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 ...
The driver in that case was not crimially charged because (to quote the officer):
“Deputy Chief Bennett told News 4 WOAI the office’s hands are tied. He said under current law, unless a driver is drunk or high, it is difficult to prove recklessness. And legally, charges can not be filed for “an unfortunate accident.””
In particular, it looked like there was a nasty and unexpected curve in the road.
He’s obviously civilly liable, but there is no reason to charge him criminally.
No thinking person would say the cyclist is never at fault. But accidents where the cyclist is at fault are very very rare. That is a fact.
That guy on the bike who nearly hit you was a careless jerk - no argument. But your experience doesn’t change reality even if it is sandwiched between all of the bike hating vitriol that shows up on these discussions.
You go ahead and lobby lawmakers and insurance companies for mandatory bicycle liability insurance. I'm confident Dems will like the idea, particularly if they can tax it. It will probably be $5 per year with $4.95 of that for plan administration. Then your imaginary laptop would have been paid for if you had dropped it. Heck, why don't you imagine some broken bones and some gold bridgework that was knocked out too? Whoa, that makes the need for bike liability even more necessary!
Tell ya what - you imagine I wrecked your computer - let's make it a mac-book pro - I'm feeling generous today - and I'll imagine I paid for its replacement.
Yep.
“Sounds to me like too many liberals ride bikes...”
Liberal part of town, near Beechwood Plaza. This guy WAS just being a jerk. He rode right down the center of the single eastbound lane, and you couldn’t pass because of very heavy west-bound traffic.
“Reporting for duty. 90% of the bike riders in my area are complete a**holes.”
I agree - they’re always plugging up the front grill on my Maserati!!
Good deal. The bastard deserves every day of his sentence.
The percentage of jerks on bicycles is probably similar to the percentage of jerks driving motor vehicles. The jerks are just a whole lot less dangerous when they are on a bicycle than when they are driving. I would suggest that when you see someone cycling in a way that you perceive is dangerous to others that you should feel very thankful that they are on a bicycle and not driving a car. In fact there are many scofflaws who have lost their driving privileges who are riding now bicycles.
I have responded to calls where someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs fell off of a bicycle or small scooter. Theoretically they were placing others in danger, but in my experience they only ended up injuring themselves. Should we judge all gun owners because criminals use guns to commit crimes? If you see an idiot on a bicycle please be glad they are not driving a motor vehicle. Do not unfairly judge other cyclists because you saw a jerk or were inconvenienced by a jerk on a bicycle.
And sometimes the animosity towards cyclists is due to misunderstanding. I remember one time I had a car behind me while I was cycling up a hill. Knowing the driver couldn't see what was on the other side of the hill, I got out of the saddle and sprinted to the top so it would be a couple fewer seconds before he could see what was coming. Well, he apparently thought my sprinting was intended to make his life more difficult because when he got beside me to pass he laid on the horn for what seemed like an eternity. Sigh.
Licensing bicyclists would also take away their anonymity. They can identify me by my license plate, but I have no way of identifying a law-breaking bicylist.
I quote from the article:
“Bicycling advocates said the statistics might in part reflect a bias among police officers, who they say often “blame the victims,” especially because cyclists might not get to tell their side of the story as they are being carried off on stretchers.
“There is a prevalent perception among police officers that bikes don't belong on the road,” said Leah Shahum, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
Yet even the most staunch cycling advocates acknowledge that some cyclists give others a bad name by failing to obey traffic laws.
“When I see a rider run a red light, I cringe,” Shahum said. “Not only is it totally unsafe, it makes me and all other cyclists look bad.”
In Seattle where I drive a lot there are lots of bikers - most of whom ride pretty well. It is the Critical Morons bike group that is giving bicycling a bad rep.
They are the smug pr!cks who intentionally seek confrontations with everyone around them (not just cagers). In the burbs I never seem to encounter bikers with ‘tudes.
I have been to other incidents that where cyclists have been hit from behind and the drivers have not been ticketed. I am also aware of situations where drivers have not noticed a cyclist as they were entering the roadway from a driveway or side street and have pulled into the path of an oncoming cyclist where the officer did not issue a ticket because they felt the cyclist was difficult to see. I once went to an accident where a cyclist had a green light and was struck by a car who entered the crosswalk on the red, where the officer determined the cyclist was at fault because he said the cyclist should have been walking in the crosswalk not riding.
So my perception of who was at fault at a bicycle vs motor vehicle accident may sometimes vary greatly from the investigating police officer. In my point of view, a motor vehicle who strikes a cyclist from behind is usually at fault. If a car takes a right turn when there is a cyclist next to him... it is the car's fault. If a car makes a left turn in front of a cyclist because the driver didn't see him... it is the car's fault. If a car pulls out of a driveway into the path of a cyclist... it is the car's fault. In all of these scenarios I am aware of many situations where no ticket was issued to the car.
As many of those hostile to cyclists posted in this very thread, dead cyclists tell no tales, so the victim is often blamed for the accident. So on second thought I am not so surprised by the statistics cited.
“In Seattle where I drive a lot there are lots of bikers - most of whom ride pretty well. It is the Critical Morons bike group that is giving bicycling a bad rep.”
I agree completely. When my wife was working on Mercer Island she came into contact with those idiots while she was driving and was very shaken by their bad behavior. But most of the riders you meet on the Interurban Trail or in the outlying area where we live are very considerate. The thing that I have noticed that seems unusual is that the average age of cyclists one sees on the paths or roads in outlying areas are 30 or older. The average age has increased dramatically over the years.
This happened a few blocks from where I had my little problem:
http://cbs3.com/topstories/biker.fatal.hit.2.1273313.html
So, yes, cycle-pedestrian accidents happen, and the results can be just as bad as if a car was involved. Philadelphia is cracking down on cyclists because of situations like this. I’d rather it didn’t have to be that way, and I certainly don’t really want any more government mandates, but problems don’t often resolve themselves automatically.
Statistically, such accidents are comparatively rare as you say, but don’t try to tell that to the dead guy’s family.
I always try to be respectful of the people with whom I must share the road. I hope I never again get into one of these situations, and I sure hope I don’t ever need the services of someone like you.
I know yours is not always a pleasant job, but thanks for doing it!
I’ve been run off the road, in a bike lane, by some idiot who never stopped. Broke my collarbone. I have yet to encounter these nazi bicylce riders, and this is after living in south Florida for the last four years, where they’re on the road 11 months. I’ve seen bad drivers and bad riders across the country. Neither one justifies the other, but a guy in a car will never be killed because a bicycle ran into him.
Agreed, but he may be killed making an evasive maneuver to avoid a thoughtless cyclist.
Most conservatives are thinking of ways to lower taxes and you’re trying to find a way to tax me more. What’s wrong with this picture?
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