Advocacy & Safety - Battle Over Bike Lane

Talk about road rage: A 27 year old motorist attacks a 48 year old cyclist because the cyclist was legally stopped at a red light in the bike lane.

http://velochicnyc.blogspot.com/2009/08/battle-over-bike-lane-in-staten-island.html

"A heated rush-hour confrontation on Capodanno Boulevard ended with an assault arrest and has put a fine point on the question of whether bicyclists and motorists can get along on the busy Staten Island thoroughfare (http://www.silive.com/eastshore/index.ssf/2009/08/staten_island_driver_blames_mi.html).

Authorities say Michael Graziuso, 27, of Oban Street in Eltingville, yanked cyclist Gregory DeRespino off his bike at the corner of Capodanno and Seaview Avenue in Ocean Breeze on July 8, at about 9 a.m., then kicked him when he was down on the ground.

The confrontation started after DeRespino, who was riding in the bicycle-only lane, stopped at a red light, preventing several cars lined up behind him from making a right turn.

[...]

When traffic is backed up at the light, motorists commonly move into the bike lane to make the right turn on red. A sign at the intersection permits a right turn after stopping at the red light, but traffic law prohibits cars from using or obstructing the bike lane.

As DeRespino tells it, he was stopped at the light, and that enraged a number of rush-hour drivers.

"The motorists who wanted to use my bike lane as a turning lane were very upset," the 48-year-old New Brighton resident told the Advance yesterday. Some honked their horns and yelled at him, and he yelled back.

[...]

And instead of going when the light turned green, "I stayed there an extra turn of the light because I was frustrated and fuming... I was trying to calm myself and have a drink on a hot day."

Graziuso drove away, he said, only to return, on foot.

"A couple of minutes later, he comes back, walking on the street," DeRespino said. Graziuso grabbed the back of the bicycle, DeRespino said, and pulled it up, with him still sitting on it.

"He dragged me from that position," he said, then pushed him off the bike. "He gave me a kick for good measure, then walked away."

A witness saw the entire exchange, DeRespino said, and police arrested Graziuso a few minutes later. He was charged with third-degree assault and second-degree harassment, and was released without bail until his next court appearance on Aug. 31.

Graziuso denies laying a hand on the cyclist.

[...]

DeRespino, meanwhile, says he wasn't trying to provoke a response by sitting in the bike lane through an extra cycle of the traffic light, though he maintains he had the right to wait. He simply wanted to take a moment to cool down before starting again, he said.

"In hindsight, it was my mistake to stay as long as I did," he said. "It never crossed my mind that someone would come back to me. Now, it's the paramount thought.""

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/cyclists_and_motorists_struggl.html


I deal with motorists using the bike lane as their personal express lanes, turning lanes, parking spots, standing zones, loading zones, etc. on a daily basis. It's really bad here...

Do any of you have to deal with similar? Would you have done what the cyclist did?

I see the bike lane used as a passing lane to pass on the right if someone slows to make a left turn.

I see the bike lane used as a passing lane to pass on the right if someone slows to make a left turn.

Yep, I've seen that too. It's dangerous.

I've seen ppl taking naps in their cars parked in the bike lane outside my work....right under the sign that say NO STOPPING. FedEx and Brown types use it for parking all the time, and it makes a great rush hour pick up your dry cleaning spot. it's incredible what they'll do in it and not feel the slightest bit of anything other than complete and utter entitlement.I've often wondered what would happen if I were to try and "park" in their lanes. ;)

there's also "Impeding Traffic" laws in my state, so just sitting and blocking the lane is a no no ( at an intersection the bike lane basically ends and can be used for turns). But the dipstick that came and attacked was way out of line!

I've seen ppl taking naps in their cars parked in the bike lane outside my work....right under the sign that say NO STOPPING. FedEx and Brown types use it for parking all the time, and it makes a great rush hour pick up your dry cleaning spot. it's incredible what they'll do in it and not feel the slightest bit of anything other than complete and utter entitlement.I've often wondered what would happen if I were to try and "park" in their lanes. ;)

+1


there's also "Impeding Traffic" laws in my state, so just sitting and blocking the lane is a no no ( at an intersection the bike lane basically ends and can be used for turns). But the dipstick that came and attacked was way out of line!

In NYC there are laws that prohibit any blocking, standing, stopping, parking, etc. -- any obstructing of any bike lane. Bike lanes are a NO CAR ZONE.

You can cross briefly into a bike lane to make a turn several feet before the turn but not drive in the bike lane or stop in it.

