Road Rage!
I was recently given a video that really frightened me.
Anger, impatience, and intolerance seems to be a theme on the roads with many people. The video below really hits that point.
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Mark Ewell Bicycle Rant
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I know how frustrating it gets when you get stuck behind slow traffic, slow drivers, slow trucks, slow tractors, not to mention road construction, traffic jams and the plethora of other obstacles that we encounter on our daily commute. The question is:
“What is it about cyclists that creates so much rage and hostility towards our community among drivers?”
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Road Rage
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As an effort to hold responsible the individuals showing so much hostility in these two videos, I notified several organizations.
With respect to the first video, I contacted the local Sheriff and the Colorado Springs police. I also wrote Paul Day at CBS news in Denver Colorado and contacted Brian Weiss, a prominent bicycle attorney here in Denver. With my efforts, and the efforts of the cycling community, the authorities are currently investigating. The day after these contacts were made, Mark Ewell, the man who filmed this video, removed the video from his Facebook page and submitted an apology to the cycling community both on his page, and on Westword, the publication that created so much attention in the first place. The video above was captured by some savvy cyclist by filming his TV monitor with a camcorder so that the video evidence would not be lost.
The second video was filmed by me. While I was on a ride up to Evergreen testing my new video equipment, this video was captured. I contacted the Jefferson County Sheriff and made a report. I was surprised by the cooperativeness of Deputy Ryan Blankenheim and his efforts to help me identify the license plate and his diligence in investigating the driver and passenger. I also spoke with CBS news Denver with Paul Day and was interviewed. Paul also interviewed the defendants, Cheryl and Erick Witaschek. The story can be found here. I spoke with the prosecuting attorney and was asked to what degree I felt that the driver should be punished. She explained that the minimum penalty would be a fine and a lost license and the maximum penalty would be jail time. I explained to her that a slap on the wrist was enough and not to seek jail time. The passenger, Erick, was also fined. The specific amounts are unknown.
As a community, we must remain vigilant. Communication must be open. And, we must do our best to educate cyclists on safe cycling practices. We also need to do our best to educate non-cyclists about our laws (wrt bikes) and why we ride the way we ride.
My job is to make bike videos, but, I want to be more helpful. I have a considerable resource at my disposal. You!
We need to join together, as a community and help each other out. We need to stand up together and say that we will not be harassed, intimidated or made to feel frightened. Please join me in this effort. If you have friends who ride, forward them this email so that we can stay in touch and work together.