Beverly Hills: Where Bicyclists are Treated as Second-Class Citizens
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09. 7.07
Chances are that — unless you happen to live there — you've never heard of Beverly Hills' dubious reputation among bicycling enthusiasts. Yes, Beverly Hills, home to the swanky "Platinum Triangle" (cue elite, liberal stereotype), has earned the "distinction" of being ranked first in the state for the number of pedestrian deaths for a city its size. Just this past September, 3 pedestrians and a bicyclist were killed in a tragic hit and run incident that became known as "Bloody September."
Several weeks ago, a tussle between a driver (of an SUV, no less) and bicyclist — which had started when the former had tried to push the cyclist off the road while making a left turn — ended unceremoniously when a local police officer arrived to the scene and promptly declared the latter an "idiot." Long story short: the driver came off scot-free while the bicyclist ended up the recipient of a stern talking to and a ticket, to boot. Understandably, the bicyclist was slightly peeved by the officer's uncouth and biased treatment.
In a letter he drafted to the police, the bicyclist explained her side of the story and accused the officer of dereliction of duty in protecting her rights. Here are a few telling selections:
"... A police officer arrived a few minutes later and immediately yelled at me to go sit down on the curb with my bike without asking either of us what had happened. I started walking to the curb and told him that this woman had nearly killed me when she swerved into my lane. He then angrily yelled, "How stupid are you? What are you doing riding in the middle of the street with your bike blocking the road?" His response surprised me because bicycles have equal rights to the road according to CVC21202.Then he just started laughing at me and he then mockingly said, "Oh, now you're gonna cry?! Look at you, you're really going to start crying?! How old are you?!"
I said, "Well, I'm getting a little emotional because I feel like you won't even listen to my version of events and you just automatically took her side. You can't treat people like this. I'd like your name and badge number. "
He said, "You'll get it."
I then said, "She's the one who broke the law not me."
He then said very smugly, "You quote me the section of code that she violated and then I'll write her a ticket."
I said, "I can't remember the exact number of the vehicle code. But I know it's illegal to drive like she was back there and then to harass me with honking." He just ignored me.
He then went to write my ticket. He stopped after a few minutes and talked to the woman driver again and then on his way back by me he said, "You're really lucky she's such a nice woman. If she had wanted me to I would have arrested you for vandalism."
Words fail us. For the rest of her letter, be sure to check out the full entry on LAist.
Via ::LAist: Beverly Hills SUV Driver Attacks Bicyclist, Only Bicyclist Gets A Ticket (blog)
See also: ::Make Biking Cool, Hollywood, ::Recumbent Bicyclist Sets World Record, ::Cycle Commuting, Bike Buses and SUV accidents
Image courtesy of John Beagle via flickr
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Los Angeles in general is anti pedestrian and anti cyclist. In most cities, the walk signs will automatically turn on for people to cross. In West Hollywood where I work, the signs will stay red unless you push a button on the sign post. If the light has just turned green and you push the button, the walk sign won't change. You'll have to wait an entire light cycle. I've noticed that in some locations the countdown timers on the walk signs will give a false reading. After they reach zero, the traffic light can stay green for another minute in some locations. I'd love to ride my bike to work. I did when I lived in San Francisco but I would really fear for my life here.
I live in NY, and as much as I'd like to ride my bike every day, there's no chance I'm going to ride in the street next to psycho cabdrivers. Come on, Bloomberg, do that something!
god i love cops.
wow. I've ridden there before and had a hard time of it, but this blows my mind.
Beverly Hills has a real problem with bicycles from a functional standpoint: a bike lane on Santa Monica Blvd ends abruptly as soon as it hits BH, there is little to no shoulder space, and people are constantly driving much faster than the streets are designed for. On top of that, I don't think I've ever seen a single bike rack in Beverly Hills. This seems to me to forward the view of transportation as having socioeconomic overtones, and the city planners and even the police in Beverly Hills are there only for the rich.
Beverley Hills is also top in America for shady companies run out of rented mailboxes.
The BH Police Department must have an "officer sharing" program with the Grafton, Illinois PD.
I was assaulted by a vehicle in Grafton during a diabetes charity bike ride, and the Grafton Police Officer I flagged down to apprehend the offending vehicle told me I shouldn't be riding on the road.
Shouldn't be riding on the road.
On the marked course for the Tour de Cure.
With a few thousand other bikers.
Give me Venice or Silverlake any day.
...and don't forget the police brutality on display during the Critical Mass bicycle rides through Manhattan on the last Friday of every month. Just goes to show you that police are a$$holes no matter where you go...
Thank you treehugger for getting the word out on this incident!
For an update on our adventures in Beverly Hills and our experience with Road Rage Guy, go to www.laist.com/2007/09/07/beverly_hills_c_1.php
stupid pigs should be fried with their own tasers
I posted a forum comment about getting hit on my bike riding home through Beverly Hills back in May... hit and run.
http://forums.treehugger.com/viewtopic.php?t=971
I thought about calling the police, but now maybe I should be glad I didn't?
I feel bad for the bicyclist. If that happened to me, the cop would find out really quickly what 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 means to me.
According to this web site, there might be a positive resolution of this incident:
http://www.bicycle.net/2007/local-beverly-hills-news-story-all-is-good/