Motorists abuse the bike lanes here daily. Is it as bad elsewhere in the US too?

I've seen ppl taking naps in their cars parked in the bike lane outside my work....right under the sign that say NO STOPPING. FedEx and Brown types use it for parking all the time, and it makes a great rush hour pick up your dry cleaning spot. it's incredible what they'll do in it and not feel the slightest bit of anything other than complete and utter entitlement.I've often wondered what would happen if I were to try and "park" in their lanes. ;)

Call the parking enforcement department. They're usually pretty efficient when it comes to writing tickets. See the fourth question in the SJ Mercury News (http://www.mercurynews.com/mrroadshow/ci_13161403).

Call the parking enforcement department. They're usually pretty efficient when it comes to writing tickets.

+1

One time, I went a few steps further and actually hunted down a Traffic Enforcement Agent myself and got the Agent to write the illegally parked car a ticket: Bike Lane Justice (http://velochicnyc.blogspot.com/2009/08/bike-lane-justice.html)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pPgyrJEFmMQ/SnjN76MESjI/AAAAAAAAAFE/9BADdWlQtZM/s400/DSCN0695.JPG

As long as they continue to use bike lanes as a 'traffic calming' measures here in Toronto it'll continue to be 'that' bad.
Parking Enforcement ... in this city.... :lol: If only the bike lanes were parking spots they the might be enforced. Cabs even use it as extra space when they want to park more than the x number of cabs they are allowed.

This newest two block Bike Lane to Nowhere needs to have tow trucks circling the block ready to swoop in and grab a car before the driver can return with their dry cleaning... I'd pay to see that.

As long as they continue to use bike lanes as a 'traffic calming' measures here in Toronto it'll continue to be 'that' bad.

Wow, really? I haven't been to Toronto in years but I was just considering going there and bring my bike just a few weeks ago.

How bad is it? Can you navigate the bike lanes without constant 2 ton "obstructions"? :eek:

And instead of going when the light turned green, "I stayed there an extra turn of the light because I was frustrated and fuming... I was trying to calm myself and have a drink on a hot day."

This is the mistake. With this act, he's provoking drivers who are already mad at him.

I rarely bother with bike lanes personally, it's not worth the aggravation. One bike lane has you flying down a nice hill (Greenwood) in the door zone. Generally the bike lanes disappear at street corners so the solid line (ignored) becomes a dashed line (invisible) so you are now on the right of right turning cars. Too many people get smoked here going straight on bikes while cars turn right. Both people claiming ROW BUT, the BL and DL have become the SAME L, so it's sharing time. I see you're in NYC , I was there recently there you have some nice bike lanes and bike only lights. If you can navigate NYC you'll have no issues here, because you ARE used to head's up, no assumption riding then. Some NYC BL's are soooo sweet in comparison.

This is the mistake. With this act, he's provoking drivers who are already mad at him.

F**k 'em if they can't take a joke. They're just jokin' when they buzz us or toss crap out their windows at us.

This is the mistake. With this act, he's provoking drivers who are already mad at him.

I agree. If I need to take a break I pull off the road entirely.

I see you're in NYC , I was there recently there you have some nice bike lanes and bike only lights. If you can navigate NYC you'll have no issues here, because you ARE used to head's up, no assumption riding then. Some NYC BL's are soooo sweet in comparison.

Yes, they've finally put up some decent bike lanes in some places but even on the ones that are shielded from the street partially, like 9th Ave, you still have pedestrians, motorcycles, mopeds and obstructions to deal with.

I find in this situation that the pedestrians are the worst. They'll literally dive out right in front of you looking the WRONG WAY on a one-way street or not looking at all without a care. They're even worse that a cars in situations like that...

I can definitely navigate NYC. Been doing it all my life but doesn't mean it's safe or fun. I want to bike around Toronto. Thank you for letting me know about some of what I'd be in for... It'll be just like NYC but cleaner. :lol:

I agree. If I need to take a break I pull off the road entirely.

I agree, mostly. I do normally pull entirely off the road but if I'm in an empty bike lane, meaning no cyclists coming up behind me, and the sidewalk is full of pedestrians in typical NYC fashion, I'm going to take a sip from my water bottle right there.

Cars aren't supposed to be in the bike lane at all so if a car tries to ride up behind me in the bike lane, I'd be hard-pressed to move. I've literally had this happen to me a few times...

I've turned over my shoulder, motioned/waved and called for them to get out of the bike lane and told them what they're doing is illegal. Once they see I'm not moving or joking they either merge back in with traffic or wait patiently behind me. They know what they're doing is illegal. They just don't expect you to call them on it.

