January 16, 2008
Cyclist vs. Motorist: Road Rage Round 3
In the battle of who owns the roads, cyclists and motorists are frequently at each others' throats. Over the last few years we've seen a heated altercation in Kensington Market and another that resulted in a motorist being stabbed with a screwdriver. It seems that the threat of a streetside melee is always looming.
At Yonge and Bloor on Monday afternoon, a motorist attempted to make an illegal right turn and nearly knocked a cyclist off his bike. From CityNews:
The angry cyclist refused to let the driver get away with it, constantly preventing him from making the prohibited turn, and taunting him with remarks about 'playing the game.'Every time the driver attempted to escape, the biker would simply get in front of him, daring him to hit him. He didn't, and the cat-and-mouse traffic incident went on for a few minutes until passersby intervened and calmed the two-wheeler down. When they did, the driver finally made his turn and tried to get away from the area.
The punchline of the story occurred when, immediately after making the illegal turn, the driver was pulled over and ticketed by two police officers on bikes. Best of all, nobody got roughed up this time and justice was served. Victory belongs to the cyclists!
Photo by aubreyarenas | phtgrphr in the Torontoist Flick Pool.
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A cyclist repeatedly blocked a motorist from making an illegal turn and didn't get beat up. Could this be a sign that the situation for cyclists is improving in Toronto? Or is it an exception to the road rage rule?
I once tried to stop a motorist from making an illegal left turn but he complained it was after 6:00 pm. I gave him the Gallic shrug and he made the turn anyway.
So did the cruiser that was right behind him. At about 6:15 pm he got his ticket. It wasn't yet 6:30 pm when all left turns are permitted at Yonge and Carlton.
My theory is that if a cyclist (or pedestrian) were to robotically assert their legal right-of-way (i.e. without fear for his life) I'm pretty sure they'd be dead within a day or two.
That's the kind of menace drivers are, and they seem to get more and more careless about taking other people's lives every year.
Chalk it up to increased population in the GTA, cell phones or just general asshole-ish behaviour, but it's pretty disappointing to observe.
I'm glad the driver in this case got caught, but I see ticket-worthy (or worse) infractions every day and drivers just get away with it. It's telling that this incident was actually news-worthy.
Unlike homophobia, racism, or even smoking, the cultural shift necessary to make this sort of potentially fatal behaviour unacceptable amongst civilized people hasn't arrived.
Today, I saw a driver, while driving (or more, cruising), eating chicken wings with both hands. I didn't think these people really existed (not really!) but they do.
Well, you generally need both hands to eat chicken wings - well, not the drumstick ones I suppose, but certainly the other part...just saying...
Actually, there was footage of the whole thing on the news. He didn't end up making his turn, but I think thats more because he saw the bike cops coming, and they pulled him over as he pulled through the intersection.
I agree with the cyclist, as the driver was trying to make an illegal turn. But don't everyone jump on the bandwagon; the cyclist prolonged the event unnecessarily, backing up traffic in the entire intersection, and inadvertently causing more danger to those around him. He was pissed, and not thinking of the big picture.
He is not a cop. Not his job.
But I'm glad he's ok, and the scoff law got busted. Although, I doubt the driver was ticketed, as he never actually broke any laws, as far as I could see. The cyclist prevented him from doing so.
Just re-watched the footage, and yeah, he was pretty far into his turn. So, yeah, I'd imagine he got ticketed. What i said about the cyclist prolonging the event stands though.
Good for the cyclist.