Ahem, what?

So, pass on a yellow and run into cyclists a go when they ride two abreast instead of single file?

Police: Everybody at fault, no charges after car struck cyclists
Police investigating a weekend incident in North Saanich where about 15 bicyclists were knocked over by a passing car hit by another vehicle say all parties were in the wrong and no charges will be laid.

The cyclists violated the Motor Vehicle Act by riding side by side instead of single file, say Sidney-North Saanich RCMP. A silver Toyota heading west on Lands End Road tried to pass the cyclists in the oncoming lane and failed to safely complete the pass. A black Ford Focus that turned right off Greenpark Drive — which turns into Ravenscroft Place — hit the Toyota, and sent it crashing into the cyclists. The Focus driver failed to yield after a stop.

Olympic medallist Simon Whitfield and several other Olympic hopefuls were among the riders. Whitfield was unharmed but two riders had to be taken to hospital and four others suffered minor injuries.

The story sparked an online debate between drivers and cyclists, both sides accusing the other of hogging the roadway.

Drivers said cyclists snarl traffic by taking up a lane of road and don’t move over to let cars pass.

Cyclists said cars underestimate how fast they are going and put them in danger by honking at them or speeding by when it is unsafe.

Whitfield said he sees both sides and the incident serves as a reminder that cyclists should obey the rules of the road and drivers should “take a deep breath and realize that by waiting another 10 seconds, there will be a safer place to pass.
Source: www.vancouversun.com

About big jonny

The man, the legend. The guy who started it all back in the Year of Our Lord Beer, 2000, with a couple of pages worth of idiotic ranting hardcoded on some random porn site that would host anything you uploaded, a book called HTML for Dummies (which was completely appropriate), a bad attitude (which hasn’t much changed), and a Dell desktop running Win95 with 64 mgs of ram and a six gig hard drive. Those were the days. Then he went to law school. Go figure. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

25 Replies to “Ahem, what?”

  1. ah, fuck man. definitely nuts. it sucks to be stuck behind some cyclists, and when they won’t single file it up, it really does get frustrating. regardless, they gots a right. they have a right to be there, and a right to not be fucking slain by frustration or impatience. fuck. fucking roads.

  2. Don’t know aboot Canuckistan, eh, but here in The Peoples’ Republic of Maryland cyclists are required to allow at least three feet when passing a line of parked cars. Big Brother don’t want us getting doored, dontchaknow.

    Fine and dandy, but cars are supposed to give us three feet as well. That’s like, what?-Six feet total? So you can see the position that puts ol’ Cletus Clem in, driving his F-Shitfifty when oncoming traffic won’t let him pass them faggots on buysickels. Seen people get ALL riled up following me. Fuck ’em; I ain’t riding on the sidewalk, and if they can’t treat traffic-ALL traffic-like the law says they should, let ’em walk.

  3. might makes right. get the fuck outta da wei. Bob’n weev’n ass clowns are lame. roadie arrogance is lame. find da som dat riehder dert dang ol man.

  4. All I know is that if I see some dumb cager pull that, they better hope I’m heading to the hospital, otherwise they will be.

  5. The way it works in a just society is that if everyone’s at fault, everyone takes responsibility for their contribution to the final result. There’s no fucking way that riding two abreast and the way that the vehicles in this accident were operated were a 50/50 proposition. “You did something wrong & you did something wrong” just doesn’t cut it.

  6. Canuckistan. What did you expect? They get their injuries treated for “free”, don’t they? And it’s just human life. Cheapest commodity in a Socialist regime.

  7. Oh, and Gnome? “Dert” may not take me where I’m going. Bikes may just be toys to you, but mine is transaportation.

  8. This is pretty much a crap situation for everyone. I personally think the driver was in the wrong for attempting an unsafe pass regardless of whether the cyclists were riding 2 up or not. The RCMP have once again demonstrated what a bunch of idiots they really are.

  9. 2 up is not legal here in BC. Shortly after this crash, someone posted all of the relevant sections of the Motor Vehicle Act on one of the local boards, and it’s pretty clear. I just can’t believe a car hit a pack of 15 cyclists and there were no deaths. That’s huge.

