ANTI CYCLIST BULLSHIT

[Dave_Schuldt]

Found this on another site.

ClearChannel Communications seems to have a corporate policy of inciting

violence against cyclists. A talk show on one of their stations in

Cleveland was promoting the idea of running cyclists off the road,

throwing cans and bottles at groups of cyclists, etc. The parent

company apologized and made some donations to local cycling groups.

Then the same type of anti-cycling hate radio was aired on one of their

stations in Houston. Again, ClearChannel apologized. Nonetheless, a

Raleigh, NC ClearChannel station recently launched an attack of their

own on cyclists (click

http://www.trianglemtb.com/#g105sucks). Somehow, this seems like more

than coincidence.

 

I have sent a letter to the president of ClearChannel

(MarkPMays@c...) letting him know that I intend to stay away

from their local stations and their advertisers. In the Seattle area,

their stations include KFNK, KHHO, KJR, and KUBE.

 

I encourage you to let them know your feelings on this subject and

spread the word.

 

sCREW COMERCIAL RADIO, ALL THE STATIONS SUCK, LISTEN AND SUPPORT PUBLIC RADIO.

[erik]

this is like the bouderer/ traddy debate!!!

 

u go no where!

 

 

[catbirdseat]

This is not a debate, erik. This is about incitement to violence, which is illegal. Bicycles are legally entitled to share the road with motor vehicles.

[incubus]

catbirdseat said:

This is not a debate, erik. This is about incitement to violence, which is illegal. Bicycles are legally entitled to share the road with motor vehicles.

I'm throwing my can of Bud and you can't stop me.

[Cpt.Caveman]

I agree they are entitled to share the road.

 

But some cyclists are also guilty of violence or instigating confrontations as well. I ride to work 2-4 times a week on my bicycle during the less rainy season. I can see some of the "fellow" cyclists intentionally hogging road and shouting at cars and getting road rage for silly reasons. Then there is me laughing at almost every incident.

 

I don't agree with inciting violence at cyclists. But I also dont agree all cyclists are "victims".

 

Screw those radio stations anyway. They already sucked in my book.

[catbirdseat]

incubus said:

catbirdseat said:

This is not a debate, erik. This is about incitement to violence, which is illegal. Bicycles are legally entitled to share the road with motor vehicles.

I'm throwing my can of Bud and you can't stop me.

I hope you don't waste any of that precious fluid and rather just throw the can.

[iain]

I agree there are plenty of cyclists looking for trouble, like speeding up on purpose and slamming on the brakes in anger to make a point of someone cutting them off, who could have made the turn easiely if biker had not started cranking.

[jon]

Then there is me laughing at almost every incident.

 

I've seen Ray riding to work!!!! He has one of those enclosed aero bicycle deals, smokin a big fatty with smoke streaming out the vent, he's not only laughing at every incident, he is a laughing the whole way.

[lI1|1!]

i bike and see lots of dumb bikers out there. lots of dumb motorists too. and there are smart bikers and smart drivers. that's why overgeneralizing and advocating violence accomplishes nothing.

[AlpineK]

Do Bicyclists Attack Car Drivers???????

[Cpt.Caveman]

i bike and see lots of dumb bikers out there. lots of dumb motorists too. and there are smart bikers and smart drivers. that's why overgeneralizing and advocating violence accomplishes nothing.

 

Do Bicyclists Attack Car Drivers???????

I bet it's not unheard of when they meet at intersections and stop signs.

[jon]

AlpineK said:

Do Bicyclists Attack Car Drivers???????

 

Is unrelenting verbal abuse considered attacking someone?

[Cpt.Caveman]

jon said:

AlpineK said:

Do Bicyclists Attack Car Drivers???????

 

Is unrelenting verbal abuse considered attacking someone?

 

Please see word of the month thread for j_b's definition of attack.

 

Yes it would be an attack according to him.

[erik]

Cpt.Caveman said:

jon said:

AlpineK said:

Do Bicyclists Attack Car Drivers???????

