Complain in writing. Call when it's fresh in your memory, of course, but when you do, get the address to which to send a written complaint. CC it to: * Catherine Debo, director of Metro * Office of Mayor [name to be determined...] * Your alderperson (see http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/council to find your alder) * The alderperson for the district in which the incident occured, if different from above * Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin Demand an individual written reply. Both documents (your record and the reply) then both become public record. Now, let's say everyone who has such a run-in goes to this trouble. If/when nothing gets done, one can make a public records request, and will have a significant number of unresolved complaints. One person's bad experience won't make the news, but a fistful of publicly documented unresolved complaints might.
If something like what Kevin described ever happens again, people should STAND, STILL, in FRONT of the bus. Not next to the driver's window, but in FRONT, so as to make it physically impossible for the driver to proceed. S/he's not driving a tank on Tiananmen (sp?) Square, for Pete's sake. Also, a crowd of sufficient size is bound to have at least one person with a camcorder. Try to get someone to videotape everything that happens. I can't overemphasize the power of videotape in such situations. Either it will catch people doing something they think they've gotten away with, or, if they see the camera, it will make them think twice about trying to get away with it in the first place. Personally, I don't think Metro drivers are out to get cyclists, and moreover, I don't care whether they are. As professional drivers and civil servants, it's their solemn duty to be careful for the safety of every citizen with whom they interact, whether passengers, pedestrians, motorists, cyclists, demonstrators, or whomever. Negligence is no less an offense than malice, in their case. And yes, they are negligent. > From: Martin Lund <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > A while back on the Bikies list there was a discussion > (I think perhaps even a poll) regarding run-ins with > city busses. > > Last night on my commute home I had one such run-in > and observed another cyclist having the same kind of > fun. > > Phone calls, last night and in anyother instance of my > experience, to the Madison Metro customer service > folks has yielded certainly nothing resembling > reassurance that the matter will be so much as looked > into or discussed. > > First, I'm curious as to whether or not folks hold > some truth to the notion that the busses often seem, > if not out to get cyclists, certainly without a care > towards them? Second, does anyone have any thoughts as > to what other avenues one can take to try and address > this issue so that the situation improves? --------------- Paul T. O'Leary Desktop Insurgent Madison, WI USA _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
