Yep, I'm hating spandex right now!
And more of that destestable material!
OK, some shouldn't wear spandex!
Posted on 01/10/2010 9:51:23 PM PST by Chet 99
A doctor convicted of assaulting two bicyclists by slamming on his car brakes after a confrontation on a narrow Brentwood road was sentenced today to five years in prison.
Christopher Thompson, wearing dark blue jail scrubs, wept as he apologized to the injured cyclists shortly before he was sentenced.
"I would like to apologize deeply, profoundly from the bottom of my heart," he told them, his right hand cuffed to a court chair.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Scott T. Millington called the case a "wake-up call" to motorists and cyclists and urged local government to provide riders with more bike lanes.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
I too pay a ton of taxes why do i pay more just to drive my car 18 miles a day?
I try to avoid reading threads relating to motorists assaulting cyclists in this forum. Many of those posting show a complete lack of respect and consideration for their fellow citizens. It is absolutely appalling and destroys any credibility those posting this kind of crap have on other subjects. Why do you think that you are so special that it is completely intolerable for you to have to share the road?
I have a long commute and do a lot driving... I can't even remember the last time that I was delayed for more than a second or two because of a cyclist on the road. I also can't remember the last time that I saw a cyclist riding in a way that was placing anyone in any type of danger. I am however delayed frequently by large trucks, persons who either don't know how to drive or have their attention diverted by talking on their cell phones, eating or applying their face paint. I grin and bear it. I can assure you that I pay far more in local, state and federal taxes than the average ignorant, selfish, disrespectful, spoiled baby.
I see cyclists here riding on windy country roads that are posted 55 and most people go 60, no shoulders, and there’s idot cyclists who will ride in the middle of the road going 20 mph, and expect you to slam on your brakes as you come around a blind corner and pray you don’t run them over.
If a car goes 30 miles below the speed limit they get a ticket, if they’re cylists they just shrug and say they have as much right to the road as cars do.
Sure...but driving HALF the speed limit, in the middle of the road?
What’s next, pedestrians in the middle of the road? baby strollers? Roller bladers?
And I’m an avid cyclist myself, mountain bikes, though.
Ed
I logged 2,500 miles on Virginia roads last year and stopped at every stop sign and stop light. Most cyclists do. Some do not.
Related. Not eggs ackley, but close;
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2425297/posts
So, I would come home from work, and get behind these people on bikes,riding abreast, on a road with no sidewalk or escape, who needed to talk while they rode. I wanted to get home. I hated their guts.
THEN, I would get home, change, and get on my Specialized.
In order to get to the nearby State Forest to do my riding, I had to do down the road a mile or so. Brushed by the mirrors of the SUV driver, who was thinking , "Mooo! Gotta get the kids to soccer!", run into the ditch by a punk in a boom car, etc.
So, like all things regarding people, it all depends on where you are, and when.
People suck, often.
“We all see that, every single day, yet they expect everyone to be courteous to them.”
Courtesy really does seem to be a one way street when it comes to cars and bicycles. I see it all the time as well. We've got toe paths around where I live that run parallel to the two lane road but these bicyclists refuse to use them and cycle right down the middle of the road defying you to hit them. I’ve seen some whip through stop signs on 25mph roads at 30mph. I have no problem with them on residential roads but major arteries should be bicycle free zones for everyone’s safety.
Last summer driving down Beechwood. Probably 30 cars doin’ 15 mph. After about 20+ blocks, I finally passed the lone biker. At the next red light, he passed all the cars on the right, and crashed the light. Another 20+ blocks and I got past him again. As he came up to pass me on the right, at the next stop light, I opened the passenger door, and told him if he tried to pass me again, I was gonna knock him into the next week. He retreated, only to call the cops on me. I got pulled over, and was told of the complaint. I informed the officer about the guy’s riding habits, and was told. “I hear this constantly on this road. Sorry to have bothered you. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
5 years is ridiculous.
Under the socialist philosophy of "Smart Growth" government planners are reducing car travel lanes and adding bike lanes. It now takes twice as long to drive around Greater Boston than it did ten years ago. Should car drivers waste more of their time for the pleasure of a very small number of non taxed bicyclists? We even had our local state representative file and get passed a "Bicycle Bill of Rights." Of coarse the bill did not include punitive measures for adult bicyclists who ride their bikes on sidewalks traveled by adults and children dodging them.
I’m just wondering why it was necessary to handcuff
him to a chair.
That part of Bandera Road is not safe. Too many crazy people with big SUV’s/Pickups, and they aren’t paying attention.
Then I assume you wouldn't object to having mandatory liability insurance to cover any damage and/or injury you cause as a cyclist.
Yep, I'm hating spandex right now!
And more of that destestable material!
OK, some shouldn't wear spandex!
It’s uneven sentencing like this that causes people to lose respect for judges and the judicial system.
Trial by media.
The city of Houston put in a bike lane on my street. I live on a very busy 4 lane street that goes to the freeway. All they did was paint a stripe down the side of the street and paint some little bicycles on it. A couple of weeks later 2 cyclist were killed in their bike lane within 2 blocks of my house.
We were out of town when it happened and I didn't hear about it for a year so I didn't hear the details and don't know if it was road rage, or carelessness or what.
I used to ride a bicycle for exercise but I decided that it was not worth the danger of being killed or crippled for life. I've had road rage too.
I see the same thing on various firearms boards, too. Vicious hate towards cyclists. I don't get it.
In 30 years of driving, I've been inconvenienced to the tune of maybe 30 total minutes by cyclists and have never been endangered by one. I can't count the number of hours I've been stuck in traffic caused solely by rubbernecking and other stupidity, not to mention the close calls over the years from boneheaded, dangerous stunts and reckless driving by other motorists.
I dunno. Maybe some conservatives assume all cyclists are tree-hugging libtards. Not that that would be a reason to hate someone on the road, but it might explain some of it.
I will say that in general, a lot of people are aholes. Some of them are cyclists, some of them are drivers and some of them post on FR.
“Will there ever be a world were bicyclist and car drivers coexist harmoniously??”
No.
Stupid behavior exists with both groups.
Bikers need to realize that roads are primary built for cars and that bikes are very hard to see and are often an impediment.
Car drivers need to realize that bikers have a legal right to the road; and those bikers have paid tax money to build the roads. Also the bikers are out there staying in shape, and as a result; probably not as a big of a drain on the health care system.
Bikers are also not sitting in a car burning up imported oil.
There; I have likely said something to insult everyone!
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Not sure it's 90%, but many are in my area too. There is a bike path on which I often walk and occasionally ride. A majority of the spandex-clad twerps who weigh in at about a buck fifty, with bikes that cost about $2k, are completely discourteous.
The bike path is heavily used by people jogging, walking their dogs, pushing strollers. Most of the "serious" bikers cut between two groups of people walking opposite directions, with no warning. They can't wait five seconds for one group to pass--they have to keep up their "pace."
When I ride, I use a bike bell to advise others when I am passing. Simple courtesy. Apparently too much to ask from most bikers. :(
I avoid riding on the streets. Too dangerous. I've had enough road rash over the years to prove it. I stop at stop signs out of self-preservation.
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