Tripleshot Cycling

At 8:24 this morning an old brown pickup with dual wheels at the back and extremely wide wing mirrors was tailgating a newer white SUV right by Cordova Bay Elementary. I heard someone honking impatiently as they approached. When the pickup passed me it clipped my shoulder, either intentionally, or negligently because the guy was following the SUV too closely and didn't see me in time. Fortunately, I stayed rubber side down and the shoulder's just a little stiff. Thanks, Kate, for the Clif Bar to help me digest the adrenaline.

I had dropped from the first group on the run into Mattick's, so was unfortunately between groups at the time. But I'd appreciate a statement from anyone who happened to see either the incident or any other "behaviour" from the truck in question. If he'd come from Royal Oak, he should have passed everyone who was out this morning at some point.

Please PM me before Tuesday if you can help. I got the licence plate and it sounds like they found the guy, so it's just a matter of gathering what evidence is available.

Hope you are doin well today Rolf. I want you to know that I am 100% in your corner on this one.

I am so not down with neglegence and aggression from drivers on the roads. It is a huge responsibility driving a large motorized vehicle on public roads and our system typically lets almost anyone do it...with little testing and almost no follow up in most cases.

In my opinion, there is not enough responsibility placed on the average driver. Hence the term 'accident'. Most 'accidents' are incompetence, negligence or just deliberate. Most 'accidents' are totally avoidable.

It sickens me to know that if the driver had hit and killed you (sorry for the personal example ), that driver would be able to say that it was an 'accident' and get off scott free. Maybe a $190 fine.

So what can we do? I ask everyone that reads this post to stop refering to Motor Vehicle Incidents as 'accidents'. Please use the term MVI or Crash or Collision. 'Accident' just lets negligent drivers off the hook...in my opinion.

Rooks
Former Certified Driving Instructor
Current Acute Care Nurse