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Michael Bryant


StoneMtn

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I only know the coles notes - but to be fair, put me in a situation where a raging mad bike courier is grabbing onto my car yelling at me and hanging on - put my wife beside me - and I can't say I would react differently. I like to think I would, but fear can be a powerful thing.

We had a semi-similar situation where a pedestrian kicked our car while my wife was driving. Put a big dent in it. She calls me upset saying she didn't know what to do, whether she should stop and chase him down. My immediate reaction was no way. He's obviously crazy and I don't want her confronting him. I want her driving away (if I was there maybe its different).

Admittedly the driving onto the other side of the road etc. is going a bit far - but the reports also said he was calling 911 in the midst of all this which again suggests to me that he was affraid for his safety.

Shitty for all involved for sure - and moreso for the family of the deceased. But man oh man, what the fuck are you doing grabbing onto a car when you're riding a bicycle????

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I totally agree Morgan. The more details emerge, the more it appears this wasn't simply a case of a driver with a bad case of rage going off on a cyclist.

If I were driving (especially a convertible, exposed) and a dude was attacking me, holding on, and I was attempting to call for help, I'd likely be driving extremely erratically as well.

One of the new details that has come to light is the fact that the victim was allegedly drunk, having had an altercation earlier in the evening with his girlfriend (?) and the police (I just heard a brief snippet about this on the radio this morning, not the whole story, so I'm unsure about that full details there).

Anyway...from what we know now, it sounds like neither party is entirely blameless in this tragedy.

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Actually, I hadn't heard any of the details you just told me. I had read yesterday reports by other bike couriers that the victim was not a hot-head, well-liked, and was the type to avoid all altercations with drivers.

If this new information is true, my opinion may be different.

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Putting the tragedy of the death aside for a second (though not to belittle it in any way), it will be too bad if it turns out that this cyclist was a drunk hothead who liked to stir things up. That will only add fuel to the fire for ignorant drivers who think that all cyclists are dangerous nuisances who should not be on the road. The opportunity for intelligent discourse on the subject will be largely diminished, in my opinion.

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Can you people please stop calling him a cyclist and a bike courier?

He was NOT a bike courier (recently quit his job as one) and he was NOT a cyclist when he got off his bike and grabbed onto the car.

Technically he was a pedestrian, but he was also not walking - he was a clinging person, not walking or having to dodge/get out of the way of a moving car...only trees and mailboxes.

Perhaps in the same situation I wouldn't have crossed traffic and ran the guy into a bunch of trees and mailboxes...

...but had I hung onto somebody's car I probably would have let go before being driven into a city mailbox.

Though neither party seems to be innocent and a person lost his life...and that life would not had been lost if the driver of the car had not rammed the deceased into a bunch of trees and a city mailbox, my condolences only go out to the friends and family of the deceased, and not the deceased himself.

Darwinism at its finest. YHWH must be glad that guy's not spreading his seed around anymore.

Perhaps it's a bit harsh to suggest that the guy deserved it, but the reaction of Michael Bryant was entirely understandable. Had he left his car, he may have been injured (bike couriers, even those recently unemployed as such spend their days working out after all) or his car may have been damaged. Self Defense is certainly arguable and should be considered before being dismissed as merely an explanation of convenience.

I understand that a man lost his life where it could have been avoided, but intent must be proven before the culpable can realistically be villainized.

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Perhaps it's a bit harsh to suggest that the guy deserved it, but the reaction of Michael Bryant was entirely understandable. Had he left his car, he may have been injured (bike couriers, even those recently unemployed as such spend their days working out after all) or his car may have been damaged.

I thought you didn't want anyone calling him a bike courier?

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the reaction of Michael Bryant was entirely understandable. Had he left his car, he may have been injured (bike couriers, even those recently unemployed as such spend their days working out after all) or his car may have been damaged.

[color:purple]i'm glad the car escaped unscathed. imagine if it was damaged in this incident!!

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Putting the tragedy of the death aside for a second (though not to belittle it in any way), it will be too bad if it turns out that this cyclist was a drunk hothead who liked to stir things up. That will only add fuel to the fire for ignorant drivers who think that all cyclists are dangerous nuisances who should not be on the road.

Aren't they though? I see countless traffic violations made by cyclists every day on my commute to work. The informed cyclist that actually walks his or her bike on the sidewalk is in the vast minority, and I applaud them.

And I'm saying this as a pedestrian. At least I can reasonably predict the behaviour of an automobile and I've never seen one driving on the sidewalk. It's the cyclists that scare me.

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I empathize with this story deeply because I bike extensively in the summer and frankly in terms of aggressive biking, rules of the road etc. I take a lot liberties as most intense riders do. I was also a couple blocks away from where it happened where another cyclist had gone down and suffered a bad head injury (pooled blood, very out of it) that threw me. I do almost always where a helmet though and find the whole courier attitude that helmets are bullshit totally contemptable.

As far as Bryant and his behaviour in this particular incident it's really hard to gauge despite the huge media lens. That may be the problem there is just such a glut of coverage from every perspective it's easy to be sentimentalised or swayed by much of the coverage depending on your bias. His life is definitely never going to be the same again. I would also have liked if he had to go through bail court unshaven and been in general holding like anyone else but that wasn't to be.

His hiring of the PR company while exhibiting 'dubious tact' was likely entirely necessary as this was one situation he could not spin.

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Putting the tragedy of the death aside for a second (though not to belittle it in any way)' date=' it will be too bad if it turns out that this cyclist was a drunk hothead who liked to stir things up. That will only add fuel to the fire for ignorant drivers who think that all cyclists are dangerous nuisances who should not be on the road.[/quote']

Aren't they though? I see countless traffic violations made by cyclists every day on my commute to work. The informed cyclist that actually walks his or her bike on the sidewalk is in the vast minority, and I applaud them.

And I'm saying this as a pedestrian. At least I can reasonably predict the behaviour of an automobile and I've never seen one driving on the sidewalk. It's the cyclists that scare me.

Countless violations made by cyclists, sure. But you would also see countless violations made by drivers if you were looking for them: speeding, illegal lane changes, turning without looking for bikes, etc. Drivers love to point out the flaws in the way cyclists ride, but let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

As for cyclists on the sidewalk, that is generally uncool, but does not warrant the wrath of angry drivers.

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cyclists in the city have this sense of entitlement that makes me sick. and i'm not talking about the person who uses his bike to commute to work. i'm talking about the people that think cycling is a "culture". they are scum.

a large portion of these goons have this bullshit sense of entitlement and have far more "rage" than any driver.

bryant was in a convertable, totally exposed and had some crazy drunk goon hanging onto his car. no way i would have stopped. not in a million years.

anyway, he will get the charges dropped...not only because he is not wrong in his actions, but mostly because he is rich and powerful. good for him.

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Countless violations made by cyclists, sure. But you would also see countless violations made by drivers if you were looking for them: speeding, illegal lane changes, turning without looking for bikes, etc. Drivers love to point out the flaws in the way cyclists ride, but let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Almost every cyclist I see on my bus/walk to work is breaking a traffic law - riding on the sidewalk, going through red lights, ignoring stop signs, going the wrong way down a one-way street. In the past two days I saw ONE cyclist walking her bike on the sidewalk.

The other day I almost got taken out by a cyclist on the sidewalk who nearly clipped me as I got off the back of the bus.

I really do think that, in general, drivers are more conscious of the risk they pose to pedestrians. Cyclists seem to have an "I'll do what I want" attitude which is really ugly and does nothing to further the cause of road safety.

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