{"id":205919313,"date":"2011-07-12T07:48:33","date_gmt":"2011-07-12T07:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=205919313"},"modified":"2011-07-12T07:48:33","modified_gmt":"2011-07-12T07:48:33","slug":"waba-pushing-anti-harassment-assault-of-bicyclists-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=205919313","title":{"rendered":"WABA Pushing Anti-Harassment\/Assault of Bicyclists Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

[B’ Spokes: While this action is going on for DC, still there is applicability for Maryland.]<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Shane Farthing<\/p>\n

When we first read it, WABA had no intention of responding to Justine Whelan\u2019s anti-cyclist rant, published by the Ballston Patch.  For the most part, the article\u2019s content is so similar to the random blog comments we cyclists see regularly, it hardly seemed worth responding to.  But there was one interesting thing that I\u2019d like to highlight\u2013not for the content itself, but for what it shows about the mental state of certain bike haters.<\/p>\n

Whelan writes:<\/p>\n

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I am SO sick of being behind some rando who thinks he\u2019s the next Lance Armstrong in all of his official biking gear with the weird butt pants and neon outfits traveling at five miles an hour in a 35 zone.  I drive a stick shift, jerk, that too slow even for first gear.  How do I handle the situation?  I rev my engine in hopes of scaring the sheets out of the offensive biker<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The emphasis is mine, and it\u2019s added to highlight that this behavior is assault.  Assault is, by definition, threatening or attempting to inflict offensive physical contact or bodily harm on a person that puts the person in immediate danger of, or in apprehension of, such harm or contact.  Trying to \u201cscare the sheets\u201d out of a cyclist by revving the engine from behind clearly counts as intentionally putting the cyclist in apprehension of harm.<\/p>\n

Now, this isn\u2019t about Justine Whelan\u2019s behavior per se<\/em>.  But it does provide some insight into a level of cyclist hate that most people are not willing to type up, sign, and publish.  It shows that there are motorists\u2013seemingly normal people going about their daily business\u2013who have such hatred for cyclists as a class of roadway users that they assault us as general practice.  Given the added power of a vehicle and an engine, Justine and those of similar mindset intentionally seek to intimidate the more vulnerable cyclist.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it goes even further, however.<\/p>\n

Those who follow area cycling blogs and forums have likely come across a story from \u201cA Girl and Her Bike\u201d about being struck repeatedly<\/a> from behind while riding a Capital Bikeshare bike.  The driver struck her twice, then tried to run her over when he learned that he had picked the wrong CaBi rider to attack.<\/p>\n

In her assessment of the driver\u2019s rationale, she states:<\/p>\n

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I know what the driver was doing. He saw a young woman on a bicycle and thought it was be HILARIOUS to be a dick with his car. He did this because he thought there would be no consequences.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And she\u2019s right.  Given the obvious physical differences between automobiles and bicycles, there is ample opportunity for bullying in the form of harassment, assault, and battery.  That opportunity should be curtailed by consequences for roadway bullies, but to date the imposition of consequences has been rare.<\/p>\n

Yes, there are criminal laws against roadway assault.  But the criminal burden of proof is high, available witnesses are often scarce, and police are reluctant or unable to follow up if they did not witness the act themselves.<\/p>\n

There is also a civil tort of assault, and a cyclist could, technically, bring a civil suit for assault.  However, bringing such a suit is likely to require an attorney and a fair bit of that attorney\u2019s work.  But because intimidation, assault, and harassment do not often lead to big monetary damages (unless the cyclist is significantly injured or killed as a result), most victims cannot afford to pursue such cases.<\/p>\n

The result, currently, is a situation in which harassment and assault of bicyclists goes undeterred through the legal system.  The \u201cA Girl and Her Bike\u201d case mentioned above is a truly rare instance in which the motorist is prosecuted\u2013but still there will be no sentencing for his repeated, intentional assault.<\/a> Thus, we need some mechanism to impose consequences on roadway bullies who harass and assault cyclists simply because those cyclists are more vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Because we cannot change the criminal burden of proof, we need a law creating a civil right of action for assault that also provides for attorneys\u2019 fees in order to ensure that cases can effectively be brought.  Below is a draft based on a similar bill in the City of Los Angeles.  We are at the very beginning stages of working to pass this law in the District and appreciate all support.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

…
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\nhttps:\/\/www.waba.org\/blog\/2011\/07\/waba-pushing-anti-harassmentassault-bill-for-cyclists\/<\/a>oldId.20110712074833188<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[B’ Spokes: While this action is going on for DC, still there is applicability for Maryland.] By Shane Farthing When we first read it, WABA had no intention of responding to Justine Whelan\u2019s anti-cyclist rant, published by the Ballston Patch.  For the most part, the article\u2019s content is so similar to the random blog comments … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “WABA Pushing Anti-Harassment\/Assault of Bicyclists Bill”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-205919313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biking-elsewhere"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205919313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=205919313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205919313\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=205919313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=205919313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=205919313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}