You want to get a ticket or dontcha?
[Baltimore Spokes: I am placing this in the Bike Baltimore section as we recently had a cyclist doored and the police refused to write a ticket because "he was not a motor vehicle" and is now experiencing difficulties trying to get his damaged bike replaced by the insurance company. Calls to our Police Liaison have yet to be returned, so perhaps sending them a copy of this might solicit a response.]
Tuscon Bike Lawyer writes about the typical cyclist experience following a bike vs car collision:
I've never been threatened with a ticket, but the first time I called the police, the motorist was very clearly at fault: she completely blew through a stop sign without slowing; I escaped with my life because I did an emergency swerve but I still got a glancing blow and a damaged bike.A cyclist gets hit by a car, and is lying in the pavement dazed. Assuming the cyclist is not suffering a serious injury, the officer will then try to determine fault. As I have written many times before, “carhead” tends to point toward the cyclist being at fault.
If the officer determines the cyclist was at fault, he will then often give the cyclist a choice: you can leave here and forget about all this, or you can stay and get a ticket. Which do you pick?
I was riding completely legally on a residential street with almost no traffic, but witnesses and the responding police officer all lectured me about my bike riding, and the cop made it very clear that my call was a huge imposition of his time.
...
Law enforcement's reticence prompted Colorado cyclist advocates to lobby for a law requiring law enforcement agencies to take bicycle accident reports.
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2009/06/whats-your-experience-with-filing.html
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