LOS ANGELES - A former emergency room doctor who deliberately hit his brakes so that two bicyclists rammed into his car in a road rage incident was sentenced Friday in a case that sparked international interest among cyclists. Christopher Thomas Thompson, 60, was sentenced to five years in state prison

Prosecutors say Thompson deliberately hit his brakes, causing the bicyclists to hit the back of his Infiniti sedan on July 4, 2008. One rider smashed through the back window, breaking his nose and front teeth. The other crashed to the pavement, separating his shoulder.

At trial, Thompson said that he and other local residents were angry because some bicyclists were ignoring stop signs or riding abreast, impeding cars on a narrow road.

Thompson said several cyclists who were riding side by side had sworn at him and made a rude gesture after he told them to ride single file. The physician said he didn't intend to hurt anyone and only stopped to photograph the riders.

However, a police officer testified that Thompson said he hit the brakes to "teach them a lesson."

Prosecutors said Thompson had braked suddenly in front of bicyclists on two previous occasions but nobody was hurt.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...ws-crime_and_courts/

[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 01-09-2010).]

And he is getting locked up why??? Sounds normal to me...

I thought when you got rear ended, it was always the fault of the person in back. I guess you probably shouldn't tell the cops you brake checked them either. So it seems that if he had just kept his mouth shut, he would have been fine. Isn't this also why they have the rule of following distances? Isn't so that the person in front can slam on the brakes and you should still have enough time to react and stop without hitting them? Wouldn't that mean, regardless of his intentions, that they were following to closely?

L8r,

Kevin

quote Originally posted by ybnormal74: I thought when you got rear ended, it was always the fault of the person in back. I guess you probably shouldn't tell the cops you brake checked them either. So it seems that if he had just kept his mouth shut, he would have been fine. Isn't this also why they have the rule of following distances? Isn't so that the person in front can slam on the brakes and you should still have enough time to react and stop without hitting them? Wouldn't that mean, regardless of his intentions, that they were following to closely? L8r, Kevin

I sure agree with you.
What ever happened to kids getting off their bicycles at STOP LIGHTS and pushing it across. I never see that anymore.
Everyone on a bike seems to have an ATTITUDE, sort of like a little person acting tough at UFC event. Lol.
They seem to think they can taunt with no repercussions, until they meet the wrong person....

Personally I think the Dr. deserves a medal. I am sorry the one guy went thru the rear window of the car... but around here and in NS both, cyclists think they own the road!! They do not follow traffic laws, but DAMN you if YOU don't and they are around. They constantly roll thru stop siogns, weave in and out of traffic. Hell I had one weaving in and out of RUSH HOUR traffic on the interstate the other day. They are not even ALLOWED on the interstate.

To those who bike to work... bravo on you, your saving money and cutting back on your personal pollution.. but follow the same damn laws that cars do!!! Want to be treated liek a car, witht he same rights as a car? Then FOLLOW THE SAME LAWS!!!

As a competitive cyclist I have been fully aware of this entire situation. The doctor, who swore the Hippocratic oath to help people, had been reported to police on several occasions. He had intensionally run cyclists off of the road as reported by cyclists, cab drivers, bystanders, etc and others, yet police sis not follow up in almost a dozen reports. He moved to go around the cyclist and swerved in front of the cyclists and locked up his brakes. There were no cars in front of him on an open road. There is no way for a cyclist, or car, to avoid an impact. Both experienced riders, class 3 riders, hit the car. One hit hard enough to go THROUGH the rear window of the car. Think about that. HE has had major facial reconstruction, loss if income and years of p.t. as a result of this mans DECISION to do this.

He used his car as a weapon, not in self-defense, in an aggravated manner. As a cyclists, I get annoyed by cyclists when I drive at times, as Im sure a lot of people do. I also get annoyed by kids in restaurants that cry and scream, but I do not want to HURT any of them!

Edit to add: Cyclists SHOULD follow all laws. It is illegal for cars to pass cyclists when a double yellow line is present. People need to keep in mind too, riders must get on the road to go the miles (80-100 miles a ride at times). Cyclists, who obey traffic laws, are as entitled to the roadway as all the middle-aged men who ride their motorcycles around for pleasure.

It is NEVER okay to intensionally disfigure another person because you have been inconvenienced.

