Quote :

"Categories: Breaking News, Cycling, Editors' Picks, Portland Elsewhere The cultural clash between Portland bicyclists and motorists took a surreal turn Sunday night when a motorist involved in a confrontation with a cyclist turned out to be a longtime advocate for cycling. Colin Yates, 47, was driving with his wife and two teenagers in his family's green Subaru Legacy when he saw a bicyclist pass him on the left and blow through a stoplight on Southeast 20th Avenue at Belmont Street. Yates continued driving north on 20th Avenue, through another intersection, until he caught up with the bicyclist. Yates honked his horn, leaned out his window, and chided the bicyclist for making other cyclists look bad. Yates, a self-described bike advocate for more than 30 years, told the bicyclist that he was a responsible bike rider who gets upset when he sees fellow riders disobeying traffic signals. Traffic continued to flow, and the cyclist and Yates both continued north on Southeast 20th, until they were stopped at a red light at Stark Street. The bicyclist rode up to the driver's window. Yates described the man to police as "irritated and aggravated." The cyclist was cursing at Yates and yelled at him to get out of the car. "Let's go! You want to go?" the bicyclist shouted, challenging Yates to a fight. By now, the bicyclist, Steven McAtee, 31, was off his wheels. Yates said McAtee picked up his bike and wielded it like a weapon, smashing it against the Subaru's hood and windshield. Yates stepped from his car and told McAtee to back off. McAtee turned on Yates. He lifted his bike above his shoulders and struck Yates with it, Yates said. Yates tried to use his hands to block the blows and then ducked back into his car and attempted to leave. But McAtee got in front of the Subaru and repeatedly struck the vehicle with his bike, Yates said. Yates stepped from his car again and was struck five to seven more times with McAtee's bicycle, police reports say. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a passer-by knocked McAtee to the ground with one punch. And, as fast as McAtee hit the ground, nearly a dozen people -- many bicyclists who were riding by and noticed the commotion -- swarmed around Yates, shoving cell phone cameras about a foot from his face and accusing him of roughing up the bicyclist. To make matters worse, a 9-1-1 call that came in at 10:10 p.m. was relayed to officers as: "Car hit bicycle, and people yelling." Officers found a confusing scene when they arrived. About 25 to 30 people were gathered, and police described the atmosphere as hostile towards the motorist. Some witnesses were afraid to speak up for Yates. One witness on a bicycle told police he didn't want to make a statement at the scene because of the "thugs and bad folks" here, according to the police report. He later talked to police by phone and gave an account that backed up Yates' story. It turns out, police say bicyclist McAtee was both drunk and in the wrong. And he's a city employee. He works for Portland's transportation department as a building plan examiner. McAtee was charged with third-degree assault, criminal mischief, driving under the influence of intoxicants and disorderly conduct. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Police said Yates, who set out the next day on a move to Colorado, had an imprint of a bike chain on his left forearm and grease stains on his shoulder. News of Sunday night's confrontation circulated quickly among officers and reached Officer Robert Pickett, the bureau's unofficial liaison between police and Portland's biking community. "It's almost kind of quintessentially a Portland thing," Pickett said, after reading the police reports. Pickett, who said he works to bridge the gap between motorists and cyclists, called the alleged assault and subsequent witness reaction unfortunate. "It's too bad there's an 'us vs. them' dynamic," Pickett said. He asked that witnesses who approach such a scene call police but not rush to get involved. "We ask them to be a good witness and not jump to conclusions." -- Maxine Bernstein; 503-221-8212; maxinebernstein@news.oregonian.com"

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/07/angry_bicyclists_gang_up_on_th.html

7/14/2008 4:20:49 PM

we should segregate all the angry people.

7/14/2008 4:26:52 PM

There was an article yesterday about how Portland was the bike-friendliest city in the U.S.

