I’d be surprised if this was out of anger. Probably just an immature smart ass thinking how cool it will be to dump black smoke on these guys and it ended badly. And unfortunately adults aren’t much better in many cases. I had a full grown adult jam his brakes on in front of me on the highway so he could “coal roll” me on my motorcycle this summer. Had I not been paying close attention I could have went right into the back of his truck.
Seems to me society in general is more full of entitled and immature people in general.
5 Likes
True, but it’s a bit like violence towards any vulnerable out-group you’ve been conditioned to despise. I’d imagine most young men who find and beat up a random homeless person don’t do it out of anger either.
9 Likes
Totally agree!
1 Like
Your comment about 20 years ago is really interesting. I don’t know where you got 20 years but, that’s about the timeline of the rise of Fox “News”. Is that what you meant?
4 Likes
No, not at all. Did you notice I said non-political POV? I’ve been in California for 35 years. Probably thinking 20 years ago because that was the era of the dot-com bust, the California electricity crisis, and record state deficits.
4 Likes
This sort of thing is why I will probably never live in the US again.
Motor vehicle-related cycling incidents are not limited to the US.
More recently and notably, Chris Anker Sorensen and Michele Scarponi:
1 Like
These incidents hit close to home for us, but for everyone else, it’s about the same as a drunk and/or punk kid driver hitting pedestrians or other motor vehicles.
It’s not the deaths. Cycling is a dangerous sport.
However, a 16 year-old driving an illegally-modified Super Duty not being arrested after nearly killing a half a dozen cyclists while trying to harass them with “rolling coal” is indicative of so many things wrong with the country. I assume at least one of these people is also going to be hit with a massive hospital bill that the kid’s insurance is not going to cover.
19 Likes
That’s the outrage in the local cycling community (I live in a suburb of Houston). The kid was interviewed and released on scene. They had to airlift some of these cyclists to hospitals… and all they did was send the teen home. One of the local cyclists said something to the effect of, “if one of the riders had then taken their bicycle and beaten the kid so badly that he had to be taken to a hospital by helicopter, would the police have sent the rider home with no charge?”
On the judge, I can confirm that Waller county is only an hour from central Houston and has some beautiful country roads. Cyclists make the trip en masse to get out of the city and ride those quieter beautiful rolling roads. As population grows in the surrounding area and as the nation becomes more violent and intolerant, there has been an effort by some to educate and promote sharing the roads. Not by all, but he is clearly one of those on our side.
15 Likes
One of the drivers for the explosion of popularity in gravel biking is the desire to ride fast drop bar bikes in somewhat (highly qualified statement!) safer environment.
I’ve been riding 20 years. I’ve been run off road in Oklahoma and North Carolina. Had stuff thrown at me, etc.
Loved in Europe nine years out of last 20, not one single incident in thousands of miles.
13 Likes
To paraphrase Sinclair, it’s hard to get a man to understand something when his political identity depends on him not understanding it. Can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had a close-passing driver yell “Share the road!” at me. The least educated are often the most conscientious.
6 Likes
I can think of multiple scenarios where the driver would have been arrested on the spot.
But obviously didn’t happen…
Classic “Tell me you are X without telling me you are X” scenario.
4 Likes
The perfect amount of victim blaming. I don’t disagree with most of the commentary but they always elude to that if cyclists don’t follow the rules of the road, well… can we just once say, the motorist was 100% at fault in this case, fucking period.
6 Likes
Well, it’s all political, but I know what you’re saying and I completely agree. Social media and a lack of personal responsibility are the main culprits. One of the tenets of actual conservatism is supposed to be personal responsibility - but that ship has sailed. And you know from my history here that I’m not giving a free pass to the left either. Anyway, back on track - it’s a sad situation cyclists on open roads, but it certainly does back into our current social and political culture. Stay safe friends.
1 Like
Gah, I’m moving back to West Houston for a few months and was planning to ride in that area since there’s some decent country rides. Yikes, but also not surprised given the ill treatment I’ve received when riding in Waller County several years ago.
Here’s to hoping they actually arrest this kid. I’m not optimistic though.
1 Like
The case will be reviewed and presented to a grand jury to determine if the 16-year-old driver will face any criminal charges. A timeline has not been given for the legal process.
I am not sure how the law works. But admitting to driving recklessness and hitting someone should be at the very least a misdemeanor… why would it go to gran jury?
Any one from TX know how the law works in cases like this.
1 Like
To have criminal charges brought against you it has to pass a grand jury. That’s a check on the power of the district attorney.
2 Likes
Is this always?
Or on more public cases like this?
Dont the LE have mechanism to put someone on jail if they brake the law?
Seem arbitrary to me an non law expert…
I mean, it’s a very rural county where Sandra Bland died under mysterious circumstances after being pulled over for failure to signal. Sandra Bland: Family of Naperville native still waiting for accountability in year of racial unrest - ABC7 Chicago That’s why I say not optimistic.
It’s a shame the county is full of ‘hurr durr liberal cyclists are bad’ types because it’s a beautiful area to ride in. There’s some good rides/races out there, but usually they are accompanied by the locals bitching about the “Tour de France” ride blocking their drive to town for a whole 10 seconds.
4 Likes