Advocacy & Safety - Sheriff almost took me out today!!

I was riding along on my road bike doing like 17mph - single lane road. Two cars pass me, the second being a sheriff. I could tell he was on his radio, and talking to his partner/passenger. The sheriff turns right just after he passes me!! If I hadn't noticed his right-hand turn signal, I would have been over his car. I had to SLAM on my brakes. I've had cars do this to me before (in fact twice just in the last two weeks), but a police officer?? :eek:

get on the sidewalk!

get on the sidewalk!

hilarious :crash:

shoot him.

Deputy Council must have gotten his badge back.

Deputy Council must have gotten his badge back.

Terrifying thought.

I didn't know if anyone would catch the reference.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=548716&highlight=Deputy+council

more than a years' paid holiday and rehired after vehicular manslaughter

yep, watch out for those sheriff deps.....they is above the law

yep, watch out for those sheriff deps.....they is above the law

That is why I made an exception to my flip-the-bird and yell profanity ritual.

Yeah, well today I *yielded* to a fire chief, who was making a left turn, coming the other way.
I think it is best to yield to any vehicle that has flashing lights on the roof, even if they aren't illuminated.

Also, the United States Post Office has right of way in all circumstances.

Note: I have been watching Youtube a lot lately, so I haven't visited bikeforums everyday. Besides being a cyclist/custom bike builder, I am also a railfan. I have a special fondness for shortline railroads, and have been viewing them a lot on Youtube lately. My theory is that if more people rode trains and bikes, there would be a lot less cars on the roads.

The driving of police officers does tend to demonstrate the dangers of attention to other things than one's driving. Some just can't stay off the radio even in a two person unit.

My theory is that if more people rode trains and bikes, there would be a lot less cars on the roads.

nice theory... :rolleyes: rocket surgery right before my eyes

Jeez, I read the title of this thread and I thought it was going to be a dating story. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Jeez, I read the title of this thread and I thought it was going to be a dating story. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

LOL!!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e67/MrDynamite3572/GayCop.jpg

In all honesty, it was probably a case of being careless rather than malice. It's not at all uncommon for non-cyclists to not realize how fast a cyclist can go. Part of riding defensively is anticipating certain mistakes by others and being able to react to them to avoid a crash.

Now, if it would make you feel better, you might want to send a FRIENDLY note to the sheriff's office informing them that even after passing a cyclist, one should be especially careful if turning right b/c of the potential for a right hook.

In all honesty, it was probably a case of being careless rather than malice.

Agree 100%. Never meant to imply it was intentional. He was likely distracted - instinctively passed me (giving me space) and then totally forgot I was there. I'm guessing if he realized what he had done, he would have been embarrassed and stunned. But that still deserves the middle-finger (which I withheld) - it is my only silent horn. :twitchy:


It's not at all uncommon for non-cyclists to not realize how fast a cyclist can go. Part of riding defensively is anticipating certain mistakes by others and being able to react to them to avoid a crash.

That is definitely part of the problem. Most motorists don't understand that road bikes go so fast - and they totally misjudge relative speeds. Also, IMO, most motorists just see bikers as objects in the street, not people. The other day, I was riding along in a large bike lane, and this SUV is pulling out of a parking lot on the other side of the road - crossing the street to merge into the same direction as myself. She is basically aiming right at me as I ride by and she turns to come up side of me (matching my speed). She probably had 10 seconds of seeing me approach while waiting, crossing the street, and coming up side of me. Then she decides to take a right turn at the next street (with me riding RIGHT next to her at the same speed). She basically pushed me off the road. Ridiculous.


Now, if it would make you feel better, you might want to send a FRIENDLY note to the sheriff's office informing them that even after passing a cyclist, one should be especially careful if turning right b/c of the potential for a right hook.

I thought about that. I think it will fall on deaf ears.

You really should call the Sheriff, not just another deputy, and register a formal complaint. He would like to know who those guys are, too....

Originally Posted by hotbike My theory is that if more people rode trains and bikes, there would be a lot less cars on the roads.

nice theory... :rolleyes: rocket surgery right before my eyes

I was going to say hotbike must be some kind of brainiack... but i think you summed it up nicely.:thumb:

Did the sheriff ever realize what he did?

I would have yelled as soon as I seen it coming, and I'm pretty sure he would have heard me.

F the police. Again, worse than useless. If you'd have protested they probably would have arrested you.

That is why I made an exception to my flip-the-bird and yell profanity ritual.

Why?

Why?

Answer:


If you'd have protested they probably would have arrested you.



Did the sheriff ever realize what he did?

No.


I would have yelled as soon as I seen it coming, and I'm pretty sure he would have heard me.

I was too busy slamming my brakes. Self-preservation comes first. Pretty hard to hear through shut windows at 20mph. And, even if he heard something, it certainly wouldn't have been fast enough to allow him to react. Happened too quick.

