[SDCBC] Notification to drivers, was Re: Cyclists can issue tickets to bad drivers

[Jim Baross]

I found the source for the info I had about 
notifying "bad" drivers; Missouri Bicycle Federation;
http://mobikefed.org/motoristcontact.html

Here's a copy of the letter they send and answers 
to some questions I had about their program below that.

Anyone want to take this on as a project to get 
going in San Diego... or the whole State? Perhaps 
as an educational function of the Coalition?... 
for members only?... for a fee? ... or funded via 
some grant and available to anyone?

Jim B.

Here's their letter:
[]

Missouri Bicycle Federation, Inc.
Post Office Box 104871, Jefferson City, MO 65110-4871
MoBikeFed.org
Making Missouri a better place to ride a bicycle!

«FirstNameOf_Motorist» «LastNameOfMotorist»
«Address»
«City», «State»            «ZipCode»

Dear  «Title». «FirstNameOf_Motorist» «LastNameOfMotorist»,

The Missouri Bicycle Federation has been 
requested to share the enclosed information about 
Missouri law in reference to bicycles.

We were told that at approximately «Time», 
«DateOfIncident», on «Road», a person driving a 
«VehicleDescription» with license number 
«LicenseNumber» had an encounter with a 
bicyclist. The bicyclist interpreted this 
encounter to be dangerous or threatening.

Perhaps this incident was a misunderstanding. 
Nonetheless, we would like to remind you that 
under the state law of all fifty states, 
including Missouri, bicyclists are allowed to use 
all roads and highways except interstate highway 
lanes or those very few locations where posted signs prohibit bicycles.

By Missouri State Statute 307.188 the bicycle is 
considered a vehicle and the bicyclist has all 
the rights and responsibilities of any other 
driver. Bicyclists are required to obey traffic 
laws just as motorists must, signaling turns, 
stopping at stop lights, using turn lanes and so on.

Motorists are required to treat bicyclists with 
the same degree of courtesy and safety as they would any other road user.

We encourage all to share the roads in a 
courteous fashion. Should you have any questions, 
please contact us. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,


Morgan J Bearden
Missouri Bicycle Federation Motorist Contact Chair

Bicycle-related Quotes from the Missouri Driver Guide
- snipped -

Summary of Missouri State Statutes Related to Bicycling
- snipped -

<<<<<<

Here are some answers they provided to questions I had:

by what means do you access a mailing address based on a car license number?

In Missouri, one is able to apply for an account 
that allows one to get information from the 
Department of Revenue. I’m not the one who did 
it, but I think it is a pretty straightforward 
process – all you have to do is prove that you 
have a ligitmate reason to have access to the 
information. I think repo companies, towing 
companies, and maybe private investigators use this service.

We have an account and a password – it cost about 
$2.00 per license plate. We used to do it by 
phone, but recently the state has converted over 
to an on-line system – we are having trouble 
getting that set up, but it should be worked out soon.

what measures of success could I point to?

It is difficult to measure success with this 
program. There is a great deal of satisfaction on 
the part of the person who reports the incident 
because they feel like something is being done to 
communicate the problem to the operator of the 
automobile. We have received a response from only 
one motorist as far as I know.

We all like to think that there is some chilling 
effect on the motorist since they realize that we 
know who they are and where they live. However, a 
key component of the program is that I am the 
only one who knows the identity of both the 
bicyclists and the motorist – noone else sees the names or addresses.

A year or two ago we made the letter much more 
generic. We used to recount the incident (from 
the perspective of the bicyclist, of course), but 
we were advised by some one (a lawyer?) to tone 
it down and make the letter less accusatory and more generic.

any history of successful prosecution when your 
data shows a significant number of complaints for one car/driver?

As far as I know, there has never been any use of 
this information in any sort of legal proceeding. 
We do keep a simple database of the names, 
license numbers, etc of each incident.

We haven’t seen any repeat offenders, but we do 
have a few bicyclists in the state who seem to 
have more than their share of run-ins with 
motorists. I’m pretty open-minded about the whole 
issue and will readily admit that there are jerky 
folks everywhere: behind the wheel, on motorcycles, in boats, and on bicycles.

I have enclosed a sample of the older style 
letter (recounting the incident) and another that 
is the more generic letter we currently use.  
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