Apparently even good ordinances can't keep crap like this from happening.
There's no reason that something similar couldn't happen here, due to
this ordinance language: "....a pedestrian shall not suddenly leave a
curb or other place of safety and walk or run into a path of a vehicle
that is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield." The
only time anyone could be cited for violating this ordinance is after
they have been hit by a car -- evidence that it was "impossible" for the
driver to yield (or stop).
I agree. It is the reason I devote time to WBWC and other bicycling
activities here in town. I feel like I can start to make some
difference and lead by example - showing people there is another way.
Sometimes our frustration leaks out. Long time cyclists and
bike commuters become very aware of the 2nd class status we
enjoy - barely tolerated as long as we don't inconvience the
1st class citizens in their cars. I fully support pedestrian
rights, I think cyclists encounter the motorist hostility/agression
more frequently though, so sometimes our attitudes take a turn for the
worse (I usually recover in a day or two :-)
The inequity is quite stark - if I actually threatened someone
with a large baseball bat as suggested, I suspect I would be looking
at 3 to 5 years hard time for aggravated assault or something. A motorist
intimidating a bicyclist or pedestrian with their 3 ton vehicle is
excused as a minor problem, or as in the case of Bonnie who was hit
last fall, not even given a ticket, and left with the impression
(by the police officer!) that Bonnie should have been on the sidewalk.
The 10 or 20 people that that motorist tells about it will all think
"gee, those darn cyclists really don't belong on the road, and if I
hit one, well, it was just an 'accident'".
This is why education is so important! There was a bicycle law training
class for local law enforcement officers here about a year ago. We had police
officers from all around SE Michigan. The officers all felt it was a good class and had
the opportunity to discuss cycling with a number of us long-term cyclists
that also attended. It would have been great if some more Ann Arbor officers
could have attended. I think there is another class like this coming up soon.
There is also going to be an official LAB Road 1 bike education class coming up in
May to teach road cyclists how to safely cycle in traffic. Carole Hann of AABTS and
Officer Kathy Vonk of the AA Police have been instrumental in getting this class
organized, we need to get the word out so that as many cyclists as possible can
benefit from this educational opportunity.
So I try to work to make things better and I really appreciate the
efforts of all the other people such as yourself that put in so
much time and effort into improving the situation.
Pete
-----Original Message-----
>From: Matt G <mhg...@gmail.com>
>Sent: Mar 3, 2009 9:15 AM
>To: wb...@googlegroups.com, cho...@a2gov.org
>Subject: [WBWC] Re: Pedestrian-friendly Colorado?
>
>
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090303/METRO02/903030375/1409/METRO
Dad opens heart to hit-run driver
But judge exceeds plea deal, gives woman 21 months in prison
Robinson, a 40-year-old single mother of two young boys, was riding her
bicycle in the far lane of northbound Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak on
Sept. 19 when she was struck and dragged by a car. The driver never
stopped.
Dancy, also a single mother, whose teenage daughter was in the courtroom,
pleaded no contest last month to a felony charge of failure to stop at the
scene of an accident resulting in death. Police said Dancy intentionally
struck a parked car the day after the accident to cover up the damage;
they charged her with malicious destruction of property, to which she also
pleaded no contest.
Dancy was expecting to serve a minimum of 18 months per a plea deal with
prosecutors, which the victim's family approved.
But on Monday Oakland Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca said she had to go above
the agreement, sentencing Dancy to 21 months to five years and chastising
her for hiding her involvement in the case for more than 10 weeks before
Royal Oak detectives closed in with compelling evidence. That included a
piece of Robinson's bicycle seat found under Dancy's car, cell phone
records placing her near the scene at the time of the accident and an
impounded car with accident damage that matched the crime.
"I received many letters about how compassionate you are and how much you
love animals. You ran over Ms. Robinson like she was an animal. ...You
could have stopped. You could have called police. You were a mile from a
hospital," Gorcyca said.