Nice self-pwning, Mr. angry drunk government-employed bicyclist guy

7/14/2008 4:28:11 PM

Quote :

"he saw a bicyclist pass him on the left and blow through a stoplight on Southeast 20th Avenue at Belmont Street"

thats one of my main peeves about bicyclists sharing the roads...I'll be glad to share the roads, but you have to follow the same rules that automobile drivers follow, like STOP LIGHTS

7/14/2008 4:32:01 PM

This should serve as a notice to all those who think they can take on cyclist just because they wear spandex that there is still a good chance that you could get fucked up.

7/14/2008 5:08:15 PM

haha oops!

there's an old lady in town who rides her bike everywhere, every day, and always on the wrong side of the road. i want to stop and tell her she's riding on the wrong side, she needs to ride w/ traffic, but she's done it that way for forever so i bet she wouldn't care. she's really old...it's scary to see her riding a bike in the road

[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 5:16 PM. Reason : ]

7/14/2008 5:15:21 PM

Here in the south.... spandex wearing pedal pumpers would catch a hot one for some shit like that

[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 5:23 PM. Reason : n]

7/14/2008 5:22:41 PM

^^^i personally am plenty courteous to cyclists (i live right near a big bike route that people ride on every day) but when i have a multi thousand pound piece of metal surrounding me, i'm not too worried about a bicyclist fucking me up, spandex or not

7/14/2008 5:25:37 PM

Quote :

"driving under the influence of intoxicants"

I am sorry but i think it is bullshit that you are charged with a DUI for riding a bicycle drunk. Biking after drinking should definitely be against the law but it is assnine to charge a violator with the same charge as someone driving a 4000 lb SUV 100mph through a neighborhood. If nothing else a bike neither requires a license to operate or insurance.

But yeah that is one fucked up story.

7/14/2008 6:29:31 PM

so.. person on bike at .08 gets same charges as drunk guy in truck at .24

awesome system

7/14/2008 6:48:01 PM

^^
^

Yeah, just let them take care of themselves. Just hope they don't drag some innocent driver through the muck of determining blame, feeling guilty for killing someone, etc.

7/14/2008 6:54:41 PM

yep; this is true in NC as of 2 years ago also. You'd think MADD would encourage drunkers to bike as it might discourage some from driving. Then if they break the law while biking drunk they still get traffic violation or if driving in an unsafe manner some misdemeanor for biking while drunk.

As is though if really determined to go somewhere it is more beneficial to me to get behind the wheel then to bike. My odds of being passed by a cop are much higher since my drive time will be like 2 to 3 times longer.

I actually saw someone getting DUI on a bicycle in wrightsville beach.

7/14/2008 6:55:20 PM

Quote :

"This should serve as a notice to all those who think they can take on cyclist just because they wear spandex that there is still a good chance that you could get fucked up. "

Quote :

"Suddenly, out of nowhere, a passer-by knocked McAtee to the ground with one punch. "

Sounds like this faggot cyclist couldn't take on anything more than the hood of a Subaru and a man almost twice his age.

I'd like to see you get all big and bad on someone though, Chance.

7/14/2008 9:20:37 PM

I bet you would

7/14/2008 9:26:59 PM

People on the roads in Portland are all angry - I don't know why

7/14/2008 9:27:17 PM

^^I can think of several better ways to fuck up a road bike frame that don't involve assault charges.

7/14/2008 9:30:28 PM

I can't believe a bunch of people jumped in assuming it was the driver of the car at fault. People are such idiot's sometimes. Heaven forbid they make an effort to figure out what is going on before throwing a punch or accusing people of something serious.

7/14/2008 9:58:36 PM

group intelligence is inversely proportional to the number of people present at the gathering

7/14/2008 10:08:55 PM

This is why you keep a maglite/bat/whatever in your trunk

7/14/2008 10:23:19 PM

TOLD YALL THEY SHOULD USE THE SIDEWALKS

7/14/2008 11:41:18 PM

i live in Denver and bike to work everyday.

