Violent Assault On Vancouver Cyclist? (merged)

another thing i find intersting is that the facebook story and the vid don't line up very well.

But I'd still rather have my privacy because cameras are evil and steal your soul.

Privacy is def good , but getting to the bottom of stories is also good.. my soul ? Jury is out on that….

Pretty heavy scene.. Those bystanders took a chance for sure.. He def says radio.. Maybe a cop? Nice car …

hmmm. I dont know any more about how innocent the rider was. I thought this was more of a not using the bike lane conflict. I cant say that now definitively. The rider took stuff from the car at some point which is why the cops are placing equal blame i guess. That does not constitute a consensual fight because the rider is asking him to stop. I assume that the rider had an option to hand if over and choose not to at that point, and he gave him some time and demanded it verbally several times. The cops are looking at it like the rider stole some thing and the driver went after it, as a result of the traffic conflict.
I would not any one take my property with out some sort of attempt to gain it back, not sure if it would come to blow though.
It seems to be like a road rage response to the cyclist, but has several layers.

i also like that there was some bystander intervention. They stopped the beating but also said they would get the stuff back if he took it.

So the cops are saying "If somone confronts you, you'd better fight back. Last man standing wins because we won't get involved".

Learned that long ago.

"Oh you got hit by a car? Here's three hundred dollars in fines. Have a nice night"

Now on another note. At least the Mercedes Driving douchebag didn't decide to pull a Pitbull Bryant and endanger others on the street and sidewalks. But does not at all justify any one's behaviour.

Pretty heavy scene.. Those bystanders took a chance for sure.. He def says radio.. Maybe a cop? Nice car …

The rider was a courier … couriers carry radios because they work dispatch … it was the courier's radio.

Was the cyclist weaving in and out of traffic?

Sounds like the cyclist was in the dedicated separate cycling lane which is on the right side of Hornby and he wished to make a left turn onto Dunsmuir. I don't know how you do that properly without cutting across all car lanes. maybe he wasn't in the cycling lane and made a left from the left side of the road as one normally would except for the cycling lanes that force a rider to wait at the intersection. That is one reason I think our cycling lanes are dumb. they are poorly designed for anyone that can actually ride in traffic.

Pure speculation but I would bet the cyclist cut across the drivers path and the driver thought that cyclists have to stick to the path and cross like a pedestrian to make a left. I doubt that the driver was looking to run down a cyclist until he suffered a perceived threat to his dignity. Probably two dickheads. Never a call to fight though. That's just stupid.

I used to be a bike courier actually. Def still remember the radios..;).. I thought it was the driver saying about the radio.. I will watch it again later….

Learned that long ago.

"Oh you got hit by a car? Here's three hundred dollars in fines. Have a nice night"

Now on another note. At least the Mercedes Driving douchebag didn't decide to pull a Pitbull Bryant and endanger others on the street and sidewalks. But does not at all justify any one's behaviour.

Douchbag is driving a Dodge. No wonder he's so full of anger. But what led up to the confrontation?

Moved thread that was on NBR to Commuting board, and merged with existing, longer thread discussing this incident.

oh, yea it was the couriers radio actually…i don't know…

there wasn't actually any punches..still a lame scene..

Thats crazy that the VPD isn't pressing charges when there's a video of the assault. Regardless of bike lanes or papers being thrown into the street, that's clearly an assault.

The worst part is that I heard about it on the radio and they were all "why wasn't he in the bike lane? We give up so much road space for them and he's not even using it. And cyclists constantly run red lights too…" etc etc

Anyway, here's the number for the cop shop that covers the area (604) 717-2748. Tell em what you think.

And don't fuck with Lurch

Sounds like the cyclist was in the dedicated separate cycling lane which is on the right side of Hornby and he wished to make a left turn onto Dunsmuir. I don't know how you do that properly without cutting across all car lanes. maybe he wasn't in the cycling lane and made a left from the left side of the road as one normally would except for the cycling lanes that force a rider to wait at the intersection. That is one reason I think our cycling lanes are dumb. they are poorly designed for anyone that can actually ride in traffic.

I agree with your bike lane observation. Bike lanes seem to be put in for cars. It allows them to speed by and ignore cyclists. If you know how to ride in traffic they are not necessary. The bike lanes (GUTTER) only funnels bikes into a kill zone, when the bike lanes end.