by subverita
buzzCbus Worst Drivers Group
Bad driver 1
The name of the new group I started is C-Bus Worst drivers. I have had plenty of opportunities to include drivers all over the county who have no idea what they’re doing. Unfortunately, this is the first of many installments to come. (link to worst driver forum)
The young woman driving this vehicle nearly killed me while she was talking to her friend and passing me to turn right in front of me to get to her tanning session at Dolphin Beach Tanning, 2394 N. High. I followed her in and took the photo below. Her license is Ohio Plate EYL9598. I told her why I was taking a photo to warn others who might be driving near her. She decided she didn’t want to be included in the photo. When I asked why she nearly killed me, she said she was just trying to get around me.
Ok then, have a great tan. STAY AWAY FROM THIS DRIVER.
I will add the driver of a red Dodge Nitro who was eastbound on Town St. at 8:20 AM this morning, who started turning left in front of me as I entered the intersection going westbound on my commute, about 10 feet behind another slower cyclist. It didn’t help matters that a.) the stop light giving me the right of way was just turning yellow as all this transpired and b.) a pedestrian simultaneously stepped out into a crosswalk in front of me to cross Town St. A near-miss for all concerned! The driver and the pedestrian both deserved a ticket/citation.
I’d love to report these incidents to the police but don’t think they care unless someone is injured or killed, and even then I suspect the law enforcement powers that be in the courts tend to believe the still-living driver of the motor vehicle, rather than the cyclist.
I need a better cellphone/camera to add to these postings, to include license plate numbers. I also need about ten hi-vis t-shirts to wear while commuting, maybe with left-pointing “<<" arrows on the back. Anybody want to market some of these??
Well 2wheeler, here’s what I’ve done. I remember hearing Steven Magas, an Ohio attorney who practices bicycle law, when he spoke in Columbus during Bike-to-Work-Week. I don’t recall all he said about this topic, so here’s the e-mail I sent him in response to your comment.
“Steven,
I listened to and enjoyed you speak in Columbus during Bike to work month. I asked you a question about what we can do when drivers do dangerous and thoughtless things. You suggested contacting the motorist’s insurance company. I’d love to do this, but forgot what instructions you gave regarding getting enough information from a license plate.
I’m trying to suggest other riders do more to hold bad drivers accountable.
Your response would be appreciated.”
Received this reply from Steve Magas.
“If you can get a license plate number, report theincident to police as an assault and ask them to run the plate so you can notify the owner of the car and get the owner’s insurance information. Other than this, I’m not sure there is a way to get information about a random car driver. Get a picture of the car if you can, and the plate. Usually this isn’t do-able but sometimes you catch up at the next light or if there is traffic…”
Steve Magas