Officer hits cyclists. Admits he was looking at his phone.

[Makuman]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/fox2now.com/2018/07/30/police-officer-hits-stopped-bicyclist-head-on-admits-he-was-on-his-phone-in-video/amp/

[tctyres]

That officer probably feels about 3" tall right now.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, he might never live that one down at the station.

Hopefully, the cyclists is OK. I'd bet he gets a new bike out of that. Aero bike looks 'spensive.

[weisan]

.

[Plum Hill]

Peculiar, Missouri.
Should be renamed Stupid.

[Scuzzer]

So, what you're saying is I need to buy a camera system that costs more than the bikes I ride to get justice. Same thing happened to me at the top of the street I live on except I was still moving enough to ride up on the sidewalk and slap their window as they brushed my butt.

Always wanted to find that stupid Xbox type vehicle and piss/sugar his tank. I'm too old to carry out that type of vendetta.

Hope the dude in the video gets a new bike. That's about all that can be expected.

[batman1425]

Given the public display the video is getting, I've seen this passed around on a number of groups and the youtube clip already has over 1M views, I think the cyclist has grounds to make a big case if he has the desire (and legal representation/funding), to dig and push the issue.

At the very least, I sense a large suit is coming which the department will inevitably settle out of court for big money to avoid a public display trying to defend the actions of an officer that admitted to hitting a pedestrian while driving distracted. The department has a lot to lose depending on how they handle the situation.

IMO, it is important for the cyclist to push this one, to establish a legal precedent.

[seanile]

Well, theres aready a precedent in place that the cop will get away with it...
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=140845

[November Dave]

We built the wheels on that bike (very obvious from footage) but haven't yet heard from the cyclist about it. Hope we do, it should be a good story to hear first hand.

[Veloo]

Wonder if the cop realized at the time that there was a camera on the rider when he admitted to not texting but looking at his phone when he plowed into him.

[jemoryl]

Almost had a cop hit me in Harding Township, NJ, pulling out of a speedtrap while distractedly yakking on his phone. I frequently see police driving while talking on phones - one set of laws for them and another for us.

[AngryScientist]

cops are easily the most dangerous drivers i encounter on the road. between the onboard huge computer systems they have in the center console, their phones and they way they speed, they are a rolling road hazard, from my experience.

it's my understanding that if they dont have their blue lights on, cops are expected to follow the same rules of the road as the rest of us, including distracted driving, speeding, traffic light adherence, etc. This is FAR from the reality as far as i see.

They have their jobs to do, and I understand that, but so do the rest of us. If i get an important work phonecall when i'm out driving, the expectation is that i use a hands free device, or ignore the call. they should follow the same rules. i dont care who you are or what training you have - you cant drive well and fiddle with a touch screen phone.

i hope they throw the book at him.

[BobO]

Almost had a cop hit me in Harding Township, NJ, pulling out of a speedtrap while distractedly yakking on his phone. I frequently see police driving while talking on phones - one set of laws for them and another for us.

Police are very often the worst offenders when it comes to distracted driving, and yes, there is quite literally a separate set of laws for them. "In performance of his duties." While there is sometimes good reason for that, distracted driving isn't one of those.

[oldpotatoe]

cops are easily the most dangerous drivers i encounter on the road. between the onboard huge computer systems they have in the center console, their phones and they way they speed, they are a rolling road hazard, from my experience.

it's my understanding that if they dont have their blue lights on, cops are expected to follow the same rules of the road as the rest of us, including distracted driving, speeding, traffic light adherence, etc. This is FAR from the reality as far as i see.

They have their jobs to do, and I understand that, but so do the rest of us. If i get an important work phonecall when i'm out driving, the expectation is that i use a hands free device, or ignore the call. they should follow the same rules. i dont care who you are or what training you have - you cant drive well and fiddle with a touch screen phone.

i hope they throw the book at him.

Which book? He'll get a sit down with a superior, hand slap, new bike for cyclist with lots of 'so sorry'..and this LEO, along with most(all?) others will continue to break their laws by driving distracted..

