Cop Crossing

The good news is that after this driver crossed in front of me he apologized. The bad news is that he did it in the first place. It turns out he was an (I assume) off duty but in uniform city of Brookfield reserve police officer.



This is the same department that has threatened to cite me for disorderly conduct for shouting at a driver who ran me off the road, and told me that I have no right to ride on any street in Brookfield if I'm not going the speed limit.

I wonder how the Brookfield Police Department would have responded to this incident, since, when it occurred I was in fact riding at the speed limit.

Now this driver admittedly misjudged my speed. But if an officer can misjudge the speed of a bicycle on a crystal clear Saturday morning and almost cause a serious crash, I think it is time that the City of Brookfield police chief reinforces to all his employees the importance of understanding, following and fairly enforcing the state of Wisconsin traffic laws as they relate to bicycles.

He should stress to all his employees that bicycles have the same right to the road as all other vehicles. He should stress that bicycles can legally use the entire traffic lane in numerous scenarios. He should also stress that bicycles may not always behave as you expect them too, for example, they may be going significantly faster than you would expect.

Perhaps the Chief can get this officer to help him reinforce these principles to his other employees, at least he seems to have learned his lesson from this incident.
Bikesafer,
Jeff