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April 2, 2013

Honorable Scott Waguespack

32nd Ward Alderman

2657 N. Clybourn Ave.

Chicago, IL 60614

Dear Alderman Waguespack,

Thank you for sharing the concerns youve heard from constituents regarding people

on bicycles ignoring the rules of the road. With the increase in bicycling, this matter

is more important than ever before, and we support improved enforcement of bicycle-related traffic laws, and indeed all traffic laws. Below, please find our comments on

the lack of traffic enforcement in Chicago for both bicyclists and motorists and

our recommendations for how to move forward.

Prioritizing Traffic Enforcement

Enforcement of traffic laws in concurrence with the Citys existing engineering and

education efforts is the most powerful way to influence safety on Chicagos streets.

But Chicagos current enforcement efforts have limited impact. Peoples behavior in

traffic whether on bicycles or driving cars- could be improved by an increase in

routine enforcement by the Chicago Police Department (CPD).

Routine enforcement does not imply a crackdown on bicyclists, nor does it imply

that police should prioritize cyclist traffic violations over other types of traffic crime.

Rather, it is the engagement of a standard ticketing procedure by police officers when

they witness egregious offences from people on bicycles.

Our expertise on this issue comes not just from our work with the cycling

community, but also from years of consulting work at the CDOT Bicycle Program,

where our staff has coordinated with CPD on a number of initiatives including:

Developing and implementing enforcement training programs for officers thattarget motorists who endanger cyclists in traffic

Coordinating targeted Share-the-Road enforcement events that address specificbicyclist behavior, as well as that of motorists and pedestrians

Establishing a procedure for CPD to record dooring crashes so the City couldtrack them when the State was not doing so

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Advocating for a standard ticketing procedure for bicyclist moving violations andthe issuance of a General Order on such procedurewhich, to our knowledge, has

never been issued

We know firsthand about CDOTs enforcement-related efforts across agency lines

over the years. But CDOT is not a law enforcement agency and there are many

barriers to an effective enforcement program that are out of CDOTs control. If the

City wants to increase compliance with traffic laws, these issues must be brought to

CPD.

Barriers to enforcement

Both the Municipal Code of Chicago and the Illinois Vehicle Code afford people on

bicycles all the same rights and duties of motor vehicle drivers. CDOT uses one of

the largest bicycle safety education programs in North America to make Chicago

cyclists aware of the rules of the road. CPD is legally empowered to cite bicyclists

for traffic infractions, and there are sufficient bicycle patrol units to carry out

enforcement on a multi-modal level. Despite this, there are procedural disincentives

for Police officers to issue tickets to bicyclists.

The Illinois Bail Rule requires officers to confiscate driver licenses when ticketing

any person for a moving violation, or bring them in to post cash bail. Considering all

of their other responsibilities on the beat, this requirement impacts an officers

decision to pull a driver over for a traffic ticket and the situation becomes much

more complex when the offenders are on bicycles and even less likely to have adrivers license. Bringing a cyclist into a police station creates many procedural

challenges (e.g., hours taken out of their day, liability issues if the bicycle has to be

transported, etc.). In cases when cyclists do not have a drivers license, but are able to

provide another form of ID, some officers issue an Administrative Notice of

Violation (ANOV) in lieu of a moving violation.

In our experience, most police officers are aware of the challenges, but not of their

options. As a result, they do not prioritize this type of enforcement in their day-to-day

work, and thus errant cyclists do not perceive any consequences for their actions.

Also, if officers are not currently prioritizing motor vehicle violations, it seems

unlikely that theyll prioritize those of cyclists.

Strategy for improved enforcement

A simple ticketing procedure for bicyclists traffic violations would be relatively

simple to establish, and we recommend that the City support CPD in this process.

Anecdotally, we know the ANOV strategy mentioned above is already being used by

many officers and it is the simplest procedure for officers and for cyclists, thus we

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would advocate for this strategy. CPD would, of course, conduct a legal analysis of

the state and local bicycling laws within a routine enforcement framework, before

formally adopting a procedure. Once adopted, steps should be taken to integrate itinto officer training materials and issue a Department-wide general order. The general

orders remain on record so that Sergeants can refer to them whenever necessary to

answer questions from officers on the beat. In order to do this, CPD will need

encouragement and support in the following forms:

Aldermanic and Mayoral support. In the broad context of law enforcement andthe many challenges CPD faces, it is understandable that bicycle safety would

not take top priority. Policymakers can make it clear that this facet of traffic

safety impacts everyone and that there is a demand from the public to address

this issue.

Interagency support. CDOT, Corporation Counsel, and Administrative Hearingsall have an interest in the success of this effort. It is recommended that these

agencies be engaged to conduct a legal analysis, address the increase in bicycle-

related hearings that will have to be processed.

Community support. Active Trans is known for its work to educate people aboutbike-related traffic laws and safety. With an effective enforcement program in

place, our organization could be a valuable partner in increasing compliance with

bicycle-related traffic laws. As a voice for the cycling community, Active Trans

can also help build acceptance of this initiative among the cycling community.

It is imperative that any resulting initiatives are carried out in a balanced way based

on real safety outcome goals, as opposed to a crackdown targeting one specific

transportation mode, which could hinder the Citys efforts to improve safety on

Chicagos streets.

Active Trans would be pleased to discuss this issue in greater depth, and to

participate in any discussions of this matter with CPD.

Sincerely,

Lee CrandellDirector of Campaigns