Taxi Driver Severs Cyclists' Leg in Violent Hit-and-Run

An eye for an eye, a leg for a leg.

As a cyclist who has been knocked off by irresponsible drivers on more than one occasion ( and who have just walked away without so much as a claim against their insurance ), I was shocked and sickened by this article.

Many drivers on the roads really should not be allowed to wield the power....

This guy SHOULD have the book thrown at him, but I doubt he will.

I bike to work (when I can work, another story) in the summer.

I may not be the brighest bulb in the deck, but I do know better than to start a fight with someone in a 3K pound auto.

Take the plate data and call the police - cell phones are safer.

And please don't anoy me with "cyclists rights" The only thing that matters is "right of weigh" - to think otherwise is a form of derangement.

YMMV.

A car should be treated as a deadly weapon. Those who use it to injure (or who just drive so stupidly and inattentively) should be treated as someone who is an endangerment to society. They should no longer be able to drive and there should be some hefty legal ramifications.

Man that's sad.
Sorry to here it.

unfortunately as a cyclist i see idiot cyclists all the time. as a driver as well i get annoyed and frustrated when i hear about cyclists rights.

If you cycle you need to stick to the rules of the road. as most cyclists don't always, me included, i know that drivers get annoyed. there should be a standard test for cyclists the same as for drivers and motorcyclists. we use the same roads.

if cyclists followed the rules drivers would not get so angry when small incidence happen and do what is obviously an act of madness that deserves serious jail time be given.

Inexcusable. Even if the cabbie was "getting robbed" - you drive away. You don't back into the guy pinning the guy's leg against a pole, and you damn sure don't wait 3 hours to call the cops. Thankfully there's in cab video so perhaps we'll get the real story.

My bet is road rage and the 3 hours were for creating "injuries" to fit his story. Attempted murder charges need to follow.

Hey Don,
Where is the part of the article that said the cyclist started the fight? I must have missed it.

I don't understand. I walk and bike to work and home. On the bad days (feeling sick, longer than usual hours) I take a cab home. I'm regular business for the cab company. It's around 12 dollars for me plus tip to get home. I don't do it every week but it's cheaper than owning a car by far.

Does the cab driver not understand that he's just alienated a whole sector of potential business?

I hope he spends a long time in jail learning some anger management!

I started riding 500 miles a week to and from work on a bicycle about three months ago in Houston. Two general observations:

1. Almost all cars, trucks, and SUVs are lavishly excessive in size. There is no need for such excess, except for the fact that you are trying to protect yourself from people in other big vehicles. Despite the cost of fuel, I would rather that my wife and kids are in the biggest, heaviest SUV on the road, and such is the "Tragedy of the Commons" from a safety perspective. Being on a bicycle is all about minute-to-minute survival, because most city planners do not consider this mode, and bikes simply do not fit on the road next to a Hummer or Dodge Ram. Talk about bicycle rights with these people - not with the general public who could care less about whether bicyclists live or die.

2. The law is too lenient on offending vehicle drivers. Driving a car is a huge responsibility and based on all the idiots that I see everyday, I don't believe that the majority of licensed drivers are mature enough for it. I think a police officer should have the authority to yank someone's license and impound their vehicle on the spot based on subjective observations. You do not have the right to drive - you are licensed to drive!!!

Sorry Mike, I thought my use of Standard English was up to the post

"but I do know better than to start a fight with someone in a 3K pound auto."

I missed the part where I said anything about the cyclist starting a fight.

The article (In Canadian English, eh?) seemed plain
" a cyclist had a loud argument with a cab driver "

Last I checked, it takes two to fight. When I have a run in with an auto driver, I walk (or ride away) and file a report with the police. That was the whole "take the plate data" thing, eh

SInce the area where I live allows conceled carry without a permit - it seems the smarter thing to do, and in any case, when a yob is driving something that can kill you as dead as a shotgun, it just doesn't pay to argue.

So, to recap for you Mike
Cars are big, you are not
Right of weight trumps so-called cyclists rights
Argue with a bozo in an auto while on foot/bike, etc, and you risk a loss of life - yours.
It's that whole you can be right, dead right I caught onto some time back.

Ok, I think that covers it. And I hope that clears things up for you. Thanks for reading the post - I'll spend a bit more time on the edit before my next post to ensure no confusion, eh?

indeed,

cars should be treated as deadly weapons. weapons that kill over a million per year, globally, not even including deaths from pollution or oil wars.

Brian...TX,
You ride 500 miles/week?? For commuting??
Is that even possible? 50 or 41 miles each way?
Is there even time?

