Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on January 18, 2011 at 4:37am

Here is the link to the post on this at my blog www.ILBicycleLaw.com.

 

The difficulty you will have is getting the police and/or the state's attorney's office to do anything about this as a criminal matter. What I recommend that you do is call your local police station (not 311, call your local "cop shop") and ask to fill out a report. Cite the exact statute for the police officer (i.e. do their job for them) and maybe they will act on it. Good luck. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on January 18, 2011 at 4:40am

Here's the statue as amended this year. The underlined portions are what was added. Feel free to email with any questions.   Mike Keating Twitter: @ILBicycleLaw   AN ACT concerning transportation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing

Section 11-703 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/11-703)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-703)

Sec. 11-703. Overtaking a vehicle on the left. The

following rules govern the overtaking and passing of vehicles

proceeding in the same direction, subject to those limitations,

exceptions, and special rules otherwise stated in this Chapter:

(a) The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle

proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left

thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the

right side of the roadway until safely clear of the

overtaken vehicle. In no event shall such movement be made

by driving off the pavement or the main traveled portion of

the roadway.

(b) Except when overtaking and passing on the right is

permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall give

way to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle on

audible signal and shall not increase the speed of his

vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle.

(c) The driver of a 2 wheeled vehicle may not, in

passing upon the left of any vehicle proceeding in the same

direction, pass upon the right of any vehicle proceeding in

the same direction unless there is an unobstructed lane of

traffic available to permit such passing maneuver safely.

(d) The operator of a motor vehicle overtaking a

bicycle or individual proceeding in the same direction on a

highway shall leave a safe distance, but not less than 3

feet, when passing the bicycle or individual and shall

maintain that distance until safely past the overtaken

bicycle or individual.

(e) A person driving a motor vehicle shall not, in a

reckless manner, drive the motor vehicle unnecessarily

close to, toward, or near a bicyclist, pedestrian, or a

person riding a horse or driving an animal drawn vehicle.

(f) Every person convicted of paragraph (e) of this

Section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor if the

violation does not result in great bodily harm or permanent

disability or disfigurement to another. If the violation

results in great bodily harm or permanent disability or

disfigurement to another, the person shall be guilty of a

Class 3 felony.

(Source: P.A. 95-231, eff. 1-1-08.)

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Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on January 18, 2011 at 5:37am

It all depends. A lot of it has to do with the judgment call of the cop taking the call. That's why, whenever dealing with the police and reporting an incident or a collision ALWAYS do the following:

 

1. Provide as much detail as possible such as license plate number, color of car, make/model, etc. This gives your story credibility.
2. Let the police know specifically what is that driver did that is a violation of the law. That's why I recommended citing the EXACT statute for the police. If they make a police report they would include this info. Like any of us, if someone makes a job easier for us we are more likely to follow through on it.
3. Be persistent. Don't let the police talk you out of it. Tell them you want a police report filed. If you really want to follow up on it you can call 311 or give your Alderman's office a call.

Remember, these new laws were put into place to PROTECT bicyclists from motor vehicles. Period. You are entitled to the protection of these laws. Don't let anyone ever let you think otherwise. Believe it or not Illinois has been pretty progressive on these issues. As our community grows we know have the full force and weight of these laws on our side. Let's us 'em to our advantage.

 

H3N3 said:

Great stuff, mike, thanks.

Do you know what the police would typically do with that report once filled out?

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Permalink Reply by Mark on January 18, 2011 at 8:09am

Realistically, the only time this law is enforced is against the driver AFTER a collision with a cyclist.  Or perhaps if an officer actually witnessed the action.  Otherwise, it is your word against the driver's.

 

Don't try and teach these crazy drivers a lesson.  I had a similar driver going north on Clark that would pull into the right lane at every red light.  Be careful out there!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on January 18, 2011 at 8:17am

All you can do, as a practical matter, is be persistent with the police.

 

As a civil matter, your could file a lawsuit for assault. But if you were not injured I would not counsel someone to do that b/c of the time/expense involved. But there would be legal grounds for a civil case and if a person felt strongly enough about it, they could pursue it.

 

H3N3 said:

Thanks, Mike.

So, you fill out a report. You receive a copy in the mail eventually. If you do it in person you can take a copy home with you.  What else would/could  result from having filled out that report in this particular situation? Per my limited understanding (from trying to get action in response to witnessed bike thefts)  the report gets assigned to a detective who adds it to their stack of reports to review and either take some action on, or put in a 'dead' pile.  Typically, once one finds out which detective has been assigned, one calls and tries to speak to that detective (I believe the detective is supposed to contact the 'victim' but that often doesn't happen.). What could that detective do in this particular situation?

Appreciate any additional insight, or corrections about anything that may be wrong about what I've described.

