Bias against cyclists is Rampant and unfair (Michigan Auto Law)
This is no surprise to me. I have seen it growing for the past few years. People who would never advocate hurting anyone will say the coldest most psycotic things about a cyclist that has "Made" them a few seconds late. When I hear these things I often think about offering to do the same things to their own mother, sisters, daughters.
You would be surprised how upset they get at the idea of someone saying something so cold about someone they care about. I guess turnabout isn't really fair play. Here are a few quotes from the article.
"The lawyers defending the trucking company refused to accept any responsibility for his death. They said he caused his own death, and then they said it didn’t really matter because an 83-year-old man isn’t worth very much money."
"There were many people who were quite willing to assign blame against him for just riding a bicycle. And there are many people willing to forgive clear negligence if the victim is on a bicycle."
I see this all to often. During most of my family gatherings I find myself talking to one of my relatives who will eventually bring up that he has seen someone on a bike do something illegal (run a red light, blow a stop sign) but doesn't understand what I am doing when I walk to the window and look out on the road and say "That car is speeding, and that car is speeding, and that car is speeding"When I bluntly point out that he is more than willing to break traffic laws that don't suit him but get angry when someone else does the exact same thing. You may think I'm getting a little ranty!
I am.
If this bothers you, well tough. I'm not going to pretend to understand why a person can kill another person and it is called murder or negligent homicide or manslaughter, unless the killer is in a car and the victim is on a bicycle. Then it's a 500$ fine and 3 points. Besides it was clearly the cyclist fault since he was riding on "my" road.
