Road Rage Moron

Patrick Turner

cfsmtb wrote:
>
> In the complete absence of anything really sensible in the media
> regarding yesterdays 'road rage' incident in Sydney, Alan Odds from the
> newly-formed National Roads and Cyclists Association has issued this
> press release:
>
> NRCA: Evans inflames an already hostile situation
> http://www.mynrca.com.au/road_rage.pdf
>
> --
> cfsmtb

In recent years Australians have got up to purchasing 1 million bikes
per annum.

Some well meaning polititians have tried to get on the clean green
message
to encorage folks to ride their bikes. Others have tried to tell us
there's no place for cyclists, but the laws are set, and cyclists have
rights.
Both cyclists and motorists have a duty of care, often forgotten in the
rush to and from work.

But the vast majority of motorists in cities don't give a hoot about
greenhouse,
being green, and they hate cyclists. Many people become utter demons
when they are behind a wheel,
and hate anyone getting in their way.
As fast as roads are improved, car usage has increased faster, with ever
less room for cyclists,
and all the more angst and rage going on.
It looks set to get worse and worse while mainly young men
defy the trends and ride on busy roads.

Its so very difficult to retro fit a city like Sydney with decent cycle
paths that are
nicer to ride on than roads are.

I'm happy to live in Canberra with its many miles of cycle paths and
bike lanes.
I wouldn't like being in Sydney again.

I came to Canberra in 1973, and instead of the usual 2 hours on a BMW
motorcycle
to and from work each day in Sydney back then, I averaged 20 minutes a
day in Canberra.

I'm spoiled. Never would I work in Sydney and travel maybe 3 hours a day
in a car.
Certainly not with petrol at $1.50 a litre.

I voted with my feet in '73, and have never regretted it.

If yer don't like the big city and all its misery, move out.

Everyone in a big city is like an alienated rat in a running cage.

Patrick Turner.

Duncan

On May 9, 12:17 am, cfsmtb <cfsmtb.393...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote:
> In the complete absence of anything really sensible in the media
> regarding yesterdays 'road rage' incident in Sydney, Alan Odds from the
> newly-formed National Roads and Cyclists Association has issued this
> press release:
>
> NRCA: Evans inflames an already hostile situationhttp://www.mynrca.com.au/road_rage.pdf
>
> --
> cfsmtb

Well there's something sensible in the media now. Odds has been
published in the SMH.

http://tinyurl.com/5yq5pa

"The president of the National Roads and Cyclists Association, Alan
Odds, said cyclists had every right to be on the road but "they still
get abuse hurled at them, stuff thrown at them - female cyclists get
wolf-whistled".

"So what if a cyclist takes 30 seconds off your journey to work?" he
said. "For some reason, lycra to motorists is like a red rag to a
bull."



btw: I find it astounding that the police have taken more than a day
to talk to this lunatic. They have the rego, why didn't they scoot
around there asap and have a quiet word?

duncan

EuanB

All registration tells the police is who owns the car and the residential address.

It doesn't tell the police where that person happens to be at a point in time.

Further the incident has already happened, priority for police resources would porbably have been given to inicidents where the police can make a difference, leaving after the fact policing till quieter times, which is sensible.

Rory Williams

There was a fairly extensive story about it on PM on ABC radio national yesterday afternoon.



My impression from the story was that Kevin Nichols took the rego number and also spoke to the driver of the car.

This makes me think that there should be a good chance of identifying the actual driver - particularly if it was the registered owner.

RoryWtranscript]transcript[/URL]

TimC

On 2008-05-09, EuanB (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>
> Duncan Wrote:
>> btw: I find it astounding that the police have taken more than a day
>> to talk to this lunatic. They have the rego, why didn't they scoot
>> around there asap and have a quiet word?
> All registration tells the police is who owns the car and the
> residential address.
>
> It doesn't tell the police where that person happens to be at a point
> in time.
>
> Further the incident has already happened, priority for police
> resources would porbably have been given to inicidents where the police
> can make a difference, leaving after the fact policing till quieter
> times, which is sensible.

Except that it has been reported that this guy is already known to
police, which means he is already suspected of having offended in the
past, and will offend again. As such, I would have guessed he would
be one of their highest priority cases. Because he knows he is known
(and a description of him has been plastered all over the newspapers),
you can bet he's gone "missing". So we just have to wait for him to
turn up in Kalgoolie...

And for his sake, he better be hoping someone isn't going to rip out
his gonads through his throat, when he is found.

