By adamg on Thu., 6/5/2014 - 3:10 pm
Capt. John Greland at C-6 reports that around 5:55 p.m. on Tuesday, a motorist took exception, by way of his fist, to a bicyclist obeying traffic rules at Dorchester Avenue and Columbia Road.
Greland says the motorist, apparently headed straight, beeped at the bicyclist in front of him. When the bicyclist refused to move and told him the light was red, the driver got out of his car and punched the bicyclist in the face, giving him a bloody mouth and knocking him to the ground - possibly into unconsciousness - Greland says.
EMTs took the bicyclist to the hospital; police will seek criminal complaints against the driver in South Boston District Court.
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Comments
FAQ changed
By Kaz
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 1:58am
They appear to be willing to offer Adult Nights. This is a change from what was first stated.
We just dropped by the giraffe
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 10:49am
We didn't go in. It is on one of our routes home from work when we are on bikes.
I don't have little ones though - one of mine is a legal adult now. You might want to rent one of our neighbors' kids.
Kids too old
By dga
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 12:22pm
They might get jobs there and help you sneak in, though.
Nope, the cyclist is cited as
By whyaduck
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 4:58pm
a "him" so Swirly is hopefully ok.
Adam, can you just disable
By anonermus
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 4:55pm
Adam, can you just disable comments on any bike vs car, bike vs pedestrian, etc thread? The bike nazis and SUV stalwarts are more than happy to spread this back-and-forth to other news stories.
yeah just
By Rogerdemus
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 6:00pm
disable all comments, I only come here to read the news, participating in democracy is overrated
Are you high?
By Brian Riccio
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 7:56pm
The man has a child to feed and clothe.
Now now
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 10:53am
It might be nice if Adam removed the restraints and the eylid props that force him to read them. He really doesn't need to have a bit of the ultracomments.
How many?
By anon
Sat, 06/07/2014 - 6:28am
Can you imagine how many comments were made but not posted?
I get honked at all the time
By LadyKatey
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 6:02pm
I get honked at all the time for not turning right on red through the "Walk" pedestrian signal at a major crosswalk near my home. Its quite likely that some of the honkers would punch me if they had the opportunity but luckily I am safe in the climate controlled confines of my single occupant Buick sedan.
I do hope the cyclist was wearing a helmet.... perhaps motorcycle type helmets should be required for bicyclists, seeing as they are apparently universally considered assholes that deserve to be punched.
Innocent, etc.
By O-FISH-L
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 6:21pm
n/t
Biker v. Car
By Brian h.
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 6:23pm
The guy on the bike has got to figure out that he's provoking the guy in the car. All he has to do is get out of the way. Typical self-righteous biker.
The nerve...
By Matt
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 7:05pm
The nerve of that cyclist, what a sense of entitlement - brazenly following the law like that. He got what he deserved!
"provoking"
By redditseddit
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 7:56pm
Provoking the guy in the car by.... obeying the law?
I mean, seriously, it's not even like the guy would get where he's going any faster if the cyclist *did* run the light. IT'S A RED LIGHT.
Yeah--totes!!
By Sally
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 9:42pm
I hate it when people are driving 30 in a 25mph zone and I'm driving 40 and they won't get out of my way!! They're totally provoking me, those self-righteous slowpokes. Next time I'll just get out of my car and bash them with my shillelagh.
Makes a lot of Sense...
By teric
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 11:04am
....sounds like Brian has been on the vehicular side of a similar confrontation...I have had more driving-morons yell at me for following the law...it's easy to provoke a driver by following the law (try driving the speed limit around here). But it is never ok to punch someone for this...never. And I also drive, a lot...just can't imagine taking on a biker for this or anything...ya have to be pretty angry or have a sucky life.
I know this corner well
By Mark-
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 6:38pm
I go through this intersection almost every day. There's often a multi-light backup on Columbia Rd. A few aggro-drivers who think they're better than everyone else duck into the left turn only lane just before the light turns straight-ahead green, so they can get through on one cycle. Of course if someone happens to be there waiting to turn left, they're stuck through the whole cycle and it serves them right. In this case, it was a bicycle waiting to turn left and the type A driver couldn't believe he found one of the small minority of bicyclists who obey traffic lights. I'd do the same thing, but if the guy got out of his car, I wouldn't wait around for a green light.
