Terrorists In The United States

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion. At present, the International community has been unable to formulate a universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition of terrorism. Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for an ideological goal, and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians).

Terrorism has been practiced by a broad array of political organizations for furthering their objectives. It has been practiced by both right-wing and left-wing political parties, nationalistic groups, religious groups, revolutionaries, and ruling governments. One form is the use of violence against noncombatants for the purpose of gaining publicity for a group, cause, or individual.

At this writing, today is June 11, 2010. About a month and a half ago, on a Wednesday ride, a terrorist passed our cycling group. He hit the brakes and began backing up toward the cyclists. to intimidate or to cause injury!

Earlier this year, 2010, a car passed our Wednesday group. Ahead the car stopped and a passenger got out and pulled light logs and debris into the road.

Last year, 2009, a pick-up truck stopped in the road and backed up toward us.

Last year, 2009 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the driver of a truck pulled a gun on North Carolina Tarwheel cyclists.

I have been intentionally hit by cars.

I have had three people to threaten me and show me their guns.

I've been hit by several skoal (chaw) cans.

I've been hit with other cans.

I've been hit with belts.

I've been hit with sodas.

I've been hit with a bottle.

I've been hit with a hand.

I've been hit with a fist.

I've been hit with things that I couldn't identify.

I have seen a "Christian" almost kill a cyclist and leave the road.

I've been hassled in Florida by Florida drivers.

I've been hassled in Chimey Rock, NC by Florida drivers.

I've been hassled in Myrtle Beach, SC by Florida drivers.

My life has been endangered by a representative from most states- that could come close to me.

In Bicycle Across Missouri a bottle was thrown at me near Glascow, Missouri.

For the cyclists riding through Glasgow, Missouri, at one time, a gauntlet was set up to hit cyclists with belts and whatever handy I suppose.

An annual Memorial Day bicycle ride landed three men in the hospital — two cyclists who were stabbed and the suspect who’ll be charged in the attack.

One of the cyclists was in critical condition Monday at Shands Jacksonville, said Sgt. Robert Hurst of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Police did not identify any of the three men Monday.

Hurst said police have varying accounts of what happened just before 11 a.m. in the parking lot of Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Kent Campus.

Jim Wright of Orange Park was among about 25 riders in the front group and said everything started when the cyclists finished their 60-mile route and pulled onto the service road leading into the college — the starting and finishing point for the ride.

A man driving a pickup truck brushed up against one of the cyclists and another rider started yelling at the driver, Wright said.

The driver followed the group into the parking lot, got out of his truck and moved toward one of the cyclists, Wright said.

When the driver, whom Hurst said was in his late teens or early 20s, bumped his chest against the cyclist, another rider punched the driver in the face.

The driver then stabbed the cyclist who punched, and slashed another rider who tried to break it up, Wright said.

None of the witnesses who spoke with the Times-Union saw the knife and Hurst said it was not recovered.

The man then got in his truck and took off. Robert Brown, another cyclist, chased after the truck and yelled the license plate number to someone else in the group, who saved it in his phone and called police.

Wright grabbed a spare tube for a bike tire and wrapped it around the first cyclist’s wounds to try to stop the bleeding until rescue units arrived.

“You can fix anything with a tube and a spoke,” Wright said.

The driver called his father, who went to the scene and told police where to find his son, Hurst said. He was hospitalized with injuries to his face and will be charged with aggravated battery, Hurst said.

The driver is cooperating with police and told his father he was jumped by a group of cyclists, Hurst said.

The two cyclists were among more than 100 riders in an annual Memorial Day ride sponsored by the North Florida Bicycle Club, ride director John McDowell said.

Most of the cyclists who gathered after the ride have their own horror stories about being flipped the bird or getting ice tossed on them by motorists, but that’s usually as far as it goes, McDowell said.

“We’ve had threats like that before,” McDowell said, “but never anything like this.”

A doctor convicted of assaulting two bicyclists by slamming on his car brakes after a confrontation on a narrow Brentwood road was sentenced today to five years in prison.

Christopher Thompson, wearing dark blue jail scrubs, wept as he apologized to the injured cyclists shortly before he was sentenced.

