David Strader
I was hoping Chief Whitehead could have been around that area yesterday when myself and the group was riding with made sure to stop at the stop sign on Glencoe. We then turned left onto West Union and proceeded to almost get run off the road 100m down the descent by some dude in a meth-mobile raging down the hill way over the speed limit, then veered towards blaring his horn and then flipped us one of those F16 flying eagle birds (thumb up--old school). That was fun getting the crap scared out of us.
I would think that sort of thing would be considered using the vehicle as a weapon?
Chris Bright wrote:
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) } I saw that Jonathan Maus wrote up an article on the BikePortland.org and Chief Whitehead posted a comment. I post this because it is pertinent to the recent discussion and I will let you weigh in on it?.
URL: http://bikeportland.org/2007/07/09/police-chief-cyclists-respond-to-north-plains-enforcement-concerns/
Here is his comment posted in its entirety below:
Chief Scott Whitehead
July 8th, 2007 07:09
47
I have been reading through the messages posted regarding bike enforcement in North Plains. It seems that several people have taken my comments out of context and turned it around to sound less caring. Our efforts to step up enforcement at stop signs has been focused towards everyone. I don't care if your operating a motor vehicle or a bicycle if you disobey a stop sign you will be cited. I tell this to each person I stop regardless of their mode of transportation. The point I'm trying to make to bike riders is that they are so much more vulnerable to injury and death because they are on a bike. I never justified my citations because of the death of Timothy O'Donnell. I justify my cites because if a motor vehicle and a bicycle disobey a stop sign at the same time there will most likely be a fatality. I will do everything possible to prevent that from happening. I will park at the intersection of Glencoe and West Union everyday and cite all motor vehicles and bikes if
that's what it takes to preserve a life. I know people don't like it and they think its all revenue generated enforcement and that's not true. There is nothing worse than responding to a crash with injuries or death. You think it's tough on you as a bike community? It's tough on us when we have to make a death notification and then second guess if we could have prevented such a tragic event. If I didn't care about the safety of people in North Plains I would not spend as much time enforcing traffic laws as I do. As much as it seems that people want us to stop what were doing it's not going to happen. I will go home everyday knowing that I did everything possible to make my community a safe place to ride and drive, and if I have to write tickets to make that happen I will. North Plains is my responsibilty and I have a duty to protect everyone and keep them safe. I will not change what I do and if I ever do then it's time for me to move on.
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Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha!
Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.