1. I liked your reaction Alix, politely knocking and informing them of what they did. His reaction was bad, and if he hadn’t turned into the hulk when you knocked again, my favorite thing to say in a situation like that is that I have their plate number, and will be calling the police and that I’m a lawyer (sometimes i say solicitor—the mercedes would have prompted me to be more of a pretentious “solicitor”) and that it will be my pleasure to ensure his transgression becomes a part of public record and that it is punished appropriately. Then I ride off.

   I’d do that if it was a thing where calling police would be justified, but too much of a pain in the ass. making them worry seems a nice easy punishment, but maybe more importantly, they’ll think that lawyers ride bikes (which they do, anyway) and might be less likely to screw around with them.

   I dont’ know if this all does any good, but it certainly feels good to do.

   Posted by Shawn Micallef  on  10/08  at  12:25 PM

2. I’ll begin by saying that as a cyclist I enjoy cordial relations with most drivers, who really don’t seem to want to knock me into the gutter and with whom I am happy to share the road. The main problem with drivers is that many of them are unaware that a bike needs at least 3 feet of room in a lane. But I have had a number of experiences mirroring those Alix reports. Usually the driver is a male, and often enough there is a female passenger in the car with him. Draw your own inferences here.

   I used to engage with drivers verbally (I also used to put my bike down in front of the car, after realizing that the driver wasn’t likely to risk damaging his vehicular prosthesis by driving over it, meaning that I was less likely to be driven over, too), but after being spit upon, threatened with physical violence, and called an unoriginal array of names, I am now, in the case of egregious recklessness accompanied by verbal abuse or threats of violence, more likely to very obviously record license plates and vehicle descriptions and file a report. I have found that the police do follow up if an assault or threat has been made, and do contact the vehicle owners, although in a word-against case there isn’t much likelihood of charges succeeding. Nonetheless, I think having a report is useful, especially when patterns emerge, and I agree with Shawn that it tends to sober drivers up a little, especially if you are polite but unequivocal. In addition, I think that a ‘bad driver’ list, like the ‘bad date’ list some sex workers’ advocacy groups maintain, might not be a bad idea.

   And as Robert points out, many cyclists carry camera/video-phones, and will be increasingly likely to use them. In such cases the evidence can speak for itself. Remember the guy who attacked the cyclist in Kensington Market last winter?

   Posted by Amy Lavender Harris  on  10/08  at  06:49 PM

3. Wait a minute.

   You were taken by surprise, and fell down in the process of trying to avoid rear-ending a car?

   Instead of feeling stupid, you decided to blame it on the driver, and at the next light, rapped on his window?

   When the driver rolled down his window, you lied and accused him of knocking you down?

   When he told you that he didn’t and rolled up his window again, you started rapping on it harder?

   And when he opened up his car door to chase you off, you responded by slamming it shut on his finger?

   Please correct me if I am wrong, but based on your account of what happened, you were negligent, deceitful and aggressive. The driver still should not ahve lost his temper, but it seems you gave him good cause to.

   Posted by Diane  on  10/11  at  09:44 AM

4. Interesting opinions all around… Additionally, I am neither negligent, deceitful or aggrssive in any aspect of my life, an interesting twist on the story non-the-less.

   Regards.

   Posted by Alixander  on  10/11  at  10:13 AM

5. Diane always takes the contrarian position in these discussions. As a cyclist I think I understand what happened to Alixander and it is the driver’s responsibility not to cut in front of cyclists unexpectedly and stop. Bicycles don’t have disk brakes and stopping conditions are always more precarious than for cars. As a car driver, I try to always be aware of where cyclists may be – having won the “door prize” as a cyclist more than once.

   Posted by  on  10/11  at  10:34 AM

6. “Diane always takes the contrarian position in these discussions.

   Robert, don’t dismiss my argument with an /ad hominem/. That’s a tactic that’s beneath you. I challenge people’s assumptions when I find that they are not properly supported by the available facts.

   In this instance, Alixander’s account did not justify his attitude. I invited him to clarify his account on the assumption that I was misinterpreting it. Instead, I am told by Alixander that he is “neither negligent, deceitful or aggrssive in any aspect of (his) life”. I’ll leave that remark to collapse under its own weight.

   And, incidently, Robert is sorely lacking in either cycling experience or driving experience not to know that stopping distance is far greater for a car (even one with race-class 4-wheel diska and ABS) than for a bicycle.

   Posted by Diane  on  10/11  at  04:32 PM

7. I have to myself that the majority of drivers hate cyclists because they know that riding a bycicle is much more funny and healthy than stressing about insurance, gas price and slow transit.

   So I always see drivers as potential killers ready to hit and run!
   Posted by  on  10/11  at  09:48 PM

8. Diane, you have a prickly wit, and from hasty accusations I will let your negativity shine on. Your “invite” is declined.

   Now I must say I enjoy the traffic this article has generated and happiy await those next stories of conflict. Albeit, I hope they aren’t my own again for sometime.

