Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on July 28, 2009 at 8:05am

Hey Dottie, we'll officially respond tomorrow...want to confirm with some other Active Trans staffers that the info we provide is the best possible/correct.

Thanks!

Dottie said:

Hi Ethan,

That's a very helpful link. What do you suggest if the 311 operator who is supposed to take reports says that the reckless driver's activity (tailgating, honking continuously, yelling "stay off the fucking road," pushing past within inches and forcing the cyclist off the road - all at once) is "ignorance" and "there's no police report to file for ignorance?" Would asking to speak with a supervisor make a difference? This would be helpful to know in the future.

Thanks!

Active Transportation Alliance said:

You should call 911. Here are is the full scoop on what you should do:

http://www.activetrans.org/knowyourrights/faq

Ethan, with Active Trans

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Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on July 29, 2009 at 3:20am

Dottie,

I’ll try to answer your question while providing some additional background and information about reporting incidents.

The more people that appropriately report these incidents, the more chance bicyclists (and pedestrians too) have of increasing support from local enforcement.

At the time of an incident, it’s best to call 911 with as much information as possible (plate number, car make/model/color, description of driver, etc.).

Stay calm and use some of the following terms:

· Hit and run – what Josh describes, car hits/touches bicyclist or pedestrian

· Reckless driving or attempted assault with a vehicle – driving dangerously close, endangering bicyclist (the law says drivers should give bicyclists three-feet when passing)

·Verbal assault – yelling, swearing, etc.

Avoid the term "road rage," the Chicago Police Department and many others most likely will not file reports on road rage.

If you can't report the incident immediately, and you're in Chicago, call 311 to report incidents after the fact.

Use the same terms as above to help describe the incident. Remember that bike-safety issues are new to many officers, as the boom in street-cycling has been relatively recent. Some officers may not know how to handle your request, ask for a supervisor if the person you are talking to is not helpful.

Another good option after incident that you can't report is to go directly to the police district or municipal headquarters where the incident occurred. Talking to someone in person could help make sure your report gets filed. You should be able to get a report number for follow up.

Be sure to let the police or 311 know that you want to make sure a report is on file in case the same motorist injures or kills someone next week.


Ethan, with Active Trans


Dottie said:

Hi Ethan,

That's a very helpful link. What do you suggest if the 311 operator who is supposed to take reports says that the reckless driver's activity (tailgating, honking continuously, yelling "stay off the fucking road," pushing past within inches and forcing the cyclist off the road - all at once) is "ignorance" and "there's no police report to file for ignorance?" Would asking to speak with a supervisor make a difference? This would be helpful to know in the future.

Thanks!

Active Transportation Alliance said:

You should call 911. Here are is the full scoop on what you should do:

http://www.activetrans.org/knowyourrights/faq

Ethan, with Active Trans

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Permalink Reply by Davo on July 29, 2009 at 5:25am

Is it really necessary to call 911 if no one is hurt? I would imagine that they don't like fielding non emergency calls.

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Permalink Reply by heather s on July 29, 2009 at 5:41am

I would not personally call 911 for verbal assault, unless I felt very afraid for my safety, but the situation in question was a hit and run. Sometimes it's hard to know right away how hurt you are.


Davo said:

Is it really necessary to call 911 if no one is hurt? I would imagine that they don't like fielding non emergency calls.

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Permalink Reply by vxla on July 29, 2009 at 6:52am

h3 said:

vxla said:

Have them transfer you to 911 and make an official 911 complaint. You may have to go to the nearest police station to complete the process, but it is well worth it.

An official 911 comlplaint? What does that mean? The only 911 complaint I know of is when you ask to speak to a 911 supervisor to complain about a 911 operator.

A complaint about someone can be taken by a 911 operator. Let's give an example:

"Hi, someone just shot someone outside my door. Please send the police.."

I do believe you could consider that a complaint....but if you're arguing semantics, this explanation probably didn't work.

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Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on July 29, 2009 at 11:19am

You should call 911 if a driver endangers your life (too close, too fast or tries to hit you on purpose), even if no one is hurt. That is "attempted assault with a vehicle" or "reckless driving."

For Heather: you are correct not to call 911 for "verbal assault" but it's a term/definition that can help if it happens and you have called 911 for "attempted assault with a vehicle" or "reckless driving."

Personally, I've made 911 calls like this and officers have responded and filled out reports.

Ethan, with Active Trans

Davo said:

Is it really necessary to call 911 if no one is hurt? I would imagine that they don't like fielding non emergency calls.

