Why I always call the Toronto Police when a car driver does anything dangerous

This is interesting. I've had literally hundreds of close calls like that over the years, and never thought to call police.(unless I was actually hit) I had just assumed that such things were not important enough for their attention. The fact that this driver turned out to be 'of interest' to them, certainly puts this in a new light. I think I will now reconsider my reaction to traffic incidents like this. Thank you for this story.

Pat wrote:
"I've had literally hundreds of close calls like that over the years, and never thought to call police."

Kevin's comment:
Imagine if you had called police each and every time. Then hundreds of bad drivers would have received a visit from a police officer to discuss their behaviour.

That would have made a big difference to Toronto cycling safety.

Let's expand this. Imagine that every cyclist did the same. Then every car driver would know that every time he did something aggressive a police officer would be paying him a visit to discuss his behaviour. Don't you think that would radically change the behaviour of car drivers in Toronto?

Isn't that the sort of Toronto that you want to live and cycle in?

That is why I encourage everyone who is a witness to or victim of aggressive motorist behaviour to get the car's license plate number and telephone 911 each and every time. If there is a witness, request that charges be laid against the driver. Even if there is no witness, the police will follow-up and interview the driver.

Let's work together to build a better world.

If every cyclist reported every incident of aggressive, threatening or dangerous behaviour committed by a motorist, we'd never get where we're going and the police would not have the resources to visit each and every driver. In a perfect world, perhaps they would, but realistically, could we expect them to take the time to go and warn every driver to be more aware, courteous, lawful and safe?

The Toronto Police have committed to investigate every complaint of illegal, criminal activity. That is what they are there for. That is what police do. They have made a commitment that the investigation will be given a higher priority when the criminal activity poses a violent danger to the public. So yes, the Toronto Police do investigate every cyclist complaint.

If there is any evidence that alchohol is involved, the Toronto Police try to find the driver before he sobers up. They frequently respond to such complaints by waiting nearby the offender's home to nab him there to administer a breath test. So when calling in a complaint, I always mention any evidence of intoxication such as weaving or erratic driving.

If every cyclist reported every incident of aggressive, threatening or dangerous behaviour committed by a motorist, the frequency of such incidents would dramatically drop. Even if there are no witnesses so charges cannot be laid, being investigated by a police officer who arrives at the motorists home for that purpose will probably have a strong deterrent effect upon him.

Obviously, this does take time. But half my trips are going home - no deadline there. And many more are to places like shopping where taking another five minutes to call in a complaint is not a big deal.

The question is this: do you want things to get better? Do you want to get violent, dangerous criminals off our roads? We have the ability! We have the power to change things for the better!

416-808-2222 is a better number to call.

Kevin, I'm curious how often you find drivers do something dangerous enough to warrant calling the police?

Tanya asked:
"Kevin, I'm curious how often you find drivers do something dangerous enough to warrant calling the police?"

Kevin's answer:
It averages about once per week. This is about half the frequency of 25 years ago. Which is why I assert that things are getting better on Toronto's streets. My standard is that the behaviour must be:

1) Illegal.
2) Have the potential to cause death or serious injury.

Item #2 puts the continued presence of such a motorist on Toronto's streets as an emergency, for which the Toronto Police requests us to call 911. The definition of an emergency is "any situation where people or property are at risk." I always begin my calls by saying "this is an emergency."

Source:
http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/contact.php

Your advice Tanya is off the mark. The police have been pretty vocal about having aggressive drivers reported via 911. Here is a link to one story,

http://www.yorkregion.com/article/81197

One does not have to have contact with a vehicle to be considered an emergency or an act contrary to the HTA. Really no different than having a gun pointed at you, still illegal even if they do not shoot.

Violent criminals rarely make model drivers.

There was a study in the California that found that over 80% of the people parked in bike lane were wanted on felony warrants or for a felony. (Felonies are serious criminal acts, similar to Canada's indictable offences). Unfortunately many felt the study was not very credible. Parking in the bike lane was being used as probable cause by the police. They tended to already have strong suspicions that the occupants were wanted and just had to follow the letter of the law prior to approaching them. Even still, there does seem to be more than a casual connection between the two.