 

Is unrelenting verbal abuse considered attacking someone?

 

Please see word of the month thread for j_b's definition of attack.

 

Yes it would be an attack according to him.

 

[lI1|1!]

On my bicycle ride home today I was almost hit by a car at an intersection because the driver did not see me because she was using a cell phone. She did not hit me because like many bicycle commuters I have learned to look at driver's eyes to make sure they see me. I saw her holding a cell phone up to her ear and stopped even though I had the right of way and she cruised through the intersection completely oblivious. I was not particularly surprised by this because it has become a common occurance for me. I was mildly angry at the time (I would have been injured I'm sure had it not been for my visual diligence), but I refrained from shouting obcenities because I know some people are sensitive and also she wouldn't have heard me anyway.

 

Washington State needs to pass a law against using a cell phone while driving. New York State has already passed such a law. Studies and reviews of accident records have shown that using a phone impairs your ability to drive safely. Washington State needs to pass a law against driving while using a cell phone immediately because it endangers other drivers, bicyclists, and pedistrians, as well as passengers in the offending party's vehicle.

 

Also note that this driver and many others like her (I see plenty of guys on phones not seeing me too, trust me) are out there and dangerous. If I called the police right now with her liscence plate and my story NOTHING would happen. The last time I called the cops asking for protection from motorists (a driver had deliberately run me off the road at night as an apparent joke or something) I was told I was on my own.

 

[chucK]

lI1|1! said:

I saw her holding a cell phone up to her ear and stopped even though I had the right of way and she cruised through the intersection completely oblivious.

 

Pfft ... how did you get it into your head that a bike ever has the right of way?

 

 

The last time I called the cops asking for protection from motorists (a driver had deliberately run me off the road at night as an apparent joke or something) I was told I was on my own.

 

to bring up another exciting thread...

 

"Cops don't protect you.

Don't have a clue.

C'mon boys,

don't forget article II!"

[erden]

from: Around-n-Over dispatches

 

"The next morning, I had a run in with an RV driver just south of the Meziadin Junction whom I reported to the RCMP. I was pushing the rig up a short steep step with no shoulder, really leaning into it. My left foot was extended in the lane, the bike was on the white line. There was a double yellow line in the middle meaning no passing. Normally when I hear vehicles approach in such situations with no shoulder, I put on the breaks and straighten up to let them pass. 18-wheelers especially appreciate that gesture.

 

So this huge RV trailer pulled by a truck snuck up on me and sped past me so fast that I had no time to adjust. I felt the wheel of the trailer nudge my left pinkie toe, with the side of the trailer coming within inches of my flesh and bone. These trailers are of obscene sizes, as wide as 18-wheelers, certainly wider than the trucks that pull them, typically a Dodge RAM with a diesel engine. I screamed after him giving him the finger in his rear view mirror, cursing in the open because they always got away with it...

 

This time, there was justice. When I topped the hill, on the other side I saw construction on a small bridge and a flagger had stopped the traffic. There it was, a giant prey, ensnared in the sticky web of construction and I was going to swoop on his tail - "I got me one!" I thought to myself and sped down the other side for the kill. I parked my bike next to the driver and let him have it. I called him the a-word, the one the first syllable of which is synonymous with donkey, yelling: "you almost ran me over back there, a-word!" He was incredulous. "You were supposed to be on the white line," he said. He knew exactly what he had done, he had done it on purpose, and by God, he was not going to change lanes and he was going to drive just the same at the risk of running me over, because in his mind, I was supposed to be on the white line and I was not, and I did not belong on the same road with him.

