Anti harrassment ordinance public hearings
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mechazawa at 10.25.10 - 12:57 am
The first hearing will be this Wednesday at city hall @ 2pm City in front of the Council Transportation Committee
the next one will be Monday, Nov. 1st in front of the Public Safety Committee
It is short notice, if you can't make it, try to make it out the 2nd one.
Council Transportation Committee Meeting Agenda
Streets blog link Write up about the potential impact of ordinance
info from
Biking in LA
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HERE IS A .PDF of the ENTIRE REPORT from the CITY ATTORNEY
This is an explanation of what it would do (from StreetsBlog):
Rosendahl explains the motion:
"Cyclists are the most vulnerable users on our roads so we need to do everything we can to protect them. When a motorist feels aggrieved and engages in some type of senseless tit for tat behavior with another motorist it’s never appropriate or safe. But when that same motorist is engaging in that behavior with a cyclist it’s deadly. This proposal is designed to address that. It creates a private cause of action that allows cyclists who are victims of discrimination on the roadway to pursue the matter civilly rather than wait for law enforcement to act."
In plain English, this proposed legislation would give cyclists another legal leg to stand on and help them get legal counsel for civil suits. Generally, people who sue for a tort in civil court cannot recover attorneys fees, and so unless there are very serious injuries or unless the person suing is wealthy, it is almost impossible to get an attorney to represent you. By allowing for a recovery of attorneys fees, people might be able to get a lawyer to represent them even if they were only slightly injured, or did not suffer physical injuries.
Update: Ted Rogers adds that the ordinance would allow cyclists to pursue civil actions against drivers without a police report. I.E. that witness statements and other evidence would allow them to seek compensation.
Granted, this isn’t the kind of change that’s going to make streets safer for cyclists overnight, instead its aim is to help cyclists recoup some of their losses after the crash. While this may increase the number of crash cases that go to civil court, and the size of judgments against unsafe drivers, the cases are still going to rest on properly written police reports. And what about just trying to make streets safer for cyclists? Wasn’t that the original point of pushing an “anti-harassment ordinance?”
trickmilla
10.25.10 - 8:05 am
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Will it help if a lot of people are present?
Joe Borfo10.25.10 - 12:12 pm
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It would. It would work in our favor if people came in informed and willing to voice opinion. Bodies and voices are needed.
mechazawa responding to a
comment by Joe Borfo
10.26.10 - 6:26 pm
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I'm missing the first one but i hope if someone with the ability to record audio or video can make it or willing to give the run down on the first public hearing. i will be present at the 2nd hearing to record audio.
mechazawa10.26.10 - 6:28 pm
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Dudeonabike is rocking the mic right now!
DJwheels10.27.10 - 2:39 pm
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The hearing went better than expected. Los Angeles is one step closer to getting a first-in-the-nation type of law that will work to better protect cyclists. The law will, among other things, allow for the recovery of attorneys fees, which means that attorneys will be more likely to take up the (relatively) smaller damage cases that typically characterize bike crashes--and get you some compensation should you suffer injuries.
As mentioned above, the next hearing on whether to move forward will be at the City Council Public Safety Committee meeting on Monday. After that, the full council will vote on it. After that the City Attorney would draft the new law (currently it's only a draft proposal), and then the City Council would enact it.
So it's a long process, but slowly working it's way through the system.
If you've got a bike-crash story that neither the District/City Attorney nor any private lawyer would take and left you on the hook for all your injuries, then you should come tell how fucked up that is to the Public Safety Committee on Monday.
dudeonabike10.27.10 - 6:11 pm
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Ridazz Roulette!