[BobO]

'..and this LEO, along with most(all?) others will continue to break their laws by driving distracted..

That's the thing, it's not breaking the law for them.

The police should be held to a higher standard than everyone else. The police should be the example of proper behavior including driving.

[oldpotatoe]

That's the thing, it's not breaking the law for them.


The police should be held to a higher standard than everyone else. The police should be the example of proper behavior including driving.

Ah, but it is..but pretty tough to 'enforce' any of it.
it's my understanding that if they dont have their blue lights on, cops are expected to follow the same rules of the road as the rest of us, including distracted driving, speeding, traffic light adherence, etc.

[BobO]

Ah, but it is..but pretty tough to 'enforce' any of it.

I'm sure that varies somewhat from state to state, but, in the several states I've looked at there is the nebulous term "in performance of their duties," that is applied to most anything they do. That has frequently been interpreted to mean anything that they do while wearing the uniform. i.e. The cop who killed the Napster lawyer in CA was texting with his wife on one phone and another officer on another while driving and it was determined that he did nothing wrong because he was in performance of his duties. Again, the police are not only held to a different standard, it is a lower standard and that's wrong. The professionals should be held to the highest standards.

[jemoryl]

I know this wouldn't be popular, but I would be in favor of a device that disabled any phones in the car unless the vehicle was in Park or stopped.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Almost had a cop hit me in Harding Township, NJ, pulling out of a speedtrap while distractedly yakking on his phone. I frequently see police driving while talking on phones - one set of laws for them and another for us.

. . . for every time I've seen a cop blatantly doing something that would get me arrested in a second.

And cops wonder why nobody respects them . . .

BBD

[donevwil]

cops are easily the most dangerous drivers i encounter on the road....

Agree, in 30 years of riding the only time I've been hit by a car (that I remember, long story & knock, knock) was by a Marin County Sherriff on Highway 1. No cameras then. My team's and my word against his, guess who won.

[ptourkin]

Well, theres aready a precedent in place that the cop will get away with it...
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=140845

The Olin family got $12m in the civil case, though.

[BobO]

The Olin family got $12m in the civil case, though.

Paid for by the taxpayers, while the individual responsible didn't even lose his job.

[ptourkin]

Paid for by the taxpayers, while the individual responsible didn't even lose his job.

Preaching to the choir here. ACAB

[djdj]

I'm not defending his behavior while driving, and I'm not a police apologist, but he did admit he was wrong. That's worth something in my book,

[BobO]

I'm not defending his behavior while driving, and I'm not a police apologist, but he did admit he was wrong. That's worth something in my book,

Meh. That won't change anything once the union lawyers spin this around a few dozen times. His admission will mean something to me if he resigns his position due to his grievous error.

[GregL]

If the law enforcement department that the offending officer works for has PR-savvy leadership, this would be a great opportunity to highlight distracted driving. The offending officer should be ticketed just like a civilian. As part of his punishment, he should take part in a public service announcement that includes the video of the collision. If he admitted guilt in a PSA and accepted legal punishment, it would be a positive message against distracted driving. Slim to no chance of this happening, but I have to hope for the best.

Greg

[AngryScientist]

If the law enforcement department that the offending officer works for has PR-savvy leadership, this would be a great opportunity to highlight distracted driving. The offending officer should be ticketed just like a civilian. As part of his punishment, he should take part in a public service announcement that includes the video of the collision. If he admitted guilt in a PSA and accepted legal punishment, it would be a positive message against distracted driving. Slim to no chance of this happening, but I have to hope for the best.

Greg

agreed.

AND, for when he returns to work, his "squad car" should look like this:

https://www.jeffersontownky.com/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=1432

[zap]

agreed.

AND, for when he returns to work, his "squad car" should look like this:

https://www.jeffersontownky.com/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=1432

Excellent idea.........after spending 2 months without pay.

[Peter P.]