Yup. Yesterday while riding down the bike-taxi-bus-only lane on Bay Street, a passing van honked and swerved at me as it passed around me in the lane. I had to swerve away so he not hit me. I took chase, and pulled up to his window to explain that I ride that lane to be safe from cars, not be threatened by them. After much yelling back and forth, he tried to run over my foot to escape. I blocked his way, called 911, gave his license and my phone number, and bid him adieu. For some reason he thought I was the idiot.

I agree with your approach, Kevin. Calling police and making things complex for an aggressive driver is a good thing.

I am curious though whether your efforts ever got to the point where the driver was pulled before a judge, and whether there was a conviction. What I am leading up to is the picture where the cyclist's complaint is weighted against the word of the motorist, and the judge will dismiss the case. If there is no other witness, there'll be no conviction. Even if real damage resulted during the incident...

I have had convictions in cases where there was another witness or the driver has told the truth when being interviewed by the police officer.

Usually, there is no other witness. And the sort of person who is going to do the behaviour in the first place probably has no problem lying to the police officer. I really rely upon the deterrent effect of the police officer visiting the perpetrator's home to conduct the interview.

I presume that a lot of the perpetrators are young men living at home with their parents. Needless to say, said parents are going to be asking him just why the police officer arrived to question him. They may want to be part of the questioning process. "And then you did what??!!"

Or it may be someone older with children of their own who ask "Why is the police officer coming for daddy/mommy?"

Or whoever else is living with the perpetrator or neighbours who see the police car or police knocking at the door will have the same questions. Particularly if there are multiple visits due to multiple complaints. This is known as "social deterrence."

Even if the perpetrator lives on his own in the sort of apartment building where police visits are common and unremarkable, he still has a nice chunk of time taken out of his life being interviewed and explaining to police his side of what just happened.

Also, the police have computerized records of all complaints. They are able to say things like "this is the fifth complaint from five different people of violent and dangerous behaviour - we're keeping an eye on you. Let me counsel you on the consequences of your behaviour"

All this adds up to deterrence. There is no impunity. Even if the only consequence is being interviewed by police, that's something. And having to explain to friends, neighbours and family just why the police officers keep arriving at his home to talk with him can have a powerful deterrent effect.

i am going to try calling 911 when I encounter a dangerous, aggressive motorist. I'll certainly report the outcome to this forum. I trust it will be favourable.

I just got the summons as a witness to the trial of Carlos Manuel Pratas da Silva Ruino. He was charged with "Driving while under suspension."

I have been commanded by Her Majesty to attend at Old City Hall, 60 Queen Street West, Courtroom #C at 9:00 AM on January 27.

Bet your life I'll be there. Whenever I make a complaint I always promise to testify at the trial.

I just looked it up. Mr. Carlos Manuel Pratas da Silva Ruino is under a prohibition order and it is not his first offence. Upon conviction the penalty is a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000 or up to six months in jail or both. The prohibition order may also be extended.

So, I showed up to testify at the trial of Mr. Carlos Manuel Pratas de Silva Ruino. It turned out that the Ministry made a clerical error and his driver's license was valid after all. Anticlimax.

Well, that's how real life sometimes turns out. I win some and I lose some. At least Mr. Ruina had to hire a lawyer or paralegal and go through the court process. That may cause him to change his behaviour.

I'm not going to stop calling 911 every time a car driver does something dangerous and illegal.

While I admire what you are doing, I would reconsider posting the accused's name prior to trial. He could decide to come after you (legally) if he feels that you did not accurately report things.

The reconsideration took about 1/2 second. Telling the truth is an iron-clad defence. So I'm going to continue to do everything in my power to "name and shame" violent criminal perpetrators.

I'm no coward. And I am committed to making the world a better place for its people.

Kevin. I admire your tenacity and commitment. We share a passion for justice, I can tell. Far too many people in our society fail to take action of any kind for fear of repercussion or revenge. Stand up for what's right, what you believe in. You have my support.

Kevin in no way was I suggesting you are a coward or not telling the truth. Again, I admire what you are doing and I myself have been involved in publishing photos of errant drivers.

That said, it is still prudent to find out what risks you face posting accuseds' names. Privacy laws can be used in wonderful and whacky ways against you. You will notice now in traffic courts that they no longer attach the charge to the accused's name on the schedule posted outside the courtroom, all in an effort to conform to pricacy issues.