 

Well, a volcano erupted in me. I now know the meaning of "being hopping mad." I was shaking with the adrenaline, yelling in this man's face from about three feet away, with a finger pointed right at his forehead, like the Hollywood stereotype of a drill sergeant. Every sentence was punctuated with the a-word coming out with such an emphasis that it almost sounded like a sneeze. The abbreviated version of my monologue with this numnut was: "It is not where I was supposed to be, it is where I was that matters. You have no right to run me off the road. I had the lane. You had to either stop or to change lanes." Then when he had had enough of the a-word, this fool brandished a knife on me, a curved rusty looking item about 4 inches in length, undoing his seat buckle at the same time in a bluff. I don't know whether he thought that he would stab me, or maybe that he would slice my throat or something...

 

This man was 65 years old, certainly not in shape, he had no business with a knife. Instead of defusing my anger with a "back off, sorry, I did not realize that I was that close, I should be more careful," he was taking the wrong approach. "Is that a knife you are pulling on me, a-word," I yelled and pulled out my bear spray and yelled at him that I would spray him if he stepped out of the vehicle - he did not. I waved the flagger over telling him that he had pulled a knife on me. The flagger invited me to the head of the line of vehicles, and told me to talk to the construction site supervisor. My parting shot at the driver was a wish that he had an accident on the way home, "curse on you," I yelled padded with the f-word.

 

The supervisor asked me if I wanted to report this incident to the RCMP. I went back to note the license plate number of this truck and the number off the trailer. My cell phone did not work, so I accepted to use the supervisor's phone mounted in the truck. I was told to wait for the two RCMP members to arrive from Stewart and when they did an hour later, I told the story complete with the foul language that I had used on the man. I told them that RV's coming close and not changing lanes happened routinely on the road.

 

A majority of the RV's did not change lanes, almost testing their driving expertise to see how close they could get to me. These guys speeded through gravel kicking up rocks that clinked in their wheel wells, the same clinking off my sunglasses, my helmet and my knuckles leaving me sore. An uncomfortable number of them were driving past me pulling trailers whose step ladders under the side door would be left unfolded, aiming to slice me in two like a blade attached to the axle of a Roman war chariot. They drove their trucks in the center of the lane, but the trailers hanged wider on the sides. Some of them had these mirrors that extended even further to see around the trailers to the back. All of these were in the hands of amateur drivers with no special additional training to pull a trailer that size. The professional 18-wheeler drivers knew what they were pulling, and they gave me all the room that I needed. The RV's did not... An unregulated industry (???) tolerated for the sake of the dollars that they pump into the tourism industry that seems to be the only action around here besides "resource extraction..."

 

Of course, there were also RV's that changed lanes, that slowed down on dusty or gravel sections, that slowed down to my pace to talk to me while I pedaled, and that shared their stories with me as well. In the grand scheme of things, it takes one to ruin my day, and this numnut almost ruined my trip, if not my life.

 

The RCMP officer told me that he had a friend who was a sheriff in the same town where this truck was registered, and that he would be able to get the story on this driver. He said: "we get all kinds on these roads, there are cyclists, there are skateboarders, and the drivers need to slow down and remember that they are on a vacation." He added that the surrounding detachments were notified, and that if they did not get this driver before Prince George, they would get him at the border into US. When the officers left heading in the same direction as that RV, I continued talking with the flagger who said: "These guys think that they can get away with anything, this is Canada..." I smiled. I had not been able to use my cell phone, nor had seen any RCMP patrols on the roads. Speeding was routine with no enforcement. All vehicles were dirty in the rear with illegible license plates that sped away too fast. They all DID get away with it. But now that they were called in, the RCMP was going to tend to this particular case and that is what mattered at this time.

 

I continued on south later that day, my riding time being shortened by the delay to report the incident."

[Dan_Harris]

I can whistle very loudly and use it like a car would a horn. Gets drivers heads to turn, except those whose stereos are thumping so loudly they are shaking nearby buildings.

No need for any obscenities. I also go out with the attitude that all the cars are out to get me.

[mr.radon]

As an avid cyclist to cross train I find that a U-lock is a wonderful tool to get even with ass wipe drivers.

