{"id":272026499,"date":"2013-08-15T10:54:59","date_gmt":"2013-08-15T10:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=272026499"},"modified":"2013-08-15T10:54:59","modified_gmt":"2013-08-15T10:54:59","slug":"words-escape-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=272026499","title":{"rendered":"WORDS ESCAPE ME"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rick Bernardi, Bicycle Law
\nWhat does one say, in the middle of the night, when once again, a cyclist lays dead and our system of injustice gives us its grotesque pro forma ritual of shifting the blame to the cyclist, and exonerating the driver? What does one say, when over and over again, the justice we receive is nothing but a mockery of justice? What does one say, when all one feels is a cold fury at the lies that perpetuate our system of injustice? What does one say when there are no words? What does one say?
\nI will try to find the words.
\n…
\nThat future was cut short five days ago, when David fell beneath the rear wheels of a tractor-trailer truck a few miles into the first day of the Trek Across Maine, a charity ride for the American Lung Association.
\n…
\nAnd then the mockery of justice began.
\nWithin days, Maine State Police announced that it was unlikely that the driver would face charges. The investigation determined that as the tractor-trailer was passing David, he \u201cveered into the path of [the truck] while sipping water.\u201d Well, isn\u2019t that tidy. You see? The fatal crash was the cyclist\u2019s fault. He was taking a drink of water. \u201cHe only had one hand on the handlebar.\u201d
\nNever mind all of that other, inconvenient eyewitness evidence. Never mind that the truck passed David at about 3-4 feet distance, and that David was sucked under the rear wheels by the turbulence of the passing truck. Never mind that the truck passed \u201cclose and pretty fast.\u201d State Police Lt. Walter Grzyb acknowledged that \u201cwitnesses said they felt a draft when the truck went by, and it seems plausible, but we just can’t know for sure.\u201d What do the witnesses know? \u201cHe pulled his water bottle out and he’s taking a drink of water. He has the left hand on the handlebar, a little less stable than two (hands)," Lt. Grzyb explained. David was trying to take a sip of water, so of course, he was to blame.
\nNow let\u2019s talk about what really happened, based on what we know.
\n…
\nFurthermore, the driver was in a no-passing zone, so under Maine law, it was illegal to pass the cyclists unless it was safe to do so.
\n…
\nHe was sucked into the path of the truck, and the water bottle in David\u2019s hand does not mean that the driver is absolved of his responsibility to pass at a safe speed and distance.
\n…
\nBut in our American system of injustice, drivers are routinely absolved of all responsibility, routinely exonerated, and in the rare instances when they are held accountable, routinely slapped on the wrist. In our American system of injustice, police routinely overlook the laws and the evidence and base their \u201cinvestigations\u201d on noticing irrelevant things like the cyclist taking a sip of water. In our American system of injustice, the District Attorney will receive the shifting-the-blame police report, and make a decision. While we might expect justice, do we believe that David will have justice?
\nLook, I get that this was an \u201caccident.\u201d I get that the driver didn\u2019t mean to kill anybody that morning. I get that prosecuting the driver won\u2019t bring David back. But I also get that drivers have a responsibility to operate their vehicles safely. I get that justice demands that we stop pretending there\u2019s nothing we can do when negligent driving takes a life. I get that doing nothing when a life is negligently lost sends the wrong message to every other driver on the road. I get that shifting the blame to the victim sends the wrong message to every negligent driver on the road. So yeah, I get it.
\n…
\nSo yeah, the cyclist gets blamed, and yeah, negligent drivers are routinely given the kid glove treatment, and yeah, I\u2019m fed up. And I\u2019m not alone. We have to stop accepting this \u201cblame the victim\u201d system of injustice. We have to stop accepting this \u201cbend over backwards to exonerate drivers who kill\u201d system of injustice. We have to stop accepting this \u201cslap on the wrist\u201d system of injustice. We have to stop accepting excuses.
\nWe have to start demanding justice.
\nhttps:\/\/www.bicyclelaw.com\/blog\/index.cfm\/2013\/6\/19\/Words-Escape-Me<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rick Bernardi, Bicycle Law What does one say, in the middle of the night, when once again, a cyclist lays dead and our system of injustice gives us its grotesque pro forma ritual of shifting the blame to the cyclist, and exonerating the driver? What does one say, when over and over again, the … <\/p>\n

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