We do have some nice away from traffic paths too, some of the more park centric ones can get pretty clogged MUP style

If I can, I pull out ahead, into the crosswalk and over to the far left of the bike lane. On a lot of streets, this leaves just enough room for cars behind me to make the right turn, and everyone is happy. On some streets in CA, they're even starting to paint the bike lane in between the right turn lane and the right-most thru lane.

Unless bumper to bumper I generally try to stay on the left side of the curb lane, the general assumption being i'm not on a bike lane street. If I am I'll ride the lane/road line. I will carve safely into traffic at any point I deem it necessary, not causing honks or brakes mind you. Still, splitting the lanes ot riding the yellow line is the sweet spot for me. I think both cyclists AND motorists need some education as to how to handle the BL-becomes an intersection interaction. Too many ppl riding to the right/front of a car that just might be turning, tossing themselves directly into a right hook, but acting with all the privileged airs of someone who really does think they are legally allowed to do it.

there's also "Impeding Traffic" laws in my state, so just sitting and blocking the lane is a no no ( at an intersection the bike lane basically ends and can be used for turns). But the dipstick that came and attacked was way out of line!Seriously, how many cyclist do you guys think DeRespino imeded while taking his drink in the bike lane?

+1

One time, I went a few steps further and actually hunted down a Traffic Enforcement Agent myself and got the Agent to write the illegally parked car a ticket: Bike Lane Justice (http://velochicnyc.blogspot.com/2009/08/bike-lane-justice.html)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pPgyrJEFmMQ/SnjN76MESjI/AAAAAAAAAFE/9BADdWlQtZM/s400/DSCN0695.JPGThat motorist deserves a THANK YOU for blocking that BS bike lane = Huge pot hole and a tire grabbing grate.

Motorists abuse the bike lanes here daily. Is it as bad elsewhere in the US too?

Tire damage spikes would put a stop to that really quickly.

If I can, I pull out ahead, into the crosswalk and over to the far left of the bike lane. On a lot of streets, this leaves just enough room for cars behind me to make the right turn, and everyone is happy. On some streets in CA, they're even starting to paint the bike lane in between the right turn lane and the right-most thru lane.

Most of the newer bike lanes in Boise Idaho are the same. The issue comes up when the right most lane is both a right turn lane and a straight through lane.

it seems the street designers around here are trying to get rid of as many of these "unofficial" right turn lanes as possible. One road I've ridden on a couple of times has stripes and "no no no" where the road is very wide at an intersection. Right turn only lanes are not that much of a problem, but I have seen many near-accidents when people pull to the right to pass people they think are turning left.

It does seem that the cyclist made a mistake by stopping through a second light cycle. I find it hard to believe that he didn't realize that would be seen as provocative.

Too many people get smoked here going straight on bikes while cars turn right.

That's why we need laws where cars have to merge into the bike lane before turning right. Portland and NYC are just plain wrong.

Tire damage spikes would put a stop to that really quickly.

+1

was wondering if someone would post that

That motorist deserves a THANK YOU for blocking that BS bike lane = Huge pot hole and a tire grabbing grate.

I ride that stretch of street often. I knew about that pothole before they got around to putting a orange cone in it. It's huge and hard to miss, lol. :D

Actually, that car blocks advance view of that huge pothole so if I was just diving out into traffic to get around his car then back into the bike lane and didn't know that pothole was there, I'd have little time to dodge it. Yikes! So I think the car deserves a double ticket, lol. ;)

I must be feeling evil tonight, I'm thinking since I commute on a MTB ans that car quite rounded I should be able to put a tire track on the truck/roof/hood as I went over it.

More often than not, if I'm in Mr. DeRespino's situation I'll stop on the left side of the lane and wave right turners through, but only if I feel like it's safe to do so. Just trying to be courteous and friendly, but of course courtesy and friendliness are far subordinate to safety -- especially my own.

And I often take a stretch of road in the afternoons where there is a bike lane that people will try to use as a passing on the right lane. When I hear a car in the bike lane I'll turn and give them The Look. And then slow, slow, slow down to less than walking speed.

I applaud all of you who ride in cities. I never had the courage to ride the streets when I lived in the D.C. area, instead I would put the bike on the bike rack and drive to trails. Drivers were too aggressive and there were just too many red light runners. I've since retired and moved to a rural area in the Northern Rockies where motorists actually wave and smile at cyclists.

