Advocacy & Safety - One For Our Side

Thought I'd share some good news.
Cyclest 1
Mortoring Primates 0
South Sound Wednesday, August 22, 2001


Driver gets year in jail for hitting bicyclist

Cyclist still injured after Christmas Day hit-and-run

LIONA TANNESEN, THE OLYMPIAN

"Every cyclist who cycles regularly can regale you with stories of aggressive behavior on the part of motorists." -- Russ Lehman, former president of Capital Bicycling Club

OLYMPIA -- In a case bicyclists say is a step in the right direction, a man was sentenced to a year in jail for swerving into a bicyclist on Christmas Day and then leaving her on the road.

"I think it sends a great message to the community that this type of behavior won't be accepted," said Russ Lehman, a former president of the Capital Bicycling Club who spoke in court for the victim.

Calvert Anderson pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run with an injury and was sentenced Tuesday.

"I'm sorry," Anderson said. "Please understand there was absolutely no malice intended."

Whether or not Anderson struck bicyclist Marian Tyler on purpose is one of the issues that would have been determined in a trial.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jim Powers said Tyler, an avid cyclist, didn't skip her regular ride because it was Christmas Day.

She was in the bike lane on Boulevard Road in Olympia and Anderson, who was headed in the same direction, swerved into her lane to try to pass someone who was making a left turn.

She put her hand in the air to ask what he was doing, Powers said.

Then Anderson shouted "Merry Christmas" in a sarcastic voice and pulled in front of Tyler, causing her to crash, Powers said.

"She was tossed up and then down," Powers said witnesses reported. "What they were aghast about is they saw the defendant and his son laughing."

But defense attorney Ann Stenberg said Anderson and his son were listening to loud music and laughing about something unrelated.

"It is my client's contention that he did not mean harm to this victim," Stenberg said.

Anderson told the judge that he had spent the past nearly four years getting his life together for the first time after kicking a drug and alcohol addiction.

Both attorneys recommended eight months in jail.

But Judge Daniel Berschauer ordered Anderson to spend 12 months in jail.

"Suffice it to say you caused another human being long-term suffering, perhaps a lifetime of suffering," Berschauer said.

The longer sentence shows Berschauer recognizes the seriousness of the offense, Lehman said.

"Every cyclist who cycles regularly can regale you with stories of aggressive behavior on the part of motorists," Lehman said.

Cyclists have been concerned about making sure these offenses are prosecuted, and Tyler was the liaison between the biking community, law enforcement and prosecutors when she was hit.

She was scratched, sore and bruised right afterward. Everything has healed except her wrist.

Tyler, who also is president of Capital Bicycling Club, cannot bike now because her arm is in a sling after surgery last week to repair torn ligaments in her right wrist.

"But she will," Lehman said.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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Bicycle Alliance of Washington
PO Box 2904
Seattle, WA 98111
206/224-9252
http://www.bicyclealliance.org

I hope they also took away any chance he has of driving (even on a restricted license) for many years.

What can I say but:

It's about ******** TIME!!!

I also agree with Alex, I hope the guy never drives again. If you're gonna use your car like that it should be confiscated.

Chris

The only drawback to sentencing a person who does something like this to a jail term is that the damage is already done.

I would like to see some prevention by our legal system (namely, law enforcement) in the form of strict enforcement of speed limits and safe driving habits.

This morning, while waiting for the bus (since I am temporarily off my bike due to a crash), I saw car after car (and sometimes even school buses) speed by in a 25 mph speed zone.

I believe law enforcement is numb to this problem due to their extended time spent inside motor vehicles travelling well over the speed limit. Maybe it's time to bring back the "beat cop."

I can tell you very simply why law enforcement is numb to this problem in one very simple phrase:

"Fear of accountability".

Think about it, judges and juries are all drivers. They generally don't want to set a precendent that's gonna lead to drivers actually having to display a reasonable level of competence, because they are afraid that it might affect them one day. Ergo, most of them won't send these people to prison for a reasonable time. Personally, I think that if you deliberately use your car to injure someone else (as this guy did) you deserve at least 10 years. You'd only have to do it a couple of times before people started to get the message.

What would the sentence have been if the guy had used a gun?

Unless we become a police state, with officers on every street corner, that won't work. Fear of having your @$$ thrown in jail is a much beter deterrent than having officer Donut hiding in the bushes watching you.

Long-term suspension or permanent revocation of the perpetrator's driver's license should be invoked much more frequently in cases of this type. Contrary to nearly universal popular opinion, one does not NEED to operate a motor vehicle to be a contributing member of society.

Because of the strong evidence of malicious intent and the hit-and-run nature of the incident, the 12-month jail term is lenient, not excessive.

This is an odd report. I dont think we wil hear the truth about it until it goes to trial...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/uk/northern_ireland/newsid_1528000/1528077.stm

Meanwhile in Australia, the situation is apparently getting much worse. This report was apparently in the Canberra Times recently.

http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?story_id=84097&class=news

What can I say...

Thanks, Chris. I sent the newspaper a response -- we'll see if they publish letters from people across the pond. I suggested that this is a clear case of assault with a deadly weapon, and that the motorist deserved a jail term and restitution assessment, plus a longer license suspension. If eveyrone else writes to the Canberra Times, as well, maybe we can at least stir some public debate.

It might be interesting just to see which responses they actually do publish. I sent them a brief one this morning asking what the sentence would have been if the weapon had been a gun or a knife. I'm not even sure if they'll publish a response from up here!

I just love the www :D

Saw that one on the bike-oz list as well, Chris. I do wonder sometimes...

Anyway, I fired of a 'your say' as well, for whatever it's worth. The gist of it is in my closing paragraph:

"So, according to this story, what we've got here is an immature, stupid, panicky driver with a propensity to get carried away with his own anger to the point of injuring and endangering his fellow human beings, and his penalty is what?"

There wasn't much mention of the cyclist. I wonder how badly s/he was injured, if at all.

Allister