RVARider

I have had many instances where I waved a hesitant driver by because I know I will soon be in a situation where they cannot pass. When they still hesitate, eventually you have to say "you snooze you lose" I take your protection in your hands.

FBinNY 

I repeat my earlier post. None of what happened before is material to the assault itself which is what the driver is charged with. As for the traffic citations, that's between him, the officer and the court.

It's a simple case of assault. Without looking it up, I gather that it was aggravated or raised to 2nd degree because the victim was down and unable to defend himself.

NOTHING that happened before justifies the assault and probably the only defense would be that the cyclist swung first. (note the subjunctive)

RVARider

and here is the missing piece to put it all on the driver

levgon

Campag4life, I happen to know the cyclist in this incident. His statement was incorrectly recorded by the police and subsequently has been mis-reported by news outlets. The cyclist did not waive the driver through, but rather alerted the driver to hold back because they were both entering a blind curve. He took the road to prevent the driver from trying to pass and potentially swerve into him if another car was found to be approaching (which I believe is what happened). Also, the cyclist in this incident is an ex-Marine, there is ZERO doubt that he could not have administered the "old fashioned beat down" in short order, even with broken ribs, leg and elbow. Instead he show great restraint, probably knowing that he would not have helped his case to take legal action if he had beaten the driver senseless.

banerjek

There is a certain kind of person who thinks people deserve to be injured or killed just for annoying them. It may be my imagination, but it seems to me that a disproportionate percentage of these people have issues with bicycles.

Just yesterday when I was riding home, a Corolla kept drifting into the bike lane. It seemed intentional but I couldn't tell for certain. In any case, he was in the lane too much for me to pass. After about a quarter mile, he suddenly pulled in on me, lay on the horn, and deliberately attempted a right hook, stopping right in my path. No biggie -- I'm always ready for the right hook, especially when someone is driving like a jerk. If I were on a crappier bike, I would have considered bouncing lightly off the side of the car so he could lose a little paint.

I rarely engage motorists, but for some reason, I decided to speak to him, saying only "If you're going to intentionally pull in on me, at least signal...." He either works for my institution or was visiting, so I'll keep an eye out for him.

eja_ bottecchia

Exactly, well said.

FBinNY 

It's neither your imagination, nor a reality. It's just that as a cyclist, a large number of your interactions with strangers happen while you're on a bicycle. If you drove a cab you'd think people hate cabbies, and if in a truck truckers.

So it's a real perception but not reflective of a reality. It's comparable to the feeling that you get more than your fair share of sitting near noisy babies on long flight.

LesterOfPuppets

I'm certainly not a fan of cabbies. They engage in some bizarre driving behaviours while clacking on their cabbie computers.

ColaJacket

So, bt stands for Big Troll?

GH