I was hit and tossed off the road by a snow plow a few years ago while
commuting on my bike. Since I landed in snow, I didn't suffer and
serious injuries, but my rear wheel was destroyed and my rear stays
were mangled. The snow plow just kept driving. After a fun several
mile jog into work while shouldering my bike, I called the police and
city road plowing service.

Since I was uninjured, I got the impression from both agencies that
they were typing the report up on a "invisible typewriter." They
could have cared less that a cyclist was hit, as long as the cyclist
wasn't hurt and couldn't sue. Never-mind that I was out a couple
hundred dollars in equipment.

The point is; is that non-cyclists don't care and have no sympathy for
the danger vehicles pose to your life. And you will always be seen as
that "nut-job on a bicycle", regardless of how wide the bike lane is,
or how much gas costs. Vehicles are deadly weapons to a cyclist, but
most drivers do not understand this. The jackass that honks you off
the road, or brushes you with his side mirror doesn't seem to concept
how close he just came to murdering you with his truck, and he never
will. But that is who you share the road with, remember that every
time you go riding.


--- In renowheelmen@yahoogroups.com, Matt Mansur <mmansur@...> wrote:
>
> I work downtown and I regularly see bike riders commuting on bikes
with no
> brakes, riding the wrong way down one-way streets, running red
lights and
> not wearing a helmet. Given that the Police station is also downtown I
> wonder what the police think when they see the disregard for traffic
laws
> that many Reno cyclists have.
> Matt Mansur
>
> On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:05:43 -0800, Jeremy Warren <jeremy@...>
> wrote:
> > After reading all these emails about the Reno, NHP, Washoe County
police
> > departments not taking these crimes / incidents seriously, maybe we
> should
> > do something about it. We could start by forwarding the emails to them
> and
> > see what they have to say and then petition to have the laws changed.
> > It¹s
> > probably impossible, but you never know.
> >
> >
> > On 12/6/07 2:02 PM, "Andrew Valestrino" <drewdogvalestrino@...>
> > wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Maybe Nevada is a little less strict on hit and runs, but I know in
> > California
> >> a hit and run with bodily injury is considered a felony and that
is how
> > it
> >> should be here.
> >>
> >>>
> >>> To: pilotstud64@...
> >>> CC: nevadacycling@yahoogroups.com; renowheelmen@yahoogroups.com
> >>> From: wstill@...
> >>> Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 10:19:31 -0800
> >>> Subject: Re: [nevadacycling] Car vs. Cyclist: Bias
> >>>
> >>> My friend was struck riding down 7th street a few years back in
a hit
> > and
> >>> run. He managed to get the license plate number and phoned the
police.
> > When
> >>> an officer finally arrived at our house, he inspected the destroyed
> > bike and
> >>> saw the cuts and bruises my friend sustained and took my friend
over to
> > the
> >>> address of the driver. You would think that a hit and run would be
> >>> considered a dramatic infringement upon the law, but the officer
told
> > the
> >>> driver to simply "pay more attention" and that was that. No
> > repercussions of
> >>> any kind for the driver and, yet, my friend could have been
killed and
> > was
> >>> out a wheelset for his road bike. I would say that the officer
failed
> >>> miserably in his duty to "protect and serve," but this is not
the only
> > case
> >>> of police incompetence. It seems, unless a gun is involved,
policemen
> > just
> >>> don't give a crap. My father was a firefighter for years and
had many
> >>> contacts in the police department back home and said that officers
> > really
> >>> don't care about these kinds of incidents. They have to fill out so
> > much
> >>> paperwork that they simply don't bother reporting many of these
smaller
> >>> crimes. I have grown up knowing that if you ever need a police
officer
> > ASAP,
> >>> simply tell the dispatcher "I think he has a gun" and you will
have a
> > dozen
> >>> cops there in a few minutes. Otherwise, good luck! Don't know
how to
> > change
> >>> the mentality of drivers and law enforcement officials in this
town.
> > My
> >>> experience has been such that Reno is one of the worst bike
commuting
> > towns I
> >>> have ever been in. Few bike lanes, fewer routes away from
vehicles and
> >>> drivers who range from incompetent to malicious. That's my two
cents
> > worth.
> >>> William Still
> >>>
> >>> On Dec 6, 2007 9:35 AM, Darren Seltzer <pilotstud64@...> wrote:
> >>>> Hello All.
> >>>> This email is merely a rant, there is no 'timely'/critical
> > information, so
> >>>> you can delete now, or read on if you would like to know more.
> >>>>
> >>>> I was watching the morning news (rare that I am up that early)
and saw
> > a
> >>>> clip on an elderly lady who hit a cyclist yesterday. The footage
> > showed the
> >>>> horrifically cracked windshield of the red, 2 door, late model
> > Cadillac
> >>>> (shocking huh?). The cyclist was said to have a few major
injuries,
> > and
> >>>> that he was wearing a helmet. The only other information I know is
> > the lady
> >>>> was cited for a "failure to yield" violation.
> >>>>
> >>>> If you are still reading...I had read on velonews of a forum (link
> > below) by
> >>>> an attorney, who thought there is a huge bias against cyclists
in both
> > the
> >>>> driving/police enforcement communities. Mr. Mionske quotes many
> > incidents
> >>>> (including one in Incline not too long ago) where many cyclists
have
> > been
> >>>> hit/and or killed, and then to find the driver rarely cited,
even when
> > the
> >>>> situation dictates pure driver error. You can read the link below:
> >>>>
> >>>> http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/13637.0.html
> >>>> <http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/13637.0.html>
> >>>>
> >>>> Finally to my question: For the Reno cycling community, has anyone
> >>>> personally felt/seen a bias against cyclists? I would also like to
> > ask
> >>>> anyone with any legal background, how/why do these motorists only
> > receive a
> >>>> slap on the wrist for injuring or even worse, killing a cyclist?
> >>>>
> >>>> Thank you if you have read this far. I believe we all know as
> > cyclists
> >>>> there are inherent risks in our sport, but there should be greater
> >>>> consequences for motorists who injure/kill cyclists, just as a
> > motorist to
> >>>> motorist fatality (vehicular manslaughter). I apologize if I
seem a
> > bit
> >>>> heated, it's just that these incidents arise quite frequently, more
> > than
> >>>> they should. Thanks again everyone!
> >>>>
> >>>> PS-if anyone has any information on the cyclist I heard of this
> > morning,
> >>>> please let me know.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo!
> > Search.
> >>>>
> >
>
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51734/*http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/c
> >>>> ategory.php?category=shopping>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> Connect and share in new ways with Windows Live. Connect now!
> >>
> >
>
<http://www.windowslive.com/connect.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_Wave2_newways_112007>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> > Jeremy Warren
> >
> > Professional Student
> > Nevada Cycling Website Coordinator
> > www.nevadacycling.com
> > jeremy@...
> > 775.750.8028
> --
> _____________________________________________________________
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>