Tracking Down the Road-Rage Woodside Pickup

Paul Andrews, BI editor — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:50:20 +0000

My worst bicycle accident (I’ve had a few) came in 1979, riding down Woodside Road (Highway 84) from Skyline Boulevard. A pickup driving up the winding, swervy road cut me off on one of the hairpins. I managed to avert a head-on by rolling myself over his left fender and hood. He took off but the next driver up stopped to help and said the guy had actually passed him on the uphill, going too fast and driving “like a maniac.”

Model similar to suspect pickup.

I was lucky to be alive, miraculously escaping with broken ribs and stitches on my forehead. I wrote an article about the accident for the Palo Alto Weekly, including a description of the pickup, but surprise of surprises: Nothing ever came of it.

All of this is by way of saying, we’re living in a new era. And now when you have a maniac in a pickup, there are ways to follow up. Case in point is this thread on the Road Bike Review forum, where a bad actor in a white pickup may finally get his due.

A second look at L.A. physician 'bike rage' case

Paul Andrews, BI editor — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:12:23 +0000

Bike Radar has a detailed report on the “landmark case” of the LA physician recently convicted for doorstopping cyclists. We see the conviction as significant but not breakthrough, since intent is already (and has been for some time) a judicial threshold for culpability in cycling collisions.

A real landmark will come when conviction does not require intent. As it stands, drivers can injure, maim and kill cyclists and pedestrians without even getting a traffic citation. Typically a traffic ticket is the most that can be issued, under the thinking that “accidents happen” and the cyclist/pedestrian may have contributed to the accident (even if it’s just by being “invisible”).

As we’ve written repeatedly, real justice for cyclists is possible only when the system appropriately confronts, deals with and metes out penalties for driver fault in cycling accidents. For a fuller understanding, see our report on Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Club’s efforts and its recent Traffic Justice Summit.

All the above said, it looks like Dr. Thompson will get his due. The judge denied bail on grounds the unrepentant and contentious Thompson remains a threat to cyclists.

As if to punctuate the issue, BikePortland.org notes results of recent study finding that you’re safer in a bike lane.

Bike Intelligencer » bike rage

Tracking Down the Road-Rage Woodside Pickup

A second look at L.A. physician 'bike rage' case