[Vision2020] Correction: "2010" Not "2009": Re: Additional Information: Accident Report Case # 10-M00362: Idaho/Moscow Bicycle Law Re: Lights etc.

Mon Jan 25 10:42:08 PST 2010

Ted;

Thanks you for your memo and additional information and observations.
The accident report should be ready sometime today. If you would like,
let me know what time is most convenient for you to stop by the police
department and I would be happy to review the all the specifics of the
accident and offer any additional information which may be helpful in
your analysis of the situation. 

Thanks

Dan Weaver

Chief of Police

City of Moscow

118 East 4th Street

Moscow Idaho 83843

(208) 882-2677

________________________________

From: Ted Moffett [mailto:starbliss at gmail.com] 
Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2010 1:03 PM
To: Dan Weaver; Nancy Chaney; pa at latah.id.us; Dan Carscallen; Dan
Carscallen; Lindsay McIntosh
Cc: Moscow Vision 2020
Subject: Correction: "2010" Not "2009": Re: Additional Information:
Accident Report Case # 10-M00362: Idaho/Moscow Bicycle Law Re: Lights
etc.

Of course "2010" should replace "2009," in the following sentences from
the Vision2020 post forwarded below.  I have made this mistake
repeatedly recently.  Perhaps a Freudian slip expressing a wish live in
the past?

------------

Regarding what I was told by a Moscow police officer Fri. Jan 22, 2009,
in person at the Moscow Police Station, that bicycles require lights 24
hours a day according to Moscow city code:

------------

Moscow Police Officer LMcintosh-

This e-mail contains some of the same information as the previous e-mail
I
sent Thurs. Jan. 21, 2009, with additional question(s) that are
relevant,
and some editing.

------------

Why was I not given information, after the accident occurred and the
emergency personnel released me on Thurs. Jan 14, 2009, regarding the
insurance coverage on the driver/vehicle who failed to yield when I was
crossing the drive-in in question, while I was bicycling on the sidewalk
as
described below?

------------

I recall the moments before the accident very well, as I was riding east
on
the sidewalk Thurs, Jan. 14 2009 at about 4:50 PM, in front of Pat's
Lawn
and Saw, on the south side of White Ave., with a streetlight
illuminating
the drive-in to the mini-mall just east of Pat's Lawn and Saw, that the
car
that struck me pulled into, as they were heading west on White Ave. and
made
a left turn into the mini-mall drive-in that crosses the sidewalk.

------------------------------------------

Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

On 1/24/10, Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com> wrote:

http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2010-January/068267.html

	Dan Weaver et. al.

	Dan Weaver dweaver at ci.moscow.id.us
<mailto:vision2020%40moscow.com?Subject=%5BVision2020%5D%20Moscow%20City
%20Code%20Requires%20Bicycles%20In%20Operation%0A%09ToHave%20Lights%2024
%20Hours%20A%20Day%3F&In-Reply-To=d03f69e1001221343q589701b3ob9fcb0329e1
dfca4%40mail.gmail.com> 
	Fri Jan 22 15:38:52 PST 2010 

	wrote:

http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2010-January/068237.html

	Please let me know if you have further questions and or
suggestions
	regarding this situation.
	----------------------------------

	Thank you for your openness to further questions.

	I am forwarding below the communication I sent to Moscow police
officer LMcintosh regarding questions and relevant issues concerning a
vehicle/bicycle accident.  I have not received a response to this
e-mail, though the questions regarding light requirements for bicycles
on sidewalks, and what time of day bicycle light is required, were
separately answered in a Vision2020 post by Moscow Chief of Police
Weaver.  I thank Dan Weaver for clarifying the Idaho code regarding
bicycle light requirements on sidewalks, given the code defines
sidewalks as part of "highways."

