Police officer doesn't like bicycle commuters.
 

Today I went to the police station to file some reports against bad drivers. When I told the officer that I was on a bicycle, he immediately asked me if I own a car. And as soon as I said no, his attitude changed very negatively and he wouldn't let me file a report even though I had the incident on camera with the date, time, car tags and type, and location as well as the law, cited in Arkansas code that had been violated. The officer wouldn't even look at my evidence.

He then asked me why I don't drive and I told him that I dislike it because being inside a car feels like being inside a cage to me and I don't like sitting in traffic. He said "that cage could save your life." and "By riding a bicycle you are choosing to put yourself in danger."

In the end I had to just walk out and let this video go un-reported: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBb-kwi9dwk

Edit: Where I live, being car-free is very uncommon.

You likely interrupted his private donut time. Try the guy with the Starbucks cup, he might be a bit more lively.

That's probably why it happened. I experience the same type of thing in my home town - Bicycling for transportation is considered weird. But I just learn to live with it lol

Have you talked to the folks at the Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks? You may get some local support for your problem. If nothing else you won't feel so alone.

I guess my question would be if the police won't do anything to put an end to the dangers on our roads? Who will? Who do I go to with this issue? Or do I just need to find some way to take the situation into my own hands?

The officer was trying to put an end to the dangers of the road. Unfortunately, he was trying to do it by getting rid of bikes.

Police officers (like all of us) are a product of their prejudices and training. I would like to see them trained to have a more favorable understanding of bikes and their role in the traffic mix. Our state bike advocacy group is starting a training program for law enforcement. I think that's a good way to go. This came about when a high official in the advocacy group was ticketed for "obstructing traffic" when he was legally riding in a city street.

looking at your video, what that driver did is not uncommon anywhere whether you live in a bicycle friendly city or not. I may be a pessimist, but it's very unlikely that we will be able to change the way people think about us. The smartest tactic in my view is to conform our riding styles and routes to get around in the safest possible manner. The question I have Isaiahc72 is how often does this happen to you on this stretch of highway? Do you need to (perhaps) change routes? Or do you need to just get used to the thought that morons like the driver in the video will do this from time to time? Taking the stand to be car free, or car lite, comes with certain risks. In my city, which has no bicycle culture at all, I ride in a fashion and using routes that I have discovered are safest. So to answer your question, I say take the situation into your own hands. Not by carrying around a firearm or anything like that, but by realistically assessing the risks and dangers and adjusting where you can. But DO NOT stop riding! :)

One thing to prevent those close calls might be to ride more in the center of the lane. Looks like you are on the right side of the lane's right tire track. If you take more of the land, drivers usually think "other lane". Although this doesn't always hold true for motorcyclists :eek:

You might make a telephone call to the "inside sergeant" and ask to speak to them, off premises. Then make your complaint to them and voice your displeasure with the officer who was less then helpful.

Next step would be the Chief, and after that, the city council or mayor at a council meeting....

Politicians don't like to be embarrassed in public, especially when they aren't helping their voting blocks.....

That was quite close......the only cause of it is between the driver's ears.

One of those things......I'm glad it was a miss!!

Cops dont like bicycles, they just dont. If you have a accident or have some kind of interaction with police while you are riding a bike you have to be carefull of the report they will write. A lady cut the corner short while making a left and hit me, I was barely moving and wasnt even in the intersection yet when she hit me in my lane. With out me even knowing he wrote that I didnt stop at the stop sign even though I didnt even reach the stop sign yet and I was stopped when she hit me.

Moral of the story is, cops always look at the bike at fault.

A good reason not to ride with a camera and put your faith in a camera...You need a couple of "actual living witnesses" before the cops take you seriously.

Really? Given the lack of perspective and camera angle, how can you tell? The driver may have had 3 or 4 feet lateral clearance when alongside the cyclist, maybe more, maybe less, hard to tell.

Change my route? No. That will only hide the problem that exists among us. It will do nothing to actually fix it. I want to fix the problem. Not run from it.

Yes you're a pessimist :). The behavior towards cyclists in my part of the country has changed quite a bit for the better. It's been a steady progression for 20 years or more. I think that has a lot to do with public awareness that resulted from activism on the bicycling front.

Sorry I don't agree with this generalization. I met Chief of a local police department a while back. He was a cyclist and had some good suggestions. In fact, the suggestion I made above was the same he gave me. Take the lane and keep your eyes open.

I'm sure lots of police are as you describe, but police officers are probably representative of society at large . We need to promote cycling and attempt to work with them...

What about bicycle cops ??

Sometimes, changing your route can save your life or avoid legal hassles.

I'm not sure you can do something about this particular case, if you've already tried to get the police involved and they don't understand the situation. I also think gerv's suggestion to ride more in the center of the right lane was a good one.

If you really want to do something... I suggest involvement with a local advocacy group, and try to steer them into the direction of informing police officers, judges, adn the general public about cycling law and rights. You won't see immediate changes, but some things take a long time to fix, and they take a lot of people working together.

You won't get anywhere as long as you are seen as a solitary cyclist. That's why I suggested contacting the Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks. They are the local bicycle advocacy group in your neck of the woods.

You would be well advised to escalate your complaint. Go to their supervisor, and the Chief. Put it in writing, and cc the mayor, city council. Make your concern be heard. Pollyticians and supervisors don't like to see complaints in writing - permanent records scare them!

If you have a local newspaper, also cc the letters to the editor............

Go the political route, take it up with officials with elected positions. It may not endear you with the cops, but I've heard of that working. Pressing it against the cops directly is less effective. See Cherokee Schill for example.

Perhaps you can address in what way Cherokee Schill has been "effective" in anything, outside of getting her name in the news/social media?

Why would I want to do that, when I used her as an example of ineffective fighting with the police?

It just looks like it it to me. If you don't think it was close I don't care. Of course, you think everyone else is always wrong. But, I don't care about that either.