BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Ongoing commentary at this reddit thread

Should have gone with your third sentence.

Don't read the comments under the first link if you don't want to feel even worse. Unbelievable that it happened, unbelievable that people are speaking in defense of the driver.

A google-y translated newspaper report.

could be you or me

I just cried a little. Looks like something that was in a movie. Hard to believe this actually happened.

"One cyclist who was on the ride Camilo Colling, told the Brazilian website Terra Brasil that he spoke to the driver just before the incident, asking him to be patient and stop behaving aggressively towards the riders in his path and warning him that there were children and older people taking part in the ride ahead. The driver allegedly replied "Yes but I'm in a hurry" before ploughing his car in to the group of cyclists in front of him"

http://road.cc/content/news/31464-driver-ploughs-brazilian-critical-mass-ride-video-warning-disturbing-content

Absolutely horrific to watch. The only good thing I can find is that the idiot driver was behind the wheel of a little vw & not a box truck.

I really don't know what say.

What was this crazy driver thinking!

4) Once they get the driver, don't expect a whole lot. He'll be out on bail within a day with a half-way competent lawyer (just a few weeks ago a drunk driver killed a whole family and walked out of jail the next day). If we are lucky they'll have a trial within a year or so...depending. Also note that the maximum they can serve is 30 years...no matter what. There is no life sentence here...also no death penalty.

this filled me with regret

I saw this last night and think it's disgusting. Did they apprehend the driver?

What a horrific incident. However, for better or worse, it's this kind of incident that mobilizes people and sways public opinion, like the Thompson verdict in California. It will be something to watch going forward.

the worst thing is reading the comments of people who say, "i'm a motorist and i've been stuck behind critical mass and wanted to do the same thing many times."

rfghhrfg

Nah, the worst for me are the ones who say, "I'm a cyclist too, but I'm not surprised this would happen at a critical mass, etc...." Bite me.

I've been held up in traffic by idiot truck drivers who don't know how to drive their rigs, or by inconsiderate drivers who crash and hold up traffic while emt's try and save their inconsiderate lives (sarcasm!!!). That's life.

The best way not to get held up in traffic is to walk or bike.

It's really good that no one has died (If I have the facts right).

Adn a bit surprising, given that he ran over almost 30 people.

Driver is claiming self defense.

http://road.cc/content/news/31482-brazilian-driver-claim-self-defence-over-critical-mass-carnage-says-lawyer

How does that work? Uh, I had to drive real fast and run some people over because they attacked me by riding their bicycles slowly away from me?

Maybe that is just laying the groundwork for an insanity defense.

Wow. Just Wow! I have been in a 'hurry' before, for example taking people to the hospital...but that course of action is just alien to me.

And what was the driver afraid of? That the cyclists would nice him to death?

I know that many people setup legal defense funds in situations like this. I wonder if its possible to setup a legal prosecution fund.

Maybe he got some pointers from Michael Bryant.

Outrageous. I can see how maybe he fet threatened, but all he had to do is stop and the ride would have went on without him. You see it all of the time on large rides like this, some adams apple thinks they can inch in and intimidate the riders out of the way. Imagine how that 15 yo feels. Can you imagine if your father did something like this?

no no, the worst part about all of this is that it happened in brazil. this guy will walk with minimal jail time, i assure you.

I was reading an account from a Brazilian that said that this kind of misconduct on the road is common in southern Brazil. he said that just recently, a guy hit and killed a family in a car and walked.

brazil isn't exactly the most... um... just of places.

"he feared that the cyclists would turn the car over"

because brazillian hipsters, little old ladies, and children have super human strength when in contact with a bicycle.

And if he was that afraid, why didn't he call the police? Maybe I'm missing some Brazillian cultural nuances, perhaps the police are on the cyclists' side there, or cell phones are not so prevalent. If he wasn't afraid and just in a hurry, were there no parallel roads or alternate routes the guy could have taken if he was in that much of a hurry? Did he not notice the hundred(s?) or so cyclists on the road in front of him in time to take an alternate route?

LOTS of poor decisions there.

Bullshit.... couldn't he just have taken a different road if he really was in a hurry?? He was in a freaking car!

Seriously...

the worst part about all of this is that it happened in brazil. this guy will walk with minimal jail time

brazil isn't exactly the most... um... just of places.

As opposed to all the harsh sentences being handed down here?

"BANKER" nuff said

47-year old Richard Neis is charged with attempted murder.

"and he's since been placed under psychiactric care." I knew it! They're going to go Insanity Defense!

(BTW, this appears to be a financial type web site, and at the bottom they reference "more banker-craziness" with a story about a banker who bit an ear or something. I hope this won't just be marginalized as "banker craziness" or any other kind of craziness. I hope this will ultimately be seen for what it is: a motorist with a sense of entitlement who let his rage get away from him and who harmed a lot of people. )

heh - just because he's crazy doesn't mean his road rage is excusable? I think that's about right.

Just because we're paranoid that doesn't mean they're not out to get us.

So maybe this means we can take his license away indefinitely if he's not mentally fit to see a problem with bulldozing through 30 people?