Shooting someone with a gun is much more likely to result in death than slamming your breaks on someone.

Now since the dent was on the side door?? That indicates the driver side swiped into the cyclist? That is much more dangerous than slamming your breaks on someone. An able bodied competitive cyclist should be able to withstand a slam on the breaks, but a side slam? That's pretty sketchy.

No doubt, this was a dirt bag act. I don't support it. What I don't support is excessive punishment compelled by emotion.

No doubt, that action could have easily resulted in death, the fact that no one died is fortunate but the potential of the weapon used is extremely serious, give him 10.

Just to clarify what happened. I was the 2nd row back and saw everything up close and personal:

The guy in the car came past our group screaming about how we should get off the road. He then deliberately rammed the front two riders with the side of his car. He didn't slam on his brakes, he didn't come too close trying to buzz us, he turned into our lead riders to run them off the road. It was a miracle that no one was sucked under his car.

An intentional assault with a motor vehicle is no less dangerous to a cyclists life than an assault with a gun. 10 years would be entirely appropriate in this instance. A cyclist is totally at the mercy of a driver. If you try to dodge an attack by a person in a car, chances are you will crash and sustain severe injuries regardless of whether or not you make contact with the car.

I saw it on CyclingNews and cringed because your roommate, Dr. Phil, is a friend. Of course I still haven't forgotten about you beating me at the VoS TT when we were 2s but I'm really glad you guys are ok.

hi lighted for you cyclops, since even in America - more people are murdered err, sorry killed with cars than guns....

yeah - i get the assault charge and hope it sticks.

but really, if you intentionally (with clear premeditation) hit someone riding an 18-pound bike with a 2000-pound car . . . at what point do you call that attempted murder?

-mike

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

great work lets hope they give it to him.

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see my blog http://www.ironmandanonline.com

People in their cars are scary. I'm amazed everyday at the stupid sh*t people do even whenI'm in my care driving to work.

I'm glad caught him and that he is being prosecuted. Hopefully he gets "the works".

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Pete Githens
Reading, PA

You and I both like ALL civil rights contained in the Bill of Rights, not just 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Does this mean we're friends now?

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Speed Concept 9 (race)
Madone 5 (training)
Trek 1000 (rain/snow/sleet/monsoon)

As much as the cops were hassling The Shootout when I lived in Tucson, its good to hear/read this OP.

Here's hoping that we're not 'second class citizens' on the road for much longer.

M

If you do that to a police officer on bike patrol you will get an attempted murder charge. Attacks on citizens should be treated with the same level of vigor.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

He must have been insane thinking that he could hit someone in front of 15+ witnesses and get away with it.


Glad they got this guy. Good to hear that the police were fully cooperative.

I find drivers routinely loose their minds when cyclists are involved.

Really? You are trying to make that pass in the other lane around a blind curve or hill, with on-coming traffic? Yes, I am going left and changing lanes. That's what the extended straight arm, that I have had out there in front of you for the last 10 seconds means. No, there is not enough room for you to squeeze through the gap, of a tight (legal) double pace line on a two lane road with on-coming traffic right there. Yes, I really am going the speed limit of 40 or 50 kmh an hour on this slight downhill. Why do you need to pass me? No, you'll get no further ahead, because there is a red-light right up ahead. Yes, despite what you are saying, bikes are allowed on the road. No, you are not anonymous in your obviously identifiable car, with a unique number on it . . . . . and so on.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

If you do that to a police officer on bike patrol you will get an attempted murder charge. Attacks on citizens should be treated with the same level of vigor.

Agreed, but the courts and judges seem to go light on drivers who have committed serious crimes while driving - right on up to vehicular homicide. I am not sure why it is. Often, there is no criminal past record on the part of the driver, and they may even have a clean driving record( not making excuses - just trying to figure what's going through a judges head).

Any sort of sentence of this kind means driving, if they ever get their license back, will be an extraordinarily expensive affair for the rest of that persons life. Try getting a decent rate for insurance with that sort of thing on your record!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

A cyclist is totally at the mercy of a driver. If you try to dodge an attack by a person in a car, chances are you will crash and sustain severe injuries regardless of whether or not you make contact with the car.

This is the one thing that really get's at me. Yes drivers are asses. Yes, some/many of them have no idea what they are doing. Yes even some cyclists are asses. However, do the car drivers not understand the basic physics of the situation that almost any, collision or contact between a car and a cyclist is always going to turn out far, far worse for the cyclist than the car driver. In fact, it can be catastophic and fatal for the cyclist while the car driver and even their vehicle are complete unscathed. So why the cavalier attitude then and the almost complete lack of respect from many drivers?