Damned if you do, punched if you don't?
By Ãœma
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 6:43pm
Saying that cyclists never obey the rules of the road is kind of like saying motorists are never violent, hostile misanthropes.
It's a paunchy punching pounce bounce.
By Chris Rich
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 7:09pm
But Punch a Lots... have hope of a roped dope and beat punches into puncheons for a princely punch drunk tumble through the mud slopped trail..
This crowd likes its Absolutes as well as its Absolut in an Ab salute!
Hoot Hoot!!
But I have seen a future in Salem and Marblehead as recently as Tuesday in the form of a very busy greenway using yet another dead rail bed.
Walking, Baby Stroller deployment, bikes and a skate thing or two were all in the mix... 5 miles of it.
People want these things and use them.
The sooner we ace that system, the sooner old Punchly McPummel can find some new incitement for that roundhouse ever seeking a glass jaw.
A large metal box
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 7:23pm
It doesn't make you special.
Ever.
Are you kidding?
By Chris Rich
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 7:31pm
When I breathe my last I'll have em carve...
"And all this without ever learning to drive."
No, the logic is different from that
By HenryAlan
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 7:57pm
To extend the idea some have that a light running cyclist means all cyclists run red lights: a bicyclist punching driver means all drivers are violent thugs.
Now of course, neither of these statements is true, but they follow the same logic. I await all the folks who claim all cyclists are evil scum to now condemn all drivers.
Not holding my breath, though.
What a psycho..... Not new to
By Lmo
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 7:07pm
What a psycho..... Not new to the assault game. Car, bike, pedestrian.... I imagine no one is safe around that guy.
cars turning normal people into homicidal maniacs
By anon
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 7:28pm
is pretty well worn comedy fodder. 64 years ago this was made:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk-c5jlk48s
THIS JUST IN...
By tcf098
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 9:48pm
Another U-Hub bicycle post breaks the internet!
I think every experienced rider...
By anon
Thu, 06/05/2014 - 10:44pm
...has encountered the situation of being attacked by a driver for doing nothing more than following the law. Just that most drivers stay in their vehicle while doing so.
One time I was pedaling along while following the bike markings on the street, and the signs, when some crazy guy came up behind me about 2 inches from my rear tire and HONKED suddenly. Luckily I was unfazed so I did not fall off as I looked back. He then went into the left lane to pass me and yelled something about me not belonging on the street.
More recently I was riding along again, following the bike markings on the street, when I noticed a pedestrian in a crosswalk, so as required by law I stopped to allow the pedestrian to cross. A few moments later I heard very loud honking and before I could even look behind me, a sedan passed me with about 3 inches to spare, crossing illegally over the double yellow line. As I recovered from that experience on the side of the street, someone in a passenger seat yelled out that I deserved it.
And most recently, last week, I was riding along with the bike markings (common theme) when I saw a pedestrian in the crosswalk so I slowed down to a stop while trying to indicate with my hands to the cars behind me that I was stopping for a reason. Didn't work. The guy behind me was chatting on his cell phone I saw, just illegally passed me as I was stopped at the crosswalk. Luckily the pedestrian saw it coming and was not struck.
If I rode my bike more often I probably would have even more stories. I hear that drivers are supposed to follow laws, but you could have fooled me.
Intersection of Beacon and
By anon
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 9:18am
Intersection of Beacon and Arlington near the Public Garden is one of the worst for bad driver, cyclist and pedestrian behavior. Witnessed a woman, not near a crosswalk, walk into 2 lanes of oncoming traffic causing cars to slam on their breaks and as a result a bike to almost crash into the back of a cab. Drivers were honking like crazy. She was visibly shaken and threw up her hands and yelled she didn't see any cars coming. Such a lie. We all saw the cars which is why the rest of us hadn't crossed.
