Video of "Unsafe" Cyclists in Montgomery County

I was alerted to this video on the BikeWashington listserv. What it purports to be is a video of unsafe cyclists at an intersection in the Darnestown and Seneca areas. What it is, is a video of some cyclists, though not all, breaking the law - only a few of which are unsafe. Near the end is a peloton. If they were to line up, stop, look both ways and cross one at at time and ride no more than two abreast, drivers would be going absolutely insane, but that would be legal. At the end, the maker - our good friend [Name redacted at person's request] who stood up against speed cameras -  makes the false assertion that "Currently, if there is an accident the driver of the car is automatically assumed to be at fault." That has not been my experience (nor is it really how our criminal justice system works). If there were to be an accident, the cyclist would probably be dead or seriously injured. That's a little more significant that being falsely accused. [Name redacted at person's request] call for stepped up enforcement at this sleepy intersection and the impoundment of bikes for egregious violations. Wow. He's actually calling out for enforcement on cyclists to protect drivers (while opposing enforcing speeding against drivers - despite what the facts tell us about the risks of each). Who hurt you [Name redacted at person's request]? I'm just...befuddled.
 

Comments

[Mark]

You either have to be highly motivated or highly crazy to stand on that corner all day long shooting cyclists, then taking the trouble to go home, edit, and post that footage to Youtube. The videographer's comments and heavy breathing leads me to believe he was pitching a tent every time a cyclist rolled through the intersection.

WashCycle is correct in that there is not much unsafe behavior here. However, consistently ignoring the rule-of-the-road tends to bite cyclists' in the ass in other, less visible ways. Like in the jury box when it's the word of the driver against the word of the cyclist. Or when asking that a road include a bike lane or wide shoulder.

[Washcycle]

Yeah, the reputation cyclists have works against us in the public realm. I kind of think the most realistic way to fix this is to get more people to bike.

[angdis]

What on earth could propel someone to start a crusade like that? Did something happen to him?

[Dave]

I think I saw this guy a few Sundays ago videotaping the intersection of Piney Meetinghouse Rd and Glen Rd in Potomac. He was standing on the corner in front of an SUV, camera in hand. There was no "death to cyclists" sign anywhere, so I wasn't sure who/what he was really after. He did have something funny on his T-shirt, like "SECURITY" or such. It reminded me of the folks who videotape the day laborers in front of a Home Depot.

If only bicycles were the number one road hazard - MoCo should be so beautiful.

[angdis-bb]

Based on his language in the youtube messages, I suspect this "crusade" is a proxy for some deep-seated personal issues that are unrelated to traffic. The repetition, the emphasis on extreme punishment (confiscation-- really?), the unyielding adherence to the "letter of the law", all of these things suggest someone who has personal problems and can't deal with them.

[Washcycle]

The funny thing is, when I saw the title I was ready for the worst. We've all seen some boneheaded cycling and I was ready for a 'worst of' video that I would have to point out wasn't representative. But this video...often you have cyclists and drivers communicating and negotiating - pretty much the ideal. And the irony that he (a) is annoyed that his video can't be used to write tickets and (b) showed up to a meeting to protest speed cameras, is just too much.

[Eric_W.]

Let's all get our cameras and shoot unsafe behavior of car drivers.

Then we post it and ask for impounding cars when they do not stop at stop signs, make a turn without signaling or double park or whatever.

That should be entertaining as well.

[Eric_W.]

I just cannot watch the whole thing but the 2 minutes I watched is actually a nice display of how cars and bikes interact together in an effective manner. Cars waving bikers through, general good will abounds.

This guy is obviously saddled with some issues that neither speed cameras nor bikers have anything to do with. Let's just hope he does not have access to guns.

[Eric_W.]

washcycle, can we please have an edit feature? If only for the first three minutes after a post so things like intercat do not have to stand for eternity?

There is a lot more to say about that video but it seems rather uneventful to me.

[Washcycle]

I don't think typepad allows that. But if you really want a comment edited, email me the corrected comment and I can fix it. I've commented on other blogs and wished I could edit them, so I know your pain.

[ibc]

Brilliant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGA3YhfsHhY

[SJE]

I am struck by the video of the cyclist waiting at the stop sign, signalling the car to pass him. Oh, the horror!

[Kristen]

We had a guy like this in Portland, OR-- His video showed clearly that while not all bikes stop at stop signs, 90% of them do. But he was claiming that all bikes don't stop.

Eventually, he got frustrated with people calling him out on his bias and pointing out that his video doesn't show all bikes breaking the law like he was claiming, so he took it down while claiming that he was getting threats over it.

[MB]

Yeah, Reardon's got issues. I left a comment suggesting that he go out for a bike ride sometime. He then sent me a message to let me know that "I have 4 cars with over 400 hp each and a enduro bike ... but I stop at stop signs ..."

Nah, no compensation issue there. None at all.

[Mark]

"I have 4 cars with over 400 hp each and a enduro bike ... but I stop at stop signs ..."

So know we know why he really hates speed cameras.

Even acknowledging this guy or answering him will only encourage him. I imagine law enforcement detests these cop-wannabes even more than we do.

Thanks for sharing his quote.

[Eric_W.]

*lol*

This guy is special! I stop at stop signs too. Just not all the time. His message is worthless if he wants to create the impression that he is complying with the stop sign law at all times. I guarantee you that he does not come to a full stop at each and every stop signs as he wants riders to do.

This guy is good for a few days of light entertainment for us here but think of the people who have to interact with him on a regular basis. Oh boy!

[pwned]

I suspect this "crusade" is a proxy for some deep-seated personal issues that are unrelated to traffic.

ha ha, crusade dude got pwned