[This message has been edited by psychosurfer (edited 01-09-2010).]

quote http://www.bicyclela.org/Law.htm Use of the Roadway (CVC 21202) Bicycles traveling slower than the normal speed of traffic must ride as close to the right side of the road as practicable except: when passing, preparing for a left turn, to avoid hazards and dangerous conditions or if the lane is too narrow.

How did both of them hit his car?

[This message has been edited by Jake_Dragon (edited 01-09-2010).]

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: How did both of them hit his car?

He moved to go around them, swerved in front of them and slammed on his brakes. The rider in front hit the car, the rider behind hit the rider and then through the rear window of the car.

Edit to add: the driver said he was, "angry because *some* bicyclists were ignoring stop signs or riding abreast." Not THESE cyclists, "some." That is like if you got arrested because "some" people in sports cars drive recklessly.

[This message has been edited by psychosurfer (edited 01-09-2010).]

It was an act of annoyance that went wrong. His fault. His penalty to pay. having said that, here in Spain roadracing on bikes is very popular. the problems arise when they ride in peletons of 20-40 riders in a straggling group, often 4 abreast, taking up the whole lane, and forcing drivers to either follow them for miles until it is safe to overtake, or just get impatient and try to force their way through. And overtaking 20 cyclists strung out over 200 metres from a crawl is very difficult at times to negociate. There are thosw who are VERY selfish, rude and offensive to drivers who try to get past safely.They do show a complete disregard to car drivers, and it is no wonder motorists eventually get fed up, and get on their horns.Most don't have lights either, and are often out on country roads at dusk, or even darker times. They do invite trouble.
Nick
PS I try to be patient, because I know only too well how painful it can be to come off a bike, have 10 others pile into you, and to lose acres of skin due to roadrash

[This message has been edited by fierofetish (edited 01-09-2010).]

Fierofetish said it very well. There are a lot of riders who do not follow the rules, are rude, etc. and this does not excuse the actions of violence. There are also a lot of riders who do follow the rules, use signals, obey traffic laws, have lights (at all times, day and night), and ride in areas, groups etc to keep themselves safe as well as car riders (ie, not riding during rush-hour, in congested areas, more than two wide when in a large peloton.

Most riders are these safe, considerate riders; they are just less noticeable because they blend into the scene. Think of it again like people driving sports cars. Most, do not drive crazy, but the ones who do cause accidents, higher insurance and injuries; not to mention the bad pr for those of us "behaving" in our sports cars. None the less, the reputation is applied to all of us. Again, what this MEDICAL DOCTOR did was apply a "sentence" to two random riders that he did not know. That is like a state trooper pulling you over when we are following the rules and tazing you.

I use to ride. I could do 20 miles without blinking an eye. I was courteous and gave cars the right of way. Sure it was a pain in the ass and some times it would end my riding on that street but its part of the deal. When riding you have to see it from both sides, would you want to be stuck behind someone that is doing less than half the posted speed limit on a daily basis? I would find another place to ride if that was the case, in fact I did just that.

Now what he did was wrong, he went about it in an angry way and look what it got him. He should have used his head and took pictures and video, he shouldn't have confronted them and just took evidence. He should have enlisted others that are having the same problems. We all have to live in this world and thats why we have rules. But above that you need to use common sense.

Kids do this where I live, they ride side by side and in packs of three or more. Why do they do this? Because they can and no one will say anything. Well its a short distance to my house so I just idle along behind them, they loose interest when I don't play along and move on and don't bother me anymore. I wouldn't hurt them but should they continue this behavior I would take my own advice and get some pictures and video. But it wouldn't cause me to want to hurt them. Thats the line he crossed.

hehe!! I'll never forget riding with two friends through my hometown high street. A Policeman on point duty was controlling traffic at a 'T' junction. He held his hand up to stop our lane. So we dismounted, and walked our bikes past him. He stopped the WHOLE traffic, called us back, and told us in very abrupt tones that we WERE required to abide by his signals and instructions..and dismounting and walking our biikes did NOT negate that requirement of us. he then took our names and addresses, and advised us our parents might well be informed. We were SO embarrassed at the drivers getting fed up, and everybody looking at us..I have never forgotten it
Nick

Jake, VERY well said. It seems that the consensus is that some cyclists are rude and do not obey laws, most are courteous, al *should* use their heads. My father-in-law, also a cyclist says, "would you rather be right and dead, or make changes to accommodate drivers."