 

Mike Keating said:

It all depends. A lot of it has to do with the judgment call of the cop taking the call. That's why, whenever dealing with the police and reporting an incident or a collision ALWAYS do the following:

 

1. Provide as much detail as possible such as license plate number, color of car, make/model, etc. This gives your story credibility.
2. Let the police know specifically what is that driver did that is a violation of the law. That's why I recommended citing the EXACT statute for the police. If they make a police report they would include this info. Like any of us, if someone makes a job easier for us we are more likely to follow through on it.
3. Be persistent. Don't let the police talk you out of it. Tell them you want a police report filed. If you really want to follow up on it you can call 311 or give your Alderman's office a call.

Remember, these new laws were put into place to PROTECT bicyclists from motor vehicles. Period. You are entitled to the protection of these laws. Don't let anyone ever let you think otherwise. Believe it or not Illinois has been pretty progressive on these issues. As our community grows we know have the full force and weight of these laws on our side. Let's us 'em to our advantage.

 

H3N3 said:

Great stuff, mike, thanks.

Do you know what the police would typically do with that report once filled out?

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Permalink Reply by Kelly on January 18, 2011 at 8:27am

Thank you Mike! I was actually searching your site right before I posted on Chainlink. I saw the new addition but was confused as far as action I could take. So I'm going to file a report because letting one idiot "off the hook" allows lots of other drivers be reckless.

 

Thanks for the patch and sticker by the way. I proudly wear it on my messager bag!

Mike Keating said:

It all depends. A lot of it has to do with the judgment call of the cop taking the call. That's why, whenever dealing with the police and reporting an incident or a collision ALWAYS do the following:

 

1. Provide as much detail as possible such as license plate number, color of car, make/model, etc. This gives your story credibility.
2. Let the police know specifically what is that driver did that is a violation of the law. That's why I recommended citing the EXACT statute for the police. If they make a police report they would include this info. Like any of us, if someone makes a job easier for us we are more likely to follow through on it.
3. Be persistent. Don't let the police talk you out of it. Tell them you want a police report filed. If you really want to follow up on it you can call 311 or give your Alderman's office a call.

Remember, these new laws were put into place to PROTECT bicyclists from motor vehicles. Period. You are entitled to the protection of these laws. Don't let anyone ever let you think otherwise. Believe it or not Illinois has been pretty progressive on these issues. As our community grows we know have the full force and weight of these laws on our side. Let's us 'em to our advantage.

 

H3N3 said:

Great stuff, mike, thanks.

Do you know what the police would typically do with that report once filled out?

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Permalink Reply by Davo on January 18, 2011 at 9:25am

I would think that filing a report would (at the very least) provide a record of this driver being a jerkwad. Then in the probable future when this guy hits someone, he would have a history of bad driving to work against him. I don't know if thats really the case but I'd like to think that it would work that way.

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Permalink Reply by S on January 18, 2011 at 11:26am

Prior reports have helped before.  The doctor in california that cut off a cyclist and caused him to crash into his car's rear window that prior reports and I believe that the judge gave the driver a harsher sentence due to this.

Davo said:

I would think that filing a report would (at the very least) provide a record of this driver being a jerkwad. Then in the probable future when this guy hits someone, he would have a history of bad driving to work against him. I don't know if thats really the case but I'd like to think that it would work that way.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on January 19, 2011 at 4:21am

Exactly.

 

Without witnesses it becomes a "he said/she said" situation where nothing can be done about it without there having been actual bodily harm or property damage coming to the "victim."  Without a sworn officer of the law witnessing it then it is merely a complaint by a random citizen.  Having such a complain show up on a person's driving record would be punitive and without any due process or even the word of a sworn law officer.  Even a ticket issued by a sworn officer isn't official until it is either payed and the offender waiving his right to a trial or the parties go in front of an actual judge in traffic court.

 

Unfortunately this is just the way it is -but would you rather have just anyone able to claim you did something wrong and you having zero chance of facing your accuser or even knowing about the infraction?  I could claim just about anything.  If I didn't like Joe Smith I could just claim he tried to run me off the road on the way to work and it ends up on his record?  Doesn't sound very fair to me.  There are too many wackados out there with axes to grind...

 

H3N3 said:

In this case there are no witnesses. Had Kelly called 911 about it at the time a cop would probably have told her "nothing we can do, it's just your word against the driver's." If the police would take a report, It's doubtful a detective would ever even run the plate-- the report will likely end up in a pile and eventually just go to storage. Nothing would end up on that person's record.

It would take considerable follow-through from Kelly to have any other outcome.

I would absolutely love to see some consequence for this driver, but giving Kelly advice that involves an investment of her time and has little potential for any consequence is not being helpful to her, despite what I'm sure are good intentions.
I would be happy to be proven wrong-- if Kelly is willing to pursue this as sort of an "experiment" we could all come away with a better understanding of what the options are in a motorist harrassment situation.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on January 19, 2011 at 2:45pm

Yeah or let the air out of one of his tires. As big as Chicago is people are locals, someone has to know his whereabouts.

Adam "Cezar" Jenkins said:

My gut feeling is feel free to call him in at the time and claim he's driving around like a drunk. He was swerving right in front of you.

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