gschreckchat@comcast.net

Evan,

While I may not have liked his personal response to you, as long as the police treat bicyclists are cars equally, I really cannot see why we are getting worked up. Yes, the fine is high (same for cars), and yes, we may cause less damage by breaking the law (if you assume our getting hit becuase we took a risk does not cause some emotional damage to the driver who hits us), but really what we should be asking for is equal treatment. There is a good and bad side to it, and this is the bad side. Big deal. Just stop at the sign, as obeying the law really should not be based on the potential for harm. I am not necessarily perfect at stop signs, but if I get caught, I have to be prepared to accept the consequences, just as I will defy anyone who says I should not ride on the road. If he tickets cars for breaking the law, then accept the same if a cyclist breaks the law.

I really think all the whining that has taken place only makes us look ridiculous.

--

George Schreck
gschreckchat@comcast.net
(503) 502-0425

-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Evan MacKenzie"

Officer Whitehead:

I was hoping I might receive a response. I got one (attached below), and I thank you for it.

I have forwarded your response to Bikeportland.org, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA), and also to the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA). Your response says a lot about your view toward cyclists, and possibly also your capability to operate as an unbiased public servant.

My ?attitude and thinking? is that bicyclists should be treated fairly. Same roads, same rules, same rights. You run a stop sign, you get a ticket. But before you jump on me for being a hypocrite, consider this: bicyclists, with the exception of those who ride on the road wearing earphones, are in a much better position to judge the safety of an intersection before entering it than drivers. Bicyclists are not insulated from their surroundings by a safety cage of thousands of pounds of metal, plastic and glass, which happens to allow such distractions as cell phones, cigarettes, radios and rolled-up windows to even further remove them from their surroundings, and thus their awareness of others. Bicyclists can come to an intersection, look around, listen, and know that ?the coast is clear.? Does this mean that a cyclist should be able to cruise through an intersection without stopping, like many cars do? Of course not. Does this excuse those on bikes who ride in such a way, blo
wing t
hrough intersections with wild abandon? Of course not. I think that if you were to try riding a bicycle on the road, you would understand the great distinction between entering an intersection in a car and on a bike. You might realize that coming to a stop sign, slowing to 1-2 miles an hour, having a good look and listen around, and then proceeding through the intersection, is a lot easier (and in fact safer) on a bike than in a car. Without all those distractions that come from INSIDE a vehicle, it is much easier to concentrate on the potentially harmful ones on the outside. The other point I was trying to make, and one that was obviously lost on you, is the fact that a vehicle breaking the law has a much higher potential to cause harm than a person on a bicycle. I think the majority of police officers either don?t realize this fact, or simply don?t care. Unfortunately, many drivers do know this, and that is why most cyclists have taken such a negative attitude toward driver
s (Yes
, I include myself in this group). Many drivers look at a cyclist and somehow detach the person on a bicycle from their existence as a human being with the same rights as everyone else. You?ve probably never had glass bottles or nails thrown at you from the window of a moving car, or been called ?faggot? for being on a bicycle, sometimes without even wearing lycra! People don?t rev their motor, honk their horn, swerve toward you and yell things out the window at other cars because they know they might potentially damage their own vehicle, and because it?s not as fun or cool to threaten somebody in a car. If you doubt me, I invite you to go on a ride with me and see what it?s like. I?ll come all the way back from Baker City and ride with you. Heck, I?ll even lend you a bike and try to get some lycra for you to wear. I think that your experience as a police officer would benefit from some time ?behind bars,? as it were, so you might understand what it?s like to ride a bike, and
why s
ome riders become so anti-establishment?and why so many people choose not to ride at all. It doesn?t help that many police officers side with motorists when there is an accident, often ignoring the cyclist?s concerns, even when the driver was clearly at fault. Or in the apparent case of the City of North Plains, the entire Police Department viewing cyclists as ?the problem? rather than a very legitimate solution to a plethora of environmental and transportation problems facing the entire planet today. In spite of attitudes like this, I still prefer to ride my bike rather than drive a car.

