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Michael Bryants Road Rage

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Michael Bryants Road Rage
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flag daviswebb
Posted: Sep 2, 2009 at 13:59 Quote
As many of you know, bicycle courier Darcy Allan Sheppard was killed this week by former Ontario AG Michael Bryant. I wanted to see some discussion of this incident and to maybe track it here, if its appropriate.

What happened? I have been to a number of sites and blogs piecing together the details. Apparently there was an altercation (read, car probably cut off cyclist) which lead Sheppard to pursue the Saab that Bryant was driving. There are numerous dents on the side of the Saab, indicating that there was impact between cycle and car. Sheppard had apparently been drinking and there was a police call an hour or two earlier to deal with him, although no charges had been layed. So we have a drunk Courier, probably at the end of his wits with Toronto drivers, acting out pretty badly.

Bryant now had the cyclist holding onto his car, refusing to let go, possibly grabbing for the steering wheel. Instead of stopping his vehicle or calling for help, Bryant apparently crossed to the opposite lane and began bashing the courier against mailboxes and trees to try to shake him free. Whether Bryant was panicked about a possible assault from a drunken cyclist , or acting on his impulses to kill when threatened, the result was that he succeeded in smashing the cyclist into a mailbox. Sheppard apparently hit the mailbox and then landed on the pavement, Bryants rear tires then ran the body over. Sheppard was pronounced dead at St. Michaels hospital with numerous head injuries.

This whole incident has several levels of interpretation. The first is that grabbing onto a car and letting it yank you along is suicidal. But we dont know, maybe Sheppard got stuck on the vehicle somehow. Although reports suggest that he threw his courier bag onto Bryants car, and it seems, at this point, that Sheppard was harassing Bryant and threatening his safety. I cant condone this action.

The next level of interpretation is that Bryant weaponized his vehicle, and used it to fight back at the assailent. This in itself has 2 levels of interpretation, 1. what did Bryant do that made Sheppard so angry that he decided to pursue the vehicle, and 2. why did Bryant elect to use his car as a weapon? Surely he could have stopped his car, whipped out a cell phone and yelled for help? Why did he resort to manslaughter to end the incident?

The third level of interpretation is the brewing war between cyclists and motorists, in fact, the war between cyclists and motorists/pedestrians. The casuaties of such a war are almost always cyclists. Its the worship of the 2 ton gasoline guzzler vs people powered transport which lies at the root of this issue. As a cyclist who rides all over Toronto, Toronto is truly the Gehanna of cycling and I have many near misses each month. This third level of interpretation pushes us toward bike lanes and a swap in mentality in urban transport.

I would like to see some discussion of this issue, if you find it as compelling as I do. Alongside the terrifying Ottawa incident last month, where a whole team of cyclists were flattened by an apparently drunk Vietnamese man, even though they were in a bike lane, it really is worthwhile to make sense of these problems. Or do I just move to Vancouver, where there is REAL interest in making the city bike friendly?

Yes there are bike lanes in Toronto. But try to use them if you will. I had to go from St. Clair and Yonge to Dufferin and Highway 7. Once you are north of the horrifying 401/Yonge Street death crossing (Avenue Road although safer is just as unnerving), you are sidewalk riding. Unless you have cabales the size of melons, no person in their right mind will continue up Dufferin north of Finch on the road.

Thoughts?
flag daviswebb
Posted: Sep 2, 2009 at 14:09 Quote
http://en.video.canoe.tv/video/news/across-canada/1896809958/former-ont-cabinet-minister-held-in-fatal-accident/36499442001

For details.
flag gordonshred
O+ FL
Posted: Sep 2, 2009 at 14:44 Quote
First I would like to say that drinking and riding a bike is bad combination. Booze effects both your balance and your judgement, both of which you need while riding a bike.

Second, picking a fight is always a bad idea and almost always ends badly.

I don't know who initiated the confrontation between these two men, but either way it is a reminder to all that most of the time it is better to respond passively to an aggressive person.
flag FlyingFish
Posted: Sep 2, 2009 at 14:55 Quote
as much as i hate to say it riding in the road is suicidal, if you do it you are at risk of things like this happening. There really isnt anything we can do about it. There will never be more cyclists than motorists. So who has the upper hand there? Thats about all there is to it.
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