Angry Cager Strikes Professional Rider with a Baseball Bat

Given the number of hours professional cyclists spend on the roads, it's inevitable that they are going to have some unpleasant encounters. But this one, that occurred southwest of Paris, is a bit more disturbing than usual.

After the all-too-common punishment pass, the driver slammed on the brakes in an effort to cause a crash. When Offredo approached the car, the driver wished to step out with a knife. When Offredo blocked him from opening his car door, the passenger exited from the other side of the vehicle, produced a baseball bat from the trunk, and then assaulted Offredo.

Despite suffering a broken rib and nose, Offredo believes he will not miss any racing.

The police are investigating the incident.

Read the full article at cyclingnews

A Driver That Killed A Cyclist Speaks Out

In a post that will surely be greeted with mixed emotions, a driver that killed a cyclist 20 years earlier speaks out about living with that knowledge.

While I applaud the author's courage, I am less enthusiastic about the writer's statement, "I wasn’t found at fault in my crash..." If one is to write honestly about the one-sided carnage in the "war" between cars and bikes, one must acknowledge the prejudicial treatment that cyclists have found in the courtrooms: where judges and juries composed of drivers routinely pass down the lightest sentences and fail to find fault with drivers even under egregious circumstances. Not being found at fault is hardly an absolution of guilt. Nor do I applaud one of the author's proposed solutions, "And while we’re asking the bicycle industry to add lights. . . " I choose to ride with a Fly6 camera that includes a strobing LED, but that is my choice and it should not be dictated.

That 1 in 200 drivers has killed another person while driving -- over the past 30 years -- is a very sobering data point.

I encourage you to read the post.

Read the full article at WBUR

North London Police Get Serious About Repeat Offenders

In a move that I believe leads the effort in the English-speaking countries, the North London police get serious about cracking down on repeat offenders that endanger cyclists.

After reviewing over 950 reports here at The Close Call Database, I firmly believe that there is a material percentage of motorists that will never share the road willingly. And unfortunately, a small percentage willing to use their vehicles to intimidate and harass cyclists in an effort to dissuade them from riding on the roads. That latter group will only stop their behavior when they realize the odds that they get caught and punished become a real deterrent to their anti-social behavior.

I applaud the North London police for taking the lead. It stands in sharp contrast the near-useless laws enacted by the state of California here in the United States. The CA 3-Ft Law is particularly awful, written in a way that seems to have made enforcement nearly impossible: the use of video is disallowed, and the infraction must be witnessed by a peace officer. Let's keep an eye on this program and hope it catches on.

Read the full article at road.cc

TAGS: North London Police Repeat Offenders Credit: road.cc

Close Call Database in Velonews

The folks in the Bike Law Network have been supportive of The Close Call Database since the very first moment that I reached out to them.

Bob Mionske and Rick Bernardi contacted me to get some background on the genesis of The Close Call Database. I was grateful for their inquiry and they did a superlative job of explaining how the CCDB fits into the larger context of cycling safety; the CCDB is not the answer, it is just one part of the solution (and I like to think an important one).

Click the velonews link below to read the article if you have not done so already.

Read the full article at Velonews

TAGS: CCDB in the news Credit: Velonews

Road-Raging Drivers Threaten Cyclists

I encourage anyone that visits this site to read this article by J. Adrian Stanley that ran in the Colorado Springs Independent on 9/7/2016.

Ms. Stanley "got it" and she did a great job describing what is happening to cyclists in many places in America and in other countries as well.

I encourage and implore you -- softly beg you -- to please share that article on social media sites. When folks google for information about the "conflict" between cyclists and drivers (conflict is the wrong word when only one side is fighting and using a 2,000 vehicle to do it). This is the type of story that needs to rise to the top so that non-cyclists start to understand what is happening out there. Most people are decent. They would not support and never stand for the type of intentional assaults that we are experiencing out there. They just don't know it's happening! So help spread the world and please share and promote this news story.

Read the full article at Colorado Springs Independent

TAGS: news story road-rage intentional assault inadequate penalties for crazy drivers Credit: Colorado Springs Independent