99.999% of bicyclists i see disobey all traffic lights and stop signs. (i don't) i have yet to find another bicyclist that does. it pisses me off.

[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 11:52 PM. Reason : .]

7/14/2008 11:50:08 PM

I think a drunk cyclist should be given a DUI but the penalty should be way less severe than that of someone driving a car or motorcycle. A drunk cyclist could easily swerve into the road, run a stop light, etc. and cause a car wreck.

7/15/2008 8:16:29 AM

A bicyclist is capable of 45mph...they could fuck up a pedestrian

7/15/2008 8:18:08 AM

Quote :

" Nice self-pwning, Mr. angry drunk government-employed bicyclist guy"

7/15/2008 8:19:50 AM

bicyclists want to share the road, but they want laxer DWI penalties when they drunkenly run the stoplights that only cars should have to pay attention to

7/15/2008 12:30:47 PM

I don't want to share the road. I want to own it. And if that means drunken stoplight running then so be it.

7/15/2008 12:34:41 PM

criminal mischeif...hahaha

7/15/2008 12:55:03 PM

Quote :

"This is why you keep a maglite/bat/whatever in your trunk center console."

[Edited on July 15, 2008 at 1:14 PM. Reason : ]

7/15/2008 1:14:24 PM

illicit shenanigans

7/15/2008 1:17:52 PM

Quote :

"I am sorry but i think it is bullshit that you are charged with a DUI for riding a bicycle drunk. "

it should depend on the situation. this guy was on the road, going through red lights- he should get a DUI. me riding a bike on the sidewalk to get home from a party, no DUI

7/15/2008 1:47:00 PM

wow. I had a cyclist go thru a 4 way stop (downtown) and cut me off while making a left last week. He came thru the intersection full speed just as I was about to go. I kindly stopped (although we probably wouldn't hit each other, just come really close and scare the crap outa each other...) and gave him the WTF look because he clearly failed to stop. Then, he made a right THRU a red light, not even slowing down, just going thru it. I didn't have any issue driving behind him (he kept up with traffic), but my god, follow the signs. One day, someones going to hit this little fucker...

7/15/2008 2:15:20 PM

I obey all traffic laws when I'm riding a bike, unless there's no one around, in which case I go all over the road

7/15/2008 2:22:41 PM

Quote :

"A bicyclist is capable of 45mph...they could fuck up a pedestrian"

a driver of a motorized vehicle is capable of 80+mph. Plus, there is much more mass involved in a vehicle-bicyclist collission than in a bicyclist-pedestrian collsion. A pedestrian still has a great chance of "walking away" with maybe a broken bone, lots of cuts and bruses. A vehicle hitting a bicyclist might be lucky to have just broken bones, cuts, and bruses (if they aren't killed...). Now most cars aren't going 80mph on the same roads as bicyclists. And most bicyclists aren't going 45 mph. So saying that they are capable of 45mph doesn't mean anything. If they are doing ~45mph, then they can responsibly share the road with a vehicle IF they can keep up with traffic and obey traffic laws along with EVERYONE else. Otherwise, if they are just cruising at like 10 or 15mph, they belong on the damn sidewalk. Besides, it's not like the sidewalks here are crowded as, lets say, New York City. If you can't keep up and obey traffic laws, GTFO the streets.

I don't know why bicyclists care so much to be on roads anyways. I mean, I don't trust having to share a road with some of these people, even when I'm in my own car. There's alot of idiots on the road, and I don't trust my life to someone else in that respect.

[Edited on July 15, 2008 at 2:45 PM. Reason : .]

7/15/2008 2:43:39 PM

180lbs hitting you at 45mph will fuck you up, no matter what physics you try to argue.

7/15/2008 2:51:31 PM

I'm just looking at it from a "damage control" perspective. The chance of someone dying from a 180lb hit is much less than that from the other scenario. I'm not saying it won't fuck someone up, I'm just saying it's least likely to be fatal.