  10. 2 up is not legal in Alberta either..not sure about the rest of the country. Its a stupid law and is generally not enforced unless a cop is feeling bitchy or needs to fill out a ticket quota.

  11. You can file this under “no shit sherlock,” but whatev I have to speak my peace:

    What is outrageous is, if the “struck vehicle” was a slow moving car instead of half a dozen cyclists, would charges be laid then? Is it acceptable for a car to pass a slower moving car and, if it doesn’t make it, just run into the other car? Would charges be filed in that case? Of course they would! You can’t just “try” to pass, and if you don’t make it, oh well. It is part of the drivers responsibility to makes sure that they have a clear passing lane and can do it safely – whether passing a slow moving car or cyclists.

    Finally, in case you think that the riders were at fault because, to paraphrase the article, ” the cyclists were riding 2 abreast where the law says they must ride single file,” then the string of cyclists would have been 2x as long. There would be NO PLACE to safely pass, because a car would need hundreds of feet to pass. How would that serve either cyclists or drivers? They need to rethink the code.

  12. I like the odds in court. 15 to two. Everything should work out there fine. Hope all the cyclists can get back on the road soon. Single file this time.

  13. A sign of the times, and of the growing impatience of our society. Assuming you live to 80 years old, you have 2,522,880,000 seconds to your life. Take 15 seconds and allow someone else to co exist with you. I see the eyes of passing motorists, lit with rage, as their insular world is interupted by a slower vehicle, be it motorized or self powered. Geez people, lighten the fuck up. Enjoy the journey, dont get so uptight about the destination.

  14. …oft times, groups of ‘serious’ cyclist’s surround themselves w/ a halo of self righteous arrogance which is both understandable (to we cyclists) & yet extremely annoying & even threatening to the average motorist…

    …but that in no way changes the physical dynamics of a situation wherein a 3000 to 4000lb machine is “sharing the road” w/ exposed human beings on 17lb machines & there ought to be a certain consideration regarding that fact…

    …& as a lotta you have pointed out, reactions are generally based on impatience…lotta older folks will never change their view in that cyclists are just a hindrance & an imposition to them…it’s the old “get offa my lawn///get offa my roads” scenario…
    …to the non-cycling younger generation who are more concerned w/ their i-pods, cell phones & whatever electronic gadgets that distract them from understanding the need to pay attention, we’re not even a fucking consideration…

    …’til it’s taught all throughout school & picked up on a regular basis & projected by the media, cycling on public roads is never really gonna be safe in north america…
    …it’s a part of your culture, it’s a part of my culture but it ain’t a part of “their”, the public’s everyday culture…no matter how many of us are out there on the roads…
    …use the media, use the schools…change the perception…

  15. c’mon guys, you all know better. If you are driving a car, you are exempt from fault any time you thin the herd of annoying cyclists. The less of us, the better.

    I’ve said it before: you hit me, you better fuckin’ kill me.

  16. It amazes me that people think that being stuck behind a cyclist (or a slower-moving car for that matter) for a short period of time actually delays them. Sure, if you are traveling at your maximum speed and have to slow down you will be delayed. If, however, you are slowed for a short period of time while traveling at sub-maximal speed it doesn’t take much to erase that deficit.

  17. el jefe, I’ve been hit twice. The first (four years ago) was by a woman who drove into the shoulder of the road and sideswiped me, then drove away. I bounced off of her car and rode it out…and I have no idea how I did it. There were two witnesses. I had the make, model, color and plate number. Cops did nothing. My wife pulled me away from the cop when I got in his face because he wouldn’t charge the lady. He was going to arrest me for assaulting an officer, after doing nothing to the woman who hit me and took off. I worked my ass off to find out who it was so I could pay her a visit. Cops didn’t even write down her info on the report.

    Trust me bro, I get it.

  18. dan – can’t understand why you would be upset. OBVIOUSLY you were just fine, so why waste valuable PD time writing up a report, right?
    Whats hit and run mean if nobody ends up in an ambulance anyway…
    I think that is the minimal requirement to even pull out the ballpoint.

  19. Some asshat in a flat bed just about dusted me the other day. The jackhole was 3 feet INTO the bike lane. You never get to do that. It was an uphill and I just couldn’t catch him to lay one on him for that.