I do 110 miles in the 5 day week.
I have realized, it's just a damm commute, it is not worth my life. I let a lot more people go than I used to. The ride is more enjoyable. Get the workout in where possible, let the idiots go everyplace else.

Even pedestrians can cause a lot of damage. I just react to what they're doing. They don't listen to horns, bells, or swear words.

Good Luck,

vsk

Would this not be considered attempted murder? This goes far beyond aggravated assault. I hope the cabbie is sentenced for life.

This is truly inexecusable on the part of the driver and tragic for the victim.

But on the discussion of tensions between drivers and cyclists I must add, that not all drivers are bad just as not all cyclists are good. I consider myself a good driver. As an example, I triple check before making a right turns to ensure no cyclists (in addition to pedestrians) have approached during my wait to make my turn. There have been a fewtimes too many where I'm in the clear, begun making my turn to suddenly find a cylcist approaching and trying to beat me to the punch. That's as bad as a driver in the outer lane trying to make a right turn from the outer lane to beat the bus in the inner lane, which I've allso witnessed.

Driving/Cycling eitquette, common courtesy and common sense needs to be improved on both sides.

If everyone in the world rides electric bike, that didn't happened. God bless.

I don't like this phrase, "A cyclist may be wrong to get angry..."

A cyclist has every right to get angry (I am right now), they need to be vigilant, careful and smart at the same time though.

This tragedy is upsetting, and without more details we cannot know who started the fight. But we know who ended it and how, and it was absolutely wrong. We all need to be angry about this and be mindful that it's not you next time, despite our anger.

"unfortunately as a cyclist i see idiot cyclists all the time. as a driver as well i get annoyed and frustrated when i hear about cyclists rights." - Anonymous

Why is it that every article about a cyclist seriously injured or killed always nets some people who say see, this is why cyclists shouldn't have rights, even on a "eco friendly" forum such as this. Some cyclists do need to chill out or behave better, don't get me wrong, but this is about using a vehicle intentionally as a f*#king deadly weapon here. This is inexcusable.

Even if the cyclist was a would be robber, that doesn't suddenly make potentially deadly force okay. If someone grabs your wallet on the street and you pull a gun and shoot, you better believe you are in trouble too even if they survive.

I am a cyclist and see bad behavior from cyclists all the time.

You have to STICK TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD and stay OUT OF THE WAY from passing cars. Today I saw two cyclists riding on the line that divides the bike lane from the car lane. Why? Why couldn't they ride in the center of the bike lane?

This is a very sad story, but arguing with someone that is behind a wheel is like confronting a person with a firearm. Are you willing to lose your life? My father always said, better to be alive than right.

Car Drivers should drive the car carefully the shoul understan there are some more poeple or vehicles running on the road

> How about doing something to reduce those tensions.

How about cyclists stick to pedestrian zones where they belong and stay off of roads where they're a hazard to cars and traffic.

Lets remember this is Toronto and there are lots of crazy people everywhere, I ride my bike everyday and always try to stay away from cars. One day I was driving and stoped at a stop sign in front of Ryerson U. Now you expect a cyclist to be on your right side close to the sidewalk but as I was about to go through the intersection someone on my left side shouted make up your damn mind, apperently stopping at the stop sign was too much for this cyclist. My window was open and I said I m sorry its a stop sign, all of a sudden this guy tried to punch me now I had too small kids in the car and my instinct was to speed away, but as I tried this guy apperently caught the handle of the door where my 1 year old son was, I slammed on the brakes and the guy fell, now security showed up right away and started asking me why did I do that, I pointed out that guy has tried to attack me and he went for my kids door, police showed up and guy confessed what he had done. My kids are still scared by what this idiot has done. I myself have been cut of, hit by a car, but every time I was polite and we shook hands, guy that hit me even paid for the damage. Now if the guy has used his common sense and let it go he would have his leg still attached to the rest of his body, as for the cabbie they are under so much pressure they get robbed all the time so this probably sent him over the edge and its gonna hunt him forever. If people treated each other with a bit of respect we wouldn't be reading about this.

The city I live in (Canberra, ACT, Australia), is putting in clearly marked bike lanes, especially at intersections. Lots of road markings, mini-lanes for bikes in certain areas, and specially marked crossings at busy areas where there might be some ambiguity about the best place to cross or join traffic. Sorry to hear about the leg. Not good at all.

Why is it that every time there is an article about a cyclist getting injured that car drivers feel that is their cue to rant about "lawbreaking cyclists".

I've yet to meet a person who didn't break multiple laws each and every time they got behind the wheel of a car. And in most cases, just like this one, it's completely irrelevant to the article.

