[ridetoofast]

http://styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=15883

STREET TALK

December 12, 2007

Cop Hits Cyclist, Who Gets Billed for Damages
by Chris Dovi
Schwinn bicycle: $400. Embarrassment saved by not wearing spandex cycling suit: priceless. Calculated cost to clean bits of the injured Kristin Stokes off the shattered windshield of a moving car: $10.

It’s been five months since Stokes recovered from a traumatic brain injury, but she’s still adding up the cost of her unlucky Friday the 13th encounter in July with the fender and windshield of a Richmond Police Department cruiser.

In October, the city sent her a bill for repairs to the police car, adding insult to her potentially life-threatening injury. In addition to bills from three days in intensive care, Stokes faces $2,757.23 in repairs to the patrol cruiser, including $10 for hazardous waste disposal (“Me,” Stokes says).

“Just one cop car is all I’m responsible for — that and my brain damage,” says a frustrated Stokes, struggling to comprehend why she’d be charged for repairs to the 5,000-pound car that clearly outmatched her.

The accident happened at the intersection of Jahnke Road and Forest Hill Avenue, when Stokes and her boyfriend, Jay Van Story, were riding their bicycles eastbound across Jahnke on a green light.

After pausing at the slim median, Stokes was unaware that she’d be crossing the remaining three lanes of traffic on a yellow light. It turned red as she entered the final lane, she says, the same time as RPD car 2202, driven by Officer William McKay, entered the well-timed light at about 40 miles an hour, according to a police report.

Stokes hit the car’s left fender. Propelled partly onto the hood of the car, her head hit the left corner of the windshield, where the impact created a salad bowl-sized crater. Her body rolled across the side of the car, damaging its side mirror, side-mounted search light, paint job — and two vertebrae in her back.

Amazingly, Stokes recovered quickly after the brain swelling subsided, and so far she has no lasting ill effects from the wreck. None but the bill, which Stokes first thought was a mistake, from the city’s claims administrator.

“I thought when they found out I wasn’t driving a car, they’d change their thinking,” she says, recounting a call to the city trying to clear up the mess. “That’s when [the claims administrator] said they’d be looking to collect from [me] personally.”

In a second letter, sent Nov. 20, the city demands payment in 30 days, threatening to suspend her license. “I wasn’t even driving a car,” Stokes asks, “why would my license come into question?”

Richmond Police spokeswoman Cynthia Price says that the collections process is not handled by police and that she’s uncertain of collection procedures for damages to city cars. Even though Stokes wasn’t cited in the accident, Price says she can be held liable for damages if the department determines that she failed to observe proper traffic patterns while attempting to cross Forest Hill Avenue.

Stokes, a marketing director for a local nonprofit, says she’s simply “trying to rebuild from this [accident]. This bill, to me, is really preposterous. It’s really in general just hurtful.” S

WTF?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
discuss

 

[Nick]

shameful.

 

[blue]

If she'd been here, it would've been the cops fault and he would have been cited.

 

[Ciaran]

It's things like this about society and humanity that piss me off.

Human beings suck. lthumbsdown:

 

[erastusboy]

I'm confused what happened, she turned left on a yellow, which turned red and a cop hit her?

I think if she wasn't cited there's no way to make her pay is there. Its just like if she got hit in a car right?

The arguement of I wasn't driving a car is kind of moot right, traffic is traffic is traffic. A friend got hit by a car because he didnt stop at a stop sign and didnt have a light. He got cited and had to pay for damages just like if he ran the stop sign in a car.

I thought it was a pretty cut and dry thing.

 

[Spero]

I'm confused what happened, she turned left on a yellow, which turned red and a cop hit her?

I think if she wasn't cited there's no way to make her pay is there. Its just like if she got hit in a car right?

The arguement of I wasn't driving a car is kind of moot right, traffic is traffic is traffic. A friend got hit by a car because he didnt stop at a stop sign and didnt have a light. He got cited and had to pay for damages just like if he ran the stop sign in a car.

I thought it was a pretty cut and dry thing.

