Sunday, January 27, 2008

Props to the Waukesha Sheriff's Department

What a great day for a ride. Sunny, warm, (relatively speaking), and light wind. I even saw another rider out, and I never see other riders on the route I was on today. Anyhow, it was a great ride except when Mr. SUV decided he couldn't wait to pass me until the oncoming car passed us, so he did the ole' squeeze play. Well I didn't like that so I followed him to his subdivision to try ask him to give the next cyclist a little more room. He told me to go away. So I told him if he didn't want to talk to me he could talk to the police.

That's where the Waukesha Sheriff's Department comes in. I have to digress a little here. I have contacted at least 8 different police agencies since my first complaint about unsafe motorists. Only twice have my initial contacts been positive. Both times have been when dealing with the Waukesha Sheriff's Department.

In this case the deputy looked at the video and said, "That was pretty close." Then he added that the car endangered both me and the oncoming car. He told me that I have just as much right to the road as the SUV. I knew that but apparently the SUV driver didn't, and neither do most of the other police agencies I've contacted. The deputy did exactly what he should have done in this situation at this stage of the investigation. He took my information and told me he would make contact with the driver. He did not make any assumptions about either party until he talked to both parties. I told the deputy that if he truly felt that the driver understood how dangerous and illegal his actions were and if he felt he would not do it again, I was ok with no ticket being issued. I told him that if he didn't believe that was the case I would like to have a ticket issued and I would testify. I have not heard back from the deputy yet, but I'm confident that when he contacts the driver he will take the appropriate action.

That is a rare feeling and that is why I'm sending props to the Waukesha Sheriff's Department.
Keep up the good work.

By the way the ride ended with a hawk swooping down in front of me trying to grab a snack, and then flying up to a low perch to watch the traffic go by. Pretty cool. It's hard to see on the video, but trust me it's a hawk, and it was cool.

3 comments:

StevenCX said...

No 3 feet there for sure.

StevenCX said...

No 3 feet there for sure.

Anonymous said...

Nice job! I lived in Milwaukee for a couple of years. I agree that the Waukesha Sheriffs are unlike any other law enforcement agency in WI. As pro-cycling as Minneapolis is, the police are just about the equals of Milwaukee's "finest" (yeah, that was sarcasm).

E-mail me about your camera set up would you please?