I think the police will. We conduct yearly training of the police department on bicycle issues.

I just sent my new two-hour curriculum titled: Rights and Duties: a law enforcement officers guide to bicycling issues off to get POST certified.

That is the certification process for police officers continuing education credit.

My hope is that it will give our training instant credibility outside of Columbia.

Our police department blows my mind with their professionalism. We have fostered a relationship built upon trust and mutual respect.

While you would think that assault laws would suffice, they don’t. These kinds of laws are necessary and good for two reasons.

1) they focus attention on the issue and they arm the bureaucracy (i.e. the police, justice system) with a specific directive that indicates support for enforcing and prosecuting these types of offenses.

If the general community sees this behavior as funny or “no big deal” they will not classify it as assault and as such not submit to its enforcement.

Which is part two 2) these kinds of laws help us to conceptualize behavior as a problem.

By establishing legal language and categories we help shift people’s conceptions of right and wrong. A classic example is civil rights legislation, government’s redefinition of behaviors through legal language mandating an eventual change in social norms.

I guess the key question now, is will the police enforce this regularly and systematically?

Good law. Scary, scary comments (not these, the ones on the articles you linked to).