--
TimC
A debugged program is one for which you have not yet found the
conditions that make it fail. -- Jerry Ogdin

Rory Williams

transcript]transcript[/URL]

trying to get the hyperlink right

RoryW

Duncan

On May 9, 12:17 pm, TimC <tconn...@no.spam.accepted.here-
astro.swin.edu.au> wrote:
> On 2008-05-09, EuanB (aka Bruce)
> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>
>
>
> > Duncan Wrote:
> >> btw: I find it astounding that the police have taken more than a day
> >> to talk to this lunatic. They have the rego, why didn't they scoot
> >> around there asap and have a quiet word?
> > All registration tells the police is who owns the car and the
> > residential address.
>
> > It doesn't tell the police where that person happens to be at a point
> > in time.
>
> > Further the incident has already happened, priority for police
> > resources would porbably have been given to inicidents where the police
> > can make a difference, leaving after the fact policing till quieter
> > times, which is sensible.
>
> Except that it has been reported that this guy is already known to
> police, which means he is already suspected of having offended in the
> past, and will offend again. As such, I would have guessed he would
> be one of their highest priority cases. Because he knows he is known
> (and a description of him has been plastered all over the newspapers),
> you can bet he's gone "missing". So we just have to wait for him to
> turn up in Kalgoolie...
>
> And for his sake, he better be hoping someone isn't going to rip out
> his gonads through his throat, when he is found.


Interesting hearing his side of the story, though:

"I've pulled over, I had time to put my hazard lights on, put it into
park, go to start it in petrol, half a dozen maybe 15 cyclists rode
past me, and then all of a sudden one or two went bang bang into the
back of my car," he said.

David Springthrope

On Fri, 09 May 2008 02:17:51 GMT, TimC

>Except that it has been reported that this guy is already known to
>police, which means he is already suspected of having offended in the
>past, and will offend again. As such, I would have guessed he would
>be one of their highest priority cases. Because he knows he is known
>(and a description of him has been plastered all over the newspapers),
>you can bet he's gone "missing". So we just have to wait for him to
>turn up in Kalgoolie...
>
>And for his sake, he better be hoping someone isn't going to rip out
>his gonads through his throat, when he is found.

He's claiming innocence !
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,2359...1-29277,00.html

I'm no cyclist hater, says driver
May 09, 2008 11:49am

A MAN who claims he was the driver of a car at the centre of a road-rage attack
says he is no "cyclist hater" and he was having engine trouble when he stopped
in front of a pack of cyclists, causing a crash.

The man, who identified himself only as Jason, said it was not anger at being
stuck behind the pack of 50 riders that made him overtake then stop in front of
them.

The incident occurred near Sydney airport yesterday morning.

More than 20 riders - including professional cyclists Kate Nichols and Olympic
hopeful Ben Kersten - were injured when they ran into the back of the car.

"I'm not a cyclist hater, I'm not nothing," Jason said on Macquarie radio this
morning.

"I was just driving along and I had a car failure and now I'm in trouble - I
dunno."

Jason said his car stalled, forcing him to pull up partly in the emergency lane
and partly in the left-hand lane.

"I've pulled over, I had time to put my hazard lights on, put it into park, go
to start it in petrol, half a dozen maybe 15 cyclists rode past me, and then all
of a sudden one or two went bang bang into the back of my car," he said.

Jason said he switched the car from gas to petrol and it started. His girlfriend
was also in the car and they drove off as dozens of cyclists surrounded his car.
"(They were) all looking at me like I'm an idiot and calling me names," he said.
"I thought, `I'm not getting out of the car with 50 blokes wanting to hit me'. I
just drove off."

Jason said he had spoken to police at 9pm yesterday and they had photographed
some marks on his car.

Kersten rang the station immediately afterwards and accused Jason of lying.

"Mate, you're a lying dog. You are a liar and you are going to get caught for
it," he said, while Jason was on the line.

"You were doing 60 kilometres an hour and then stopped to zero ... what you did
was ridiculous.
"Who takes off after they accidentally cause such damage - who isn't
remorseful?"

Zebee Johnstone

In aus.bicycle on Thu, 8 May 2008 19:21:22 -0700 (PDT)
Duncan <duncanmcrae@my-dejanews.com> wrote:
> Interesting hearing his side of the story, though:
>
> "I've pulled over, I had time to put my hazard lights on, put it into
> park, go to start it in petrol, half a dozen maybe 15 cyclists rode
> past me, and then all of a sudden one or two went bang bang into the
> back of my car," he said.