I think they were headed straight through an intersection as it went from yellow to red. The cross street signal turned green (I'm guessing the cop kept his speed expecting the green light) and she was hit.

 

[erastusboy]

Oh, so it was the cops/no ones fault. I think since she didn't get a ticket she doesn't have to pay.

I have always wondered about the drivers license/insurance thing. Do bike tickets affect your car insurance?

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Traffic tickets affect insurance, no matter the vehicle involved in the infraction.

 

[hooples3]

i cant even image....

 

[dan wask]

I'm assuming this is Richmond, Virginia. If that is the case, go figure.

 

[LordOpie]

She must've suffered brain damage since she didn't contact a lawyer immediately.

 

[chuffer]

ah, yes, bike friendly richmond, va.

that said the scenario that I piece together from the article is:

cop is approaching stop light that he knows is about to go green and stays on the gas. cars to his left are stopped blocking his view of the biker still crossing the street on the tail end of the yellow / start of the red. bad timing leads to worse times.

if it hadn't been the cop, it would have been some other azzhole driver who just couldnt be bothered to slow down...

 

[valve bouncer]

Two parts I don't understand. How could the bike rider not make it to the other side of the road if she entered on a green? Even grannies in zimmer frames can make it across without getting cleaned up. I don't understand why she paused. If it was to assess the potential danger before continuing then she was obviously brain damaged before this incident.
The second, and more important part, is what the hell was that cop thinking. What part of defensive driving does he have a problem with? We've all timed the lights before but I only do it at speed when I have clear fields of view in all directions. Just because a light is green doesn't mean it's safe to cross. The cop needs his arse kicked and the bill should be torn up and both of them chalk it up under the column "lessons learned".

 

[skinny mike]

*creepy old man comment*

 

[skinny mike]

Didn't we determine in a previous thread that she is 20 years old?

and you are what, 40? 50?

while she may be legal, i think i remember there also being an interview or something about her not wanting attention from old guys who like to pop a viagra and rub one out to her. she may be extremely attractive, but i'm at least being a somewhat decent person by not tossing pics of her around and talking about piihb.

 

[skinny mike]

btw, her last name is stokke.

 

[Reactor]

Almost invariably state laws require a driver entering an intersection to yield to a driver already in the intersection:

ARS 28-645:
1. Green indication:

(a) Vehicular traffic facing a green signal may proceed straight through or turn right or left unless a sign at that place prohibits either turn. Vehicular traffic, including vehicles turning right or left, shall yield the right-of-way to other vehicles and to pedestrians lawfully within the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk at the time the signal is exhibited.

If Arizona at least, if she had entered the intersection on a green the police cruiser would have been at fault for not yielding right of way to a vehicle already in the intersection.

VB: There are some intersections in Phoenix that are about twice as wide as an eight lane freeway, 202 and Van Buren comes to mind, and have I sh** you not a ten second light for thru traffic. If you're less than a cat 5 rider it's damned near impossible to make it through on a green. If I don't get my foot in the pedal on the first try, I have a hard time making it.

 

[rogue22]

well it's obvious, if she had been in her hummer earthMover she would have been fine. Bikes are dangerous and should be outlawed.

 

[erastusboy]

Traffic tickets affect insurance, no matter the vehicle involved in the infraction.

Can you get bike insurance to cover the damages when your body rag dolls a cop car?

 

[Wumpus]

Traffic tickets affect insurance, no matter the vehicle involved in the infraction.

Where's the law when you need them?

One more point about the citation going against your driving record. Generally, citations you receive will be infractions, and therefore will not generate "points" against your driver's license, although they will be a part of your driving record. Even a DUI, which would be a misdemeanor if you're driving a motor vehicle, is only an infraction on your bicycle. Although having citations on your driving record doesn't really affect you personally, you should be aware that under Section 40000.28 of the Vehicle Code, if you've been convicted of three infractions within a twelve month period, the next conviction on a traffic violation will be for a misdemeanor, rather than an infraction. And that will go onto a different record-your criminal record-and carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. So be careful that you don't collect too many tickets.

http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/9893.0.html

 

[erastusboy]

Thanks for that link. I have been wondering about that.

