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194 Comments
- TONYTUBA1982, on 11/17/2008, -11/+100Good thing Canada has good healthcare cause if not it would have also cost him an arm...
- thepoliticalcat, on 11/16/2008, -0/+65Well, I've had my fair share of run-ins with rude obnoxious cyclists, but NOBODY should EVER use a car like a weapon. The worst a cyclist can do to a passing obnoxious car driver is maybe key the paint. A driver can KILL a cyclist, even without intending to, although in this case the argument could well be made that the driver intended at least the degree of harm inflicted. Let's hope he does some serious jail time. And is forced to make restitution (although nothing can make up for the loss of a limb).
- emecks, on 11/16/2008, -1/+61My sister was knocked against railings by a taxi. The driver got out, asked her "are you ok?" and drove off without even giving her his contact details. It turned out that she needed an operation on her knee, but in her shock she had said she was fine - Luckily a traffic warden took a note of the taxi number so the police were able to trace him.
- thepoliticalcat, on 11/16/2008, -2/+39One of the commenters to the original article makes an excellent point: having the "right of way" doesn't make you less dead. My partner is a cyclist, which is why I'm always extra careful of cyclists on the road (hoping my good karma will redound to him). People, if you're on a bicycle and some ***** driver decides to be obnoxious towards you, PLEASE do not retaliate in kind. Instead, take their license plate number and report it to the police. Better scared or cowardly and alive than brave and dead.
- xombi242, on 11/16/2008, -22/+59Sad that nobody gives a ***** about cyclists.
- sgtbutterscotch, on 11/18/2008, -1/+36Yay blanket statements!
- DotNetWill, on 11/17/2008, -17/+49While i don't condone in any way what the taxi driver done. I think cyclists are becoming a real nuisance on the road, hardly any of them respect the rules of the road, with regards to traffic signals, one way streets et al, and think they have some devine right to be on the road.
I cycle to work myself during the warmer months and i know how vulnerable i am and take extra care to follow the rules and stay out of the way but we seem to have a n ew breed of cyclist who don't care. It's a recipe for disaster. - inactive, on 11/18/2008, -4/+31BTW I ride a bike and follow all the rules of the road, let's not make gross generalizations here people.
- sagefool1975, on 11/17/2008, -0/+25Well I wouldn't say it is a new breed, but I agree. Though to be perfectly honest I think there are an equal number of drivers who shouldn't be on the road - which leads me to believe that the real problem is that some % of the population represents the tragedy of the commons, and they play that out in any public resource (biking, driving, littering in parks/streets, etc, etc, etc.) They all need some education on common sense.
- inactive, on 11/18/2008, -3/+27He'll have to call a taxi
- abrasion, on 11/18/2008, -2/+23You've clearly never been a cyclist, half the stupid ***** they do on the roads is just to stay alive.
The ***** in the cars who don't look, speed, DON'T INDICATE (WTF?) are the ones causing problems.
If drivers drove predictably as they should - cyclists logically should be safe, they aren.t - johnpaul191, on 11/18/2008, -1/+19yes, piloting a 3,000lb piece of steel at a man on a bicycle is attempted murder. Anyone that unstable should be locked away.
- KingHarvest00, on 11/18/2008, -5/+21run him into a light pole
- samotage, on 11/17/2008, -2/+17Driver/Cyclist relations certainly need an improvement. It's saddening to see the spate of driver ramming cyclist incidents lately. As more and more people take to the bike, the numbers are increasing, and governments need to implement programs to address this.
- smacksaw, on 11/18/2008, -0/+14Key the paint? In Toronto, that's called "Cyclist counterattack #2"
- SilverBlade2k, on 11/18/2008, -3/+17Lets hope this cabbie gets sued out of house and home, that he gets his drivers license AND cab license revoked, he sees many years in jail, and is forced by law to pay for every single cent of hospital and doctor visits and drugs due to his stupid and inhuman actions.