Many of the cases I've read about doctors harming people has resulted in them loosing their license to practice medicine.

For about five years, I rode about 20 miles a day during the week in Germany and about 45 miles on Saturdays. When we returned to the US, I got out my trusty Raleigh--no fancy schmantzy bike for me--and in less than two blocks, I was nearly forced to the curb and guy showed me his single digit IQ and screamed for me to get off the road. I sympathize with bike riders and I also sympathize with motorists who have to endure the idiots who ride two and three abreast on a major road.

I biked all over Europe and once rode from Germany thorugh Belgium into Holland and into France where my wife met me and we spent a weekend near Normandy. She brought me back to Germany and I will never forget that ride. Bikes are given the right of way in Holland and Belgium and I even had a family put me up for the night in France. Here in the US, bikes are seen as a throw back to a useless mode of transportation. I think the ER doc got his comeuppance not to speak of his violation of the Hippocratic oath--what doctor would intentionally cause harm to another human?

I get the finger from bike riders here in Colorado and i don't crowd them off the road. I think they need to observe the laws the same as motorists but they don't need to be intentionally hurt.

[This message has been edited by starlightcoupe (edited 01-09-2010).]

We have bike lanes all over town and I have never seen one bike in them. I don't blame them, the few times I have attempted to ride my bike on the road I was uncomfortable the entire time. Now if I ride its on a trail for bikes but at the moment I don't even own a bike.
Florida roads are not the same as the roads I grew up on in Ohio. Plus there are no challenging hills

Most of the bike riders I see here are ridding on the sidewalk. The only time I see them on a road is inside a gated neighborhood.

He's going to jail because they were cyclists and got hurt.
If they'd been in a car and he brake checked them and they rear ended him, it would have been their fault for following too closely.

The doctor was convicted basically for being mean - but he did not violate any laws that I'm aware of.
Hitting the brakes to "teach them a lesson" may be asinine, but it's NOT illegal. Everywhere I've been says cyclists must obey the rules of the road. "Don't follow too closely" is one of those rules.

I would appeal the crap out of this.

It doesn't surprise me that this happened in L.A. The People's Republik of California has always been at the forefront of failure in this nation, and they're proud of it. They destroy their own state with poor legislation and entitlement programs, then move out of state to get away from the mess they created and complain when their new home state isn't run the same way as the one they just left. You can't expect much from a population with that type of mentality.

quote Originally posted by starlightcoupe: I think they need to observe the laws the same as motorists but they don't need to be intentionally hurt.

Then according to the traffic laws of all 50 states, you feel they cyclists are at fault.

[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 01-09-2010).]

In high school, I rode alot for basic transportation. We don't have bike lanes in town and I was in a very small minority of street users. I always tried to follow the rules and stay to the side if not ride the white line. When cars were coming up from behind, I'd move into the shoulder if there was one. That didn't matter to the red necks who needed someone to pick on. I grew really tired of horns being blasted in my ears and people yelling and hanging out windows and throwing things. A single rider today, 20 years later, would not be safe on the streets. They better wait until they have a riding partner.

I graduated from high school on crutches and they didn't let me walk across the stage, I couldn't get up on it. They brought my diploma to the side and I just walked in front of it. I was a hit-and-run victom while riding my bike. I never knew what happened. I was riding along one minute and the next, I was waking up in a hospital room.

Jonathan

quote Originally posted by Formula88: The doctor was convicted basically for being mean - but he did not violate any laws that I'm aware of.

Umm... assault and battery?

quote From the article: Christopher Thomas Thompson, 60, was sentenced to five years in state prison and had been jailed since his November conviction on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, battery with serious bodily injury, reckless driving and mayhem.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 01-09-2010).]

quote Originally posted by Formula88: He's going to jail because they were cyclists and got hurt. If they'd been in a car and he brake checked them and they rear ended him, it would have been their fault for following too closely. The doctor was convicted basically for being mean - but he did not violate any laws that I'm aware of. Hitting the brakes to "teach them a lesson" may be asinine, but it's NOT illegal. Everywhere I've been says cyclists must obey the rules of the road. "Don't follow too closely" is one of those rules. I would appeal the crap out of this. It doesn't surprise me that this happened in L.A. The People's Republik of California has always been at the forefront of failure in this nation, and they're proud of it. They destroy their own state with poor legislation and entitlement programs, then move out of state to get away from the mess they created and complain when their new home state isn't run the same way as the one they just left. You can't expect much from a population with that type of mentality. Then according to the traffic laws of all 50 states, you feel they cyclists are at fault.