As has already been said, typical state distracted driving laws exempt police. Some states but not all, specify "in the execution of their duties" and/or "official business". Some states further mention a requirement that the officer must be using their "department issued phone". Not all departments issue phones to their officers. So in the original case highlighted in the video, the officer may be exempt from criminal or traffic law, but not from a civil lawsuit.

It will be interesting to see whether the state police investigation exonerates the officer, putting spin on the case, or as an unspoken "professional courtesy".

I think GregL had the best suggestion.

FYI; I do a lot of work with police departments and have ridden in cop cars with officers many times. Yeah; they are no different than the public when it comes to distracted driving. I was in a car once with the deputy police chief when he nonchalantly called his middle school son to tell him he'd be late to pick him up after school. No shame from him doing this in my presence.

[dgauthier]

While not excusing what he did, like djdj, I admire the officer's honesty.

Ever wonder how a cyclist can be mowed down from behind on a clear, straight stretch of road? The driver was looking at their godd@m phone! However you will never hear the driver admit it.

[Louis]

Ever wonder how a cyclist can be mowed down from behind on a clear, straight stretch of road? The driver was looking at their godd@m phone! However you will never hear the driver admit it.

As much as I dislike the concept of self-driving high-tech cars, they might be the only thing to save cyclists from this menace, because you can be durn sure that states and local municipalities sure as heck won't.

[parris]

Louis I've been wondering for a while if our cars have gotten TOO good/easy. My family has 3 Subaru cars. an 04 Outback, my 09 Legacy with a stick, and my wife's new to us 15 loaded to the gills Outback. Her outback is a wonderful car and "better" than the others. The thing is that I'm "sharper" behind the wheel of my car due to having to actually be engaged in the act of driving.

I think that the more driver aids that are put into cars the worse things will continue to become. The phone issue included also.

[Louis]

Louis I've been wondering for a while if our cars have gotten TOO good/easy. My family has 3 Subaru cars. an 04 Outback, my 09 Legacy with a stick, and my wife's new to us 15 loaded to the gills Outback. Her outback is a wonderful car and "better" than the others. The thing is that I'm "sharper" behind the wheel of my car due to having to actually be engaged in the act of driving.

I think that the more driver aids that are put into cars the worse things will continue to become. The phone issue included also.

I have no idea how it will all play out, but one thing you can be sure of, as sensors are developed and algorithms coded into these systems and laws and NTSB / Dept of Transportation guidelines are written to keep some sort of control over it all, cyclists won't be high on the list of priorities.

[BobO]

I have no idea how it will all play out, but one thing you can be sure of, as sensors are developed and algorithms coded into these systems and laws and NTSB / Dept of Transportation guidelines are written to keep some sort of control over it all, cyclists won't be high on the list of priorities.

In an environment where a growing percentage of drivers can't be bothered to actually drive the car even vaguely responsibly, the autonomous car has to be an improvement. Simply being identified by the sensors will be an improvement.

[Louis]

In an environment where a growing percentage of drivers can't be bothered to actually drive the car even vaguely responsibly, the autonomous car has to be an improvement. Simply being identified by the sensors will be an improvement.

Perhaps.

The thing is (and I haven't seen the stats) I bet the actual number of cyclists hit by drivers distracted by mobile tech (as opposed to screaming kids in the back seat) is pretty low.

However, are you willing to trust the technology to the point were most vehicles on the road are self-driving? I think that however bad humans might be (and maybe they're getting worse) it's going to be a long time until the cars are as good as they are. It's a super-complex problem, and in general humans do a fairly good job. Machines today? Not so good. (yet)

[BobO]

It's going to be decades before truly autonomous cars are ready for the dynamic environment. Truthfully, I worry more about the half autonomous vehicles being misunderstood by ignorant drivers.

[zap]

edit


Ever wonder how a cyclist can be mowed down from behind on a clear, straight stretch of road? The driver was looking at their godd@m phone! However you will never hear the driver admit it.

Or falling asleep at the wheel.