Police officers and sheriff deps are first of all professional drivers trained at great expense (our expense, mind you) and equipped with well maintained vehicles. They are trained far beyond the level of the bozos driving hazardous materials trucks or taxis. I do not care what the appologists say, they have absolutely no excuse, that works for me, when they kill a pedestrian (fremont, ca. child in crosswalk) or a cyclist (see above reference). Having two cousins and a next door neighbor on the force, I can also say they generally don't care about cyclists and their chiefs' and unions are very good about protecting them. Watch out for them, don't let them kill you, forget about it and move on. We truly are not in the loop in any way shape or form. Our lives do not matter and certainly not our opinions. We have a great one going on in the bay area where a ex cop working as a investigator for the prosecuting attorneys office parked her escalade on top of some people stupid enough to stop for a light. She was falling down drunk. The SJ Police officers threatened the paramedic that wanted her brought in and refused to execute field sobriety tests (her dad was a leutenant on the force...sorta like Dep. Council).....the union is weighing in on thier behalf now. do not write a letter, you will have death threats......they protect their own. I won't make that mistake again....move on. I was brought up with respect for the law, I lost it quite honestly, through long experience.

Something similar happened in my city. A pig(I won't insult good cops by calling him one) left a local bar ****-faced drunk, drove off and hit a bus and a navy police car then fled the scene. It took his dept. over 12 hours sitting on their hands so he could sober up before they questioned him and then he pushed his 12 yr. old son to say he was driving the SUV. Needless to say he is still on the force and in the bar every day.

Also, the United States Post Office has right of way in all circumstances.


Funny, I never heard that, and I work and drive for them.

get on the sidewalk!

That is the worst thing she could do.

Something similar happened in my city. A pig(I won't insult good cops by calling him one) left a local bar ****-faced drunk, drove off and hit a bus and a navy police car then fled the scene. It took his dept. over 12 hours sitting on their hands so he could sober up before they questioned him and then he pushed his 12 yr. old son to say he was driving the SUV. Needless to say he is still on the force and in the bar every day.

Interesting, but par for the course in RI, eh?!? Gotta love those Newport cops who hide out in alleys after the bars close to write $200+ tickets for public urination! :rolleyes:

That is the worst thing she could do.

it was a joke....;)

Police officers and sheriff deps are first of all professional drivers trained at great expense (our expense, mind you) and equipped with well maintained vehicles. They are trained far beyond the level of the bozos driving hazardous materials trucks or taxis.
when I was an EMT in NJ i took the same CEVO (Certified Emergency Vehicle Operator) course that the cops took. it was a step or two beyond a standard defensive driving course, but nothing special, and i don't recall any mention of bicycles or pedestrians beyond the usual "be aware of them" and "don't run them over". the right hook and left cross (left hook and right cross, here in NZ) weren't mentioned in that, or any other motor vehicle course i've ever taken.

i've got about half a million miles (about a million kilometers) of experience behind the wheel, with no accidents and no tickets, but only learned about "the hook" after my primary mode of transport became a bicycle. i'd like to think that the same spacial awareness that kept me (and those around me) safe when i was driving motor vehicles would have prevented me from hooking anyone on a bike, but i'm not aware of any driver training that mentions the issue to motor vehicle drivers.

BTW, i also spent some time driving a taxi in asheville. i don't know about other places, but about half of those taxi drivers were one ticket away from a suspended license. IIRC, NC law allows someone to drive a taxi as long as they have less than 12 points. funny thing is that 12 points means you'd lose your license. go figure.

"the hook" should be familiar to all cyclists, but it's a danger that most other road users don't think of and don't know of. so it's really an education issue. i'd call up the sheriff's dept and mention the issue as an "informal complaint", but stress that education is needed and that the sheriff's dept should be setting an example of safe and courteous driving.

other than that, AIRZOUND.

It is not just radios that patrol officers/deputies have to distract them from driving. Most large agencies, and quite a few small ones, use MDTs/MDCs, which are computer terminals, or actual fully-functional computers, GPS navigational gadgets, LOJACK, and then there are systems than scan for, and home in, on various other local tracking devices that are similar in principle to LOJACK. Then, there may be a monitor for fixed radar devices that track moving vehicles. Please understand, I am NOT making excuses for distracted-driving police, just pointing out what is out there. (I do wear a badge, and patrol a big city at night.) While cycling, I very nearly got nailed by a patrol car myself not long ago, as one of my co-workers drifted across the center of the roadway. Luckily, he corrected just in time, before I could start an avoidance tactic, which probably would have been too late.

We have a saying at my PD, "Death by MDT," for those otherwise unexplainable one-patrol-car crashes, when a patrol car runs off the roadway and right into something.

Interesting, but par for the course in RI, eh?!? Gotta love those Newport cops who hide out in alleys after the bars close to write $200+ tickets for public urination! :rolleyes:

The sneaky ones ride bikes, we call them the pee-pee patrol.:thumb:

The sneaky ones ride bikes, we call them the pee-pee patrol.:thumb:

:lol: