Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske: A fatal bias?
Geof Gee
By Robert Mionske JD
Filed: November 8, 2007
Dear Bob,
Thank you for penning the column. I read with interest your notes on
cycling deaths notes on cycling deaths . You raise an interesting
point: many cycling deaths result in no criminal legal accountability.
I think we all know cyclist who have died on the road. In every
instance that you bring up had there been a vehicle involved instead
of a cyclist I am sure charges would have been filed as a result of
material damage. A question I have, is there a statistic or
information on what percentage of cycling deaths result in criminal
charges (or any for that matter) being filed? And as a follow up
questions is there an organization that pursues this matter on behalf
of cycling in general. Until cyclists are taken seriously, deaths will
continue to happen and those in power (i.e. law enforcement,
transportation planners, insurance companies, etc.) will continue the
status quo of ignoring cyclist as not only a valid form of
transportation and recreation, but as human beings. The current
catch-all clause is "it was an accident," but an accident is not being
hit by a vehicle. There is a difference.
K. S.
Winter Park, Colorado
Following last weeks column, I received a number of emails from
readers regarding other cyclist deaths that I hadn't mentioned in that
column. The responses from my readers really do bring home the point
that many of us know cyclists who have died on the road. But there's
another type of response I want to discuss in this column-the response
from law enforcement and the media. In Bicycling & the Law, I discuss
the institutional biases against cyclists, including law enforcement
and media biases. Following the recent cyclist fatalities, we have
seen firsthand some textbook examples of those biases. I will be
discussing some of those cases in this column, but first, you asked if
there are statistics on the percentage of cycling deaths resulting in
criminal charges-not that I'm aware of, but I invite any readers who
may be aware of such statistics to bring them to my attention. You
also asked if there is an organization that pursues this matter on
behalf of cycling in general. Again, not to my knowledge, although I
am currently working to create a public interest cyclist's rights
organization.
Now let's take a look at some of these recent textbook incidents of
anti-cyclist bias.
Full article linked here ... http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/13637.0.html
--
"Sometimes I forget things. Who I am. Where I am. Unimportant
things. But I'm not insane. "
Karen McMillan
Thanks for posting the comments and the article. I found news articles about
some of the cycling deaths while using the cyclist as a search term in
Google News. I became intrigued when I read the news accounts of the deaths
of the cyclists Lee Ann Barry and Tom Hoskins who were struck by a SUV
traveling in the same direction as they were almost close to finishing a
fundraiser for brain injuries in South Carolina. The accident was "under
investigation" for weeks and I still haven't been able to find if the
motorist was cited or who was at fault. I also found a report that South
Carolina had 100 cycling fatalities between 2001 and 2005. There was also a
report about a cyclist who was hit and killed by a Hummer while she was in a
bike lane. The motorist was recently charged with vehicular manslaughter.
It's quite sobering reading. But, it's also sad that cyclists are frequently
at fault in many of these fatalities. Portland, Oregon has the right idea
about trying to increase safety by implementing procedures that will enhance
the safety of cyclist and also educating motorists about sharing the road
with cyclists.
Jonathan Krall
<kare...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> I became intrigued when I read the news accounts of the
> deaths of the cyclists Lee Ann Barry and Tom Hoskins who
> were struck by a SUV traveling in the same direction as
> they were almost close to finishing a fundraiser for
> brain injuries in South Carolina. The accident was "under
> investigation" for weeks and I still haven't been able
> to find if the motorist was cited or who was at fault.
>
>
> It's quite sobering reading. But, it's also sad that
> cyclists are frequently at fault in many of these
> fatalities.
I thought the point of the article was that, because the
police do not investigate properly and without bias, we
don't actually know who was at fault.
Jonathan
Invisible Hand
That is right. Although I would go further than that and write that
with a more cyclist-favorable interpretation of the law--I wanted to
write unbiased; but most people here would be biased in some way--and
the given police statements, that we do know who is at fault however
police interpretation of the law excuses the drivers from
culpability.
-G
Karen McMillan
basis for promoting his book "Bicycling and the Law" and speaking
engagements.
-----Original Message-----
From: peda...@googlegroups.com [mailto:peda...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of Jonathan Krall
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2007 1:27 PM
To: 'Pedalers'
Geof Gee
problem or just spurious events.
--
Karen McMillan
article. You have to keep checking for updates and that can go on for
several days or weeks. My initial response when I read some of the news
reports is that cyclists are lower on the vehicle food chain than I thought
and that most police are biased against cyclists and believe that we
shouldn't be on the road.
For every motorist that hit a cyclist and wasn't immediately charged, there
were just as many examples of knuckleheaded behavior by cyclists that
contributed to the crash. A cyclist ran over a City Fund Manager in the UK,
and the man died 3 days later. The cyclist has not been charged.
I know sooner or later someone is going to create a website or a blog to
catalog cycling accidents and the outcomes.
Karen McMillan
Thanks Marc. I meant a universal cycling blog…a global blog that would catalog cycling issues around the world. If I only had enough time.
From: Marc Lasky
[mailto:marc...@comcast.net]
Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007
12:29 PM
To: 'Karen McMillan'; 'Geof Gee'
Cc: 'Pedalers'
Subject: RE: [pedalers] Re:
Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske: A fatal bias?
The Wash Cycle BLOG in its “Tools” section has what it calls a “Close Calls Map DC”
Regards,
Marc Lasky