[BCM] UAV accosts biker in Brookline

Tue May 27 09:20:47 EDT 2008

B
I think you did the right thing and appreciate your doing so.  You may have run into nepotism, but think of it in a different way....  You may have witnessed 'community policing' where the cop allied himself with the adults to unify their front to deal with the kid.

You put the bicyclists back on the radar screen....

L

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Basil Sharpe 
  To: Boston Critical Mass 
  Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 9:04 AM
  Subject: Re: [*BCM*] UAV accosts biker in Brookline

  Thanks E O for your words.

         I'm still trying to figure out if I did the right thing last night.  I don't think so.   I was riding on a Sanders road in Medford when an SUV came very quickly around the corner without any regard to if someone might be there or not, swore at me to get the f out of his way.   I noticed he turned and parked on Scott St just a block away so I called Medford Police.  A cruiser showed up.   I watched the whole thing as some guy came out shook the officers hand; obviously they were buddies.  Next the kid who was driving the SUV comes out and the officer has some words with him.  The kid has a sorta smirk on his face.   Turns out the kid was 17 years old and the officer said he spoke to the kid and that these things work against the kid -whatever that means.   The thing is I got the distict feeling that this cop just saw me as a nuisance and the Kid thought the whole thing was pretty funny.  Here's a kid who has this attitude driving a brand new 200 plus horsepower tank and his parents and other adults see it as perfectly fine.  I think I may have just wasted my time by calling the cops.   The cop obviously know the adults in the house but told me they were not the kids parents.  The cop then said to me "well no one was hurt".   As you say stay calm and the odds ARE stacked against us.  Awful but true.  In retrospect, I should have just rode on and ignored it.  I will always do that now.

  B

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  From: bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org [mailto:bostoncriticalmass-bounces at bostoncriticalmass.org] On Behalf Of E O Altman
  Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2008 1:10 PM
  To: list at bostoncriticalmass.org
  Subject: [*BCM*] UAV accosts biker in Brookline

  I do not condone bad or aggressive driving, by UAVs (urban assault vehicles) or pedalcyclists.

  When will we, as a community of cyclists, get together on this?

  It stands to reason that every time a cyclist pulls a BS move in traffic or aggresses a vehicular driver or a pedestrian that that cyclist is creating a wave of negativity that may well take down another hapless, law-abiding, careful, courteous cyclist later on.

  I empathize with the cyclist in Brookline.  There are plenty of drivers out there who navigate carelessly, even with hostility in their hearts, around cyclists.  Quell the urge to hit back.  Stay calm and be vigilant.  The odds ARE stacked against us cyclists in more ways than you may realize.

  Some years ago I was hit by a car.  I was hurt pretty badly: coma, back and neck injuries, wrecked bike and bike clothing (thousands of dollars).  Even so, several lawyers told me that it would not be worth my while to seek compensation for my losses, that it would cost me thousands (investigative costs) on the front end, to try to get damages from the offending driver. By the time a trial could be scheduled, I would walk into the courtroom, tall, healthy-looking, etc. (even though I still have to take pain-killers and have adjustments seven years after the accident).  The jury, most of whom would be licensed drivers, would quite likely not see it my way.  All the defense needed was a single juror who had an issue with cyclists.  Every day drivers are put out by cyclists in this city.  Ultimately, we lose; and, when we do, we lose big time!

  According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,

  In 2002, 662 pedalcyclists were killed and an additional 48,000 were

  injured in traffic crashes.  [Forty-eight thousand!]

  The number of pedalcyclist fatalities in 2002 was 8 percent lower than the

  723 fatalities reported in 1992. The highest number of pedalcyclist fatalities

  ever recorded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) was 1,003

  in 1975.

  These numbers are staggering.  Even so, statistics seem to be improving for pedalcyclists.  There are many reasons for this, e.g.: there are more pedalcyclists (when they get behind the wheel of a car they tend to empathize with those who are biking and exercise greater care); cities are working to improve bicycle safety with improved street designs and signs, safety awareness programs and laws; there are more biking clubs, with ever increasing memberships, dedicated to getting people out on bicycles and riding safely.

  Critical Mass Boston riders really need to re-evaluate why they come together to ride through Boston.

  The aggressors who ride in Critical Mass think they are cool.  They are not doing any of us any favors.  When the safe cyclist ignors the hooligan on a bicycle, he is contributing to growing hostilities directed at cyclists.  

  Thi year' May Day, I rode (for 2 blocks, before I pulled up - I did not want to be part of the negative energy being created) with the Boston Critical Mass Ride.  My vocal requests for fairness, to share the road, were met with sophomoric sneers.  On their way to protest the "unfair treatment of immigrants", to sing about peace and gentle diplomacy, to celebrate the working man (and woman) who is the foundation of America, the May Day Critical Mass cyclists went out to attack Boston.  Even though it was a small crowd of bikers, they still managed to harass drivers, enter and block intersections when they did not have the right of way, whoop and holler and disrupt the peace.

  Do not get drawn into the mob fray.   Be a role model of safe, courteous, law-abiding cycling.  If you are going to ride in traffic, ride accordingly: refrain from dawdling and disrupting the flow of traffic, signal your intentions and move accordingly, obey traffic rules, yield to pedestrians (do not weave through those walking when they have the right of way and do not block crosswalks), smile, have fun and pay attention.

  I know we can make Boston a more bike-friendly town.  Every time a cyclist pulls a BS move in traffic or aggresses a vehicular driver or a pedestrian we make our town less friendly and our streets more dangerous for all. 

  e o altman

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