I think there will be no solution to transportation conflicts in this country until every state begins to take urban planning seriously. In hindsight, allowing real estate developers to push the concept of suburbs as the interstate highway system was developed, was a mistake. (I wouldn't say the interstate highway system was a mistake. It opened up commerce, especially in the West, which the railroads had a stranglehold on. Many consumer products are still priced higher in the West as a throwback to the railroads price gouging based upon the argument that the distance to transport them was so much greater. Today, continued use of that argument to explain price differences is ironic given that so many more modern consumer goods arrive on the West coast from Asia.)

The US needs to begin a dialog about what our cities should look like by the end of this century. Do we want to discourage sleeper suburbs? If so, affordable housing and better-paying jobs are a necessity as well as a serious dialog about diversifying the location of industry and other jobs to less congested areas. We also have to get out of the national mindset that bigger houses are better and have higher resale.

I worry that continuous over crowding will result in even less civility among people. Everyone these days seems to be a walking time bomb ready to go off in a rage at the slightest provocation. It's extremely sad to see.

I ride that stretch of street often. I knew about that pothole before they got around to putting a orange cone in it. It's huge and hard to miss, lol. :D

Actually, that car blocks advance view of that huge pothole so if I was just diving out into traffic to get around his car then back into the bike lane and didn't know that pothole was there, I'd have little time to dodge it. Yikes! So I think the car deserves a double ticket, lol. ;)

Looking at the photo, I wouldn't be that close the the curb to begin with, nothing but a debris field anyway. In this particular incident, I'm with CB, toast to the illegally parked car, roast to the road maintenance crew.

I ride that stretch of street often. I knew about that pothole before they got around to putting a orange cone in it. It's huge and hard to miss, lol. :D

Actually, that car blocks advance view of that huge pothole so if I was just diving out into traffic to get around his car then back into the bike lane and didn't know that pothole was there, I'd have little time to dodge it. Yikes! So I think the car deserves a double ticket, lol. ;)NO appreciation for new riders and those that ride at night.:rolleyes:

well.....:rolleyes::innocent:

I have to agree that was a dumb move on his part even if he had the "right" to sit there. lets do the math....If the driver snapped or wasn't paying attention all he had to do was mash on the gas pedal and viola instant hood ornament or road kill, take your choice. No need to add fuel to that fire even if you are in the right.

Why did it take a lecture in quantum physics in order to prove your point? This illuminating point is more then obvious without the assistance of the thesis.

-Kurt

That's why we need laws where cars have to merge into the bike lane before turning right. Portland and NYC are just plain wrong.

Exactly. Yet another example of bike lanes encouraging both motorists and cyclists to violate logical destination positioning at intersections. And taking a rest break in operational road space, regardless of how it is painted, goes beyond stupid.

I am working on how to proving my theory that current "bike" laws actually contribute directly to the deaths of cyclists.
The idea in the above post is one of the pillars, the whole "stay-right' stupidness with no driver/biker interaction training for either group is negligence on a systemic level.

With all of the ticket writing cops in NYC, for bicycles on sidewalks, I don't see any other course of action, as long as bicycles can still get thru the bike lanes.....

'And instead of going when the light turned green, "I stayed there an extra turn of the light because I was frustrated and fuming... I was trying to calm myself and have a drink on a hot day." '

End of story. Cyclist wrong, on several levels. He later admitted he was wrong. He was colossally wrong.

As others have said, his behavior in remaining for an extra cycle of the light did not justify an assault, but it did justify him being bodily removed from obstructing traffic.

He did none of us any favors by abusing the bike lane. We are all better off if we obey the rules of the road AND ride with consideration for other vehicles. I believe in and do ride aggressively in traffic, but it is not in our interest as cyclists to be rude or insensitive as we ride. Aggressive riding is only justified by promoting our safety. The behavior of this cyclist jeopardizes all of us who brave traffic by promoting road rage.

'And instead of going when the light turned green, "I stayed there an extra turn of the light because I was frustrated and fuming... I was trying to calm myself and have a drink on a hot day." '

End of story. Cyclist wrong, on several levels. He later admitted he was wrong. He was colossally wrong.

As others have said, his behavior in remaining for an extra cycle of the light did not justify an assault, but it did justify him being bodily removed from obstructing traffic.

He did none of us any favors by abusing the bike lane. We are all better off if we obey the rules of the road AND ride with consideration for other vehicles. I believe in and do ride aggressively in traffic, but it is not in our interest as cyclists to be rude or insensitive as we ride. Aggressive riding is only justified by promoting our safety. The behavior of this cyclist jeopardizes all of us who brave traffic by promoting road rage.Good to know that it is OK for me to physically eject you off the bike lane if I want to pass you.

