Cyclists protected by new City ordinance

LA City Council passed an ordinance recently making it a crime for motorists to threaten cyclists verbally or physically, including forcing them off the road. It may well be the toughest in the nation. Read it here (pdf).

Cyclists already have traffic laws to protect them, but the ordinance empowers cyclists to sue motorists in civil court without having to wait for the city to press criminal charges. In a civil suit, cyclists can win treble the actual damages in such cases or $1,000, whichever is more, in addition to reasonable punitive damages and attorney fees.

It is a pity it had to come to this but the ordinance is the right thing to do. While most motorists are very courteous, some are idiots. My pet peeve: motorists at intersections with traffic lights, where the need to juggle a right turn against a red light seems to be overwhelm their brain power, and they race around the corner blotting out the thought that a cyclist might actually deserve right of way. I have never experienced malice from motorists; just carelessness.

Photo: bikeshare station in Melbourne, Australia, from Wikipedia/Elekhh