Comments on: Liberty & Fourth

By: Peter Zetlin

Peter Zetlin — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:15:45 +0000

Top 10 ways to get an answer from the Police Chief

10. Pay an attorney to write a letter for you

9. Ask a police officer what the Chief’s favorite flower is and send a bouquet

8. Speak at a council meeting

7. Give the Chief a citizen’s award for excellence in community relations

6. Write the Mayor

5. Call the fire department

4. Send the Chief a certified letter

3. Find out who actually runs the police department and talk to them

2. Call the Chief’s office for an appointment

And the #1 way to make yourself feel better out there? Swap your bike for a SUV!

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:47:44 +0000

Now that we are entering the move-in/football season, we’ll be having a lot of new drivers wandering all over town trying to figure out our truly idiosyncratic road system. I followed one yesterday who desperately wanted to turn the wrong way down some one-way streets. Be careful, everyone. They’re confused.

By: DrData

DrData — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:13:19 +0000

Whenever I travel abroad I always take pictures of the traffic lights, which usually include a symbol for bikes. Sometimes the bikes get a green ahead of cars, sometimes later.

I’ll be on the look-out for a blinking green light, which would be for cars to turn right, but only if the bike lane is clear.

I think those of us that both bike and drive understand the difficulties and ambiguities of mixing both on the road.

The police officer in this case is rigidly representing the car-only crowd. In the end, the car driver might have gotten his/her ticket dismissed, but would be more aware when he/she turns right.

And, I as a biker will be more prepared for this situation. Too bad someone had to be seriously injured to pass on this safety gem.

By: John Floyd

John Floyd — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 05:01:00 +0000

Ms. Gina,

I see why you are so upset – to be injured, and then ignored, is a double hurt. To be injured from a threat that you had not previously considered can be frightening, as well

My guess is that drivers have not added bikes in bike lanes to their “driver radar”. Until this is a universal thing – like looking for pedestrians at an intersection – it would not be surprising to see other bikers hurt, as well. Sadly, it might take the trauma of injured cyclists to get drivers aware of bikes in bike lanes.

My mother always told me that bikes and cars don’t mix. Maybe she was right, after all.

By: cosmonıcan

cosmonıcan — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:27:09 +0000

re #21: How sad it is that common sense and courtesy has to be so carefully enumerated for the boors among us.

By: Kathleen Gina

Kathleen Gina — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:57:40 +0000

Here is the Ann Arbor Ordinance that was not enforced for my accident: [link]

By: Kathleen Gina

Kathleen Gina — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:51:08 +0000

@Alan. My reasoning is to ask the public to “share the road”. As drivers and as cyclists we all need to be aware of the hazards out there. The officer on the scene told me that I had no rights as a cyclist and in general a cyclist in AA has the same chances as a squirrel. The officer told me and my husband that is was NOT against a law or ordinance for a car to make a right turn in front of a cyclist, and if that cyclist falls in the process, it is just too bad. A car is a lethal weapon when it comes up against a bike. Just because I was not killed does not mean this is a serious problem on the roads, and I know of tow cyclist who WERE killed under the same circumstances. All I asked was that officer do her job. Ticket the driver for not yielding and all this controversy would never had happened. All I asked of the officer was to tell the facts, not what she “thought” happened. Not to try and tell me that the car was not responsible for my fall and that I fell cause I hit a sewer drain.

By: Alan Goldsmith

Alan Goldsmith — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:55:26 +0000

@Kathleen. I’m sorry for your injury. It shouldn’t have happened. But the entire tone here is two steps below a lynch mob. It was inappropriate for you to have been hurt. But it’s also not appropriate to print this information either. What was the purpose? To publicly shame the driver? To have readers be on the look out for…what reason? I’m giving the Chief of Police the benefit of the doubt for not putting replying to the above email on the top of his to do list with what’s been going on in the City the last few days. And what purpose was served by publishing the officer’s name? It seemed more of an exercise in humiliation and venting than something designed to resolve your issue. You have the floor, the the platform to tell your side of the story but, though it’s not going to happen, I’d love to hear from the driver and the officer too. And thanks to the Chronicle for deleting the license plate number to remove that from the mix and discussion.

By: Kathleen Gina

Kathleen Gina — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:22:10 +0000

To respond to Alan Goldsmith’s comment that it was “inappropriate to print the driver’s car plate number”.

It is also inappropriate for a driver who is the cause of an accident not to take responsibility for his actions.

It is not the job of the Chief of Police to ensure that his officers know the the laws and ordinances of the city? and that they enforce those laws and ordinances?

No one at the AAPD is feeling sorry for me because I have been cut off from my lively hood. I am a running coach, I earn my living by running and biking with my runners. I can barely walk today.

By: RJM

RJM — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:41:29 +0000

How are bicyclists and motorists to behave at the Ashley – Huron intersection? The lane on Ashley marked for right turns by motorists is to the left of the bicycle lane. This suggests that motorists wishing to turn right onto Huron are not to merge into the restricted lane before turning, but rather to turn across it.

Is it the case that bicycle through-traffic has the right of way and that the motorist is required to yield to a bicyclist passing on the right before making a right turn across the restricted lane? This seems awkward and potentially fraught with uncertainty for both bicyclists and motorists.