I'd say the semi trailer driver would be a useful independent witness.

Zebee

Donga

On May 8, 10:21 pm, cfsmtb <cfsmtb.393...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote:
> AndrewJ Wrote:
>
> > It's a very simple process to locate somebody once you
> > have a registration number.
>
> All a rego number tells the authorities is who the registered owner is.
> Doesn't inform who was actually driving the vehicle or where they are
> now. A rego number also doesn't predict how much the alleged driver will
> try to get their legal representation to get them off the charges once
> the case slowly gets to court or what the verdict outcome eventually is
> etc ...
>
> --
> cfsmtb

the police can be quite good at shaking (metaphorically) the driver's
identify out of an owner who is less legally aware.

Duncan

On May 9, 12:44 pm, Zebee Johnstone <zeb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> In aus.bicycle on Thu, 8 May 2008 19:21:22 -0700 (PDT)
>
> Duncan <duncanmc...@my-dejanews.com> wrote:
> > Interesting hearing his side of the story, though:
>
> > "I've pulled over, I had time to put my hazard lights on, put it into
> > park, go to start it in petrol, half a dozen maybe 15 cyclists rode
> > past me, and then all of a sudden one or two went bang bang into the
> > back of my car," he said.
>
> I'd say the semi trailer driver would be a useful independent witness.

Indeed.

As usual with all these sorts of things, though.. there are two sides
to the story.

duncan

ps: lots of idiocy going on over in aus.cars

Donga

On May 9, 9:43 am, Duncan <duncanmc...@my-dejanews.com> wrote:
> On May 9, 12:17 am, cfsmtb <cfsmtb.393...@no-
>
> mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote:
> > In the complete absence of anything really sensible in the media
> > regarding yesterdays 'road rage' incident in Sydney, Alan Odds from the
> > newly-formed National Roads and Cyclists Association has issued this
> > press release:
>
> > NRCA: Evans inflames an already hostile situationhttp://www.mynrca.com.au/road_rage.pdf
>
> > --
> > cfsmtb
>
> Well there's something sensible in the media now. Odds has been
> published in the SMH.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/5yq5pa
>
> "The president of the National Roads and Cyclists Association, Alan
> Odds, said cyclists had every right to be on the road but "they still
> get abuse hurled at them, stuff thrown at them - female cyclists get
> wolf-whistled".
>
> "So what if a cyclist takes 30 seconds off your journey to work?" he
> said. "For some reason, lycra to motorists is like a red rag to a
> bull."
>
> btw: I find it astounding that the police have taken more than a day
> to talk to this lunatic. They have the rego, why didn't they scoot
> around there asap and have a quiet word?
>
> duncan

I thought it was a great press release, but I don't like this bit
about a cyclist taking 30 seconds off. OK, a rider/bunch might delay a
motorist, but they catch straight up to the other traffic or next red
light when they pass, i.e. no delay at all.

Donga

On May 9, 12:44 pm, Zebee Johnstone <zeb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> In aus.bicycle on Thu, 8 May 2008 19:21:22 -0700 (PDT)
>
> Duncan <duncanmc...@my-dejanews.com> wrote:
> > Interesting hearing his side of the story, though:
>
> > "I've pulled over, I had time to put my hazard lights on, put it into
> > park, go to start it in petrol, half a dozen maybe 15 cyclists rode
> > past me, and then all of a sudden one or two went bang bang into the
> > back of my car," he said.
>
> I'd say the semi trailer driver would be a useful independent witness.
>
> Zebee

I'd say the 6-15 cyclists, all sentient beings, would be sufficient
for the average magistrate.

Donga

Zebee Johnstone

In aus.bicycle on Thu, 8 May 2008 20:02:08 -0700 (PDT)
Donga <idomybestworkonabike@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On May 9, 12:44 pm, Zebee Johnstone <zeb...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I'd say the semi trailer driver would be a useful independent witness.
>>
>> Zebee
>
> I'd say the 6-15 cyclists, all sentient beings, would be sufficient
> for the average magistrate.

AS people involved, their evidence is not as trustworthy as those who
are not.

Not because they would deliberately lie, but because eyewitness
evidence is inherently difficult, involved (meaning shook up, angry)
witnesses are more so, witnesses who have ivolvement with others and
therefore may have had their recollection tainted by stories are also
difficult. There's a lot of research on that latter, in that most
people remember a memory not an incident, and that memory can be
changed by what others say.

Zebee

Zebee