[B’ Spokes: Since we have dealt with similar issues here, there are somethings worth noting on what’s happening in DC.]
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By Ashley Halsey III, Washington Post
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The complaints board recommended that officers be allowed to delay submission of their accident reports until they have interviewed the cyclist, who sometimes ends up in a hospital after colliding with a car; that accident report forms be revised to provide more accurate options; that officers receive additional training and testing on bike laws; and that the police department strengthen its partnership with the District’s Bicycle Advisory Council.
The police department “should change its method of investigating bicycle-motor vehicle crashes in order to provide appropriate safeguards for bicyclists who are injured,” the board said in its report.
The board also recommended that officers ticket drivers who stop or park in bike lanes.
The D.C. Council also has under consideration a measure that has won approval in other cities that gives bicyclists the right to take a driver to civil court to recover damages for harassment, assault and battery. The bill received particular attention after an Aug. 31 incident, recorded on video, in which the driver of a pickup truck allegedly harassed and then struck a cyclist. The police department used the video to track down the driver, but no charges were brought.
John B. Townsend II of AAA said the board’s recommendations made sense. “There needs to be a greater sensitivity not only with law enforcement but also with motorists,” Townsend said. “The people who ride bicycles are as much entitled to the road as is anyone else.”
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-police-need-to-be-better-versed-in-bicycle-laws-complaints-board-says/2011/09/29/gIQAJKIQ8K_story.htmloldId.20111001151244431
Biking in Baltimore