"I would like to apologize deeply, profoundly from the bottom of my heart," he told them, his right hand cuffed to a court chair.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Scott T. Millington called the case a "wake-up call" to motorists and cyclists and urged local government to provide riders with more bike lanes. He said he believed that Thompson had shown a lack of remorse during the case and that the victims were particularly vulnerable while riding their bicycles.

The case against Thompson, 60, has drawn close scrutiny from bicycle riders around the country, many of whom viewed the outcome as a test of the justice system's commitment to protecting cyclists.

Millington said he did not take into account more than 270 e-mails and letters from cyclists that were filed with the court urging a tough sentence.

The July 4, 2008, crash also highlighted simmering tensions between cyclists and residents along Mandeville Canyon Road, the winding five-mile residential street where the crash took place.

One cyclist was flung face-first into the rear window of Thompson's red Infiniti, breaking his front teeth and nose and cutting his face. The other cyclist slammed into the sidewalk and suffered a separated shoulder.

At his sentencing hearing at the county's airport branch court, Thompson cited the Bible in urging cyclists and residents of MandevilleCanyon to try to resolve their differences peacefully.

"If my incident shows anything it's that confrontation leads to an escalation of hostilities," Thompson said.

Thompson, a former emergency room physician who described the crash as a terrible accident, testified during his trial last year that he and other MandevilleCanyon residents were upset that some cyclists rode dangerously and acted disrespectfully toward residents and motorists along the street, a popular route for bike riders.

On the day of the crash, Thompson said he was driving down the road on his way to work when several cyclists swore at him and flipped him off as he called on them to ride single file. He said he stopped his car to take a photo to identify the riders and never intended to hurt anyone.

But the cyclists said the doctor was acting aggressively from the start. They said he honked loudly from behind them and passed by dangerously close as they moved to ride single file before he pulled in front and braked hard.

A police officer told jurors that shortly after the crash that Thompson said he slammed on his brakes in front of the riders to "teach them a lesson."

Prosecutors said Thompson had a history of run-ins with bike riders, including a similar episode four months before the crash when two cyclists told police that the doctor tried to run them off the road and braked suddenly in front of them. Neither of the riders was injured.

Jurors convicted Thompson in November of mayhem; assault with a deadly weapon, his car; battery with serious injury; and reckless driving causing injury.

-- Jack Leonard at the L.A.County airport courthouse

Photo: Christopher Thompson weeps as a judge sentences him to five years in prison for assaulting two bicyclists by slamming on his car brakes after a confrontation on a narrow Brentwood road. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Asked if he had slammed on his brakes after passing the pair, Thompson told the jury: "No, I did not slam on my brakes." But the court was then played a 911 tape where Thompson could clearly be heard telling the operator: "I slammed on my brakes."

Yeah, he's very remorseful!

Sixty-year-old Christopher Thomas Thompson, found guilty of six felonies and a misdemeanor, has been in custody since his conviction in November. Following an emotional two-hour hearing Superior Court Judge Scott T. Millington sentenced Thompson to two years on the charge of assaulting cyclists Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr with a deadly weapon and added a three-year enhancement because Peterson suffered serious bodily harm. The remaining lesser charges also carry prison time, but those sentences will be served concurrently with Thompson’s five-year sentence. The judge also ordered that Thompson be stripped of his driver’s license for life.

Prosecutors had asked that Thompson be sentenced to eight years for crimes mostly relating to a July 4, 2008 incident in which he abruptly stopped his car in front of the two riders descending Mandeville Canyon road, near Los Angeles. Thompson was also convicted of misdemeanor charges relating to a similar incident that occurred months earlier, but did not result in injuries.

Expressed remorse
Thompson took the stand Friday and accepted full responsibility for his actions, expressed remorse and apologized to Peterson, Patrick Watson and Josh Crosby, who were in attendance on Friday. Stoehr did not appear in court on Friday.

“I would like to apologize deeply, profoundly from the bottom of my heart,” he told the three cyclists.

Thompson spent much of the hearing in tears, as the three cyclists testified about the incidents that ultimately led to Thompson’s conviction. The riders asked that a severe sentence be imposed in the case.

