Cop on a Cell Phone | GTAMotorcycle.com

Cop on a Cell Phone

Give me a second while I move my vehicle to the right side of the road.
... because after all, you're suppose to move your car after you hit a bicycle rider, right ? :rolleyes:
So much wrong, they will probably attribute it to the bicycle rider not being stopped behind the white line.
 
So much wrong? What was wrong, besides him being on the phone like the rest of you?
 
Saw this on Reddit few days back. Not sure how true it is, but one of the comments claimed that the state this happened in, apparently it's legal to use your phone when driving.
 
Legal or not to be on the phone, the cop still hit a stationary cyclist on the wrong side of the road.

Missouri bans texting for all drivers 21 years old or younger and all commercial vehicle drivers. Additionally, the state restricts most other phone use while driving outside of making calls.
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Chris Oberholtz
PECULIAR, MO -- Troopers say distracted driving was a possible cause for a Raymore bicyclist being struck by a Peculiar police officer Thursday evening.

The collision happened about 6:20 p.m. at 211th Street and Missouri Highway J.

Cyclist Joe Fasanello was waiting at a stop sign when Officer Charles Wallace took a sharp turn in his department-issued SUV and hit him head-on. His GoPro camera on his helmet caught the whole wreck.

"I was struck head-on by a local police officer using his cell phone. He received a text from a fellow officer and decided to read that while making a turn onto my road. I was stopped ... there is no excuse to use your phone at the wheel," Fasanello said.

In the video, the officer admitted he was looking at his phone. The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating.

Troopers say the crash occurred as Wallace made a left turn on 211th Street, cut the corner too sharp and struck Fasanello.

Fasanello was scraped up and sore but not seriously hurt. he refused treatment at the scene.

"The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating the incident. Until the investigation is complete, the officer is suspended with pay, which is standard," Police Chief Harry Gurin said.

Gurin said that the department is doing their due diligence to make sure they're doing everything the right way, and they're not trying to hide anything.
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4. The provisions of subsection 1 through subsection 3 of this section shall not apply to a person operating:

  (1) An authorized emergency vehicle; or

  (2) A moving motor vehicle while using a hand-held electronic wireless communications device to:

  (a) Report illegal activity;

  (b) Summon medical or other emergency help;

  (c) Prevent injury to a person or property; or

  (d) Relay information between a transit or for-hire operator and that operator's dispatcher, in which the device is permanently affixed to the vehicle.
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Officer Wallace will get off with a slap on the wrist.
 
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MLadin said:
As someone pointed out in the comments, "laws are only for us peasants." Watch out for this as they're always on their phones!

https://youtu.be/QoSOEtzWPlU

Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
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IIRC Ontarios law exempts cops so they are free to text their girlfriends while driving (unless they actually get in a crash at which point careless charges can kick in).
 
and his driver insurance will not be impacted and he had the reaction time of a sloth and proceeded to multitask and he moved the vehicle so no accurate evidence could be collected and he dismissed the citizens physical injuries and bicycle damage as insignificant. Camera just paid for itself.
 
He won't even get a "legal" slap on the wrist. given Police Officers are as correctly stated, both there and in Ontario from the hand held device legislation, at best the officer will face "internal disciplinary action." Which will most likely involve a verbal warning or "perhaps" a letter in his file.
 
As for insurance, it will depend "how" accidents are handled in MO. Here in Ontario, a collision is tied to your DL#. Therefore, although no claim will be made through his personal insurer, they "may" still be able to view, (at renewal time for example), that he was involved in an at fault claim. It also depends on how the forces vehicles are insured.

For example, vehicles owned and operated by the Cdn Forces, do NOT carry insurance. They are instead "self insured", meaning that the government "insures" the vehicles themselves. This is done for a few reasons.

1. The sheer number of vehicles would make it financially impracticable;
2. Vehicles, can be "based" in Ontario, but operating in Afghanistan, or moved to another province;
3. Insurer databases, don't contain certain vehicle information, IE tanks don't have a VIN..lol;
4. Most insurance policies are voided due to "acts of war"... Obviously, the military sends their vehicles TO war...lmao.