That original story lacks a lot of details. Would you still have that opinion if you knew these additional details?

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc...s_angeles&id=7208332

quote Prosecutors say he had argued with the two cyclists before suddenly slamming on his brakes in front of them on Mandeville Canyon Road on July 4, 2008. One cyclist who went through the car window suffered broken teeth, cuts and had to have his nose reattached. The other cyclist suffered a separated shoulder after crashing to the pavement.

http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/...rage-attack-20100108

quote Jurors deliberated about three hours before finding Thompson guilty of two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon and battery with serious bodily injury and one count each of reckless driving causing specified injury, reckless driving and mayhem. Jurors found that both victims suffered great bodily injury involving the assault charges -- with the deadly weapon being Thompson's car. The cyclists testified that Thompson -- the owner of a medical documentation company in Woodland Hills -- pulled in front of them in his Infiniti sedan, then braked suddenly in the 3400 block of Mandeville Canyon Road on July 4, 2008. Peterson crashed through the car's rear window and suffered a broken nose, broken teeth and facial cuts, and the other cyclist, Christian Stoehr, suffered a separated shoulder after crashing to the pavement.

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: Kids do this where I live, they ride side by side and in packs of three or more..

Yeh, they used to do that in an old area I lived in as well............It is AMAZING what a set of Kenworth horns under the hood will do to change their perspective on courtesy and sharing the road.

It is against the law in GA, FL, NC, TN, SC, AL and I'm sure other states to ride on the sidewalk. It is very dangerous as cars cross the sidewalk path to gain access to stopping lines at intersecting roads (leaving parking lots etc).

The law about following too closely is ridiculous to site in this case. If you have had any experience on a road bike, you have the full understanding of this. You are riding along at say, 21MPH, a car passes (having slowed down because of you) to the same speed or a little faster. As the driver overtakes you (an illegal move if double yellow) driving close to you, in your lane, he swerves immediately in front of you and stomps on the brakes. This is in no way the cyclists fault. If they had been in a car it would still have been an illegal move. Let's not try and blame the victims here. This "doctor" was clearly intelligent enough to understand that his actions, regardless of the outcome, would put the HUMAN BEINGS on the bikes in danger.

This doctor got off easy after intentionally RISKING the safety of another human(s). I'm willing to bet he had no intension of actually hurting anyone, which supports his poor judgment.

As an avid cyclist, I feel it is my responsibility to be current on cycling laws where I ride. I wish all cyclists were more respectful and interesting in knowing, understanding and following the laws. Unfortunately, this is often not the case.

Bottom line: THESE cyclists were obeying the laws at the time this incident occurred. The doctor in essence brought a gun to a knife fight when HE decided that it was going to be his 3,000 lb vehicle versus 350 lbs of bikes and riders. He sure had the benefit of being protected by a seatbelt, airbags, wide tires with powerful brakes (obviously) and they had helmets. The driver most likely DID have good reason to be annoyed by riders. He himself stated that THESE riders had done "NOTHING" wrong. He decided to take his anger at OTHER cyclists behavior out on them.

To beat a dead horse: This is the same thing as if a man in a Fiero got beaten up by a group of attackers because some people who also happen to like driving a Fiero had wronged them.

Common courtesy goes a long way in all aspects of life. I live on a popular bicycle road and the vast majority of them should not be allowed to ride here or anywhere. They pose a danger to themselves and others and are generally rude. They can't do the speed limit, ride side by side, refuse to get out of the way and have been known to flip the bird when honked at. I have felt like running them off the road myself a time or two.

Some are courteous and get out of the way as soon as they here somebody behind them, of course.

quote Originally posted by psychosurfer: The doctor in essence brought a gun to a knife fight when HE decided that it was going to be his 3,000 lb vehicle versus 350 lbs of bikes and riders. He sure had the benefit of being protected by a seatbelt, airbags, wide tires with powerful brakes (obviously) and they had helmets.

This sums up why I no longer ride on public roads. I can rationalize all I want about having just as much right to the road, but the reality is I will end up on the losing side of any car vs. bike collision. And more and more, cyclists seem to have adopted the Critical Mass attitude, and are their own worst enemies.