 

[Prettym1k3]

In the great State of California, if a pedestrian gets hit by a car, even if they're j-walking across an 8-lane major roadway or expressway, it's the driver's fault. This law is in place to protect those who travel by foot by the more dangerous and wreckless people who travel by automobile.

A similar law should be in place to protect bicycles. This is ridiculous, and shows clearly the idiocy of this towns police department in blindly defending their officers mistakes.

 

[sanjuro]

This is a double-edged sword.

Lets say they place bicycles in a protected category, like pedestrians, as opposed to what they are considered now, vehicles.

Next thing the law declares the new speed limit for bikes is 10mph, citing how fast children can go on a bike.

I have pushed my luck, as I assume most people on this board who ride road, have when it comes to running lights. If I was crossing a large road, I would not dawdle while crossing it nor lose track of the lights. I would also pay attention to the crosswalk signs, another indicator that the lights are changing.

I believe this girl did not. Comments like "After pausing at the slim median" makes me think she did not cross this highway quickly and was not paying attention.

Now, I am not giving a cop a pass on this one either. He obviously was not paying attention either.

Ultimately, I believe this cyclist showed bad judgment and she paid the price. I would leave it at that.

 

[Spero]

This is a double-edged sword.

Lets say they place bicycles in a protected category, like pedestrians, as opposed to what they are considered now, vehicles.

Next thing the law declares the new speed limit for bikes is 10mph, citing how fast children can go on a bike.

I have pushed my luck, as I assume most people on this board who ride road, have when it comes to running lights. If I was crossing a large road, I would not dawdle while crossing it nor lose track of the lights. I would also pay attention to the crosswalk signs, another indicator that the lights are changing.

I believe this girl did not. Comments like "After pausing at the slim median" makes me think she did not cross this highway quickly and was not paying attention.

Now, I am not giving a cop a pass on this one either. He obviously was not paying attention either.

Ultimately, I believe this cyclist showed bad judgment and she paid the price. I would leave it at that.

I'm more or less in agreement with you. Most cyclists accept a certain amount of risk every time they ride on the road and they should be aware enough to minimize that risk. I wouldn't go so far as to defend the police officer because, as stated above, he seems to be at fault also. If bicycles were to be taken out of the 'vehicle' category, would they still have rights on the road or would they be resitricted to sidewalks and whatnot as with pedestrians? I don't believe it fair to make the woman pay for the damage to the police vehicle, but I also think that her medical expenses and whatnot are her burden to bear.

 

[bdamschen]

It seems to me like a pretty cut and dry deal. Bikes are required to adhear and be treated to the same rules as motor vehilces and she was already in the intersection when the light turned red. As far as I know for most states, as long as you entered the intersection before the light turns, you still have the right of way and other vehicles are required to yield to you. It doesn't matter if they took a long time to get through or not, you still have to yield. A semi busting a 40 pt u-turn in the intersection would take a long time to get through, but you can bet the cop would have had to slow down for that.

If a cop t-boned me in an intersection that I had entered legally in my car, he would have to pay to repair the damages. Same thing goes for bikes.

Even if it is easy for the cop to make a mistake and not see her, it's still his fault and the city should be paying for it. Police officers of course are only human, and everyone makes mistakes, but i think the nature of their job requires them to be held to a higher standard than your average joe.

 

[manimal]

me thinks the city should just write that bill off. cyclists are considered vehicles on the roadway and must abide by the same laws as cars (but seldom do...myself included). she was technically "more" at fault for the accident (there is a section on accident forms for who was the "most" at fault) but i think the city billing her for a simple fubar is ridiculous and shows that the city cares about the bottom dollar over the welfare of it's citizens.

 

[BMXman]

hmm...hard to say how to handle this one...I do think the woman made a mistake in not getting a lawyer right away....for some reason though I think there is more to this story...D

 

[manimal]

...as it turns out, after she bounce off his windshield, the cop got out and tazed her for assaulting his car.