Trials said:
and his driver insurance will not be impacted and he had the reaction time of a sloth and proceeded to multitask and he moved the vehicle so no accurate evidence could be collected and he dismissed the citizens physical injuries and bicycle damage as insignificant. Camera just paid for itself.
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hedo2002 said:
He won't even get a "legal" slap on the wrist. given Police Officers are as correctly stated, both there and in Ontario from the hand held device legislation, at best the officer will face "internal disciplinary action." Which will most likely involve a verbal warning or "perhaps" a letter in his file.
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How does this leave the poor citizen in question, who now has a written-off bicycle?

Some of those bicycles ain't cheap. Some of them make motorcycles look cheap.
 
Brian P said:
How does this leave the poor citizen in question, who now has a written-off bicycle?

Some of those bicycles ain't cheap. Some of them make motorcycles look cheap.
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With a carbon bike and carbon wheels, I would be pushing the police service for a new frame/fork/wheels and rebuild cost at a minimum after that crash. Having the carbon disintegrate while at speed due to hidden damage will cost the force much much more.

This reminds me of a friend that got much of his scaffolding supply punted over 100' by a train. The insurance company said it looked fine and didn't want to pay to replace it. My friend told them that a P.Eng would need to sign off on each piece before they were sent to jobsites. The insurance company couldn't find an engineer to take the job so they replaced everything.
 
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hedo2002 said:
He won't even get a "legal" slap on the wrist. given Police Officers are as correctly stated, both there and in Ontario from the hand held device legislation, at best the officer will face "internal disciplinary action." Which will most likely involve a verbal warning or "perhaps" a letter in his file.
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Brian P said:
How does this leave the poor citizen in question, who now has a written-off bicycle?

Some of those bicycles ain't cheap. Some of them make motorcycles look cheap.
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This is the USA, the guy is likely going to sue. The officer may get off with a slap on the wrist procedurally, but perhaps not financially.
 
PrivatePilot said:
This is the USA, the guy is likely going to sue. The officer may get off with a slap on the wrist procedurally, but perhaps not financially.
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just curious, how does one sue the police in canada, in particular ontario. small claims court?
 
gerrbear8 said:
yea out of curiosity i would like to know this also. sue the officer in civil court? or sue the whole department?
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In this particular situation (with the bicyclist), you first pay a visit to the police department in question, with a copy of the video in hand, present the situation to whoever is at the front desk, and ask them NICELY what they plan to do about it and how to proceed. It may turn out that given the situation, the police department will want to make this situation go away without having to go to court. (It would be best for all parties concerned, and I would say that this is likely.)

If you get brushed off, THEN you consult with a lawyer concerning how to proceed.

Suing the police is exceedingly difficult. Their job involves going to court. They know how to present cases; it's their job. They also know what evidence to present and how to answer questions, and they can make your life miserable if they want to. Do not attempt it without legal advice.

I tend to suspect that in a case like this, it will not be necessary. They know they screwed up, they know the evidence is out there, and it's less expensive by far to settle the case first and NOT go to court.
 
... Is also their job to know how to drive better then that.
Officer at the very least needs a refresher course on basic rules of the road and safe driving practice.
 
Brian P said:
In this particular situation (with the bicyclist), you first pay a visit to the police department in question, with a copy of the video in hand, present the situation to whoever is at the front desk, and ask them NICELY what they plan to do about it and how to proceed. It may turn out that given the situation, the police department will want to make this situation go away without having to go to court. (It would be best for all parties concerned, and I would say that this is likely.)

If you get brushed off, THEN you consult with a lawyer concerning how to proceed.

Suing the police is exceedingly difficult. Their job involves going to court. They know how to present cases; it's their job. They also know what evidence to present and how to answer questions, and they can make your life miserable if they want to. Do not attempt it without legal advice.

I tend to suspect that in a case like this, it will not be necessary. They know they screwed up, they know the evidence is out there, and it's less expensive by far to settle the case first and NOT go to court.
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Agreed.

Buy the guy a new bike. As a peace offering buy him a better bike than what he had. And offer an honest apology from the cop.

If it were me who had been hit that’d be ok with me.
 
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