Story here
Mandeville Canyon Road is a residential street in Brentwood. Two bicyclists were descending the road at approx 30 MPH. They were passed by a driver in an Infinity. Words were exchanged, and the driver swerved in front of them slammed on his brakes. A car with ABS can out stop a bike, so one of the riders wound up with his head in the back seat of the car, and the other on the pavement in front of the car.
Something I would like to point out. Unless otherwise posted, residential streets in California have a 25 MPH speed limit, but apparently this was not fast enough for the driver.
Reading the article it turns out that our driver of the year is a fucking doctor.
Don’t doctors take the Hippocratic Oath in Oklahoma? I thought there was something in there about not doing any harm. Yeah here it is “and never do harm to anyone…keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing”" Well it looks like you blew that one off Sparky
And after announced that you were a doctor, who was trained in emergency medicine you stood around with one thumb up your ass and the other in your mouth. Apparently every five minutes you switched. Nice job. Does the term First Aid ring any fucking bells doctor? The article says you have 29 years of emergency medical experience. Or did you have 1 year of experience 29 times? Nice assist on two severely injured men, injuries that you caused. Instead of the Hippocratic oath did you take the Hypocrite oath instead?
But wait, it gets better. Listen to the spin the “good doctor’s” lawyer is putting on this.
Yeah, I will bet he is hopping for their recovery, that might make the lawsuit payout smaller. I think I can make the argument that if you maneuver your car in such a manner that a guy riding a bike winds up in your back seat, you are probably not driving in a safe manner, and there is an excellent chance that it wasn’t an accident. Collision yes, accident no.
I have jury duty coming up, this dickhead better hope I don’t get put on his jury. I would vote for the death penalty. I don’t care if he is only charged with littering, I will vote for the death penalty.
I was so upset tonight I did something I have never done before. I sat down and wrote an e mail to an elected official, in this case the LA District Attorney. Here is the text of that e mail:
In closing Fuck you Dr. Thompson. Fuck you with a a splintered 2X4 wrapped in rusty barbed wire. I hope you get a cell with the best hung inmate in the entire prison system, who just happens to love giving anal sex more than anything.
Asshole.
Rick, I agree that this alleged doctor should be slammed with all the charges that can apply. Especially assault with a deadly weapon. Whatever perceived provocation the Doctor may have experienced, his actions were completely, utterly, and unforgivably out of line.
I will say that I’d love to see the police also be a bit more aggressive in ticketing bicyclists, as well as drivers. I agree that most bicyclists are far more law-abiding than most drivers. But there is an aggressive minority that seems to believe that the laws of the road don’t apply to them.
I wish the police were a bit more aggressive in their traffic enforcement also. I would have no problems with cops going after people on bicycles for infractions especially actions that put the rider in danger such as riding against the flow, riding at speed, or other stupid shit.
I would include riding on the street with an earphones in both ears in this group.
No argument there, Rick. I was just being too chickenshit to say that it sounds, based on the reporting of your linked story, that the cyclists there weren’t exactly following the model for proper road use, either. By no means does that excuse what the doctor did, I just get tired of people on both sides of the issue who present the fault all on one side or the other.
This was on Fark a day or two ago. Someone posted a photo of the car (sorry, don’t know where from and don’t have time to look). It is gross. There is blood all over the trunk and a face-sized hole in the rear windshield. And apparently the guy who went through the window almost lost his nose or something? I personally hate most bikers on the road (lack of bike lanes so bikes really are slowing cars down to 20mph or less on roads 35mph+, and sometimes they ride on narrow roads with no shoulder and that makes a traffic jam until the other lane is clear for cars to pass, but that’s another thread) but I just avoid them, not purposefully put them in danger. And a doctor doing it is extra fucked up.
Is there any possibility that he could face revocation of his medical license for the assault he (allegedly) committed and his refusal to give aid? I can’t see any state medical board being happy with his behavior.
In the Netherlands you have <Carl Sagan> billions and billions </Carl Sagan> of cyclists on the streets. A big majority are good riders, but quite a few will give you, as a car driver, a nervous breakdown.
And as far as I understand the traffic laws here, if a car and a bicycle collide, the car is guilty by default, until proven otherwise (which is nigh impossible). Of course, I understand that bicycles are inherently vulnerable and that, in case of an accident, they almost universally get the worst part of it, so I understand that legal liability will be biased in favour of the cyclist.
However, it sometimes looks as if certain bicycle riders will take that as some kind of license to do whatever the fuck they want, because the car drivers will take care not to hit them!
Thank deity that there is a parallel network of roads here in NL, so that cyclists can ride to their heart’s content from one end of the country to the other without having to interact with motor vehicles! (Practically the only places where bicycles and cars mix are cities, and even there you have separate bicycle lanes in most areas… Although sometimes they don’t appear to mean much to certain types).
Just my 2 eurocent!
P.S.: FWIW, I like riding my bicycle from time to time as well!
OH NOES! So if you have to tail a bike for 5 miles, it takes you 15 minutes instead of 8.5! The nerve of that biker for stealing 8.5 minutes from your life. Of course, you are probably only tailing a bike for a few hundred feet, or maybe even a quarter mile, delaying you what, 45 seconds? Get some perspective, dude.
I’ve had that done to a 6-man group I was riding with. That guy pulled over, slammed on his breaks, and opened his door into the bikers who were forced to swerve around him on the driver’s side. It amounts to the same fucking thing as aiming a gun a foot over someone’s head and pulling the trigger – just a matter of time until there’s a miscalculation that ends up in someone being dead. This was a sick act by a disturbed, sick, dangerous individual who should wind up in jail for several years and have his license revoked forever.
I applaud the Tokyo police for their recent crackdown on idiot cyclists, as they’re usually a bigger hazard to me (a cyclist) than any driver. The ones I usually see them grabbing are the dopes sailing through red lights, riding double, or riding without lamps (I only see them pulling over cyclists at night, for some reason). I’d also toss in the earphoners if it were up to me, as well as the ones talking on their phones and sending email while they ride.
As for the OP, I felt the same reaction when I read this story. Man, I would love to be on that jury.
And lights, goddammit! I’m sick of nearly running into bikes at night that have no lights of any kind.
As for the incident, I’m going to take a contrary position, not in defense of the culprit, but to point out the how he alone is not to blame. I grew up in this area, and I know what the narrow canyon roads are like. People who live along them need to use them to get in and out of their homes, for mundane stuff like grocery shopping, getting to school or work, or what have you. A group of 30 bicycle riders is a major impediment to traffic on such a road. You can’t pass them safely. They are doing a miniature Critical Mass on Mandeville Canyon Road, and I have to say I think it’s wrong. Should the residents of Mandeville Canyon now have to allocate another ten or fifteen minutes to their commuting time in case a couple dozen bicyclists have decided to use the road that day?
Well according to the law, yes, they will have to wait until there is a safe place to pass. Just the same as if they were following a big cement truck or a tractor going up that hill.
FTR I would like to point out the riders where headed downhill and going 30 MPH. There is no way any driver would be delayed by 15 minutes. The driver was reportedly doing 50 MPH which I am sure is over the posted speed limit, I know it is above the PF limit for a residential street.
Edit: I am right there with you on the lights. I have a lights on my helmet, bike and handlebars for the rear, and a headlight on my helmet. Me not trust drivers? Whatever gave you that idea?