In another state, CO, a couple of cyclists were honked at by an irate out-of-stater in Rocky Mountin National Park. He passed them but didn't know the cyclist would catch up on the flip side of the pass. As he soon found out his van could be dented by pumps and such. He pulled over, was beaten up in front of his kids and wife as the cyclist continued on.

Just this Tuesday a biking buddy got rear ended by a car at the arburitum. At least she had the good will to drive him to a bike shop and pay for all his repairs on the spot, which included a new helmet. Too bad this state doesn't have more bike paths or wider lanes.

[incubus]

This isn't 1905. Bicycles shouldn't share the road with 4000 lb. automobiles. Bike paths are the way to go, but I sure don't want to pay for them...do you?

[erik]

mr.radon said:

In another state, CO, a couple of cyclists were honked at by an irate out-of-stater in Rocky Mountin National Park. He passed them but didn't know the cyclist would catch up on the flip side of the pass. As he soon found out his van could be dented by pumps and such. He pulled over, was beaten up in front of his kids and wife as the cyclist continued on.

 

so it is okay to beat people who honk at you? i don't see the correlation to it? i hope the bicyclist is accosted in prison for beating a man in front of his family.

 

 

what does this sotry illustrate? that cyclists are assholes too?

 

the poor me attitude is reallt pathetic. biking like climbing is inherrantly dangerous. do cyclists attempt to avoid this thought? people in cars get cut off by other people in cars, the get in accidents, they make mistakes. but apprently if you are riding on a bike you are better then them????

 

hmmmm

 

 

[ken4ord]

iain said:

I agree there are plenty of cyclists looking for trouble, like speeding up on purpose and slamming on the brakes in anger to make a point of someone cutting them off, who could have made the turn easiely if biker had not started cranking.

 

Please, man that is such bullshit, if you really believe there are a lot of cyclist are looking for trouble, you gotta be some stupid. As well as the other way around, I don't think drivers are out there looking to cause trouble to cyclist. Grated both side have there assholes, but I would say it is a minority of the population.

 

As for cyclist speeding up that is crap too. It appears they are speeding up just because you are slowing down. The problem there is that most drivers don't realize all other people outside of cars that includes bicycles as well have the right of way. I don't necesarrily agree with that since in an urban environment I can usually move as fast as traffic on my bike, but it is the law that most people don't recognize. There is also the flip side where there are a few cyclist that don't realize they are suppose to follow the rules of the road, which can also cause problems.

 

 

[ken4ord]

incubus said:

This isn't 1905. Bicycles shouldn't share the road with 4000 lb. automobiles. Bike paths are the way to go, but I sure don't want to pay for them...do you?

 

So are you saying were different than every other nation in this world and bikes and cars can't share the road?

[mr.radon]

First the jerk in the van tried to run them off the road as he passed. In other words squeezed them between the guard rail and his car. You ever been on the Ridge road in RMNP? Nice drop off.

Second the jerk's wife threw the contents of her soda drink on several of the riders as they pulled this wonderful maneuver.

A co-worker was one of the individuals. The jerk deserved to have a few tail-lights knocked out and hadn't he gotten out of the car everything would have been fine. Maybe the cyclists shouldn't have stopped when he did, but if I'm ever in the situation like that I'll take the guy out so he can't follow me any further in his car.

As far as I'm concerned, while on a bike any hostile actions by a car should be considered a "Threat with a deadly weapon". Give the jerk a wide berth, take down his license number, pull out the cell phone and call the cops. If possible follow the car at a safe distance, then when they're stopped make judicious use of the U-lock so the cops have something to write a ticket on. I love BMW's.

[erik]

well i have been searching alot of the wsdot and other state websites that contain the laws.

 

there is nothing stating as a state law that bicyclists have the right away.

 

it states they are vehicles and must obey state traffic laws. they are not pedestrians, pedestrians do have the right a way bicyclists dont.

 

here is a link from there there are lots of other links to the other info i was reading.

 

if you have a link to the actual law stating cyclists have the right a way i would be interested in reading it.