Regarding the doctor, yes he deserves to be headed to jail for this. He intentionally used his car as a weapon.

Red88F, exactly. Some areas common sense *should* dictate to a rider as unsafe. I do ride on one such road. It is for about 3 miles from my driveway, to the roads out in the country where I can ride alone. Other than that, you will only see me in secluded areas or racing.

I am a very courteous rider and have been very angered at times riding. I have many times, been on secluded country roads where I don't see a single car for ten or twenty miles and along comes one single car or truck. There will be no one coming the other way and the drivers will not budge even an inch, often times forcing you off the road. This is dangerous for sure, and behavior that the driver would likely not do while overtaking another car or truck. My point is that this happens to a lot of riders, who in turn take the attitude back to congested areas. I am in no way justifying this, just presenting a small part of possible causes for the sometimes negative attitudes we see from cyclists.

We must share the roads, it is courteous, and the law. Is putting another humans, someone's father or child's life in danger really worth getting home five, ten minutes or even hours earlier? If the frustration felt by most of us as car drivers leads us to cause a lifelong injury or even death to another human, is the action worth the guilt? What do we accomplish?

Many of the people who feel strongly love our country and believe in the system. So, like may others have stated, collect evidence, data, film, etc. Create petitions, and lobby your local reps to make the changes you would like to see on your local area roadways. Find a peaceful means to curbing frustrations and be rewarded with lower blood pressure.


Edit to add: A person in a motorized vehicle can rapidly leave a situation, a person with pedal power does not have the same option.

[This message has been edited by psychosurfer (edited 01-09-2010).]

quote Originally posted by Doug85GT: That original story lacks a lot of details. Would you still have that opinion if you knew these additional details?

http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/...rage-attack-20100108

quote Jurors deliberated about three hours before finding Thompson guilty of two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon and battery with serious bodily injury and one count each of reckless driving causing specified injury, reckless driving and mayhem. Jurors found that both victims suffered great bodily injury involving the assault charges -- with the deadly weapon being Thompson's car. The cyclists testified that Thompson -- the owner of a medical documentation company in Woodland Hills -- pulled in front of them in his Infiniti sedan, then braked suddenly in the 3400 block of Mandeville Canyon Road on July 4, 2008. Peterson crashed through the car's rear window and suffered a broken nose, broken teeth and facial cuts, and the other cyclist, Christian Stoehr, suffered a separated shoulder after crashing to the pavement.

The only part that would make any difference is his pulling in front of them and then slamming on the brakes. Yes, that act would be considered assault with a motor vehicle and/or careless and reckless driving. That would be the same whether they were on bikes or in cars.

Their injuries don't matter as far as what law he broke. They only come into play in sentencing if the law says the driver broke the law and is at fault.

So, yes, if it was proven in court that he moved in front of them to slam on the brakes, I can agree with the jail time.
If they were simply behind him and he hit the brakes - it's their fault for being too close.

Again, that's the same regardless of whether they're on bikes, motorcycles, or in a car or truck.

The fact that the jury deliberated 3 hours over this indicates that there were some jurors on his side. I was on a jury and it only took us about 30 minutes to deliberate (and find guilty) over an accused child molester with basically no evidence against him.

I'll take this one like everything else. There are THREE sides to every story. In this case, there's the driver's story, the cyclists' story, and the TRUTH. I'd be willing to bet that the cyclists were not innocent victims in this case.

Generally speaking, most road rage I see is done by normal people who are probably sick of assholes on the road. Specifically for this case, if I had to guess, I'd say that the cyclists probably were NOT following the law as they should, they probably antagonized the guy in the car, and then he pulled in front of them and slammed on his brakes.

We'll probably never know for sure, but I think that's a pretty logical explanation.

quote Originally posted by SGS: The fact that the jury deliberated 3 hours over this indicates that there were some jurors on his side. I was on a jury and it only took us about 30 minutes to deliberate (and find guilty) over an accused child molester with basically no evidence against him.