While his client appeared contrite on the stand, Thompson’s attorney, Peter Swarth, continued to maintain that he had never intended to hurt anyone. Thompson dropped his head into his hands and wept when Millington imposed sentence in the case.

In November, Thompson was convicted of assaulting Peterson and Stoehr on the morning of July 4th after a brief exchange of words, in which he demanded that the two – moving down the hill at nearly the speed limit – ride in single file. Thompson then passed the two cyclists and slammed on his brakes, causing the riders to crash into the rear his car.

Stoehr hit the back of the car and vaulted into oncoming traffic lane. His injuries included a grade-three shoulder separation and road rash. Peterson went through the rear window of the car; the impact broke his nose, nearly severing it from his face, and shattered several of his teeth. More than 90 stitches were required to reattach his nose.

Teach them a lesson
As Peterson lay on the side of the road, Thompson called 911, told the operator of the accident and added that the riders would probably “tell you they are seriously injured, but they’re not.”

Thompson also told the first police officer on the scene that he intentionally hit his brakes in order to “teach (the two riders) a lesson.”

In court, however, Thompson claimed that he had merely come to a stop in order to take a photograph of the riders as part of his effort to document what he believed to be a violation of local traffic rules. Thompson’s lawyer had argued that the cyclists were belligerent and may have fallen because of the inherent instability of bicycles. He suggested that in any case the incident was accidental, not criminal.

The jury rejected that defense, found that Thompson’s actions were indeed criminal and convicted him of assault with a deadly weapon, reckless driving causing specified bodily injury, battery with serious bodily injury and mayhem.

Thompson was also convicted of harassing two other cyclists who documented an earlier run-in with the doctor on Mandeville Canyon Road. Patrick Watson and Josh Crosby say they were descending the road in March 2008 when a motorist sped ahead of them and hit his brakes. Watson bunny-hopped a curb and rode onto a lawn while Crosby dodged into oncoming traffic.

The vanity plate
Watson says the motorist made a second attempt to hit them and then sped away. He used his cell phone to record the vehicle’s vanity plate, TCH MDX, an abbreviation of Thompson’s medical records company. That plate was also on the back of a burgundy Infiniti driven by Thompson in the July 4 assault. While Watson reported the March incident to authorities, prosecutors declined to pursue the case at the time.

Following news reports of the July 4th assault, Watson called the attorney’s office to remind them that it was not Thompson’s first encounter with cyclists. Prosecutors then decided to pursue charges in the March case and were successful in efforts to join those with charges stemming from the July assault.

Reporter Patrick Brady-VeloNews.com

Hey- jackass educated moron! FIRST- YOU DO NO HARM! That is the creed and utmost order of emergency personnel! You know better!

ASHEVILLE — A former Asheville firefighter pleaded guilty today to charges he shot at a bicyclist, narrowly missing his skull.

Charles Alexander Diez, 42, was sentenced to 120 days jail.

Diez pleaded guilty in Buncombe County Superior Court to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

Police said Diez, a 17-year veteran of the Fire Department, fired a handgun at cyclist Alan Ray Simons on Tunnel Road on July 26, striking his helmet.

Diez had stopped his car and confronted Simon, apparently because he was concerned about the safety of the Asheville man riding his bicycle with his young child on the back on the busy road, police said.

Diez, of Swannanoa, was released from jail July 28 after a judge reduced his bond from $500,000 to $200,000, and the department put him on leave with pay. He lost his job Aug. 10, officials said.

Police said Diez was driving his car off Interstate 40 at Exit 55 at about 11:24 a.m. when he saw Simons and his wife riding bikes up the road with Simons’ 4-year-old son behind him in a bike seat, he said.

Diez stopped his car and confronted Simons near 1360 Tunnel Road. When Simons began to walk away, Diez shot at him. The bullet blew a hole through the outer lining of Simons’ helmet.

"A matter of an inch or less in either direction would have meant that bullet could have easily killed Mr. Simons," police Capt. Tim Splain said.

Simons and others who witnessed the incident took down Diez’s license plate number and called police. Deputies found Diez at his home on Rowland Road.

