oldranger

The LA Times Health section is all about the Mandeville Canyon trial, the sharing of the road by cars and bicycles and coping strategies and equipment for cyclists. It summarizes the physicians defense in these words - "Thompson's attorney argues that the cyclists had yelled profanities at Thompson and were to blame for the accident."

Granted that it is a pretty dubious defense, but what if - no profanities had been voiced (or gestured) - the defense would be weakened considerably.

Courtesy and restraint pay off in the long run. I know I have gotten just as angry as any one in close encounters, but when I have given a friendly looking wave of the hand, not the digital salute, things have always gone better.

Don't give the driver (or potentially his lawyer) an excuse and don't fuel his rage and frustration.

The LA Times section is a pretty good read - it discusses vehicular cycling - it contains these words from "Bicycling and the Law - "Keep your finger where it belongs, on the handlebars. If you absolutely must use your finger, use it to dial the police." (Dial? - does anyone do that anymore?)

duke_of_hazard

Do you have a link to this article?

Mr Danw

There is ongoing coverage of the trial at www.velonews.com

nelson249

Needlessly escalating a situation can often result in even normally reasonable drivers do things that can severely injure or kill more vulnerable road users. Us. Although such a driver is completely in the wrong and should go to jail for a long time, we will be the ones in traction or in a pine box.

thdave

I'd normally agree with the OP, but in this case the cager buzzed the cyclists first and yelled "single file" at them, while passing at a high rate of speed, starting the fight against cyclists. Sure, restraint is always important, but tempers can flare with such crap. I can't fault the cyclists at all.

closetbiker

is this it?

oldranger

That is the major article. There are several others, including a guide for motorists. I don't believe all of them are posted on line.

Square & Compas

If the cyclists did yell profanities at the driver could it be looked at this way? The driver did something to instigate the profanities being yelled at him thus causing the chain reaction that then occured after that. Another way to look at it is shouldn't the driver have had a thicker skin and be able to handle profanities being yelled at him? He is/was a doctor he has likely heard much worse from patients who are/were not happy with him and to his face. Since when is having profanities yelled at you a legal excuse to take the law into your own hands to teach someone a lesson because of it?

CB HI

Did being nice to bullies in school, demanding your lunch money work well for you guys?

The only thing that seemed to work for me, was when they punched me, I punched back harder. After that, they left me alone.

closetbiker

There's no doubt one should stand up to bullies, but it's the way you do so that makes a difference.

It's not an easy call as to how to do it, but there's there's also little doubt a motorist has it in his ability to inflict much more damage to someone on a bike, as long as they stay in the car.

Funny how, so few step out of the car when there's a problem. Most of the time, they speed off after committing an offense.

Digital_Cowboy

Yep, the only way that bullies learn is to have the person that they are bullying stand up to them. And in this case this is what the cyclists were doing. They were standing up to a bully.

Granted unfortunately in this particular case the bully in question had something more dangerous then his hands to use a weapon, but he was a bully none the less. And the cyclists were right to stand up to him.

Of course sadly if/when he's convicted in a court of his peers, it's only going to serve to fuel his anti-bicycle hatred. But hopefully as part of his sentence he'll have to surrender his drivers license for a substantial period of time.

Which again will only serve to fuel his anti-bicycle hatred. It'd be nice IF the judge could also order him to ride a bicycle during that period of time.

phoebeisis

You can't defend yourself against a car while on a bike, so you can't "stand up to the bully." If you try to, well we know what can happen.
Use your phone to get his plate, if his offense warrants it. Yelling or flipping him off can get you killed.

CB HI

Guilty on all seven counts. This bully is in jail tonight.

nelson249

Good.

DX-MAN

OK, the OP is counseling all of us to 'be civil in the face of incivility', because if WE are incivil(?) in return, the other person may be provoked to rash or foolish action.

So THEY are allowed to be thin-skinned and only marginally in control of themselves? WE have to be in absolute control at all times, even when we are threatened with vehicular assault or attempted manslaughter. Is that about it? We accept being very nearly maimed or killed because they might get mad if we react?

Please.

Endanger me, you'll hear about it; drive your car AT me, you better make sure I don't have a way out (I can hop curbs, and such). Get OUT of your car, it's on and you've just put a price tag on your own life.

Accept that I have a right to live, and ride my bike in accordance with the laws and rules of civilized society, and don't be a d-bag a-hole, and we will get along famously. I'll gleefully let you go about your business, as long as you do the same.

gcottay

Good advice, oldranger. If it's not worth reporting, it's not worth lifting a finger.

nelson249

It is not a matter of JAMs being permitted to be 'thin-skinned' but rather a reflection of basic physics. When the rules of civilized behaviour go out the window invariably the most vulnerable party gets the short end of the stick. That doesn't mean that we should be shrinking violets but it does mean that we should not act to further escalate a situation by the use of rude hand gestures or cursing someone's parentage BEFORE determining if the driver's action were accidental or deliberate. People make mistakes and cyclists over-reacting permits the average basically well meaning driver to cast blame entirely on the cyclist.

Sure we all have the same rights as others but we also need to be prudent in the exercise of them.

Mitchxout

Yes.