Food for thought - arresting errant cyclists

[email hidden] (J Asking) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

A politically incorrect letter from today's Sydney Morning Herald...

Crime on two wheels

Forget about those red-light cameras, the speed cameras and the radar traps. There is revenue
waiting to be collected in the city. There are large numbers of cyclists that continually ride
through red lights, go the wrong way up one-way streets and ride on the footpath. There's a
fortune just waiting to be collected - and it wouldn't be half bad for the pedestrians either.

Casual observation suggests immediately that there are many more pedestrians that cross against the
light than cyclists. The irate letter writer was probably inconvenienced by a courier that was only
trying to do his job.

Ritch

"Ritch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (J Asking) wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A politically incorrect letter from today's Sydney Morning Herald...

Crime on two wheels

Forget about those red-light cameras, the speed cameras and the radar traps. There is revenue
waiting to be collected in the city. There are large numbers of cyclists that continually ride
through red lights, go the wrong way up one-way streets and ride on the footpath. There's a
fortune just waiting to be collected - and it wouldn't be half bad for the pedestrians either.

Casual observation suggests immediately that there are many more pedestrians that cross against
the light than cyclists. The irate letter writer was probably inconvenienced by a courier that was
only trying to do his job.

And casual observation also shows that I cannot remember ever seeing anyone being injured by an
"errant" cyclist, including themselves when doing these activities - that does not make them right,
but using "safety cameras" would be pretty ridiculous (appart of course from the difficulty in
catching them...)

The only time I have ever nearly hit pedestrians is when they step out onto the road without
looking, or open thier car doors without looking.

Tim

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Casual observation suggests immediately that there are many more pedestrians that cross against
the light than cyclists. The irate letter writer was probably inconvenienced by a courier that
was only trying to do his job.

And casual observation also shows that I cannot remember ever seeing anyone being injured by an
"errant" cyclist, including themselves when doing these activities - that does not make them
right, but using "safety cameras" would be pretty ridiculous (appart of course from the difficulty
in catching them...)

The only time I have ever nearly hit pedestrians is when they step out onto the road without
looking, or open thier car doors without looking.

Definition of a Pedestrian: A motorist who has found a car park 😉

Seriously though, incidents do occasionally occur where cyclists are at fault and hurt (or in rare
cases, even kill) pedestrians. But I've never heard of a bike/car crash where the driver was
injured, let alone killed. And the danger caused by cyclists who run reds, ride on footpaths etc is
massively in inverse proportion to the amount of whinging that car drivers do about cyclists who
break the law. It's more of a public relations issue for cyclists than a safety issue, IMO.

I bet the letter writer to the SMH was just narky because there's a bike lane on the road they use
to drive to work... and while they're stuck in traffic they see all of the cyclists whizzing up
the inside 🙂

This is the ONLY case I've ever heard of that comes close, and it's not a straight forward case of a cyclist being liable for a motorists death. A bloody strange one, there again, only in America......

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/11/16/Pasco/Cyclist_s_strange_DUI.shtml
Prosecutors say Laura Roberts took prescription pills and drank beer before causing a fatal crash.

NEW PORT RICHEY - Laura Roberts had taken three prescription pills and drunk a number of beers before riding her bike in the dark along U.S. 19 on the night of Feb. 27, 2000, prosecutors contend. They say that chemical combination caused her to unsteadily ride into the southbound lanes of U.S. 19 in Hudson, near Puffin Lane, into the path of William Anderson and his Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

Anderson swerved sharply to avoid her, crossed the median and slammed into a northbound Nissan truck. Anderson's wife and mother were killed in the crash.

Casual observation suggests immediately that there are many more
: pedestrians that cross against the light than cyclists.

And because EVERY pedestrian walks contrary to lights at some time or other, no-one 'attacks'
that... whereas it's easy (and common) for cyclists to be attacked because it is likely the attacker
is NEVER a cyclist (yet the 'attacker' is inevitably a pedestrian at least occasionally).

I hope some counter-letters make the SMH in response.

"dude" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

: Casual observation suggests immediately that there are many more pedestrians that cross against
: the light than cyclists.

And because EVERY pedestrian walks contrary to lights at some time or

other,

Quoted message said:

no-one 'attacks' that... whereas it's easy (and common) for cyclists to be attacked because it is
likely the attacker is NEVER a cyclist (yet the 'attacker' is inevitably a pedestrian at least
occasionally).

There is in fact a law in regards to pedestrians walking against lights or onto roads without
markings....it's commonly referred to as 'Jaywalking" and it is a finable offence.Not that it ever
happens.....so....is there an actual law called "Jayriding"? DJ

Quoted message said:

I hope some counter-letters make the SMH in response.

Quoted message said:

Definition of a Pedestrian: A motorist who has found a car park 😉

Ha! So true.

Quoted message said:

I bet the letter writer to the SMH was just narky because there's a bike lane on the road they use
to drive to work... and while they're stuck in traffic they see all of the cyclists whizzing up
the inside 🙂

I've often suspected this too. I'm very cautious of the tailing traffic after jumping a red, or
whizzing through a jam. Too often an aggressive driver tries to intimidate you off the road by
passing too close and with deliberate velocity, as though to say "See, thats why only idiots ride on
the road mate, because you'll get squashed. So go and get a car"

Its highly likely that one day I will assault such driver after catching up to him at the lights.
Lets face it, he just played chicken with my life.

(J Asking) said:

Forget about those red-light cameras, the speed cameras and the radar traps. There is revenue
waiting to be collected in the city. There are large numbers of cyclists that continually ride
through red lights, go

Currently I am nursing three broken ribs caused by a car which went through a red light!

Big Bill Cody said:

(J Asking) said:

Forget about those red-light cameras, the speed cameras and the radar traps. There is revenue
waiting to be collected in the city. There are large numbers of cyclists that continually ride
through red lights, go

Currently I am nursing three broken ribs caused by a car which went through a red light!

There's got to be some good legal recourse for that! I assume the cops were involved?
---
DFM

I don't see where the 'politically incorrect' label comes from.

(J Asking) said:

A politically incorrect letter from today's Sydney Morning Herald...

Crime on two wheels

Forget about those red-light cameras, the speed cameras and the radar traps. There is revenue
waiting to be collected in the city. There are large numbers of cyclists that continually ride
through red lights, go the wrong way up one-way streets and ride on the footpath. There's a fortune
just waiting to be collected - and it wouldn't be half bad for the pedestrians either.

---
Cheers

PeterC

[Rushing headlong: out of control - and there ain't no stopping]
[and there's nothing you can do about it at all]

On Sun, 07 Dec 2003 22:44:41 +1000, Deep Freud Moors

deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu said:

Big Bill Cody said:

(J Asking) said:

Forget about those red-light cameras, the speed cameras and the radar traps. There is revenue
waiting to be collected in the city. There are large numbers of cyclists that continually ride
through red lights, go

Currently I am nursing three broken ribs caused by a car which went through a red light!

There's got to be some good legal recourse for that! I assume the cops were involved?
---

by law they have to be, since someone was injured

Quoted message said:

DFM