Police initially charged Diez with attempted first-degree murder after consulting District Attorney Ron Moore. But a grand jury declined to indict him on that charge, instead opting for the lesser assault charge. A first-degree attempted murder conviction requires a trial jury to find the elements of premeditation and deliberation.

Below is a story unrelated to cycling but to "educated" terrorists!

According to the North Carolina Medical Board, Cook graduated from medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1997 and completed his residency at Duke University Medical School. He was licensed to practice medicine in North Carolina in 1999.

90 mph in a 45 mph zone

FIRST- YOU DO NO HARM! That is the creed and utmost order of emergency personnel! You know better!

Posted: September 15, 2009

Raleigh, N.C. — A local plastic surgeon facing a new charge in the weekend traffic death of a ballerina training in Raleigh has surrendered his medical license and resigned from his job.

"A license to practice medicine is a genuine privilege," Raymond Dwight Cook said in a written statement Tuesday. "It is one that I cherish and have never taken for granted. It has afforded me the opportunity to help and to heal. Today, I surrendered my license to practice medicine."

Cook, 40 of Raleigh, was first arrested Sept. 11 after a wreck at Lead Mine and Strickland roads in Raleigh. Investigators said the car he was driving crashed into the back of a vehicle driven by Elena Bright Shapiro, 20, of Winston-Salem. She died at WakeMed.

He was charged with a death by motor vehicle in Shapiro's death, as well as a number of other charges, including driving while impaired and careless and reckless driving.

But authorities upgraded the death charge to second-degree murder Tuesday. Cook could face a maximum sentence of 41½ years in prison, if convicted.

Wake County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Cruden declined to comment about the case Tuesday, but public records indicate Cook has a DWI conviction from 1989 in Camden County, Ga., where he pleaded no contest.

That, as well as speeding, were factors that could have led authorities to upgrade the death-by-motor-vehicle charge. A police report indicates Cook was traveling 90 mph in a 45 mph zone at the time of the wreck.

Cook, who was already out of jail on a $50,000 bond, surrendered shortly after noon and was initially held under a $2 million bond, which was later reduced to $250,000.

His attorney, Roger Smith Jr., argue during a bond hearing that the $2 million amount was outside the presumptive range for someone with his client's background. He had nothing on his record, Smith said, to indicate that he would be a flight risk.

Cook was out of jail on bond by Tuesday afternoon. Under the terms of his bond, he also had to surrender his passport.

Reading the statement on behalf of his client after the bond hearing, Smith said Cook also planned to enter a substance abuse program later this week.

Isn't it interesting how the affluent usually go to a "rehab" after killing someone or being arrested for drugs or what have you? I guess there's just no rehabilitating the rest of us!

I bet "Doc" was "tough on crime" before this killing of an innocent person.

Meanwhile Tuesday, mourners gathered at Wait Chapel at Wake Forest University for Shapiro's funeral – an event Cook also acknowledged Tuesday.

Shapiro had trained with a number of dance companies, including the Hungarian National Ballet, Houston Ballet and Boston Ballet. She joined the Carolina Ballet in 2008 and had performed in several productions, including "Beauty and the Beast." She was also a dancer in the troupe's upcoming performance of "Swan Lake."

Robert Weiss, artistic director for Carolina Ballet, said Sunday that Shapiro was a young dancer with great potential.

"We don't know what she would have done," he said. "That's the tragedy – that she never had a chance to find out what she could achieve."

Portland police arrested a 21-year-old man suspected of chasing down a cyclist Sunday and driving off at a high rate of speed -- with the cyclist hanging onto the hood.

James F. Millican was arrested on attempted second-degree assault, driving under the influence of intoxicants, third-degree criminal mischief and reckless driving.

According to a police account, the incident began when the cyclist, Jason Scott Rehnberg, 37, yelled at Millican to slow down as they were traveling near Southeast 58th Avenue and Washington Street, police said. Rehnberg told police that "his remarks may have included profanity," according to a news release.

Millican, angered by the cyclist's remarks, started to chase Rehnberg in his car, police said. Rehnberg biked into the neighborhood to avoid him. After waiting, he returned to Southeast 58th Avenue, police said.