One of the pedestrian signals at that intersection hasn't worked for weeks. As a result, you have to dash across any chance you get. While waiting to cross I've made several observations. It's disgraceful the number of drivers texting or yapping on their phones not looking where they're going. Hubway riders are clueless about navigating that area. Demonstrating no concern for their own physical safety, they unsteadily pedal into heavy foot and vehicle traffic regardless of people in the crosswalk or cars zipping in front of them. It's as if they're in a zombie-like trance and cannot stop or turn until they get to the footbridge to deposit their rentals.
Sadly there are many clusterf*ck areas in Boston like this. No one group is blameless. Not sure what the solution is.
Sadly there are many clusterf
By Scratchie
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 9:34am
I think you can look at Cambridge and Somerville for an idea of what the solution might look like. They're not perfect by any means, but they've made great strides in improving signs and signals in their cities, as well as reconfiguring traffic as warranted, in a way that at least acknowledges the concept that city transportation infrastructure does not exist solely for the benefit of automobile drivers.
I can't speak for Somerville,
By anon
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 9:58am
I can't speak for Somerville, but my experience with Cambridge is awful. Central Square is a disaster when it comes to cyclist, cars and pedestrians despite the lines on the road, crosswalks, numerous traffic signals. Pedestrians cross whenever and wherever they're so inclined regardless of safety and legality, and I've regularly seen cars try to squeeze cyclists off the road. Some cyclists stop for red lights while others don't. Totally unpredictable.
Well, you undoubtedly have
By Scratchie
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 10:28am
Well, you undoubtedly have more experience in that area than I do but I bet it's still better than a lot of intersections in Boston. At least Cambridge is trying to perform some sort of modern traffic engineering; it sounds like the CPD are falling down on the job when it comes to enforcement (big shock there).
Central square is a madhouse
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 10:39am
The rest of Cambridge is pretty good to get through. There are many parallel tracks so that you don't have to go through the really crazy areas unless you are going to them.
I've avoided Mass Ave ever since they opened the bike lane on Harvard Ave. I now take Broadway or Hampshire or Cambridge, but I have ways to "dive in" to Central from the less fraught roadways.
The same applies when I'm driving a car in the area: avoid, use the periphery, walk.
How is that possible?
By Markk02474
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 1:05pm
A "road diet" was imposed there 20+ years ago, narrowing Mass Ave from 4 lanes to 2 lanes plus turn lanes, bump outs and enormous sidewalks.
So, I don't know how Central Square could possibly be a regular top 10 accident location in the state for pedestrians and bikes, unless road diets don't work as promised. How could this location allegedly made more safe by a road diet be worse than any in the whole city of Boston?
Road diet made it much better
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 1:17pm
The problem is that there are too many people trying to get through the area.
Not cars - people.
Getting rid of a lot of the cars helped the problem, because cars take up an extreme amount of space per person transported, but it didn't solve the problem. Ditto for expanding the sidewalks.
Of course, you have not been transiting the area nearly daily in one mode or another over the last 15 years, so you wouldn't have a clue as to what changes had what consequences.
Novice Cyclists and Distracted Drivers
By Robert Winters
Sun, 06/08/2014 - 11:38am
I bike through Central Square in Cambridge almost daily and it seems perfectly safe to me as long as you ride legally and with appropriate caution at taxi stands, bus stops, and high-volume cross streets. There are, however, a lot of novice cyclists who ride through Central Square, many of them associated with MIT, who don't appear to understand basic safety while riding. They endanger themselves primarily, but they do tend to give other cyclists a bad name.
I rarely see aggressive motor vehicle operators while riding, but there are A LOT of negligent drivers, especially those who are consulting their various "devices" when they should be paying attention.
And How Exactly Do You Know They're Associated With MIT?
By Elmer
Sun, 06/08/2014 - 11:15pm
From your description, it sounds more likely that they're associated with Harvard.
MIT wearing beanies, Harvard in J. Crew
By Markk02474
Mon, 06/09/2014 - 12:56am
Harvard students more likely to dress sharper and less geeky? MIT students more likely on recumbent cycles.