- ldner77, on 11/18/2008, -2/+15Nothing to lose his head over
Oh wait, he wasn't taking a Greyhound - reugeneg, on 11/18/2008, -2/+14So none of the cyclists are "daily commuters?"
- nmanguy, on 11/18/2008, -0/+10What an *****.
- breadfred, on 11/18/2008, -0/+10He lost a leg. Not a ***** wheel.
- SummerNight, on 11/18/2008, -0/+9Then drive away. That's a key part in this master-plan.
- sockpuppets, on 11/18/2008, -1/+10All hail Digg's newest troll account, VailBum.
- GarrettGrimsley, on 11/18/2008, -0/+8That *****.
- m0zzie, on 11/18/2008, -2/+10http://420.thrashbarg.net/***** ...
- gfxlonghorn, on 11/18/2008, -0/+8And that is why, he would hit you with his car.
Don't ***** with a car?
I really like how you violently describe how you would murder the cabbie and grind up his remains and what not, but you refuse to curse. God Bless America! - GarrettGrimsley, on 11/18/2008, -0/+8He could actually still pedal, it would just be a little harder. He would need clipless pedals and shoes, or some toe clips and straps.
- bobsbones, on 11/18/2008, -10/+18Was the pole badly damaged? No one seems to care about the pole.
- Duffle, on 11/18/2008, -1/+9If you can't handle the fact that they're legally entitled to be on the roads, I suggest you get the hell off of them. Nothing's stopping you from taking public transportation.
- klawless, on 11/18/2008, -0/+7As do I, yet I got hit by a car in downtown Montreal in September.
- GarrettGrimsley, on 11/18/2008, -0/+7"severing a leg is horrific for both parties" But mostly for the cyclist.
- smacksaw, on 11/18/2008, -3/+10Not a surprise in Toronto. Only Vancouver's suicyclists are more angry and confrontational. Mix it in with the same general attitude towards confrontation that the aggressive cabbies display and you have a powderkeg.
These cyclists think they are doing acts of civil disobedience and their own sort of frontier justice. And the police refuse to ever cite these cabbies who drive like insane morons.
I feel sorry for the cyclist, but the cyclists need to back down. They cannot beat physics. They're both wrong, and two wrongs don't make a right. You have to let it go. - SteveMTyler, on 11/18/2008, -1/+8Its tough, I hate wating for a driver to make eye contact so I know they have seen me. The worst is when they pass you, then make a sharp right in front of you.
- Khast, on 11/18/2008, -0/+7I ride a small motorized scooter. I follow the same rules that a car would. I have also been hit by a truck...who was going the wrong way on a one way street. (Then managed to get me blamed for the damage.) He admitted to going the wrong way, which was what my insurance company fought his with.... I won...though the other insurance company wasn't even willing to pay damages, or medical...because "How much possible damage could he have done?" (Oh, about $3,000.....and all I got was $1,000 the rest had to come out of my own pocket.)
- passedoutghost, on 11/18/2008, -0/+7I'm always extremely careful when there are cyclists about, but some are ***** suicidal.
- ChromaVita, on 11/18/2008, -0/+6Cyclists need to learn and follow the laws. Ride in the road where you're supposed to ride, but don't try to piss off drivers. Also Drivers need to learn what the law allows cyclists. Most people don't know that bikes belong on the road and should be ridden like traffic in most cases. I can't tell you how many times I've been yelled at to get my bike on the sidewalk. My bike belongs on the road, thanks.
- pmbear, on 11/18/2008, -5/+11If you don't like the way taxi drivers drive, then stay off of the sidewalks!
- Rikushix, on 11/18/2008, -1/+7Yeah, that was definitely too soon.
- sockpuppets, on 11/18/2008, -4/+9Is her name Eileen?
- godphase3, on 11/18/2008, -1/+6What a bastard.
- breadfred, on 11/18/2008, -2/+7Agreed, I cycle to work myself, but when I am in my car I hate the ***** too.
