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The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance Tuesday allowing motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and equestrians to file a civil lawsuit over hostile behavior on the road and collect up to $1,000 if successful.

The issue was originally brought to the Board of Supervisors nearly a year ago by Supervisor Dave Cortese and broadened to include acts of road rage suffered by anyone on county roads.

The county’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee has supported the issue. According to the office of Supervisor Cortese, complaints from bicyclists who have been threatened and endangered by motorists played a major part in causing the Board of Supervisors to pass the ordinance.

“While motorists and cyclists have become more aware of each other, especially on narrow roads, bad behavior still happens all too frequently,” Cortese said in a statement. “This ordinance will allow victims to take legal civil action and could be a deterrent to these acts of harassment.”

Examples of bad behavior that the ordinance may protect against include motorists driving too closely to cyclists or pedestrians, making threats, cutting others off roadways or throwing objects, according to Cortese’s office.

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  1. It sounds from the description in the article that the ordinance is vaguely written, and will encourage lawsuits (in small claims court). I hope that is not true. Does the ordinance and law allow actual medical and property damages only, or extend to liability for pain and suffering and punitive damages? This should have been covered in the article.

    While it is easy for a bicyclist to jot down an auto license plate number, it will most often be impossible for a motorist to obtain the identity of a bicyclist cutting one’s auto off, swerving, throwing objects at an auto, or running a stop sign and endangering a motorist and traffic safety in general.

    This has the potential to become another example of bad legislation passed at the behest of a small but very vocal minority of constituents.

  3. Better to catch some than to catch none. People should have dash cams if this is a recurring issue in their cars. Cyclists have brought many a dirt bag to justice through their use.
    One thing is clear…the cowardly bad guys cannot run away bad hide anymore. That’s good for all of us, unless you support the bad guys.

  4. Thank you @ MV Resident! Treble actual damages plus attorneys’ fees to the loser, or $1,000 whichever is greater.

    To “Oh yah. This is nice :)”, I can assure you that I don’t support the bad guys. I do support all vehicle operators to operate their vehicle lawfully and to be respectful of others. I wonder if you include misbehaving bicyclists as bad guys. How is a dashcam going to capture the ID of a bicycle and its operator that has no ID visible on it, as autos all do?

  6. Yah, it’s like the “Crackdown” LA Hills is doing on cyclists along PM road. Too funny. It’s really not going to change anything.
    Though, I guess it will FEEL very real if you’re caught breaking the law.

    Best advice: don’t mess with cyclists now that the law is on the books, and don’t speed down PM between Moody and Arastradero for the next couple weeks.

  7. Dash cams capture faces, clothing and bike type. If you’re looking for traceability of a car to equal that of a bike, you would need an entire new gov’t agency in charge of testing, fees, lic, renewals and for all people riding their bikes? Even kids to school? Sounds like a massively wasteful program. I never hear law enforcement calling for anything like this. I’m guessing you must be a big lib. This idea reeks of big government bloat.

  8. I hope this also covers bike harassment like multiple bike blocking the road. How about protesters crossing the road to stop traffic? Jogger running in the bike lane?

  9. Did you read what the law was actually about? Are joggers acting aggressively with malice intent?
    Go back and try again, you might surprise yourself.

  10. Does anyone at all these days remember the word manners or the Golden Rule? Manners don’t just apply to the table, Mable. How the world has changed! We now need laws – and expensive court costs – to enforce manners.

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