Please tell me you didn't destroy someone's life with "basically no evidence" ?
I sure hope you had the right guy. I'd hate to think someone's life was ruined because the jury wanted to punish SOMEONE, evidence notwithstanding.

quote Originally posted by SGS: The fact that the jury deliberated 3 hours over this indicates that there were some jurors on his side. I was on a jury and it only took us about 30 minutes to deliberate (and find guilty) over an accused child molester with basically no evidence against him. I'll take this one like everything else. There are THREE sides to every story. In this case, there's the driver's story, the cyclists' story, and the TRUTH. I'd be willing to bet that the cyclists were not innocent victims in this case. Generally speaking, most road rage I see is done by normal people who are probably sick of assholes on the road. Specifically for this case, if I had to guess, I'd say that the cyclists probably were NOT following the law as they should, they probably antagonized the guy in the car, and then he pulled in front of them and slammed on his brakes. We'll probably never know for sure, but I think that's a pretty logical explanation.

That is what happened. The driver was in an argument with the cyclists just before he used his car as a weapon. That does not in any way justify what he did. I don't care if the cyclists said they ****ed his wife and his mother. No words can justify using your vehicle as a weapon like that.

For using his car as a weapon, as one of the articles said, the doctor is likely to die in prison.

Shortly after we moved to Colorado, a woman on a bike near Colorado College was hit and dragged to her death by an idiot in a van who claimed he didn't see her. That is the reason why I don't ride anymore. I had many similar incidents and the worst seemed to be guys in Ford 250s. The doc will regret teaching a lesson to the bike riders.

The bike trails here are good but like Germany, the "Sunday pedestrians" line up four and five across and I constantly have to brake and get back to speed. Weekday riding is good and easy on the eyes with all the young babes out trying to get back into shape after childbirth.

Now, like Psychosurfer, I might get my Raleigh out of the basement and go for a ride. I am motivated despite the 10 degree temps.

As usual, it takes several incidents to happen before someone gets what they deserve. This is just what was reported. I wonder how many other times this guy has done this and gotten away with it?

http://velonews.competitor....ling-community_79771

quote As the cycling community traded notes, people began to question if Dr. Thompson was the same motorist who had a run-in with two cyclists in Mandeville Canyon in March. A member of both clubs forwarded Patrick Watson’s account of his experience to Peterson. The vanity plate, “TCH MDX,” matched, as did the description of the car. The experience was almost identical. In the March incident, the driver sped ahead of the cyclists then slammed on his brakes. Watson rode into someone’s yard while teammate Josh Crosby veered into oncoming traffic; Watson said the driver made a second effort to hit them and then sped away. “I had a gut reaction to get the guy’s license number and entered his license number into my phone,” said Watson. Neither rider was injured. Despite pressure from La Grange’s Public Policy Director, Jeffrey Courion, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley declined to prosecute the case; Watson was told it wasn’t a winner. “I’m a little bitter because this happened before, but no one took it seriously.”

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Please tell me you didn't destroy someone's life with "basically no evidence" ? I sure hope you had the right guy. I'd hate to think someone's life was ruined because the jury wanted to punish SOMEONE, evidence notwithstanding.

No, here's basically what happened. The accused worked at a day care associate with a church as a janitor. He was accused of luring a 6 year old girl up to a room out of view of anyone else and fondling her. There were no witnesses and no physical evidence. An expert testified that physical evidence is often not found in a situation like this because healing takes place quickly.

What got him was that there was all of this recorded testimony...some from his interviews with police (for which he was stupid enough not to have an attorney present, even after being told he had the right to do so), and some from previous trials (unbeknown to us until after we had found him guilty, he had already been tried twice, and both of those trials resulted in hung juries). And during the course of all of this, plus his testimony that day in court, he changed his side of the story 2 or 3 times. It came down to the jury believing the testimony of a 6 year old girl, or the testimony of this guy, which was changing every time he turned around. It was obvious that he was lying, and thus was guilty, so we convicted him.

His mistake was not picking A story and just sticking to it. If he had, he would have walked, no question. We may have thought he was guilty, but not knowing who was telling the truth and who wasn't, we would never have been able to say beyond a shadow of a doubt that we didn't believe him. Ten of twelve jurors were on board with the guilty verdict, and the other two thought he was guilty but simply struggled with the "shadow of a doubt" issue. Once we discussed it, everyone agreed what was going on. There was just not enough to convict him on other than the fact that his story was definitely not consistent. If he had said "yeah, she followed me up to the room, but she just played in the corner while I swept the floor and I NEVER touched her" and had simply repeated that statement, he would have walked. It really was that simple. Her word against his, and we couldn't believe him because his story of what did and didn't take place in the room changed with each bit of testimony.

