A certain city to the east just got a little more bike-friendly.
At least, that’s the spin of the new bike-harassment law the Columbia, Mo., City Council approved the other day.
According to the new ordinance:
(a) A person commits the offense of harassment of a bicyclist if the person: …
(1) Knowingly throws an object at or in the direction of any person riding a bicycle; or
(2) Threatens any person riding a bicycle for the purpose of frightening or disturbing the person riding the bicycle; or
(3) Sounds a horn, shouts or otherwise directs sound toward any person riding a bicycle for the purpose of frightening or disturbing the person riding the bicycle; or
(4) Knowingly engages in conduct that creates a risk of death or serious physical injury to the person riding a bicycle.
(b) Harassment of a bicyclist is a Class A misdemeanor.
Now, I’m not going to get into any other quality-of-life debates about Lawrence vs. Columbia.
And while I’m sure this new law — following the lead of a couple of states, like Colorado and South Carolina — is well intentioned, I’m not sure just what it will accomplish, if anything.
According to the PedNet Coalition that championed the new law, bicycle harassment is difficult for law-enforcement officials to target, and though there are existing laws that can protect cyclists, it is difficult to get convictions, and The Man can be reluctant to pursue convictions.
I’ve had lots of junk thrown at me, from batteries and ball bearings to fireworks and Big Gulp cups. For the most part, the detritus has missed. Thankfully. Thrown from an approaching vehicle, even the smallest object can do more than raise a welt. In fact, some can be almost deadly. I once had to dodge a full (or nearly so) 44-ounce beverage thrown from a truck at highway speeds. I hate to think what it would have done had it connected.
If it had, though, I’m pretty sure that would have crossed over into battery territory.
Much more frequent are threats, honks, shouts or “otherwise directed sound,” most of which, I can only assume, are meant to frighten or disturb. Heck, I get frightened or disturbed — mostly disturbed — on a weekly basis. Most of these I simply shrug off.
I guess what bothers me most about the Columbia ordinance is that it tries to make cyclists into a protected class.
I don’t like being harassed any more than the next guy, but I don’t think I’m entitled any special rights just because I tend to get around on two wheels instead of four.
Why should cyclists have any more protection than pedestrians or runners or skateboarders or, heaven forbid, even rollerbladers?
Criminal is criminal, regardless of a victim’s choice of transport.