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Permalink Reply by Jody on July 29, 2009 at 1:20pm

When it's a cab driver, I pull out my cell phone and call the cab company immedeately and report the car number!!! It's very cool if you can catch them at a red light or in traffic so that they can see you do it!!

burden said:

Julie Hochstadter said:

You can report a reckless bus driver I know. What about cabbies?

'The city's Department of Consumer Services oversees taxi licensing. They handle complaints about cabs, and have the power to fine drivers, or suspend or revoke their licenses.

Call 311 to file a preliminary complaint.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on July 29, 2009 at 1:29pm

Back when we had a plague of parking in the bike lanes on Blue Island Ave I was calling 311 almost daily. The operator would always connect me to 911. I always had to start with "this is not an emergency". In effect it was hugely discouraging - I felt like I was being forced to abuse the 911 system.

Active Transportation Alliance said:

You should call 911 if a driver endangers your life (too close, too fast or tries to hit you on purpose), even if no one is hurt. That is "attempted assault with a vehicle" or "reckless driving."

For Heather: you are correct not to call 911 for "verbal assault" but it's a term/definition that can help if it happens and you have called 911 for "attempted assault with a vehicle" or "reckless driving."

Personally, I've made 911 calls like this and officers have responded and filled out reports.

Ethan, with Active Trans

Davo said:

Is it really necessary to call 911 if no one is hurt? I would imagine that they don't like fielding non emergency calls.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on July 29, 2009 at 4:58pm

Is it really necessary to call 911 if no one is hurt?

If you see an obviously drunk or impaired driver, wouldn't you WANT to call to try to prevent someone from getting hurt? If you encounter a reckless driver who is threatening you and/or other people, wouldn't you want to make that same call? You might not be hurt, but you don't know what that driver might do to someone else a mile or two down the road.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on July 30, 2009 at 1:42am

From the city's website:
"Our goal is to make Chicago as safe and prepared as any big city can be," Mayor Richard M. Daley.
In an emergency call 911, for non-emergencies and city services call 311
For more information on preparedness, or to sign up for Notify Chicago visit www.alertchicago.com

If one really needs to call 911 any time one needs to get someone dispatched*, then the city should change their messaging. They still call it an emergency number. A car parked in a bike lane may be a moral outrage and even illegal, but it hardly qualifies as an emergency.

h3 said:

This discussion is becoming kind of confusing for me. "Info line?"
There are a zillion legitimate uses of 311 and I use it constantly for about 1/2 a zillion. re: "abusing 911"-- if you want someone to respond and do something then you need to have someone dispatched, and that's what the 911 system is for. Unless you just wanted to have a nice record of all the bad bike lane parkers somewhere on a city server for anthropologists to discover and wonder at 1,000 years from now. Under no circumstances should you feel in any way apologetic for using the 911 system to get a police response to any illegal act. They have an expensive and sophisticated system for prioritizing calls, and the notion that a cop will not make it to a shooting in time because they had to go write a ticket for a car parked in a bike lane is a silly one. If anything, insisting on calling 311 repeatedly, knowing you'll be transferred to 911, is a misuse of resources, since you're tying up two different operators instead of one.

*I agree that this seems to be the case - I eventually started calling 911 to report the cars parked in the bike lane, but I never got past feeling wrong about it.

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Permalink Reply by Jasonk on August 5, 2009 at 4:17am

I had an incident this morning with a taxi. He didn't hit me or anything, but was reckless even though he clearly saw me as was just a d-bag. I tried going through the city's site with the taxi commision, but I don't know the cab company and I can't bypass that section without the info... Before I wait on hold with 311 is that information absolutely necessary for me to make a complaint or is the taxi number sufficient? Thanks!


burden said:

Julie Hochstadter said:

You can report a reckless bus driver I know. What about cabbies?

'The city's Department of Consumer Services oversees taxi licensing. They handle complaints about cabs, and have the power to fine drivers, or suspend or revoke their licenses.

Call 311 to file a preliminary complaint.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on August 5, 2009 at 10:06am

The taxi number should be sufficient as they are unique identifiers. I'd be grateful if you could follow-up here with an account of how your report was handled and what comes of it, if anything.

Jasonk said:

I had an incident this morning with a taxi. He didn't hit me or anything, but was reckless even though he clearly saw me as was just a d-bag. I tried going through the city's site with the taxi commision, but I don't know the cab company and I can't bypass that section without the info... Before I wait on hold with 311 is that information absolutely necessary for me to make a complaint or is the taxi number sufficient? Thanks!

• ▶ Reply

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