I might also suggest that you brush up on your grammar before you call someone an idiot. ?Your? is an adjective which denotes ownership. ?You?re? is a contraction of ?you? and ?are.? To put the two words in context, one might say: ?Mr. Mayor, you?re an intelligent person, but your Chief of Police is an idiot.? I have a Master?s in Urban Planning and an Bachelor?s in Journalism. That doesn?t necessarily make me any smarter than anyone else, but I have at least been taught to think critically. I prefer to evaluate a situation based on information, not emotion. I also prefer to offer constructive criticism rather than unfounded personal bias or conjecture. Just because a person doesn?t agree with you does not make that person any less intelligent. In fact, opening a dialogue with people you don?t agree with is usually a pretty good way to learn something, and maybe even to solve a problem.

I do not believe the tone of your response was very professional, nor was it becoming an officer of the law, who is sworn to protect and to serve. If your response to a concern from the public is to call the complainant an idiot, I have to wonder how your department treats those whom you cite. I, too, am a public employee, and I know better than to imply to anyone, either in person, on the phone, or by email, that they are less intelligent or in any way not deserving my consideration. I would quickly hear from my superiors for doing so, and I would also diminish my personal and professional status. Your town is even smaller than mine, and I have a hard time believing an attitude like your could persist for long. Perhaps you should consider leaving your job and becoming a private security officer, where you could practice your one-sided view of the world with even less discretion.

In spite of all this, my offer to ride with you still stands. Although I might suggest that we meet somewhere outside your jurisdicition.

Regards,


Evan Mackenzie



Mr. MacKenzie,

I can see where your part of the problem and not the solution. It's people with your attitude and thinking that place bicyclists in danger by listening to your abstract views on things. I will continue writing citations to everyone who disobeys a traffic control device whether in a motor vehicle or on a bike. Maybe someday your bike friends will respect the traffic laws that they spend so much time complaining about.

After reading your email again, your a complete idiot!!


Scott Whitehead
Chief of Police
North Plains Police Department
Office: (503) 647.2604
Fax: (503) 647.2031



Sent: Friday, July 06, 2007 1:44 PM
Subject: Cops and bikes

I just heard that your Police Department has stepped up enforcement against bicyclists after the recent death of a cyclist.
I have to ask ? is this the best way to prevent reckless drivers from killing a cyclist? by punishing cyclists?

As one of the ticketed cyclists pointed out, it?s a little ironic that the three riders, who were each ticketed for rolling through a stop sign, received a combined penalty almost the same as the person who was driving without a license or insurance and KILLED someone.

As a former resident of Hillsboro who used to ride through North Plains a lot, I now have another reason to be happy I am no longer a resident of the area. The area around North Plains is a wonderful place to ride, but not if the local police practice a skewed ?Dukes of Hazard? observance of the law and general disregard for cyclists? safety. You may not realize it, but working with cyclists to make the North Plains area a better, safer place to ride can actually benefit your town. Instead, you have decided to give yourself a black eye.

What would you do if a local store owner was shot during a robbery? Ticket all the other store owners for not wearing bullet-proof vests?

For the record, I was once pulled over by a North Plains police officer for speeding on Hwy 26. I went to court and very politely informed the judge that I was not in their jurisdiction when I was ticketed. In fact I believe it was very near the new bridge at Jackson School Road, a couple miles outside town. The ticket was thrown out. I wonder how many other people simply paid the fine? Have all those people been refunded their fines, and their records stricken of the improper citation?

I hope the affected riders go to court to contest the citations. I hope they are able to bring along support.

I hope you are pursuing problem motorists in 5,000 pound SUVs who smoke and talk on the phone while driving just as diligently as you are pursuing 150-pound cyclists on 16-pound bikes. About the only way a bicyclist would really be a threat to a driver is if the rider is being thrown through the air at 50mph after being hit by an errant truck, and happens to hit another car.


Evan MacKenzie
Baker City, OR