	Regarding what I was told by a Moscow police officer Fri. Jan
22, 2009, in person at the Moscow Police Station, that bicycles require
lights 24 hours a day according to Moscow city code:  Given that I was
very surprised to hear that such a code rule existed, I told the officer
that I had not read such a rule in the online Moscow city code.  The
officer was clear in insisting that such a code rule existed, mandating
a light on bicycles 24 hours a day.  I asked for a copy of this code
rule, but the officer declined.  The officer may recall the conversation
differently.  And that people can recall in person spoken conversations
differently, in fact recall them incorrectly, is one reason I prefer an
e-mail response to the forwarded communication below:

from 

 <http://im/available_white1.gif> 

Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com>

to 

 <https://mail.google.com/mail/im/smlnopresence.gif> 

lmcintosh at ci.moscow.id.us

date 

Jan 22, 2010 1:57 PM

subject 

Additional Information: Accident Report Case # 10-M00362: Idaho/Moscow
Bicycle Law Re: Lights etc.

	Moscow Police Officer LMcintosh-

	This e-mail contains some of the same information as the
previous e-mail I sent Thurs. Jan. 21, 2009, with additional question(s)
that are relevant, and some editing.  I separately e-mailed today
regarding Idaho and/or Moscow city code regarding what I was told today
by a Moscow police officer, that was a complete surprise, that Moscow
city code requires bicycles in operation to have a light 24 hours a day:

	I just attempted to file the Freedom of Information Act request
for the accident report at the Moscow Police Station, but the report was
still not available.

	When will the accident report for the vehicle/bicycle accident
case # 10-M00362 be available?

	Why was I not given information, after the accident occurred and
the emergency personnel released me on Thurs. Jan 14, 2009, regarding
the insurance coverage on the driver/vehicle who failed to yield when I
was crossing the drive-in in question, while I was bicycling on the
sidewalk as described below?  I sustained very painful injuries and now
have medical costs incurred as a result of this accident

	Why I was not asked for information from the Moscow Police
regarding how the accident happened, after the emergency personnel had
released me from their examination, after I signed the release form, and
had recovered somewhat from the intense pain and injuries I sustained?

	I recall the moments before the accident very well, as I was
riding east on the sidewalk Thurs, Jan. 14 2009 at about 4:50 PM, in
front of Pat's Lawn and Saw, on the south side of White Ave., with a
streetlight illuminating the drive-in to the mini-mall just east of
Pat's Lawn and Saw, that the car that struck me pulled into, as they
were heading west on White Ave. and made a left turn into the mini-mall
drive-in that crosses the sidewalk.  I saw the car and assumed they
could see me, given that I was illuminated.  I did not have a light in
the front at this time, though I have a front reflector, and had my back
blinking light on.  I had my front light in my backpack, ready for use
when full darkness came, and I would be riding either on the road or the
Latah Trail path.  At the time of the accident, there was still some
daylight, though it was past sunset. The streetlights turn on before
total darkness.

	I checked the Idaho code on bicycles (
http://www.lostrivercycling.org/idcode.html ), and a front light is
required from sunset to sunrise when on highways.  I did not know that
even when there is still considerable light after sunset or before
sunrise, a front light is required, for bicycles and motorized vehicles,
but the code indicates this is when "upon a highway," without mentioning
sidewalks; and riding on the sidewalk for bicycles is legal, given
certain rules.  But given the wording of the Idaho code on bicycles, it
seems to not explicitly address if a bicycle riding on a sidewalk must
have a front light between sunset and sunrise.  For maximum safety, it
seems that pedestrians, especially fast runners, and bicycles on
sidewalks, should be required to have a light at night.  I was not
bicycling very fast when I was struck, luckily, and no doubt a person
can run faster than I was cycling at that time.  Thus a fast runner who
is not carrying a light while running on a sidewalk might be taking a
greater risk of an accident, when motorized vehicles must cross a
sidewalk, than a cyclist riding slowly without a light in the same
situation.

	Also, I read on the Moscow Police Dept. website that bicycle
licenses are required, but if I understand correctly, this does not
apply to those residing outside the city limits?  I do not reside in
Moscow city limits:

	http://www.ci.moscow.id.us/citycode/TITLE11/toc.asp

	Ted Moffett

	1097 Canyon Rd.

	Moscow, Idaho 83843

	ph. 208-882-8643

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