   Posted by Alixander  on  10/11  at  09:57 PM
10. It appears that we have reached the limit of Alixander's ability to participate in meaningful discussion. So, to continue, let me say that I agree with most of what Amy Lavender Harris has to say. Regarding her proposed "bad driver list", Peel Region used to have this. I forget the name of the program, but a complaint submitted againt a driver would bring the police to his/her door for an "interview", and three complaints would be reported to the driver's insurance company, with predictable results. Sadly, this program seems to have gone away. It is, however, unfair of Amy Lavender Harris to characterize the cyclist/motorist fight last year in Kensington Market as an "attack" by a motorist. Again, the facts as we know them don't support this. From CBC News, January 31, 2006: "While most postings support the cyclist's attempts to voice her opinion against littering, others say opening the man's car door and tossing the trash inside the vehicle goes too far. "'The courier should NOT have thrown it back in, but instead just yelled at him to draw attention to him and make him look like an ass,' one posting said. 'Instead, she (allegedly) threw it back in, which is just asking for trouble. She is not the police, and it's not her job to be judge and jury of a crime.' 'Toronto police Const. Kristine Bacharach admits it would be tough to press littering charges – which draw a $305 fine in Toronto. "'You almost need the police officer to witness it,' said Bacharach. "Opening a car door, as it appeared the bike courier did, could be considered mischief, and she could have been open to a possible assault charge for throwing the garbage. Deliberately keying a vehicle can result in a charge of mischief or property damage. "A driver has the right to defend himself, but must use common sense, said Bacharach. If the driver stepped out of the car and attacked the cyclist, that could be seen as crossing the line and could lead to charges, she added." ( Exerpted from http://www.messmedia.org/060131-toronto-cbc.html )
    
    Posted by Diane  on  {comment_date format=’%m/%d’}  at  {comment_date format=’%h:%i %A’}
Posted by Diane  on  10/12  at  01:39 PM

11. Interesting discussion, revealing the wide chasm across points of view where cycling issues are concerned.

    I guess I would sum up my own thoughts by pointing out that cyclists are uniquely vulnerable on the road. If a driver gets cut off and ends up in a fender bender, the worst casualties are usually dented bumpers, frayed tempers, and clothing drenched by spilled coffee. If a cyclist gets cut off and ends up in the gutter or slammed into another vehicle, serious injuries are likely to result.

    Compound this with the reality that bikes get cut off in traffic far more often than cars do. On an average jaunt downtown, I am usually cut off three or four times by cars lunging suddenly into the curb right in front of me. Usually I am able to avoid a collision by slamming on my brakes, but my shins and kees are bruised regularly by car fenders. The oblivion of these drivers astonishes me. Other drivers, aware drivers, look around and make eye contact before turning, and we’ll wave each other on. Nobody gets hurt, and relations remain cordial.

    It sounds as though Alixander encountered an oblivious driver, and was more than justified in pointing out to the driver that he had been cut off. I don’t know if Diane cycles in traffic regularly, but the cyclists I know would all side with Alixander on this one.

    And so what’s the lesson here? Drivers, please be sure to look for bikes before you turn into the curb lane. If you do cut someone off, please at least make sure they haven’t been knocked off and hurt. And never open your door without looking for cyclists first.

    The best model for motor vehicle / bike interactions in this city, at least in my experience, are the streetcars, delivery trucks, and (at least some) taxi drivers who seem interested enough in sharing the road that they’ll make space in the lane or let us pull ahead for a moment so they don’t crush us between them and a parked car. It’s just too many commuter drivers who seem not to get it. And you know what? This is a good model for dealing with other cars, too.

    Posted by Amy Lavender Harris  on  10/16  at  05:39 PM

12. Amy, I agree with you wholeheartedly that cyclists are too vulnerable on Toronto streets. Certainly something needs to be done to accomodate both cyclists and drivers in a safer manner; and training drivers to look for cyclists is an essential first step.

    You wrote: “It sounds as though Alixander encountered an oblivious driver, and was more than justified in pointing out to the driver that he had been cut off.”

    He certainly would have beeen, if that were what happened. But, by his own account, he lied to the driver and said that he had knocked Alix down:

    “I tried to stop but just ended up skidding and falling over onto the sidewalk as the Mercedes drove away. (...) I knocked on the passenger side window and when it rolled down I said frankly to the mid-50’s couple that they had knocked me down onto the road back there.”

    Then, not satisfied with merely “pointing out to the driver that he had been cut off”, Alix escaleted the situation by rapping on the driver’s wife’s window once again, “this time with my wedding ring” untll the driver opened his door only to have Alix “put both my hands and all my weight against the door”, and “when I did this his finger got stuck in the door”.

    I AM a cyclist in this city, as well as a driver. But I find the attitude of some of my fellow cyclists (like Alix) just as embarassing, and frankly dangerous, as the inattention of some of my fellow motorists.

    Posted by Diane  on  10/17  at  09:40 AM

13. Was Alix cut off or just following too closely behind the car? (It sounds like the former from my reading.)

    Posted by  on  10/18  at  03:17 PM

14. “Was Alix cut off or just following too closely behind the car?”

    GMD, it reads to me too that Alix was cut off:

    “I was cruising behind a Mercedes when it suddenly hit its brakes and pulled over to the curb. I tried to stop but just ended up skidding and falling over onto the sidewalk as the Mercedes drove away.”

    In fact, it reads as if the Mercedes was also cut off, and cut off Alix in the process of avoiding a collision. At least, it seems the car never actually stopped, just braked and veered suddenly.

    Unfortunately, Alix has twice refused to clarify his account.

    Posted by Diane  on  10/18  at  04:45 PM

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