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It’s about time that a court is recognizing a car as a weapon.
We just need some appeals now, and higher court rulings, and then, maybe, the head-out-of-your ass notion wlll dawn on some heads that cars are dangerous, not just a hide-out from the world around you. (we are raising kids to think and feel this way)
I see the privilege of driving to be given out to far too many, and feel as though guns are trained on me as I ride, surrounded by cars. There is no difference. People need to be aware of what it is like. Anyone caught shouting at a cyclist, should be forced to give up the car for a week (lenient) but if this guy ever drives again, justice is not served.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120457877
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Here, here! Let’s hope it is a landmark case. In Tucson we had a guy turn left in front a group riding El Tour last year, injuring several, one person very seriously, and then LEFT THE SCENE. He got 3 months probation!! (granted he was an old dude) It’s fucking ridiculous!
For every case like the LA incident there are 10 like this:
http://www.mountainx.com/news/2009/shooting_has_cyclist_community_outraged
“cars are dangerous, not just a hide-out from the world around you. (we are raising kids to think and feel this way)”
Very well said, sir.
Hiding in your tinted glass, leather seat metal box is as much a prison as anything. I was talking to a guy who said he bought a fat-ass crew-cab truck so his daughter can do her homework in the back. That’s just a fucked up way to live..
Seems it’s somewhat about context here. Doesn’t matter if the shooting victim was “cyclist” or not. Could have been a drunk, retarded homeless dude. The shooter shot at the person’s head. Attempted murder, period, end of story. “Attempted murderers” should not be on the street. What if he had attempted to murder a police officer? Why are penalties different depending on your social status i.e cop, child, president? We’re all people and deserve the same rights. But, bottom line, cyclists are viewed differently and we should be scared when on the streets.
shouting?
My high school newsletter just wrote about how cyclists have too many rights. I can’t believe this, they say that bikes are annoying, dangerous, and rude. Well, cars deserve it. Phoenix is a terrible biking city. We need our rights. I am writing my letter to the editor now.
Yes, we are the minority, and it sucks that a few dipshits ruin it for the rest of us. I see way more bullshit from cars during the daily commute than I’ll see in a month from other cyclists, and considering I spend a lot of time with other cyclists compared to the average Motorist Only types…
You get a good feel for the mentality (and damn it is enraging and depressing) anytime you read the comments section under an online article about a cyclist getting hit/killed. Always seems to bring out some real brainiacs.
One of my favorites was a local woman who wrote about the dangerous behavior of cyclists after a guy was mowed down from behind and killed. She mentioned about how cyclists “mostly wear green in the summer and brown in the winter” in support of her theory on the inherent dangers and carelessness of cyclists. like she was an expert on the colors of choice for the average cycling community. Seriously, half the stuff you see out there these days looks like someone ate the Wednesday flyers from the newspaper and then threw up on a jersey. point is…there are a lot of dipshits out there, and the vast majority of them drive.
The vast majority drive. Even the cyclists. I’ve seen some dipshit roadies more often than I’ve seen any who display competence on the bike. There’s an equivalence in it. Yea, just say’n.
The brutal truth here, is the same as it was in the times of slavery. It’s just the way it is no matter the obviousness of the abuse.
The vast majority does not cycle. The vast majority drives. Putting bikes in the same lanes that seem to have been created for their right of way, simply seems absurd. And it is. It’s absurd because there is no law on the books that currently warrants any regard for cyclists. That is the bottom line. And to assume that some day real soon our rights will be legislated is equally absurd. It’s not cost effective.
Is there a solution? Sure. But it isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Until then, we’ll just get to read about the people who are dragged and torn to death under the wheels of power.
Shouting or threatening behavior during an activity requiring focus and basically situations of life and death (traffic, going to work/school..) is a form of assault. A fair and just society would strongly discourage this behavior, and penalize it.
Just as the drunk driving penalties in this country are the most lenient in the world (yes, the most lenient in the world) the penalties for road rage or assault from a driver to a cyclist in this country is non-existent. Only in cases of extreme, aggravated assault are there charges considered or brought. This HAS TO CHANGE. Friends, years to come may bring the instability prerequisite for carrying guns en-masse. However, today, there is still a civil remedy of damages, and this is the tool to use. More bike lawyers, more lawyers doing pro bono work for cyclists, and more case precedent is THE ONLY solution given the current relative stability.
But if the big breakdown happens, I’ll invest in a IIIa vest and som’thin’ with a little more stopping power than “Fuck you too!”
The biggest reason I used to carry a gun while riding at night in Arizona was because, if some drunk asshole hit me, and I was, as Meat Loaf sang: “Dying at the bottom of a….” and they stopped to say “Sorry – oh I feel so bad.” I could at least attempt the slain kitten’s last bite back before the end. Sucks to even think that way, but I didn’t make this shit so fucked up by riding my bike. I didn’t invent cars or guns, but the inventor of cars is in a worse part of hell than our man Sam Colt.
Oh,and btw, that tool who shot that cyclist in the helmet (see link in comment #1). He got his charges knocked down from attempted murder to assualt. He got 120 days. Fucking outrageous!
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091119/NEWS01/91119061/Former-Asheville-firefighter-pleads-guilty-in-cyclist-shooting
More of this!
Did anybody see the ‘Far Side’ cartoon where a dog is in the courtroom (as the accused) and EVERYONE else is a cat? We as cyclists are the lonely dog in a courtroom full of cats! Don’t expect these ‘products’ of the motor-industrial complex to treat us fairly. And I mean ‘products’ in the worst possible way; brainwashed sedentary slaves to car culture killing the planet and killing uncounted people in their efforts to “secure’ oil production. The murder is not just on our streets, it is global! Answer; ride a bike, live close to your job, and stop the motor madness!
And more importantly, if you live somewhere where you are not the only guy doing it, and there are hundreds or thousands who are doing the right thing – be kind, helpful, and cohesive with other functionalist cyclists. There is no more place for snobby behavior in our desire to help others see the light.