Millican saw the cyclist and allegedly backed his car up to hit Rehnberg, who jumped off the bike just before it was struck by the car, police said.

Rehnberg and two other witnesses tried to block the car, saying they wanted to get the license plate. Millican allegedly drove at the three and struck Rehnberg, who was thrown onto the hood. Rehnberg held onto the windshield wipers as the car traveled at a high rate of speed and took a turn.

The car slowed down enough to let Rehnberg off at Southeast 60th Avenue, police said. He was not injured, according to police. A witness, who videotaped the event, turned the recording over to police.

Millican was arraigned today on charges of second-degree kidnapping (presumably for the ride on the car) DUII, Reckless Driving and second-degree criminal mischief.

The next court date is July 22. Millican asked the judge: "So I have to stay in jail now...for a whole week?"

A Corona del Mar man who was bicycling down Fernleaf Avenue toward Bayside Drive was the victim of road rage about 11 a.m. today, according to online police logs and the victim.

The man said two men, about 40 to 60 years old, were in a white Chevrolet truck when the truck began tailgating him as he rode his bike.

“I turned left on Bayside Drive and proceeded through the S-curves at approximately 25 mph, and the truck continued to follow and tailgate me,” he said. “The truck pulled alongside me on Bayside Drive, and both occupants began yelling at me via the passenger’s open window. The driver of the truck reached in front of the passenger and threw his full drink in my face and sped away.”

The men were wearing cycling shirts and drove down Bayside Drive away from the scene, he said. The drink contained ice cubes and a soft drink and did not injure the man. Police arrived within a few minutes to take a road rage report.

Charges could be filed against both men involved in what police describe as a road rage incident involving a pickup truck and a bicycle in West Bloomfield Township.

Police say the bicyclist may have committed an assault during the incident, which occurred around 7 p.m. Monday at Inkster and Maple roads. A 61-year-old West Bloomfield man had been driving the truck when he passed the bicyclist, a 42-year-old man from Franklin.

The bicyclist believed the truck crowded him on the road, and he approached the truck driver at the light at Maple and Inkster. Police said the bicyclist hit a mirror on the truck with a water bottle. When the bicyclist went to retrieve the bottle, which had rolled in front of the truck, the truck driver drove forward, rammed the bicycle, backed up and rammed it again, according to police.

The bicyclist was pinned under the bike and under a car that was in front of him. He suffered a broken ankle during the incident.

West Bloomfield Police Department Lt. Carl Fuhs said he doesn’t believe the two ever touched each other, but there could have been some type of assault.

The driver of the pickup truck was arrested for felonious assault, and his truck was impounded. He was released pending issuance of a warrant.

Watch your backs and memorize license plates, Seattle area cyclists. Thursday November 1st Peter McKay suffered a punctured lung after being shot from a moving car. The police speculate the weapon was a .22 hand gun loaded with b-bs. Check out the comments on Peter’s blog to see the outpouring of support form the commuter and Randonneur community.

Earlier in the week police were called to the scene of a road rage incident. A SUV driver tried to hit a cyclist or run him off the road, apparently following him from the Freemont Bridge to Stone Way. Police were called when the driver pulled his car sharply into the bike lane, causing the cyclist to reach out and hit the car’s window.

A cyclist was knocked down and killed by an enraged motorist after he accidentally clipped the driver’s wing mirror, a court heard yesterday.

Sean Fitzgerald allegedly used his car to chase Paul Webb for 300 yards before mounting a pavement and ramming into his mountain bike in a revenge attack.

Prosecutors said Fitzgerald ‘used his car like a weapon’ to ‘catapult’ Mr Webb’s bicycle 25 yards into the air before fleeing the scene of the crash and leaving his victim for dead.

Mr Webb, 42, who lived with his girlfriend of 11 years, died of massive internal injuries at the roadside.

Fitzgerald, a father of two, was later seen hosing down the front of his silver Ford Focus before driving it to a mechanic for repair hours after the crash, Warwick Crown Court was told.

