Todd.Dye@CH2M.com

Chris,

Sorry to hear about the incident. I've had luck (in Corvallis at least)
with the non-emergency police number. I had an incident a few years
ago when some @#$@#% in a low-rider car thought it was cool to play
chicken with me.on my bike on a residential street and ran me all the
way to the curb on my side of the street. Of course the genius did it
one block from his own driveway, and I live on the same street, so I
gave the police a full description of the car, driver, license plate,
and home address.

The officer I spoke to took my report and stopped by the guy's house to
have a chat and ask what his malfunction was, then called me back to
follow up. While it didn't lead to anything more than a chat, I never
had trouble with that guy again, and if nothing else I would imagine
that there is a paper trail on the incident with the police. I think
the majority of people who pull this crap are your typical coward bully
type who will probably think twice about doing it again after a visit
from the Police. Then there is the persistent type who have an
anti-cyclist agenda (the red pickup truck guy in Salem comes to mind)
who may not be intimidated by the police, where every chance to document
their actions with a complaint will help the police establish a
consistent pattern of behavior to eventually nail them with.

It looks like you have enough info down to talk to the police, though
you should add a description of the driver if you have it. Hopefully
they will be proactive about it as the officer I dealt with in
Corvallis.

While the convenience of an on-line reporting tool would be nice, I
would prefer to talk to a human being who will (hopefully) take some
action, rather than not knowing whether the complaint got dumped into
some email in box that never gets checked.

The officer I spoke to in Corvallis, did ask whether I knew the
perpetrator or not as well as a few other questions (which I can't
remember), and I'm sure he was trying to determine whether I was
something with an axe to grind against the guy for some other reason
than a traffic incident. To that end, I think it pays to be polite and
calm when talking to the police.

That's my $0.02.

________________________________

From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Chris Brandt
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 12:54 PM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Reporting Bad Drivers: Eugene.

I am curious what the current "best" process is to report an
aggressive/dangerous motorist, when you have their description and
license plate?

Is there an online place to submit a report, to make it a public record?
A forum? Must a police report be filed? There was NO physical injury as
a result of this altercation.

I recall something in the past about a formal citizen complaint,
possibly involving a lawyer's assistance, or an easy to do formula.

Driver:
Oregon Plate 960 DTK, Green pickup (GMC/Chevy) king cab, mid-90's?,
white dog in back

Location:
Dillard Rd., eastbound, Wed. July 2nd, approx. 7:30 pm.

Anyone else had an altercation with this motorist before? Thanks for
your help.

Chris Brandt
Eugene, OR

Steve Brown

Chris,

There might not be much you can do with regard to this specific
incident. But in the large scheme you can. Contact your state
legislators voicing support for better cycling related laws in the
next session. Contact the BTA in Portland. They have been behind a
state wide program to link cycling safety issues for the entire
state, not just the Portland Metro area. Contact your city and
county elected officials requesting better laws regarding traffic
safety. Let them know you and your friends contribute to campaigns
and vote. You can also start a "dangerous vehicle web site" for
Eugene. While it does pose some interesting legal questions, with
the right disclaimers it might be valuable tool. Bad drivers will
always be on the road, but we can do a lot to make the greater
driving public aware that we are traffic.

Steve Brown
On Jul 3, 2008, at 12:54 PM, Chris Brandt wrote:

> I am curious what the current "best" process is to report an
> aggressive/dangerous motorist, when you have their description and
> license plate?
>
> Is there an online place to submit a report, to make it a public
> record? A forum? Must a police report be filed? There was NO
> physical injury as a result of this altercation.
>
> I recall something in the past about a formal citizen complaint,
> possibly involving a lawyer's assistance, or an easy to do formula.
>
> Driver:
> Oregon Plate 960 DTK, Green pickup (GMC/Chevy) king cab, mid-90's?,
> white dog in back
>
> Location:
> Dillard Rd., eastbound, Wed. July 2nd, approx. 7:30 pm.
>
> Anyone else had an altercation with this motorist before? Thanks
> for your help.
>
> Chris Brandt
> Eugene, OR
> _______________________________________________
> OBRA mailing list
> obra@list.obra.org
> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
> Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org

Chris Brandt

I am curious what the current "best" process is to report an
aggressive/dangerous motorist, when you have their description and license
plate?

Is there an online place to submit a report, to make it a public record? A
forum? Must a police report be filed? There was NO physical injury as a
result of this altercation.

I recall something in the past about a formal citizen complaint, possibly
involving a lawyer's assistance, or an easy to do formula.

Driver:
Oregon Plate 960 DTK, Green pickup (GMC/Chevy) king cab, mid-90's?, white
dog in back

Location:
Dillard Rd., eastbound, Wed. July 2nd, approx. 7:30 pm.

Anyone else had an altercation with this motorist before? Thanks for your
help.

Chris Brandt
Eugene, OR