1/29/2006: Motorist vs bike courier
 

http://cellar.org/2006/motoristvscourier.jpg

Ubiquitous cameras mean that everyone who thinks quickly can become a journalist on the spot. In this case, via Boing Boing, a bicycle courier in Toronto is accosted by a motorist after an incident involving the guy's littering. But the entire event is shot by an alert photog, who posts it all to an urban photography web site; check it out, in a series of 15 images, the story is told and is more interesting than most news photography.

http://cellar.org/2006/motoristvscourier2.jpg

Look at that jagoff!

Furthermore the incident and photos turn up so much interest that the courier herself appears in the comments at the site, to describe what happened from her point of view. (Look for the comment from "Leah")

Life. Documented. Even the sucky parts.

There are so many unemployed actors in Toronto... That is my first reaction to pic three. The rest looks real though. Who friggin litters? Jerk.

2 counts of assult, littering and property damage, got what he deserved, girl-hitting littering piece of shit.

Who litters? Must be somebody because I see tons of it every damn day.
The link is dead, both from here and from Boing Boing.
Ah, the dangers of taking the law, or the enforcment of it, into your own hands. A lesson in escalation, too. How far will you go to make a point? If she'd have been driving a car, like normal people, this probably wouldn't have happened. :lol:

Any of you smokers out there throw your butts out the window? I often daydream of catching someone doing that at a red light and getting out and tossing it back into their backseat (hope it is leather). But reality is then they would pull a weapon, I would have to pull a weapon (remember this is gun-toting-Florida) and someone would go to the morgue or hospital and the other to prison.... not worth it but still a nice day dream.

Why don't smokers think this is littering??

Every Earth Day we pick up the trash for about a mile and a half of our rural road here. It usually comes to about 4 bags... let's call my question rhetorical.

What is he doing in that first pic? Trying to pull the tire off?

I bet this dude wouldn't have reacted the same way had the cyclist been a 245 lb linebacker. Fockin pussy. He even looks lile a wuss to me.

Man, you Canadians totally broke your country.

Maybe it's an American tourist. ;)

Some girls deserve hitting.....some girls like to be hit. :whip:

not 'hit', xob, 'spanked'. big difference.

You, maybe.....some like to be hit, whipped, cut and all kind of other disgusting things. Not that it has anything to do with the story. :D

Bri... how do you think he controls his 'virtual' harem?

I don't think much of her either. She key'd the guys car.

Not according to her, dar.
I think she was stupid but not malicious. :headshake

btw, the link works but is VERY slow.

This is why you should ALWAYS carry one of those U shaped bike locks ,

I cought a dude trying to steal my bike once YEARS ago ,
I locked him to the bike rack around his neck and went for help,
The Principle of the school was NOT happy that I had done this ,
but he did have a slight grin on his face as he had me unlock dude so the cops could haul him away .

a U-Lock to the jaw is also an effective self-defence move.

Zip, you are my hero. That made my day. I have lost count of how many bikes I've had stolen. Its getting to the point where I call my insurance company and as soon as I introduce myself, they just blurt out "...as we have indicated, until you buy a bike that costs more than your deductable, we... suppressed laughter... can not help you."

Of course there was that one time in Philly where it was my fault. Twas the last night before summer break between spring and fall semester. My lease ended so I moved all my stuff to a friend's apt till fall. We all met up at the Irish Pub around 18th and Walnut and I rode my bike there and U-locked it to a parking meter across the street. We got pretty goggenshchloggened as you can imagine. Next morning, a pre-dawn cab to the airport and off to points west for the summer. Fast forward to Sep 5 - a cab ride back to my friend's place. Open door. Where the HELL is my bike??? Dangit - I bet she rode it and lost it.

Yup. You got it. So I shuffle back to the pub - 3 months after the fact and there is a nice back rim U-locked to the meter. I call the insurance co. "You are not going to believe this but ....."

xoB - the links back up (though it took me awhile to get it loaded on cable connection)

guy musta been trying to impress someone. like it's terribly impressive to beat up on a girl (who made a well-intentioned albeit poorly chosen statement)

we don't have bike couriers here, but we do have a lot of folks who bike to work or are biking in the relatively thin air up here in preparation for a race somewhere else at lower altitude. many of these folks ride the roads like they OWN the roads. I've often found myself angered by bicyclists but (good LORD< not to this guy's extent.)

now i understand that they "have the same right to the road as do automobiles" according to the law. but that seems to me that they also have the same responsibility to obey the traffic laws that automobiles are expected to obey (stop at stop signs and stop lights for starters.) but a LOT of them don't. and even though there are bike lanes for them, many insist on riding IN the street.

*steps down and kicks soapbox aside*

I'm a cyclist and I get pissed at cyclists who don't share the road. I've even heard self styled experts preach about claiming your space on the pavement, which is fine on curves and blind knolls but freaking give way to pass when it is safe.The bike lane thing is another matter. Often they are carved out of the door space along parked cars. That is a wonderful way to get killed, having someone pop a car door into you. In town, I can accelerate with traffic so why bother useing a dangerous lane?

Griff - good point.

many of the bike lanes around here don't allow parking (though on trash day all the bins are scattered through the bike lane.)

one of the roads i use daily has a nice PAVED bike path next to it (not part of it) yet many insist on using the road instead. and this road is driven like a freeway by most and there are a couple blind curves. i'm surprised i've not seen any bicycle involved accidents over the years.

thanks for tolerating my vent.

There was that case a few years back of the woman in Boston, I think getting wacked by a bus while swerving to avoid a car door opening into the bike lane. She was riding a mountain bike and speculation is that the flat handlebars didnt allow her as much control. She was like a med student, prime fit, strong rider, really sad.

Rule of the roads , good point Griff , BUT think about this , you and your bike weigh what like 200 lbs ( i don't know what you weigh just a guess ) an average car weighs some where around 1500 2000 lbs ( my F350 work truck with tools and weights weighs 9800 lbs with a full tank of gas ( I am a scale guy and I work on truck scales so I DO know what my truck weighs )
Now do the math , 200 lbs verses 2000lbs ,
Yes you Can accelerate with traffic , but they can't stop as fast as you , they weigh more than you , and can [Hawood Banks]squach you like a grape [/Hawood Banks]!!!!!!