The confrontation began at about 7:40 a.m. at the top of Old La Honda Road and progressed as the two descended the steep, narrow, twisting mountain road.

Mr. Arp was proceeding slowly due to muddy road conditions, while the driver, reluctant or unable to pass, came up behind him and began honking her horn and yelling obscenities.

When she did pass him, she reportedly sideswiped Mr. Arp's bicycle, causing him to lose control but not fall.

With the driver now ahead of him, Mr. Arp pursued her so as to read her license plate. She reportedly slammed on her brakes twice when he got close, causing contact with the bike each time, but not sufficient to cause Mr. Arp to lose control.

At the stop sign at Portola Road, he dismounted and walked over to confront the driver, yelling all the while. She veered toward him and he found himself snagged -- by his jacket or fanny pack -- on the vehicle's passenger-side rearview mirror.

The driver turned left on to Portola Road. Mr. Arp ran and was dragged alongside while pounding loudly on the side window, but to no apparent effect. Mr. Arp freed himself after about 75 feet and called for help from his mobile phone, said Lt. Jones.

Mr. Arp's cycling shoes seemed to tell a tale: the tops and steel-capped bottoms were worn away, said Lt. Jones.

The driver left the scene, went on to work and did not call police, said Lt. Jones.

Critical Mass last night was pretty crazy. Another road rage driver incident with a driver who did not want to wait for Mass to pass. In short, a couple cyclists tried to “cork” this guy who was threatening with his car by revving the engine, and then trying to drive through cyclists. Finally he apparently had enough, tried to back up, almost hit a couple people, then pulled forward running over bicycles and cyclists alike. “The sound of crunching metal and screaming” neighbors said. Cyclists tried to stop him from leaving until police arrived, but the man wouldn’t stop. By the time the police showed up, 2 windows had been smashed (including the windshield) and all 4 tires had been slashed and cyclists were waiting for police to arrive.

A top Canadian politician who served as Ontario’s attorney general faces murder charges for killing a cyclist in the heart of Toronto Monday night.

Forty-three-old Michael Bryant, who became the youngest attorney general - equivalent to home minister in India - of Canada’s most powerful province of Ontario with Toronto as its capital, was Tuesday charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving.

Bryant, who quit his high-profile job in May to join as the CEO of Invest Toronto to attract investment into Canada’s largest city, made his mark as attorney general by cracking down on drunk driving, street racing and banning pit bull terriers.

But Monday night the young politician was on the other side of law for killing 33-year-old cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard in what has been described as “road rage” in the commercial heart of Toronto.

The former attorney general, who was driving his Saab convertible in the congested traffic, and the cyclist reportedly

bumped into each other. After the collision the cyclist lunged at the driver, leading to exchange of words.

As the politician tried to drive away, the cyclist grabbed the side of the car and was dragged along.

“What I saw was the car speeding up the wrong side of the road, with the injured man on the driver’s side of the car holding on as tight as he could,” an eyewitnesses told a local TV channel.

“And then the driver of the car pushing up against the curb, trying to knock him off on the poles as he went down the opposite side of the road,” the eyewitness said.

Police said the cyclist didn’t let go of the politician’s car till he was hit a mailbox on the roadside and then run over by back tires of the car.

The former attorney general stopped his car a short distance as paramedics arrived to take the injured cyclist to hospital where he was declared dead.

The 33-year-old victim worked as a bike courier in the city.

The former top law minister spent the night in police custody. He was produced in court Tuesday and formally charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death.

Stop killing Americans here!

Make the punishments fit the crimes!

Lock their hate up!

Show us what it means to be American!

Cycling is dangerous. Riding in cars is even more dangerous. It’s a fact that you’re much, much more likely to be gravely injured or killed in an hour of riding in your car than you are in an hour of riding on your bike!

A driver traveling at a relatively slow speed and catching up to cyclists at 10mph or less has plenty of time to prepare to pass them safely.

Most drivers are courteous and friendly to cyclists. Many seem to enjoy sharing the road.

