Comments on: DA Files Charge Against Cyclist Attacked by SUV Driver in 9th Ave Bike Lane

By: Southbedford

Southbedford — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:06:12 +0000

He does not respect traffic rules. Why did he get two tickets this month ("DOUBLE PARKING" and "OBSTRUCTING TRAFFIC AT INTERSECTION"). Think about the probability to get a ticket and you know his respect for others ("ME FIRST").

By: Gus T.

Gus T. — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:02:28 +0000

Saltclaire-- Keep your pile of bolts the hell away from me and your precious object of misplaced affection won't have anything to worry about. (BTW "the hell away" == "at a safe distance")

By: Mark Walker

Mark Walker — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:08:05 +0000

Motorists need to understand that a cyclist (or anyone else) banging on your car is like someone knocking on your door. They're trying to call your attention to something. You don't assault the person, you answer the door. As long as the person hasn't rammed the door down or damaged the door, you have no reason or right to respond violently. Likewise, a dent in the car or a scratch on the paintwork would be cause for complaint. But someone's palm print on your car? Come on, that's no reason to hurt someone.

By: Kaja

Kaja — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:40:57 +0000

I love it when I agree with Mark Walker. Satclaire - here's hopin' I touch your property sometime soon, baby. You're welcome to try and assault me for it

By: Mark Walker

Mark Walker — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:22:53 +0000

Under law, this very simple concept has a name: assault.

By: John Satclaire

John Satclaire — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:12:52 +0000

You touch my property without my permission, and I will hurt you. This is a very simple concept that many bicyclists cannot seem to grasp.

By: Kaja

Kaja — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:58:02 +0000

> Slapping a car is a bad idea. The owner has his identity tied up in that thing.

Don't be cowed by others' tendency to violence. If you're endangered, act reasonably in your own defense. In the end, assault is a felony, but tapping a car in self-defense is legal.

If you're weak or with family then of course your risk threshold should drop. Young single dudes on bikes are rightly the front line of social norm enforcement.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:18:27 +0000

These photos look like they're posted in reverse order of the action, and could be confusing, because it looks like the guy took the upright bike and then placed it under his car when it was the other way around. I know they're not going into court, just wanted to point it out.

By: Drew

Drew — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:53:30 +0000

Slapping a car is a bad idea. The owner has his identity tied up in that thing. It's not much different from slapping his face, in his reality. Decades of car commercials and living in a society imbued with these things, have trained drivers to actually invest their identity into a smelly, costly, and noisy car. It's pretty sad when a car is part of your identity, but that is how it is for lots of people. So slap away, but be prepared for a driver to go ballistic and the cops to support the driver. Easier to use a bell or bike horn.

I hope this motorist goes to jail for assaulting the bicyclist.

By: Remote Bystander

Remote Bystander — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:38:51 +0000

Lotta folks talking about whether or not he's a cop; interesting to see him publicly outed, good!

Anybody stop to think the guy planned to do this? Seems a bit too "coincidental" that he started to move JUST as the cyclist got next to him. He was looking for trouble, and called the cops first to cover his ass, probably lied to them about the whole thing.

By: Pete

Pete — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:47:52 +0000

I hope Ray Bengen took extensive (dated, preferably) photos of his bruising, any bike damage, and the location from many angles. I also hope you guys aren't harassing the driver after looking up his license plate - it's not your battle to fight, and puts bicyclists and Ray in a bad light. One law that may have been broken here is a failure to indicate a turn. We all know this is something that's taken for granted too often, but having taken a left turn without signaling it is a violation this driver may be guilty of, and may help Ray in court. My suggestion to you Ray is to write down as much of this in an organized notebook and be prepared to use it in your 'defense'. Good luck Ray!

By: J. Mork

J. Mork — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:20:38 +0000

That guy got his B.A. in 2002 and his law degree in 2006. Probably too young to be our Gus. (It's possible to go to Columbia Law in your thirties, but I'm guessing no on this one.)

By: Google Search

Google Search — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:31:54 +0000

There's a lawyer at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in NY by that name.. Hard to confirm ID without a photo though.

http://www.willkie.com/attorneys/bio_detail.aspx?iEmployee_ID=327612005

By: Christopher

Christopher — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:32:45 +0000

Who at the DA's office authorized this? Since it looks like the driver is actually being prosecuted (makes for a nice change), the real scandal here is that the cyclist/victim should have to hire a lawyer to defend himself. Morgenthau is useless and on his way out, and probably had nothing to do with the decision, but someone at the DA's office clearly went out of his way to get the victim arrested. That person's head should roll. Anyone know someone in the DA's office who can find this out?

By: Max

Max — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:25:00 +0000

I just read the Sen Jeff Klein story and I completely agree that some drivers seem so jacked up behind the wheel (I can't attest to their behavior the rest of the time). When I'm walking or cycling, I'm very conscious of what's around me, nonetheless pretty relaxed - maybe it's the physical activity and endorphins. By contrast, as the Jeff Klein story mentions, many drivers seem to hate and rage against whoever is on the other side of the windshield. Just sickening!

By: Max

Max — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:11:15 +0000

This is disgusting! However I have a court date for something similar - a driver almost ran me down driving on the wrong side of the street while I was crossing a residential street with my 2 small dogs. Long story short, I told him off for driving so recklessly (but without obscenity, epithets or abuse) in an area with young children (we were next to a kindergarten and park), mothers with strollers, joggers etc... Later that day while again walking my dogs, the police stopped and arrested me - the driver had told them that I had hit his car and apparently there were "scratches, dents and scuffs" on it. An outright false and/or misleading statement. The driver had been driving very aggressively and been agitated and angry while I was talking to him. His actions were a passive aggressive form of road rage and borne out of a complete lack of understanding of how dangerously he had been driving.

By: Vroomfondel

Vroomfondel — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:00:37 +0000

Marty, sometimes a car is a weapon. Most of the time it's not. I'm as critical of individual motorized transportation as the next guy, but your idea that letting someone drive your car is tantamount to lending him a gun is ludicrous.

In any case, I believe that we'll hurt our cause if this turns into a feeding frenzy. Determining and posting the identity of the attacker seems like a good idea, if only because law enforcement has proven unable or unwilling to deal with homicidal drivers, but we'll be more effective if we go about it in a deliberate fashion.

By: Liam Patrick

Liam Patrick — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:46:09 +0000

Someone call in and report this hit and run.

By: Jerky

Jerky — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:12:39 +0000

I'm guessing that it may not be his wife in the car, but one of his sons, Louis.

By: Unsympathetic

Unsympathetic — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:09:48 +0000

I've been on a grand jury. The DA has zero chance of acquiring an indictment in this case - it's not a slam dunk. Bicyclist vs Excursion.. and the DA chooses to prosecute the bike? Um, no.