RVARider

Police: Angry Md. motorist beats cyclist, throws bike tire into woods - WTOP

softreset

Just so we're on the same page here, the tire is the wheel... right? Or did he actually take the tire off the wheel and then throw it into the woods?

bt

cyclists fault.

Nachoman

That's odd. Even assuming it's the whole wheel, it's odd.

RVARider

he must have been patient AND irate

bt

he didn't want him to catch up at the next light.

rpenmanparker 

No way the driver should have been passing on a curve. Either side.

series1811

If not sarcasm, care to elaborate?

RPK79

This would never have happened with tubulars.

LesterOfPuppets

I'm running Pitlock skewers from now on.

indyfabz

Or disc brakes.

RPK79

Well, to be fair, it could have happened with discs, but it would be much less likely.

Jarrett2

That's why I never wave. They can ride behind me all day long if they want, I'm not going to designate myself as the traffic controller and start waving vehicles around. They are licensed drivers, they should know when its safe and legal to make a pass and when its not.

Glad they caught the guy and he's going to taste some legal action for his decisions.

indyfabz

Took a look at Google Maps. It looks like he would have been taking a hand curve in the road. The road is relatively narrow with a double yellow median and no shoulder. My moving out to make yourself more visible to oncoming traffic seems more likely to risk a head on if an oncoming driver cuts corner/drifts over the yellow line.

Under PA's 4' law, the cyclist's action would have been illegal absent some obstruction in the road forcing him left. And the motorist would have violated the law had he crossed the yellow line with insufficient sight distance to judge if it was safe to pass.

Finally, you take a risk waving people around. There has been at least one reported court decision where a motorist A was found at least partially liable for an accident involving motorists B & C that resulted after motorist A waived motorist B around. I could see a lawyer extend that to a situation where a cyclist waves a motorist around. One more reason not to waive at anyone when you ride.

indyfabz

Smart approach. As I noted just after you posted, there is a potential for you to bear some liability if you wave someone around and an accident ensues.

RPK79

Finally a waving thread with some meat to it.

wallrat

How are wheels harder to remove with disc brakes? They come off the same way on my mountain bike. I loosen the skewers and pull off the wheel. The disc do not interfere with wheel removal.

RPK79

Obviously the superior braking modulation would have saved them.

prathmann

I don't see anything in PA's vehicle code that prohibits the cyclist from taking the lane in an area where a pass by a motorist would be unsafe due to a restricted sight line. The PA vehicle code does have a section which states "Upon all roadways, any pedalcycle operating in accordance with Chapter 35, proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into an alley, private road or driveway."

Note that this statute uses the word "or" when describing the two ways in which the cyclist may ride - he may either ride in the right-hand lane *or* he may ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge. Either action is allowed under this statute.

patrickgm60

It's not clear how much time elapsed between the cyclist waving the motorist around and the cyclist's swerve to the center of the road. It doesn't take a hot-head motorist to be angered by an unpredictable cyclist.

bt

dumb.

Campag4life

I know there is a lot of cyclist sympathy here but nobody died. This is America. Nothing wrong with an old fashion beat down.
Next time the cyclist won't go out in the middle of the road and block the SUV which was construed by the SUV driver as the bicycle rider blocking right of way of the SUV after waving him to pass...lol.

bt

throwing wheel into woods is classic!

LesterOfPuppets

No lawyer lips on my roadies. I can drop wheel in a heartbeat.

I'm sure this guy had a crabon fork and in addition to the tyre, the motorist was also throwing the wheel and at least a portion of one of the fork legs

bakes1

Maybe I read it wrong but it sure sounds like the cyclist is mainly at fault.
If he did indeed wave the driver on why would he than feel the need to take to the center of the lane knowing the driver has not yet passed him and is still behind him?
What sight line was he trying to improve? The one to his inside on the shoulder in anticipation of what? A jogger on his side?
Either way, assuming it was that inside sight line he was trying to improve I don't believe he should have drifted so far into the lane as to be quoted as being in the middle of it where he could get hit by the vehicle he knew was behind him and looking to pass based upon the cyclist's hand signal.
You better be on high alert if you wave someone on imo.
Just my 2 cents...