- 1hrSleep, on 11/18/2008, -0/+5Critical mass is for idiots who don't realize that what they're doing is actually hurting the cause.
Also, I want bike lockers... not bike racks. Racks are lame. Might as well just stick to locking up to sign posts. - smacksaw, on 11/18/2008, -0/+5@GarrettGrimsley
#1 was what led to this situation - screaming obscenities...road rage. - djvchris, on 11/18/2008, -0/+5Go on...
- digidevil, on 11/18/2008, -1/+6Riding on the sidewalk is in most cases even more dangerous than riding on the road. I speak from experience, and I live in a very bike-friendly town (Victoria, BC).
- Vivifyer, on 11/18/2008, -2/+6***** cabbie should have his hands smashed off with a hammer so he cant drive anymore.
- heccubus, on 11/18/2008, -1/+5Too soon?
- reugeneg, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4Both cyclists and cars share fault for not getting along and aggravating one another. 10 times out of 10 in a collision between an automobile and a cyclist the cyclist will end-up on the loosing end. That said, the cabbies in San Francisco have to be some of the worst drivers on the planet.
- WakeRider, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4The issue of bikes and cars being nasty to each other has happened here too. From the NZ Herald: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id ...
The cyclists were blaming the ute for this one, but I don't know. I just wish that cyclists would do the decent thing and pull over to let the cars passed. I don't have all day to sit behind you. Where this NZ accident occurred is on a narrow winding road that goes for between 60 - 100 miles around the Coromandel. There is no room to pass so if the cyclist doesn't let you past you are stuck behind them for hours. In my opinion, if you are going slower then traffic, whether you are on a bike or tractor or whatever, please pull over and let them pass.
People are really bad on both sides. When we were going down a hill on a straight, a bike was in the emergency lane and randomly swerved in front of us and started riding down the center of the road, and Dad had to hit the brakes hard. Stupid cyclist you would lose very badly against a Ford Falcon.
I have also seen breathtakingly stupid driving around the Coromandel. I have seen people overtaking on corners or multiple vehicles at over 150km/h on the very few straights. I have seen cars down the bank because they took the corner too fast. I have seen a truck flip over going around the corners. Cyclists need to stop thinking they own the damned road as they are so 'green.' A lot of these car drivers should not be on the road, they should resit their license test and take a few chill pills.
As for myself, I am a relatively new driver (only 18 months and around 7,000km) and passed my Full test here 6 months ago. I do try and drive carefully at between 50 - 55km/h on suburban streets and try and follow all rules. It makes me very nervous when bikes are around because I'm not sure what to do because the streets are really narrow. I can stay behind the cyclist and have some idiot riding my ass or try and swerve into the other lane to go around them. I still have trouble judging where the left side of my car is (NZ is right hand drive - drive on left side of road) so I prefer to stay in the right lane to avoid the cyclist in the left lane at the side of the road.
I hope that taxi driver goes to jail for a long time, that attack was really sadistic. Please people, cyclists and drivers need to be courteous towards each other and please plan more time for your trip so you aren't late and stressed. - breanna5, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4I saw a cyclist going at a very high rate of speed and pretty much blow through a crowd of people. He nicked an elderly woman. No harm done, but could have pretty much leveled her if he wasn't careful and probably would have seriously harmed her. He also yelled some crap like 'Watch it' or something.
- Rikushix, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4Yeah, I'm from Vancouver, I love my city to death but if there's one downside to living in a left-of centre, environmentally conscious city, it's the small but vocal subset of cyclists that bike around downtown as if they own the world.
Don't get me wrong, I'm very environmentally minded (hell I voted Green in our election...probably a bad idea in hindsight) but the pretentious, arrogant radicals really, REALLY piss me off. (read: Anti-Poverty League)
I'm one of those moderates that will advocate more bike racks and increased awareness for bike transportation and stuff....but when Critical Mass rolls into town and those people clog up everything...man. The most I can do within legal boundaries is go home and fire up an ancient demo of Carmageddon. -
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