Those who complain about cyclists harp about cyclists not obeying traffic laws.. How many drivers obey all traffic laws? The average speed on most roads is 5 to 10mph over the speed limit. The use of turn signals has almost disappeared and people roll through stop signs more often than they make full stops. Yet anger and even assaults on cyclists are justified on the basis that “they don’t obey traffic laws.”

The average cyclist does a better job than the average motorist of obeying traffic laws. Their safety depends on it.

People are people. There are bad cyclists and bad motorists. The risks cyclists pose are mainly to themselves.

Even great cyclists will “roll”, slowly, through a stop sign. It’s very slow usually and safe. It’s a way to “get out of the motorist’s way”.

At traffic lights cyclists may go through them as the cyclist cannot set off the process for the light to change. They are simply not heavy enough.

Cyclist will seldom block a car for long.

If there is not enough room for a car and one cyclist to share the same lane- it is perfectly alright to take up that lane with bicycles.

Very often it is safer, easier, and quicker for a car to pass a multitude of cyclists “bunched together” than to be spread “single file for a greater distance”.

Drivers should be aware that cyclists are often forced away from the edge of the road by gaping potholes, glass, and other road hazards.

In urban areas, cyclists need to avoid being hit by opening car doors.

But why are motorists more angry at traffic violations or thoughtlessness by cyclists than the hundreds of violations and thoughtlessness committed by motorists?

Cyclists do not want to impede the progress of drivers.

Don’t take it personally.

Streets and highways create an environment of drama, danger, and uncertainty.

Regulation of driving “feels like an imposition and arouses a rebellious streak in many, which then prompts them to disregard whatever regulations seem wrong or inconvenient.

The “lack of personal control over traffic events is frustrating and often leads to venting anger on whoever is around.

“Hair-raising close calls and hostile incidents” result in “physiological stress, along with many negative emotions — fear, resentment, rage, a sense of helplessness, and a depressed mood.”

Vented anger “is felt as an energizing rush. This seductive feeling is short-lived, and is accompanied by a stream of anger-inspiring thoughts that impair judgment and tempt us into rash and dangerous actions.

Passive aggressive road rage: A passive form of resistance that is expressed by ignoring others or refusing to respond appropriately. The intent of passive-aggressive road rage is to be obstructionist and oppositional.” This obstructionist intent can be seen in the driver who adamantly observes the speed limit in the “fast lane,” despite the speeding drivers immediately behind who are signaling their desire to go faster by tailgating and flashing their lights.

Verbal road rage: The habit of constantly complaining about the traffic, keeping up a stream of mental or spoken attacks against all drivers, passengers, law enforcement officials, road workers, pedestrians, speed limits, and road signs. Undoubtedly the most common form of road rage, the purpose of verbal road rage is to denounce, ridicule, condemn, or castigate a rule, an engineer, or another driver.

Epic road rage: The habit of fantasizing comic-book roles and extreme punitive measures against another driver, such as chasing, beating up, ramming, dragging, shooting, and killing, sometimes to the point of acting on it.” This is what most of us think of when we hear the words “road rage.

From Bob Mionske, author of Bicycling And The Law.

Bob Mionske is a former competitive cyclist who represented the U.S. at the 1988 Olympic games (where he finished fourth in the road race), the 1992 Olympics, as well as winning the 1990 national championship road race.

After retiring from racing in 1993, he coached the Saturn Professional Cycling team for one year before heading off to law school. Mionske's practice is now split between personal-injury work, representing professional athletes as an agent and other legal issues facing endurance athletes (traffic violations, contract, criminal charges, intellectual property, etc).

Simply Must Apologize To The Rich And Powerful!

The Poor Rich Man!

Politics, Business, Monkey Business and Prognostications by Micky Dee!

Labels Are Fables! Trashin' Fashion!

Clothes Make The Man-I'm A Fraud!

Coincidences Of The World Trade Center 9/11

Marijuana Lies

Driving The Country Off A Cliff While Drunk

The Falsely Accused And Wrongly Imprisoned

Where Does Satan Dwell?

Nekkid Models

Veal is a Meal? Poop Is Pudding!

Shadrach, Meshach, And Abednego-Soul Food!

False Prophets-False Religions

The Affluent Blues

Bully Blogging Boogers-Futility In Forums