One would think that with fewer bicyclists on the
road during the wet winter months motorists would be more tolerant
of our presence. However, perhaps a perverse dynamic is at work
such that drivers with a malignant attitude toward bicyclists are
more motivated to hassle a solitary cyclist on the road in front
of them. In any event, we have seen a disturbing number of harassment
incidents this winter and this article is offered as a refresher
on what you can do about harassment if you or a friend are an intended
target.
Harassment Severity Should Determine Your Response
If you are harassed by a motorist, you need to analyze
the severity of the hazard created by the motorist’s actions, and
gauge your own energy level for creating a considered response.
A “considered response” is necessary because, while Oregonians
are proud to point out that we do not shoot each other over parking
spaces, nevertheless, provoking a motorist into an uncontrolled
confrontation is stupid and dangerous. If someone endangers you
by violating the law, it is probably not worth taking them to traffic
court for some technical violation of the Rules of the Road. Instead,
translate your anger into writing a letter. Memorize their license
plate number, obtain their name and address from the Department
of Motor Vehicles (DMV) (an easy procedure, just call the Bicycle
Transportation Alliance (BTA) or our office), and then write the
driver, or better, the driver’s employer if they are in a work vehicle,
letting them know what the law provides regarding your right to
use the roadway, citation to the traffic code violations they committed
in your presence, how their conduct made you afraid and angry, and
finally, that you are going to wait until you hear from them before
you decide about whether or not you will pursue the matter with
a citation for a moving violation in traffic court. Writing the
letter is therapeutic, and in most cases you will hear from the
worried motorist. While you may not get a direct apology, your follow
up provides an excellent learning experience for most drivers, who
are keenly aware of the effect a potential traffic code conviction
will have upon their insurance rates and driving record.
A recent example illustrates the value of the letter writing approach.
A Portland bicyclist received a “close shave” from a small
pickup while riding along Front Avenue near Waterfront Park. He
noted the license number, obtained the registered owner’s name through
DMV, and then, since the incident was not serious enough to merit
a criminal prosecution, wrote a letter along the lines outlined
above to the motorist. Shortly afterward he received a long rambling
letter back from the motorist, who claimed that he was not the driver,
some mistake must have been made, but then he went on at length
in providing an elaborate legal justification for the actions of
the driver of the pickup truck, interspersing his argument with
frequent biblical and legal citations. While the driver may have
been unwilling to admit his involvement, his response shows that
the message was received loud and clear.
However, if you were truly placed in danger, or injured, or if
the motorist behaved in an outrageous manner, then you owe it to
yourself, and to other riders, to pursue the matter further.
It is not worth going to traffic or district court, or bothering
police agencies over any incident which is not sufficiently serious
to justify charging one of the following traffic offenses or misdemeanor
crimes:
Assault IV
Menacing
Reckless Endangerment
Harassment
Reckless Driving
Careless Driving
HARASSMENT BY MOTORISTS – KNOW YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
Each of these offenses involves serious and dangerous
driving misbehavior.
What Do I Do?
If your harassment by a motorist is serious enough
to take to court, you will have to be able to identify the driver,
the vehicle, and usually the license plate number.
Call The Police
Tell them what happened and what laws were broken
by the motorist. Hopefully, law enforcement will be sympathetic and will have sufficient time
to investigate and cite or arrest the driver. However, if the police
are not responsive to your initial contact, do not give up, call
the BTA or our office and we will help you to initiate a prosecution.
Be aware that even though the Motor Vehicle Code gives
you a right equal to that of any motorist to use the roadway, in
the eyes of many people, bicycles are a toy and should always get
out of the way of motorists. Part of your job as a bicyclist in
the court system will be to educate everyone you contact about how
you are exercising your legal rights to share the roadway with automobiles,
and that on the day you were harassed you were also recognizing
and abiding by your responsibilities as a roadway user.
If any motorist spits on you, throws something out
of a vehicle in your direction, pretends they are going to run you
off of the road or hit you, swerves their vehicle in a menacing
manner toward you on your bike, or touches you or your bicycle in
any way, then it is important for you to prosecute them, even if
you are not hurt. The reason is that perpetrators of crimes usually
get away without being identified or apprehended. If you are a victim
of harassment by a driver, it is likely that your incident is one
of many and, if you do nothing, the next time the driver goes after
another bicyclist a serious injury may result.
In a recent incident, a young man and woman riding
mountain bikes side by side on the roadway began to move into single
file when they heard an overtaking vehicle behind them. Apparently,
they did not move fast enough as the driver began honking at them,
and then as a van filled with people passed by at a high rate of
speed, a passenger spat upon them. When the bicyclists caught up
to the van at a traffic light, the angry cyclists yelled at the
occupants of the van. Suddenly, a passenger in the van swung his
door open into the female rider, fracturing her leg in several places.
Fortunately, witnesses called the police and an investigation was
begun.
Finally. . .
You do not need to become a bicycle militia member
in order to stand up for your legal rights. Motorist harassment
of bicyclists is a serious problem and is an event which intimidates
riders from enjoying road riding. Since before the turn of the century,
the League of American Wheelmen, now League of American Bicyclists,
has led theafe roads for bicycle riders. A psychological profile
of our culture would reveal that there is an identifiable percentage
of motorists who cannot stand to see a bicycle rider in the lane
of traffic in front of their vehicles without honking or in some
other manner communicating their disapproval. Whether our response
is a simple polite letter with an invitation for an apology, or
a full scale criminal prosecution depends upon the severity of the
hazard created by the motorist’s behavior. If you are involved in
an incident and do not get cooperation from law enforcement in initiating
a prosecution, attend one of our free legal clinics and we will
show you how to get started. While being spit at, or sworn at is
a foul form of interference with an otherwise nice day; on the other
hand, arrest for a serious traffic offense is a good, and legal,
way to even the score.