Aggressive drivers, some of whom are also angry drivers with issues, are a road hazard that cyclists must be wary of everywhere. Unfortunately Vermont is no exception.
The Story
On Thursday October 14, 2010 at 6:30pm I was riding south on lightly traveled Route 7 just past the Equinox Hotel in Manchester, Vermont. I wore reflective clothing, a helmet with a mirror, and had functioning front-facing and rear-facing lights. I rode within two feet of the edge of the road and held my line.
A vehicle approaching from behind in my travel lane began to aggressively honk its horn. There was no traffic in the northbound lane and ample room for the vehicle to safely pass. As the vehicle came alongside it slowed, and then suddenly accelerated into my line of travel giving all indications of an intent to intimidate, or run me off the road. The vehicle came so close my left arm was brushed by the passenger side mirror. I noted a basic vehicle description including the tag number. After the initial pass the vehicle doubled back and drove by me again, without incident. This gave me a chance to confirm the number.
A Complaint Is Filed
Later that evening I filed a report of this aggressive driving incident with both the state and local police department in whose jurisdiction the incident occurred, providing both with all relevant information. The following day I followed up with a call to the local police department asking if the vehicle had been located. I was told it hadn’t because the plate was only a temporary. Initially I found this difficult to believe, and unsettling if true. What is the point then of issuing a temporary tag if a recklessly driven vehicle could not be identified and the owner located?
Temporary License Plates
What I have learned subsequently about temporary plates is that when someone purchases a vehicle from a dealer, registers that vehicle through the dealer and is issued a temporary tag –as opposed to a hard green plate, it can conceivably take a couple of weeks for this information to percolate through the DMV. So, if someone were to purchase a vehicle, have a paper plate issued, and then drive recklessly on the way home, a police officer entering that number into the system would find no matching number in the database, because it isn’t there.
There are a couple of reasons for this delay. First, the dealer might only submit paperwork to the DMV once a week. Second, once submitted it takes the DMV time to process the paperwork. So, between the time a vehicle is sold and registration paperwork processed, a vehicle issued that temporary plate is invisible as far as vehicle identification by plate number goes. As it turns out, there is a way for law enforcement to get around this difficulty.
How To Track Temporary Plates
The Department of Motor Vehicles issues blocks of temporary plates to dealerships across the state. The DMV knows at any given time which temporary plate numbers are issued to which dealers. If a law enforcement officer needs to know the name of the owner of a particular vehicle connected to a temporary tag, all they need do is contact DMV’s Enforcement and Safety Division in Montpelier and have a staff member conduct an offline search. Knowing then to which dealership a specific tag has been issued , law enforcement can next contact that dealership, request to see the temporary tag records, and identify the vehicle and owner to whom a given number has been issued.
It has taken me five days since my incident to distill some understanding of how vehicles are currently tracked in the state vehicle registration system. In that time I dialoged with fellow cyclists subscribed to the The Green Mountain Bicycle Club mailing list (GMBC); exchanged emails with a representative of the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and a representative of the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, and spoke with state and local law enforcement personnel. Everyone I had an exchange with, without exception first expressed gratitude that I was not injured and then interest in seeing this system improved. Until the latter happens, it will take some diligence on the part of law enforcement to go the extra mile when chasing down information on temporary plates.
Zero Tolerance For Aggressive Driving
On that early evening in mid-October I was just a nameless cyclist to an angry driver who gave little thought to the fact that I have a family I’m responsible to, and friends who care about me. Whatever the reason, behavior that risks the lives of others has no excuse or place anywhere, and there should be zero tolerance for it. Everyone needs to understand the serious and at times irrevocable consequence of reckless and inappropriate behavior on the road whether driving, walking, or riding a bike. And while every user of the road needs to exercise common sense when following rules established for the safety of all, those who drive the biggest, most powerful, most potentially dangerous vehicles must accept greater responsibility and exercise the most caution around those who are smaller and most vulnerable.
As I have mentioned to others in the course of the last few days, my only interest in pressing this issue is to making sure the person who could have caused me serious harm or worse, is informed that such acts are not acceptable and that there are serious and very real consequences for irresponsible behavior. What more can be done?
PHOTO CREDIT: John Sutton, 2010
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
John, this is an excellent piece. It’s somewhat dismaying to learn about the temp tag protocols from a general public safety standpoint. Had your situation(or any other situation) been more urgent, a immediate a timely apprehension of the violator would have been nigh on impossible. Good on you for your cool headed conduct during the event.
Thanks for reading, Trey. Even after a week of prodding and understanding that there is a way for law enforcement to easily identify those with temporary tags, I’m told the case is still ‘open’.
John, thanks for performing this service of setting up this blog and pointing out this flaw in the system. I strongly encourage you to keep on the case of the officers and may them persue the case.
Cheers,
Roger
Thanks for stopping by, Roger. I’ll do my best.
another thought that occurs to me is the possibility that the driver knew about this loophole in the system and chose to exploit it then and there to express their aggression against cyclists.
I think we all need to be careful with accusations of drivers and cyclists.
I have noticed since the law passed protecting cyclists on the roads it seems that many people believe it is 0k to ride double wide or more and unwilling to move over when I am driving to work. My belief is if you want drivers to respect all cyclists on the road respect the car that needs to get around you on the road. This applies to those elite cyclist who think they are faster than a car. I am a cyclist and I also ride horses in Addison County where I live and this is another issue that people don’t understand why they can’t pass a horse at 70MPH. Horses were our only mode of transportation in Pioneering days. I believe it all comes down to respect for our fellow human beings and we need to wait sometimes such as life, but what happens is we get in our little world of what is important to us. We forget about that person on the road impeding our movement forward. I think as motorist we may all be guilty of this and need to not think when we get into a car it is our personal pod space and we are detached from the outside world. I also believe that many drivers are conscious of their surroundings and passing cyclists, pedestrians and horses with care as well as respect. It starts with your attitude then it reaches the collective unconscious.
Drive and Ride in Peace
Well said, Sheila. We all must respect each other on the road, whatever our mode of transport. In my experience bicycling in Vermont, drivers are for the most part considerate and careful.
Thanks for this article. Women have extra concerns to worry too. For example, a smack on the ass while cycling uphill is not only not funny, it’s sexual assault, and could result in a serious accident. Anyway, I’m glad you were handled the situation calmly at the heated moment and did your homework about the law.