them which contributes to the problem.
I certainly agree that cyclists contribute to their own problems in traffic to a very large degree.
We have several group rides in this area that create regular headaches for motorists. The clubs involved have not been proactive about teaching riders how to ride in a group, what common courtesy is, etc. It is just like “Show up and hammer”. That is irresponsible on the part of the club IMO.
I think they need to get our local constable, Chip Kulikowski, 5 time USCF champion and Dearborn Police Officer, over to one of the rides early on to literally lay down the law to these groups. That would go a long way to a safer, more trouble free summer for everyone.
My mis-statement. I should have said law enforcment and prosecuting attorneys. With all the Law and Order on TV, you’d think I’d be beyond an oversight like that one.
My basic point was that it seems as if there are many accidents involving automobiles and bicycles in which the operator of the vehicle is clearly at fault(DUI, reckless endangerment, etc) and yet the charges brought against them, if any, are minimal. At least, these are the stories that I hear most often.
It was not my intention to lay all the blame for the situation on your shoulders as an agent of law enforcement, but rather, to point out what I consider to be a systemic problem with the attitudes of our society and justice system vis-a-vis automobile accidents involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and I’ll go so far as to say, motorcyclists.
Most recent example: A couple in their late fifties was killed in an accident last week. The couple was riding their motorcycle in the middle of their travel lane. As they came around a bend in the road, they slammed head-on into a vehicle operated by an 18-year old woman driving in the wrong direction in their travel lane. At the time the article was written, no one seemed to know why the young woman was driving on the wrong side of the road. As of now, no charges have been filed.
Now, I am not an expert on law, and I am reasonable enough to think that the girl probably didn’t mean to kill anyone, but in my opinion, when your careless actions are directly responsible for another person’s death, you should be doing some jail time.
Please do not rely on those shows for legal expertise…or ER for medical advice!!! ( I say that in jest).
I do agree with your statement. I can only add that in most cases involving accidents of any type where someone is seriously injured or killed, it can take days or even weeks before charges are filed.
We may have to wait for toxicology or other tests before something can be done. Or the accident may have to be reconstructed.
Believe me when I say that most of the time the circumstances in the accident are pretty straightforward and we have good evidence on the cause/fault of the accident. However, fortunately/unfortunately, however you see it, we live in an age where you better have absolute, beyond any doubt proof before you charge someone with a serious crime. Even when it is plainly obvious what happened.
I also wholeheartedly agree that the penalties are not ‘stiff’ enough. I would like to see more jail time in these types of situations.
Lastly, I did not take it as you blaming me or law enforcement. I understand the frustration, as do most Police officers. Many times we do a whole heck-of-alotta work on a case only to have it lessened or dismissed by the D.A. or courts. Our justice system, while still the best around, leaves alot to be desired.
Yep I see a lot of group rides here in Chicago that just go out and hammer and disregard traffic laws all the time. I don’t ride with the groups because I refuse to run red lights and stop signs and thereby usually get dropped after a couple of intersections.
Good thinking. Many cycling clubs iignore their responsibility to produce safe, well trained cyclists. That should be one of the benefits of being associated with a club- the training from other more experienced cyclists.
Tom,
Nicely written article, I enjoyed it. Reading it made me really curious about you surviving the plane crash you mentioned in the article, what happened? I know it’s off the topic of this thread but I really want to know.
Things didn’t work out on take off. Hit some trees. Typical deal.
“Many cycling clubs ignore their responsibility to produce safe, well trained cyclists”
I’ll spare you the rant, and simply say that my experience has been that I often see worse behavior (on the road and in races) from groups in team kits than individuals riding alone. I’d like to think that team members try to act as ambassadors to the community, particularly when sporting their colors, but I think the reality is that group psychology applies to everyone, including cyclists, and when you have a group riding together, some people will act in an inappropriate manner.
The last explicitly tri-team-organized ride I went on(not a member, just riding along), I asked the leader/organizer what proper etiquette was for the group, and he asnwered, “We’re all just kind of doing our own thing.” There were about fifteen of us, most people wearing team gear, exhibiting the full range of possible behaviors.
By contrast, Charles River Wheelmen, which I belong to, always reviews proper safety, laws, and riding etiquette before their rides, and requires all riders to wear safety equipment on group rides.
Great editorial Tom. I like the bit about the stupidity of conflict. My own policy is never to pick a fight, but if you’re in one, to always finish it.