Safety and Education Committee Report
Impaired Drivers
Bicycle riders are some of the most vulnerable users of the roadway. We always lose when colliding with motor vehicles and depend upon the police to protect us from impaired drivers. Recent cases have revealed that this is not always the case. Currently, the investigating officer is responsible for ascertaining the impairment of those involved in collisions. Obviously, this places a tremendous burden on him while handling a very stressful situation.
When a bicyclist was run down in Concord this spring it took a public outcry before the motorist was cited. This motorist was never tested for drugs and I didn’t hear anything about cell phone records. In Nashua, a motorist (that had been drinking) struck and killed a pedestrian. This motorist refused to be tested and was never charged in the accident. We don’t know if either of these were impaired. These are not isolated cases but rather instances of what typically occurs. An officer can make an enemy by arresting the impaired driver that will continue until held accountable. The people involved prejudice the decisions being made and our police are often in a “no win” situation.
In accidents involving commercial drivers; testing and cell phone records are required. NH can only request that other operators submit to drug/alcohol testing and 80% refuse (next highest state is 40%); cell phone records are rarely accessed. One’s employer (or who they know) should not affect the accountability of their actions. A law requiring testing and cell phone records for all motor vehicle collisions involving personal injury eliminates this problem and the officer is “just doing his job” when gathering needed information.
Bicyclists fall down and testing everyone that gets hurt doing so will do little to improve safety. When the crash involves a motor vehicle the severity of injury increases and the one impaired often escapes unscathed. Drug usage has been proven to impair cognitive and motor skills for up to 30 days and cell phone usage remains undeterred; neither of these impairments is readily apparent to the investigating officer. Alcohol use is the single largest cause of motor vehicle crashes but a recent international study found that drug usage is equally prevalent (with the amount required for impairment undetermined). We need the data to hold these people accountable.
Our right to life should take precedence but I’m sure the Libertarians (and the ACLU) will probably take issue with laws that infringe on the personal freedom (privacy in a public place?) of those choosing to break our laws. Protocols for many of our police departments already require gathering this data but it’s not happening. A law holding everybody accountable seems more equitable than our current system; mention this to your friends
Bill Fisk - Safety and Education
REMINDER: BE SEEN!
Make sure to wear at least one item of reflective outerwear apparel, such as a reflective vest, jacket, or helmet strip, during the period from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise.
Safety and Education Coordinator
Archive Safety Articles
Which Foot Down?
Preparing For Rain
Stopping in the Roadway
Encountering Animals
Why I Commute by Bike
Save Time Commuting by Bike
Your Bike and Knee
You Can be Too Far Right
Wrong Way Cyclists
Choosing the Right Tire
Don't Scare the Slow Guy
Using Your Front Brake
How Safe is Bicycling?
How Safe is Your Helmet?
Making Left Turns
Where on the Road Do You Belong?
Rumble strips on the Shoulder
Safer Without Helmet?
Impaired Drivers
Take Your Body to its Limits
HB-1203
Protecting your Bike
Helmet Mounted Headlights
Tire Pressure
My Helmet is White
Does Your Bike Have Lights?
Be Careful Who You Trust
Law Enforcement
See and be Seen
Thanks Ray LaHood
Beware the Silent Car
Problems Grow
Bike Stat
Bikes on Sidewalk