KVOA on the Shootout incident
KVOA article here.
One of the virtues of these things for a lawyer is you get to read the comment section and get a feeling for the sorts of things the jury is going to be saying during deliberations. It’s not pretty. From the comments section:
If the vehicle had to move all the way to the other lane to pass a large group of bikes, it’s the cyclists fault they were hit. It should not be ok for a slow moving bike to hold up fast moving vehicles. A vehicle should not have to move to another lane to pass bikes. That driver should not be cited.
and:
Sounds to me like these bicyclists should have been ticketed not the driver that is ridiculous!! When they seen the car they should have moved over gotten out of the way. THEY caused the accident if they werent in the road they would have never gotten hit. They should have to carry insurance for this type of thing just like a car if they plan to ride in the road like idiots. They cause accidents like this because they just wont move cars have to go around them or go at their slow pace which is ridiculous. It’s common sense if you see cars behind you move.
Or:
The driver moved to the left to pass because the Bicyclists were NOT in single file as they should have been. The driver of the car was trying to accomidate the RUDE bicyclists by passing them while in their ILLEGAL configuration. Had the bicyclists been riding single file the driver would have been able to pass and remain in their proper lane. To me their attidude is one of entitlement and arrogance that they are priveliged to be above the law and common decency. I am sory for the injuries that occured but feel the bicyclists are equal in the fault.
–Erik Ryberg
September 9th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
I have three bicycles.
The blue one is bicycler
than the green one.
But the red one is the
bicyclest of them all.
Yep, back in the day,
were I come from, we
thought the white line
was the bike lane….
can’t recall anybody
diein’. But when someone
saw sumpthin in the road
that wasn’t a car, it was
a cause for concern. Then
they throde bottles at us.
But they always missed.
It was a delicate balance…
back then.
September 10th, 2009 at 9:16 am
The star did finally print an article about this:
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/308423.php
buried under another police report headline. “Suspicion of unsafe passing.” If she had rammed into a slow-moving car while passing and caused injuries would she have been let off so lightly?
September 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
[...] stops at a red light, and notices history at his feet. The Tucson Bike Lawyer notes the online comments following the recent rundown of seven cyclists; apparently, it’s the responsibility of cyclists [...]
September 10th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
> What “on-coming” traffic ? The car that saw 7 bikes and riders
> flying through the air but didn’t bother to stop ? The one that
> none of the 10 riders claim to have seen ? Footage on KVOA showed
> her car with damage to the FRONT of her vehicle: she rear-ended the
> group of riders, including those on the right of the, legal, double
> pace line, i.e. those who were where they’d be if they were single
> file.
>
> You don’t have to like bicyclists, but don’t condone violence
> against them, PLEASE!
>
> D.A.
September 10th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Fuck there are some IGNORANT drivers out there completely UNAWARE of the laws. If the lane is NOT sharable (less than 14 feet) the bicyclists can ride however they want actually, so as to discourage illegal passing by a motorist. Two abreast is the legal configuration. These kind of comments disgust me!
September 10th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Why wasn’t the person cited for having things hanging from the rear view mirror. Just look at all the crap blocking the dirver’s view.
September 11th, 2009 at 11:58 am
These morons make me sick! Where do some of these jackasses get their license to drive? What laws do they read, and when do they get off jumping to conclusions before they know the facts? Why can’t motorists understand the word, “SHARE”. Bike riders have to live by the same laws motorists do, we get cited just like they do. We have the same rights to be on the road as they do. OH, Yea, I pay taxes also…. Now these jerks want us to have eyes in the back of our heads. It’s hard enough to dodge whats in front of us. Comments like, “RUDE BICYCLISTS”, and “ILLEGAL CONFIGURATION” just make me blow my top. Someone needs to teach them the law, for starters, they need to read Arizona Revised Statute, 28-815. Start with section”D”. Bike lanes are NOT turn bays. “No Person Shall Operate, stop, park or leave standing a vehicle in a bike path”. Bike riders may not ride MORE than two abreast when no bike lane is present. HEY, Stupid, that means we can ride two abreast! There are a number of situations when we may choose to not ride as close to the right side of the roadway, and we will do so legally, moron ! I guess I’m the moron, I couldn’t find the cite at KVOA to throw out my bitch to them. I guess a letter to the editor is next. Man, this crap lights my rockets……
September 11th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
What Don said.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:42 am
The driver deserved to get beat up, man or woman. People like myself don’t usually condone violence, but, nothing else is gonna come of this. Maybe a little fine, a court appearence. If I’m in this situation, driver better make sure I’m dead or unable to get up, cause I’m coming at ya!
September 16th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Over the years that I’ve been reading through the comments that are left for most articles relating to vehicle/bicycle accidents I’ve come to what I consider to be a very simple, nearly fool-proof solution to the problem facing both drivers and riders today.
The solution is to strip of a license to drive every single commentator that fails to adhere to any rule of basic elementary school English. This includes spelling, grammar and sentence structure. The logic behind such a move is that if said commentator cannot formulate a complete and coherent thought then they must obviously be lacking in cognitive abilities and therefore are a hazard on any roadway.
Now, I know what most anti-bicycle crusaders would say to this, and I agree with you. For the most part we have some folks who are every bit as insensitive to “cagers” as “cagers” are to us. The difference, my fictional anti-bicycle crusader, lies in the fact that even if I were to collide with a pedestrian at full speed going down a steep hill, thus knocking them into a very deep well full of pissed off water moccasins, they will most likely survive; whereas to kill me all a motorist needs to do is door me into traffic – you don’t even have to be operating your vehicle to do damage.
I rest my case. Too bad Arizona – moreover Tucson – doesn’t give a shit about anyone but the Ice House Loft-owning Mini driving yuppies.