You're Obviously Confused About Headgear ...
By Elmer
Mon, 06/09/2014 - 2:35am
... people at MIT don't wear beanies. If you saw bicyclists adorned that way, they must have come from somewhere else; Caltech perhaps, especially if they were on recumbent bikes!
Recumbent bikes
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 06/09/2014 - 8:55am
J. Gordon Wilson started holding January IEP workshops at MIT to build recumbent bikes back in the 1970s or so ... and he's over 80 and still commuting to MIT via recumbent bikes of his own design and manufacture.
Of course, somebody is still stuck in the 1980s with that comment, as usual (eyeroll).
Novice Cyclists and Distracted Drivers
By Robert Winters
Sun, 06/08/2014 - 9:21pm
I bike through Central Square in Cambridge almost daily and it seems perfectly safe to me as long as you ride legally and with appropriate caution at taxi stands, bus stops, and high-volume cross streets. There are, however, a lot of novice cyclists who ride through Central Square, many of them associated with MIT, who don't appear to understand basic safety while riding. They endanger themselves primarily, but they do tend to give other cyclists a bad name.
I rarely see aggressive motor vehicle operators while riding, but there are A LOT of negligent drivers, especially those who are consulting their various "devices" when they should be paying attention.
And How Exactly Do You Know They're Associated With MIT?
By Elmer
Sun, 06/08/2014 - 11:14pm
From your description, it sounds more likely that they're associated with Harvard.
"Pedestrians cross whenever
By dave davery
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 11:33am
"Pedestrians cross whenever and wherever they're so inclined regardless of safety and legality"
If there is a crosswalk without a light, the pedestrian legally has the right of way all the time. I know most drivers pretend to not know this, but it's true. Is it annoying when you're driving? Yes, but the driver is the one breaking the law if they don't stop. Sorry you can't do a steady 40 mph down Mass Ave or Cambridge St.
What's your point?
By Scratchie
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 12:05pm
There are also plenty of pedestrians who cross whenever and wherever they're so inclined, i.e. NOT at a crosswalk. I've seen pedestrians step off the curb without looking when they're 20 feet from a crosswalk.
to dave davery (not verified)
By anon
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 4:59pm
to dave davery (not verified)
Clearly you have never walked, biked, driven nor take a bus down Mass. Ave. in Central Sq. Pedestrians are notorious for NOT using the crosswalks while strolling, yes STROLLING, into the flow of traffic.
I don't drive through Central Sq., I walk, but thanks for being a dick anyway.
If bikes belong on the street
By anon
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 1:25am
If bikes belong on the street then they should be registered and insured. I was always told not to ride in the street .
You were told wrong.
By joneshill
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 8:37am
You were told wrong.
Here's a research assignment
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 10:42am
How many deaths are caused by cyclists running into other people and cars each year.
How many deaths are caused by drivers running their cars into other cars and into people each year.
Then ask yourself: where is the most important use of public money to prevent deaths?
Bonus points: learn that cyclists and drivers come from the same population, most of whom have a license to drive already.
OK
By Suldog
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 6:40am
Now that we've agreed everybody sucks, can we move on to the next topic?
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
yup
By cybah
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 1:32pm
I'm staying as far away from this bike debate as possible. I've learned not to even bother with the bike debate posts. Not worth getting my blood pressure to rise.
NO! We can't move on to the next topic!
By issacg
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 2:02pm
At least not until we agree that everybody sucks, all the time, everywhere!
Damn all of us to hell and back!
As long as you have the money
By Everett2Boston
Fri, 06/06/2014 - 7:29am
You can get a licence in Massachusetts without knowing the laws of the road as long as you have the cash to pay the DMV. If we want safer roads for everyone, the State has to stop treating Driving Licenses as revenue sources, and start treating it as a way of maintaining law abiding knowledgeable drivers. A few weeks ago a driver took a left on to Prospect (one-way street) in Cambridge, knocking me off the road. She began yelling at me that I didn't belong on the sidewalk and that I had no right to be on the road because she has insurance. How do you even begin to argue with stupid?
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