Having been knocked off my bike on several occasions, I'm not suprised the cabbie (allegedly) tried to lie his way out of the situation. Two of the motorists who knocked me down tried to lie too.

blimey, that's horrid.

I'm going to Toronto for Christmas (Mrs B is a Torontonian). Having ridden there on several occasions I can say that this is not representative of cycling in Toronto. Canadians are more likely to apologise to you than start an arguement (unlike in Brussels, London or New York, Hong Kong, Beijing or Singapore, other places that I have had interesting times riding through)

I do hope the driver gets the book thrown at him but in all honesty don't believe that he thought "I'm gonna kill this guy", but then perhaps that's because I can't bring myself to think it.

"How about cyclists stick to pedestrian zones where they belong and stay off of roads where they're a hazard to cars and traffic."

It would seem this poster has no idea about the rules of the road. Bikes have every right to the road. Perhaps Tarin Summers should go to remedial driving school before he/she gets behind the wheel of a 3 tonne death machine again.

Instead of having painted bike lanes we should have dedicated bike lanes installed downtown with concrete medians to keep cars out of the bike lanes as they do in Europe. Every day when I ride I see cars parked or stopped in the bike lane and I have been hit when forced to swerve around a car stopped in a bike lane.

I'm sorry... is this an article?

Article's usually attempt to maintain an air of impartiality, which this does not.

I'm not saying I believe the Cabbie's story, but I'd like to see more info than this before I jump to a conclusion based on thin details and my previously held beliefs (which no offense, I believe most of the rest of you are doing).

I just moved out of dowtown Toronto, and the cyclists are to be honest not that well behaved. Neither are the taxis really but cyclists need to follow the rules also. I have nearly hit cyclists who charge up the right side or go between lanes.

I'm not saying I believe the Cabbie's story

I don't care if his story is true or not. I can't personally think of a situation that would make it reasonable self defense to run someone down (of course assuming that the pinning of the leg was an unintended side-effect) unless a gun or knife was involved and there seems no sign of that.

Instead of having painted bike lanes we should have dedicated bike lanes installed downtown with concrete medians to keep cars out of the bike lanes as they do in Europe

don't give us too much credit :-)
Some areas of some countries do have good allowance for bikes, but not by any means all and aggression between car drivers and cyclists (both ways) is a hot topic over here aswell.

Bomber,

All I know is that its a joy to ride in cities such as Amsterdam or Paris where bikes have separate lanes which cars cannot access.

I'm not saying auto-cycle realtions are any better or worse in countries other than Canada; I'm saying that at least some forward thinking European municipalities are doing something about it.

As a person who was struck by a taxi last year, resulting in a broken ankle, I can attest to the somewhat reckless attitude drivers, specifically cab drivers have on the road towards pedestrians and cyclists. Black box recording devices would be extremely helpful in my opinion.

Unlike truckers or UPS/Fed Ex delivery vans, taxi's have a mandate to get passengers to local destinations as quickly as they can. That is not to say that all cab drivers are reckless, but their job description and the means by which they attain more money for their labour, can facilitate this kind of situation and many others, which can then result in injuries and fatal or near-fatal accidents.

I hate Hippies.. What a horribly written article.

I dunno if this is a certain canadian cultural blindness of mine, but I dont walk (or bike) around with my head down, fearful that some deranged idiot with a weapon is going to attack me and sever my leg. Right of Weigh is not the code by which ordinary people in Toronto conduct themselves, argument or no argument. I live downtown, I bike everywhere. I see alot. People disagree on the road, and sometimes they get in each others faces as people do everywhere. But expletives and raised voices are pretty much the worst it ever gets.

Sometimes drivers turn into me, cut me off, veer into my space and I dare ( can you believe!) to rap on the car window to call attention to their carelessness. More than half the time I get an apolgetic wave. Rarely, I get the finger. Never had a gun pointed at me.

Whats next, I complain about spilled coffee in a restaurant and the waitress throws the pot in my face ??? Should I never ever say anything to anyyone just in case they are a a violent whackjob primed to blow??? To imply that the cyclist was at fault for being attacked because he dared open his mouth to a guy in a vehicle makes about as much sense.

The problem is not law abiding bike riders or law abiding motorists.
It's the bike riders who cannot make up their mind whether they are vehicles or pedestrians.
Countless times in Austin I have seen a bike nearly hit because they are at a stop light and suddenly decide "I'm a pedestrian" and speed onto the cross walk in front of a car that was turning with indicators on.
Just the other day my fathers car was hit by a guy on a moped who decided not only was he a pedestrian, but he could just turn and accelerate across a pedestrian crossing and not pay any attention to what the traffic was doing... he ended up in hospital with two citations.