Meeting with Traffic Division police

Dangerous pass on Vale Rd from video clip

Yesterday I met with Lt. Grinnan of Fairfax County Police Department Traffic Division. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss cyclist harassment. At FABB we hear of many instances of harassment of cyclists by motorists. It's likely that anyone who regularly rides in Fairfax encounters dangerous and aggressive motorist behavior.

I started the meeting by discussing FABB, our goals and projects. I explained that we represent cyclists who use bicycles for transportation and that many people rely on bicycles as their primary way to get around. Without a connected, safe bicycle network, we often must ride on congested commuter routes. I said that all too often we are harassed by motorists for no other reason than that we're riding a bicycle.

As a way of getting my point across I noted that on my ride to his office, on Woodburn Rd for a short stretch from the Cross County Trail, I was passed illegally by 4 motorists, one of whom honked, another two that drove completely into the oncoming lane of traffic, across a double yellow line. In one case approaching motorists had to nearly stop to avoid hitting one of the passing vehicles.

One reason for the meeting was to discuss two recent reports of harassment, one on Vale Road in the Vienna area where motorists often illegally pass on a hilly section and they often pass closer than 2 feet.  We later sent two short video clips showing examples of this behavior.

The other instance involves a mother riding her daughter to school, with the daughter in a trailer behind the bike. A motorist on more than one occasion approached the mother, rolled down her window, and screamed about how dangerous it is to ride in traffic.

Lt. Grinnan was very sympathetic. He agreed that motorists should be ticketed for their illegal behavior. He also confirmed that unless a policeman witnesses behavior that is a misdemeanor, a ticket cannot be issued by police to the motorist. However, a magistrate-issued summons can be issued to the motorist by an officer.

He explained in detail what cyclists need to do to report aggressive motorist behavior. We can file a report for the record that does not lead to any charges against the motorist but the report is kept on file. The other option is to file a complaint with the magistrate's office and ask that a citation be issued. The following are steps that should be taken if you are harassed by a motorist:

How to report an aggressive driver

1. To file a report and not file charges:
1. Call the non-emergency number (703-691-2131) and request to speak to someone in the Citizen Reporting Section. Have the license plate number, description of the vehicle and driver, time of day, location.
2. A case number will be generated. The information is entered into the Integrated Law Enforcement Automated Field Reporting Dispatch System (ILEADS) but the motorist is not notified.
2. To file a report and file charges against an aggressive driver:
1. Call the non-emergency number and ask to file a police report. Have the license plate number, description of the vehicle and driver, time of day, location. If the information agrees with information on file, the driver is identified. Ask for the case number, name, address, and date of birth of the driver. This information is needed when contacting the Magistrate's office.
2. Contact the Magistrate's office (in person). Ask to file a complaint against the motorist identified above. Provide the case number and personal information. A magistrate-issued summons could then be issued to the motorist by an officer. If the motorist contests the ticket, a court date will be set. Since the incident was not witnessed by an officer, he/she will not be present in court. When the case is heard, the motorist and complainant will have an opportunity to testify.

We plan to test this system and will record responses received during each phase. In the past we have been discouraged from filing a report since "there is nothing we can do." We know there are some measures that can be taken but they require work on our part. We think it's worth the effort.

Cyclists can also ask for increased enforcement on roads where cyclists are harassed. We have done so for a section of Vail Road. Contact the District station where the road is located. Provide specific information about time and place of incidents. Update: Here's the video clip of the close pass.

Fairfax Police bike safety video

The latest bike safety video from Fairfax County police is entitled Bike Safety Equipment and Traffic Rules. The 2 1/2 minute video covers basic equipment used for safe bicycling. Helmet fit is stressed, taking up over a minute of the video. The helmet worn by the officer seems a bit loose to me.

Rather than spend so much time on helmets and helmet fit I would prefer they stressed the importance of proper bike handling skills to avoid crashes in the first place. Under the 5 layers of bicycle safety, use of a helmet is listed last (Passive safety): "This is actually the least effective layer. Helmets and gloves protect your most vulnerable body parts as a last resort in case of the very rare failure of Layers 1 through 4, but they do nothing to help you avoid crashes."

The basics of the ABC Quick Check are briefly discussed. Following the rules of the road is the last segment. According to the officer, "If you're on a bicycle on the street you're a motor vehicle" which is incorrect. The definition of a bicycle in Virginia code states that "a bicycle shall be a vehicle while operated on the highway" not a motor vehicle. I know, picky, picky.