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I am glad no one got hurt.

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A fine is enough. No need to ruin the guys life more than that..

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On the other hand few people commit such acts without provaction.

I was not there. I do not have knowledge of how the bicyclists were riding or what the traffic conditions were.

But I do know how some bicyclists, even professionals, ride. It is not always legal or safe. (Yes, I too have been guilty of less than perfect bicycle riding.)

It is hard to know what happened. It is impossible for the motorist to defend himself.

Are you a complete fucking idiot? So if I'm acting like an asshole its perfectly understandable that someone tries to shoot or stab me? Cause that is exactly what happened here except the weapon was a car. How someone can be stupid enough to make the statements you just did is beyond me.

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Bullshit. If this justifies drivers meting out what they see as appropriate "punishment" to other road users they see doing illegal or unsafe things, why don't we have dozens of incidents daily of drivers sideswiping and running into other vehicles and pedestrians (other than accidents)?

Like Fleck said, drivers get a sense of invincibility in their cars and don't consider the simple physics involved in doing something like this to cyclists, who these drivers consider easy targets.

1. Glad there were not more serious injuries caused by this driver.
2. Glad this assh-le was caught.
3. I'll withhold my opinion on how well the Tuson legal system handels this until we see this assh-le drivers conviction / sentence /fine.
4. Not sure that An Old Guy belongs on this forum with the statements he just posted on this thread.
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2011 Broward County 60-64M Sprint Tri Champion
2011 1st place 60-64M Race Troops Sprint Tri
2012 1st place 60-64M Spring Training Sprint Tri
2013 1st place 60-64M Bone Island HIM
2013 1st place 60-64M Tri-Miami International Tri

Interesting perspective. It reminds me of the latest tv episode of John Stossel which highlighted the recent rise in nazi-like raids in the homes of suspected drug dealers by local law enforcement. In 100% of the raids studied, the suspect's dog was shot by police. People surveyed on the raids almost invariably didn't care about the sudpect being shot, but they all expressed shock at the dog being shot. I would assume you join with these people.

The 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted to preclude psychopath government officials from, say, running over a cyclist as punishment for rolling through a stop sign. I hope you're a private sector guy.

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Speed Concept 9 (race)
Madone 5 (training)
Trek 1000 (rain/snow/sleet/monsoon)

You do realize that the bar is set by your local jury pools, right? If the guy can walk into court, ask for a trial and the jurors don't care about what he did (e.g., they hate cyclist), then the prosecutor has no leverage and pleads the case out. It is a negotiation between the defendant and the prosecutor based on what the jury is likely to do with the case...This is why I think it is funny when people get mad that cases aren't "taken seriously" - it is more likely that the local jury pools does not take the crime seriously and that is where the issue starts.

I was thinking the same thing.

Ten years *might* be a bit much. Maybe. But a few months in jail is definitely too little for deliberately hitting or trying to hit someone with a car. I'd say somewhere in the realm of a few years seems appropriate. Maybe more.

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http://www.jt10000.com/

On the other hand few people commit such acts without provaction.

Yes and no,

I agree with you that provocation can lead to some form of outrageous action on the part of another party. However, I have been on the receiving end of countless acts of stupidity, and in some cases illegal actions on the part of drivers, while all the while just minding my own business and riding respectfully and fully within the rules of the road - sharing the road as I should be. I notice these instances are on the rise( been riding for 30 years!)

Now, who's to know that, 5 minutes before a driver told me to get-the-F-off the road and cut me off as he makes a right hand turn, directly in front of me, did not have some ass-hat, other cyclist taking up the whole lane, and then spitting on the car drivers windscreen and giving him the finger, for just a minor and perhaps friendly tap on the horn. Call it delayed action from provocation. I'm not excusing the driver - that's just the reality these days.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

hey! i didn't know biden was on slowtwitch!

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ΜΟΛΩΝ-ΛΑΒΕ
we're doomed

How is it hard to know what happened - approximately 15 witnesses were there to see what happened, and a trained prosecutor thought there was enough reliable evidence to pursue this. Given your ridiculous burden of proof would anyone ever get a penalty for doing anything?

And really, why would you choose to doubt the words of the people that saw this happen? We are a tribe that should be supporting each other. Obviously, we should not blindly back each other, but come on - I expect the ST gang to have my back in situations like this unless there is clear evidence that the cyclists were in the wrong.