Police need to rethink their role in bicycle crash reporting

In the later part of the year, I've seen or received two reports about bicycle crashes and the police reporting/response to them that are similarly troubling. The first was sent to me about a crash on the MVT in which Park Police responded. (Emphasis is mine)

I’ve ridden this trail daily for over 18 years except in the most inclement weather.

On August 5 (2017), I was riding on the trail near Vernon View when a teen hopped off the chin-up bar (an exercise station located approximately 10 feet off the trail) and back-up, arms raised in victory showing off to a watching couple that I assume were his parents.  He backed up – right into me.  Result:  he backed into me, throwing me off the cycle.  Injuries:  broken and separated shoulder, 4 broken ribs, 2 broken vertebrae, and two dislocated fingers.

Ambulance came and carted me off.  First stop – Mount Vernon Hospital ER;  once they diagnosed the extent of injuries, they sent me off to the second stop:  Fairfax Hospital Trauma Center.

It took me from August 5 till Nov 20 to get the National Park Police incident report.  The attending officer wrote no info on the report.  His report claims that he was at the scene from 1518 hours till 1605 hours.  During this time, he never interviewed me.

Well….when I finally got the report and I finally-finally got [the officer] on the phone, I asked him if he had any additional information on:  who hit me, and where my bike was (Specialized Crave Comp 29).

[The officer] told me that the Park Police does not take bikes, and that I should ask the ambulance service (I was in the ambulance with two attendants in the back….there is no room for a bike!) or the Fairfax County Fire Department (called them, and they said they do not take bikes).

How can the Park Police just let a ($1500) bike lay on the ground when the bicyclist is carted off via ambulance?

So, the police report didn't include the names of all the people involved in the crash, and when he was there he didn't take the time to make sure the cyclists bike was taken care of. I recently had a crash that required a hospital trip and the MPD were cool enough to wait with my bike for my wife to pick it up, but I was had the time and faculties to ask them to. What if I had been unconscious? Would they have just left my bike there? Do they normally leave the personal items (a purse for example) of traffic crash victims?

The other incident involves MPD. This is from a listserv

Hello neighbors- on Sunday Oct 1 around 12:30pm - I was riding my bike and struck by a car at 8th/Independence SE. If you witnessed this accident could you please shoot me an email at _______. The police report does not list the people they spoke to. Many thanks.

Again...how can they not write the names down? I did ask the BAC's MPD officer about this, and while he didn't know the specifics, he said that some witnesses don't want their name included. I suppose that's possible, but in those cases, I'd expect the report to note that such as "Witness 1 [Name refused]" or something. I don't think that is what happened here. 

 

Perhaps these are two isolated cases that just happened to occur within a few months of one another, but I'd be surprised if there weren't other similar stories out there. 

 

The police need to get the name of witnesses and other parties to a crash. They need to have a system for securing bikes that have to be left behind. Not doing so is adding insult to injury. It's denying people a chance to recover in court. It's making it harder for them to recover with their insurance companies. It strikes me - as a layman I'll admit - as sloppy work. 

Comments

[Zack Rules]

Park Police have a lot of internal issues, well beyond bicycle ignorance. They killed someone near Fort Hunt for no apparent reason. I saw another officer turn on his lights to make an illegal left from S Capitol to I St SW the other day and then turn them off, a clear abuse of authority.

[Rasputin]

I was hit by a woman intentionally (she was screaming abuse at me just prior to the collision). I was dragged about 500 feet on/under the side of her car. 3 other cyclists witnessed this and gave reports to the police.
The end result? No fault. They claim it was an 'accident' and that no individual was responsible. The damage to my bike was my responsibility, and I still have the scars from it. She drove off scot free.
MPD hates cyclists. I will never trust them to deal with these situations appropriately.

[Atlas Cesar]

@Rasputin- Too true. I had a motorist abandon his car, chase me on foot down into my work garage, attack me, and then leave. I had it all on camera. The responding officer saw the video and threatened to "march me out in handcuffs" if I wanted to file an official report, since I obviously must have done something to "start it". Absolute lunacy. Things will never change.

[Rasputin]

@Atlas
Jesus, that's terrible.
I've considered writing an open letter to Bowser regarding her commitment to Vision Zero. Rather, that fact that she appears to have completely abandoned the idea of enforcing the barest minimums of traffic safety in this town. Not just by way of cycling, but pedestrian safety and driver safety. The fact that you can do 55MPH with your lights off at night through a red light in a residential zone in front of a cop without worry (I've seen this multiple times in my neighborhood) is disgusting and encourages more bad behaviour.
For that along I think she should be replaced come next election.

[happy rider]

My experiences with cops have been dismal.

1) I was riding in the road in Arlington. Cop goes out of his way to stop, get out of his car, and yell at me to get on the bike path ("because it's required"). I politely disagree, and which point he starts to come unglued and makes it clear that if I don't do what he says immediately, he is going to pound the living snot out of me.

2) In Fairfax County, a deranged guy in a car started assaulting me, trying to run me down and hurling all kinds of verbal abuse my way. He also sped up to me, got out of his car, and tried to catch me. This was in my neighborhood, and I got the license plate. Once I got to a safe place, I called the local precinct and a cop came out. Instead of taking a report, the cop came up with all kinds of reasons why it was my fault (e.g., the cop saw a rogue cyclist last week blow through a stop sign, so we all must be bad).

We are on our own out there. Don't count on anybody to help us.

[DE]

It's easy to feel singled out, and I sometimes do, but the police are fairly powerless/useless in general in enforcing safe behavior by motorists. Motorists endanger not just cyclists, but also pedestrians and other drivers (while they are in protective cages, there are still 10,000+ motorist deaths per year). But yeah, it feels worse for cyclists because we are often blamed for others' bad behavior; blaming the victim will always get you worked up.

[Crickey]

The cops were out there yesterday ticketing drivers in the bike lane on River Road. I personally thanked them.

They were not out today. And the cars were right back at it.

[Smedley Burkhart]

I am not surprised by the anecdotes above, but here's one counter-example: Many years ago (that time my helmet came in handy), I was run off the road and physically attacked by four young guys in a car. Called Montgomery County police when I got home. An officer came, took a report, and we had a mutually respectful conversation. She ran the tags and located the owner in Cheverly. I was given the option of pressing charges, which she said was unlikely to lead to a conviction, since the owner probably wasn't in the vehicle at the time and it would be hard to ID the perps, it being dark. They also offered to call the owner and inform them of what happened and give them a warning, which is what I asked them to do. Maybe they didn't actually do it, but I felt better. I have found the MC cops to be friendly (to old white guys, anyway) and I have the feeling they are generally on the right side. Other jurisdictions may be much worse and that's one of many reasons I live a few blocks on the MD side of Western Ave.

[freewheel]

"What if I had been unconscious?"

This is disturbing. What if you have a handlebar or saddle bag? Would they leave that behind too? It could contain a wallet, cell phone, or even important medical information.

[BikeinVA]

As much as I hate to give up my solo rides, I'm beginning to think the best/safest way to travel by bike is with another cyclist. That doesn't always work out with my schedule, but I keep reminding myself to try because having/being a witness is better than what happened to folks above (and I am so sorry those things have happened). Plus, being more than one seems to decrease the possibility of these things happening (I'm guessing here, no actual stats).