So he was convicted based on his own stupidity, and we gave him 12 years in the pen to think about how he could get away with it next time.

quote Originally posted by SGS: I'll take this one like everything else. There are THREE sides to every story. In this case, there's the driver's story, the cyclists' story, and the TRUTH. I'd be willing to bet that the cyclists were not innocent victims in this case.

i used to ride, a lot. where i rode, the law went something like this. a cyclist is legally entitled to use the entire lane, or if more than one, to ride abreast within that lane. cars are expected to treat bicyclists as if they are another car, abeit slow-moving, or a tractor. a courteous cyclist will not mind if you use a bit of his lane to pass (most of them drive cars, too, and understand), but they are not required to yield it to you on demand. yes, some riders are careless or rude, but that is no excuse for trying to injure them.

[This message has been edited by lurker (edited 01-09-2010).]

I think that all bike riders should be made to have insurance on their bikes just like car and motorcycle riders have too. Also have to take a operators test if they are going to use it on public roads.

quote Originally posted by ron768: I think that all bike riders should be made to have insurance on their bikes just like car and motorcycle riders have too. Also have to take a operators test if they are going to use it on public roads.

I'll agree with this. I was making a left hand turn at an intersection and after waiting at the stop sign, traffic cleared and I started making my turn. Some clown on a bike that had been coming up behind me blew through the intersection and was attempting to go straight while I was turning. He nearly rammed me in the driver's door and then started cursing me even though he nearly caused an accident. Since I only have liability on my car, if he had hit me, then I pretty much figure that I would have been out of luck on getting him to fix my car.

On a happier note, sometimes, bicycles come in handy

quote Originally posted by Cooter: I'll agree with this. I was making a left hand turn at an intersection and after waiting at the stop sign, traffic cleared and I started making my turn. Some clown on a bike that had been coming up behind me blew through the intersection and was attempting to go straight while I was turning. He nearly rammed me in the driver's door and then started cursing me even though he nearly caused an accident. Since I only have liability on my car, if he had hit me, then I pretty much figure that I would have been out of luck on getting him to fix my car.

A lot of the more vocal cyclists feel that many of the traffic laws shouldn't apply to them. I've heard them say that stop signs, stop lights, one way streets, riding with the flow of traffic, etc were laws made for cars and don't make sense for bikes.

But I've never heard a valid reason why those laws shouldn't apply.

quote Originally posted by starlightcoupe: I was nearly forced to the curb and guy showed me his single digit IQ and screamed for me to get off the road

SHARE THE ROAD That is the idea, right? Simular thing happened to me not too long ago, with a slight twist though.

Me on my road bike, on a two lane road (Far right of the road. On other side of the white solid line) waiting for the light to turn green.
Next to me, this guy in his big bad Ford truck. Far left lane was wide open, I believe.
Starts screaming at me to get off the $%^^ road. I belong on the sidewalk with my bike. The road belongs to people with cars. Horse power. Bla, bla, bla.

....
....
....

Well , guess who pulls up next to him a few days later. This time in her Fiero. Not the six cylinder either. 383 small block Chevy with a nasty exhaust note.
You should of seen his face. (Not usually too big on using "four letter words. I got kids. Enough said.)
That time though, I turned my head, smiled and told him too move the f... OVER!!! Karma, baby

Now come spring I will probably again use my bike again to commute to work. At least on some days.
On guard though. Every single minute.Keeping an eye on anything around me at all times. My assumption when it comes to cars I encounter on the road, ... I am pretty much invisible to them. Any of them. Sad, but it has also kept me out of trouble in past years.

Tina

quote Originally posted by GT86: A lot of the more vocal cyclists feel that many of the traffic laws shouldn't apply to them. I've heard them say that stop signs, stop lights, one way streets, riding with the flow of traffic, etc were laws made for cars and don't make sense for bikes. But I've never heard a valid reason why those laws shouldn't apply.

And thats the problem, you don't hear from or about people that obey the laws. Then stories get passed around and mob mentality kicks in when someone does something wrong and people gang up on on each other. I do think there are places that bike shouldn't be on the street and common sense should dictate that but we all know people will do what they want. I think that if your on the street and you cant do up to 10 mph under the speed limit then you should find another place to ride if there isn't a path or lane setup for bikes.

Play safe and respect each other.