Hypothetical car-bike interaction - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

06-16-2004, 07:17 AM

Let's say that, hypothetically, a late model blue Chrysler Sebring
sedan with Colorado plates 335IER is traveling in the passing lane of
a busy, downtown 4-lane street when the driver (blond female
caucasian, about 30 years old) merges right into the "slow" lane to
pass because 30 mph is too slow for her in this 25 mph zone. Let's
also say, hypothetically, that a cyclist on a red mountain bike
wearing jeans and bright red jacket is right in the spot that our
imaginary motorist is merging into. The cyclist is in the middle of
this slow lane to avoid the door zone, probably traveling close to 20
mph. There's really nowhere for the cyclist to go, so he kicks this
hypothetical blue Sebring with his hypothetically cleated MTB shoe and
leaves a hypothetical dent in the door. The MTBer immediately makes a
right turn and escapes down an imaginary side alley and into the
rabbit hole he goes.

Let's say that I witnessed this hypothetical interaction from a half
block behind.

Do I hypothetically know the identity of this ficitious MTBer? Was the
MTBer in our story merely acting, hypothetically, in self-defense? Or
is he guilty of assault? Do I take the blue pill and believe whatever
I want to believe? Or do I take the red pill and see how deep the
rabbit hole goes?

RFM