Uhh, dude... where's my bike lane?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hcO3m_c_jM

Good to know that it is OK for me to physically eject you off the bike lane if I want to pass you.

A. YOU wouldn't be able to do it.

B. NO one said it was ok to 'eject' someone to pass. The issue was about someone purposefully and unlawfully obstructing traffic. Anyone so obstructing traffic, may be forcefully removed, not assaulted.

C. You are a moron.

A. YOU wouldn't be able to do it.

B. NO one said it was ok to 'eject' someone to pass. The issue was about someone purposefully and unlawfully obstructing traffic. Anyone so obstructing traffic, may be forcefully removed, not assaulted.

C. You are a moron.Please do show us that law.

The motorist was illegally driving in the bike lane. The cyclist was legally in the bike lane and did not likely impede any other legal cyclist in the lane.

You sound like a troll!:troll:

C. You are a moron.OH, you are the guy that paid $40 for a presta adapter:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=568574

And you go around calling other BF members, morons?
http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=9541833&postcount=919

I see the bike lane used as a passing lane to pass on the right if someone slows to make a left turn.

I almost got nailed by someone doing just that a few years ago. Good thing I have opera training, as my yelling sure got her to pay attention!

exactly. Yet another example of bike lanes encouraging both motorists and cyclists to violate logical destination positioning at intersections. And taking a rest break in operational road space, regardless of how it is painted, goes beyond stupid.

+1

It's funny, because while "stay out of the bike lane, motorists" is the rule in NY, here in California we require drivers to merge into the bike lane prior to making a right-hand turn.

California Vehicle Code 21717. Whenever it is necessary for the driver of a motor vehicle to cross a bicycle lane that is adjacent to his lane of travel to make a turn, the driver shall drive the motor vehicle into the bicycle lane prior to making the turn and shall make the turn pursuant to Section 22100.

I personally think the California way is the better way, since having cars merge into the bike lane before a turn makes it impossible to right hook since motorists are never turning across the bike lane, they're turning from it.

OH, you are the guy that paid $40 for a presta adapter:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=568574

And you go around calling other BF members, morons?
http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=9541833&postcount=919

You're reading the right authors :) so there' hope for you. Now you just have to work on comprehension.

As others have said, his behavior in remaining for an extra cycle of the light did not justify an assault, but it did justify him being bodily removed from obstructing traffic.



Like CB HI I do have reservations about the assertion that the cyclist being 'bodily removed'. A police officer may be justified in asking the cyclist to move along if he was sitting in traffic but no one else has the right or the authority to do so. It is difficult to discern the difference between an assault and someone being 'removed' from the context of your post.

But your point is taken about having regard for other road users.

'And instead of going when the light turned green, "I stayed there an extra turn of the light because I was frustrated and fuming... I was trying to calm myself and have a drink on a hot day." '

End of story. Cyclist wrong, on several levels. He later admitted he was wrong. He was colossally wrong.

As others have said, his behavior in remaining for an extra cycle of the light did not justify an assault, but it did justify him being bodily removed from obstructing traffic.

He did none of us any favors by abusing the bike lane. We are all better off if we obey the rules of the road AND ride with consideration for other vehicles. I believe in and do ride aggressively in traffic, but it is not in our interest as cyclists to be rude or insensitive as we ride. Aggressive riding is only justified by promoting our safety. The behavior of this cyclist jeopardizes all of us who brave traffic by promoting road rage.

I just don't understand how he was wrong. He wasn't obstructing traffic. The cars aren't supposed to use the bike lane as a right turn lane. If there had been a cyclist coming up behind him and he had been blocking the cyclist, then that would be a different story. Should we blame pedestrians for disallowing cars to use the sidewalk as a turn lane also?

If this kind of behavior is expected at this light (using the bike lane as a turn lane) to such an extent that people get angry when they can't do it, then it would seem to me that the police would be able to write tickets for days.

I take an approach exactly opposite to Mr. DeRespino's. At intersections where doing so can create a right turn lane I move as far left as seems safe while waiting for the light. Why not give right turners a break? If the light is green my approach is similar for my own safety. Moving left discourages right hooks.

In general, I think of bike lanes as effectively ending at intersections except for locations where the lane itself moves left to provide a right turn lane. Putting it another way, my mental lane narrows and moves left.

Using a bike lane to take a rest as lights cycle is just flat stupid. As noted, we have enough problems with poorly designed and abused lanes without creating our own issues.

I hope the attacker enjoys jail time and a long course of anger management.