2011 bike crash data finalized

Fairfax County Police released the final stats on bike crashes in the county in 2011. The good news is that there were no bicycle fatalities last year. You may recall there were four in 2010. There were 84 crashes reported to the police, down 2 from last year. There were probably three times that many crashes that went unreported.

Citations were issued in 30 of the crashes. Of those citations, motorists received 73%. That's the way we would characterize the crash data. Police had a different take:

In 51% of the crashes, the bicyclist was held at fault.

and

Fairfax County had an estimated 10,612 total crashes in 2011. Crashes involving bicycles in this same period represent less than 1% of this total. [emphasis by police].

I guess we're supposed to feel good about this small percentage. The statistics can be found on the county 2011 Bike Crash page. Try to ignore the photo of the goofy looking bike and the very poorly produced safety video on the page.

Fairfax Co bicycle crashes - January-June 2011

Bike crash at North Shore Dr

Fairfax Co police recently released statistics on bike crashes this year to date. In the first half of this year there were 46 reported crashes, compared to 32 in the same period last year. The increase could be because there are more cyclists. Unfortunately statistics on bike use are minimal. From our experience riding in the county we believe there are many more people on bikes this year. There were a total of 86 bike crashes reported in 2010

In only 13 of the 46 crashes in 2011 was the driver determined to be at fault (28%). Cyclists were said to be at fault in nearly 60% of the crashes. In only 4 of the 27 crashes in which the cyclist was at fault were charges filed.

From some reason the report released by police contained this section: "Fairfax County had an estimated 2,176 reportable crashes in the first quarter of 2011.Crashes involving bicycles in this same period represent less than 1% of this total." We're not sure why "represents less than 1% of this total" is highlighted. For one thing, many bike/car crashes go under reported because they involve less than $1,000 in damage or there were no serious injuries. I would guess that a much higher percentage of auto crashes are reported than bike crashes.

The page on which the crashes were reported also contains the poorly produced safety video we critiqued earlier.

See the TBD article Fairfax County reports more bike crashes in 2011 than this time last year

Video: Bike Safety in Fairfax County

This week Fairfax County announced the release a bike safety video on their newswire feed (Video: Bike Safety in Fairfax County (July 5, 2011)). It's not a very instructive video; in fact some of it doesn't make any sense. We wish they had taken more time to edit the video and provide some detailed info on bike safety.

The video consists of a discussion by Officer Rex Pagerie, Fairfax Co Police Department with some background video of girls checking over and riding their bikes. See our commentary below the video:



While officer Pagerie provides some good info, parts of it don't make any sense. As he discusses various tips, the video shows unrelated random shots of girls looking over her bike. A shot of brakes being applied shows tires that are badly cracked. He should have discussed the ABC quick check and how to do it.

This is what officer Pagerie says about bike fit: "To get the proper seat height the balls of your feet should be touching. Once you're there you should be in good shape."

He goes on to say "We'll make sure your reflectors are on your bike. State code requires that, that you're visible from 500 feet in front from dawn to dusk, and if you're riding on roadway that's 35 mph or over you have to have a red light on the back of your bike." He neglected to say that you're always required to have a front headlight if riding after dark.

"We know 80% of accidents are head injuries related to bike accidents." Not sure what this means.

"Riders are required to ride on the far side of the roadway." There's no mention of Virginia law that includes all the exceptions to riding "as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway."

Then there's this statement that makes no sense: "They can ride two riders abreast but if a vehicle comes up to overtake them they have to go single file. There's no restrictions on the speed. It would be impossible to keep up with a 35 mile per hour car or faster."

"Riders have to ride with traffic" showing two girls riding on the sidewalk.

"A lot of times you'll see younger riders or kids riding against traffic. Some parents may think that that's an appropriate way to ride so they can see the car coming; it's actually against the code. We prefer that you would ride with traffic and wear something reflective if you're going to ride at night or in the evening hours." Instead of saying that it's against the code he could have explained the many reasons it's dangerous to ride against traffic: Motorists aren't expecting oncoming traffic in their lane, they have less time to react, and the effects of an impact are much greater when both vehicles are riding in opposite directions vs. the same direction.

We think it's time to go back to the editing room and do the film right.