Apparantly, this is what it looks like out there:
Posted on 10/01/2003 6:49:41 AM PDT by Hatteras
Radio host infuriates cyclists
By BRUCE SICELOFF, Staff Writer
G105 radio host Bob Dumas told listeners last week that he just hated to see bicycle riders on the road. He laughed at stories about running cyclists down, and he talked up the idea of throwing bottles at bikers. It wasn't funny to cycling enthusiasts across the Triangle. This week they are lobbying government officials and local advertisers in a campaign to punish radio station WDCG and its corporate owner, Clear Channel of San Antonio, and to promote bicycle safety."One caller said her dad had purposely hit a biker on the road on the way to church one Sunday and kept on going," said G105 listener Holly N. Proctor of Cary on Tuesday of the Sept. 21 and 22 broadcasts. "That got laughs. Bob thought that was funny.
"And Bob said he'd love to be on a motorcycle and driving it down a bike lane. Because he didn't think bikers should be allowed on the road. He said they should ride on the sidewalk," she said.
Proctor, a photo technician at N.C. State University, joined two dozen fellow cyclists at a 5 p.m. protest outside the radio station's offices in North Raleigh.
Tom Norman , director of the N.C. Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation , said that reports about the broadcasts revealed dangerous ignorance of state law.
"I have talked to the G105 manager, who was not aware that it is legal to ride bicycles on the public roadways of North Carolina, that cycles are legally recognized as vehicles in North Carolina," Norman said. "Where do you draw the line? What is the distinction between humor and actually inciting or encouraging listeners to harass a group of people?"
Kenneth C. Spitzer, the station manager, declined to provide tapes or transcripts of the broadcasts to Norman or to a Capital Area transportation planning committee that discussed the controversy Tuesday.
In e-mail responses to several Triangle area residents who complained to the station, Spitzer said the "Bob and Madison " show aims to entertain listeners with "animated banter ... that can be both humorous and caustic." But he said some comments last week "went too far, and for that we sincerely apologize.
"Be assured that G105 does not advocate harm to cyclists," he wrote.
G105 is the third Clear Channel station to draw fire in the past four months for on-air comments perceived as advocating violence or animosity toward bicycle riders. Officials at WMJI in Cleveland and KLOL in Houston apologized in July and September for similar remarks. They agreed to broadcast "share the road" messages and to finance bicycle safety campaigns.
Leaders of the N.C. Bicycle Club outlined requests they said would help Clear Channel "mend relations with Triangle bicyclists," including similar public safety campaigns and a detailed apology.
Spitzer declined to comment. A corporate spokeswoman to whom inquiries were directed Tuesday did not return calls.
Members of area cycling clubs have shared copies over the past week of protest letters to the Federal Communications Commission, to state and local prosecutors and to G105 sponsors. Several critics noted that G105 radio hosts have sparked controversy in the past with crude stunts.
"It's one thing to drive around with a naked man on the radio station's van," said Raleigh lawyer Kimberly Bryan. "To encourage citizens to harm cyclists, that has crossed a different line. It's irresponsible. It's not caustic, it's not banter, it's not funny."
David Smith , 38, a software developer at UNC-Chapel Hill, took it personally. His right forearm still bears the scar of an attack by an Orange County motorist who found Smith cycling down a rural road one afternoon in April 2001.
"How are people going to take this, what was mentioned on G105?" Smith asked. "Are people going to say, 'You know, I'm tired of these cyclists?' Is that situation going to exacerbate what happened to me, with somebody else coming down a back road?"
After running Smith off the road, the driver stopped, chased him down on foot and struck him with a hatchet, sending him into a ditch and over the handlebars of his wrecked bike. Marvin Glenn Manring of Orange County pleaded guilty in July 2001 to assault with a deadly weapon. He promised to enroll in an anger management program.
Staff writer Bruce Siceloff can be reached at 829-4527 or bsicelof@newsobserver.com.
Those are the ones. Isn't that a ticketable or arrestable offense?
Most (all?) states have laws establishing penalties for "obstructing traffic".
Unfortunately, I would wonder whether any cyclist has ever been ticketed for this, or for running a stop light or stop sign or, for that matter, violating any of dozens of other traffic laws which motorists must obey. How often is a cyclist arrested for DUI? How often is a cyclist ticketed for "reckless riding" or riding too fast for conditions, or failing to yield?
They want the same privileges as motorists, but don't want the same responsibilities. If a car hits a cyclist, it's the driver's fault. If a cyclist runs into a car, it's still the driver's fault. If my car is parked legally, and a cyclist runs into it and damages something, my insurance and my deductible pays for it, unless I haul the idiot into court (if I'm lucky enough to be able to catch the guy-no license plate number to track him).
Motorists pay huge insurance premiums and lots of taxes for the use of the roads. Cyclists pay nothing, and they wonder why some motorists don't appreciate their antics.
And should we assume that you step off your bike to walk thru the cross walk like you should? Isn't the crosswalk a continuation of the sidewalk? Is this more of that "Rules of the Road but only when it's convenient" stuff?
You seem to be jumping to a lot of conclusions. With all that jumping, perhaps you don't need to bike any more.
To tell you the truth, it's something I wish I had never seen.
I have gone out to ride early in the morning and run into University kids still up and stinking from a night of partying.
A car with kids picked on me once near the jail without provication, and they pursied until they saw me next to the deputy in the pack of that building who was preparing the daily road crew to go work some of their crime penalties off. They left, of course.
Now, if they had cornered me and bailed out to beat me up as was their prime intention...
"If you don't like the way I drive, get off the trail!"
&^)
Apparantly, this is what it looks like out there:
Cyclists certainly run more risks and they should always be cognizant of the effect they have on traffic.
When I was a child I would ride for miles on streets with no helmet. Back then, what kids thought there were evil people behind the wheel that wanted to hit them ?
So in other words, you obey traffic laws when it suits you.
And the leather hood?
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