7/15/2008 2:56:37 PM

i dont think anyone is arguing that getting hit by a drunk motorist isnt worse than getting run into by a drunk cyclist, but what if that cyclist swerves and causes other cars to swerve to miss the cyclist, and those cars hit other cars and people get killed? there was a big wreck on 485 the other day because some fucking geese were in the road and some lady swerved and slowed down and a 4-5 car pileup ensued...now i wouldve just hit the geese if it meant not getting in a wreck with other cars, but we cant very well just hit the cyclists can we

7/15/2008 3:56:43 PM

watch me...


jk.

7/15/2008 5:08:25 PM

Quote :

"i dont think anyone is arguing that getting hit by a drunk motorist isnt worse than getting run into by a drunk cyclist, but what if that cyclist swerves and causes other cars to swerve to miss the cyclist, and those cars hit other cars and people get killed?"

There are really two things to consider in my opinion.

1. Should it be illegal to ride a bike drunk. I consider this to be a topic that is worth debating. I think there are already laws regarding public drunkenness that are meant to protect both the drunk people and the rest of society. I'd be willing to debate whether another more serious charge should be created though.

2. Should riding a bicycle while intoxicated be grounds for a DUI. In my opinion this should not even be a question, but apparently my representatives disagree. It is not a licensed vehicle. It is not a motor vehicle. We're talking about something that can be used going 3 MPH or 40 MPH. While injuries are possible for a drunk cyclist there is no way anyone is going to get pinned under a 4000 pound drunk cyclist who was going 50 MPH. I am almost appalled that this one was passed into law by elected representatives. It just makes no sense to me.

[Edited on July 15, 2008 at 5:29 PM. Reason : l]

7/15/2008 5:26:02 PM

Quote :

"The chance of someone dying from a 180lb hit is much less than that from the other scenario."

Well, if the bicyclist is wearing a helmet and gets hit by a car, good chance they'll live.
If a bicyclist slams into a pedestrian and the pedestrian cracks their head open on the sidewalk, good chance they won't live.

I'd rather the bikes be on the roads. I've seen way too many people get hit on the sidewalk by a bicyclist who was retarded and not paying attention since moving overseas.

7/15/2008 11:26:03 PM

Quote :

"If a bicyclist slams into a pedestrian and the pedestrian cracks their head open on the sidewalk, good chance they won't live. "

Yeah, and how many times has that happened in the city of Raleigh in the last decade?

Fear mongers.

7/16/2008 12:43:31 AM

I was on campus over by the Coliseum Deck and traffic stopped for myself and other pedestrians to cross the street to walk across the street to the bus stop right there. I was the last to cross, but traffic was stopped. Low and behold this asshat on a bike comes flooring it down past all the stopped cars at full speed through the intersection and I basically jumped out of the way. He missed me by an inch and it scared the shit out of him because his bike skidded every which way. He was going fast enough where if he hit me, it would have fucked me up quite a bit.

Follow the fucking rules of the road if you want to drive on it. If cars are stopped there's a damn reason.

7/16/2008 1:11:32 AM

Rule #1

No good deed goes unpunished

7/16/2008 2:04:18 AM

^^^ I'm just saying, it shouldn't be unreasonable for bikes to be on the road and it shouldn't be unreasonable for said bikes to follow the same traffic laws as everyone else on the road.

7/16/2008 2:46:47 AM

This could just as easily have happened on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, North Carolina--probably somewhere near Sadlack's.

7/16/2008 3:31:58 AM

I suggest we call it a CUI, cycling while impaired. The penalties should not be as severe and if found guilty I dont think it should have an effect on your driver's license. It definitely deserves to be distinguished from motoring a 3,000 lb gasoline bomb down the road while drunk. There is still a definite possibility for a drunk cyclist to cause a wreck with cars even if the cyclist doesnt actually hit anyone, so IMO thats the number one reason.

7/16/2008 8:23:17 AM

Quote :

"what if that cyclist swerves drunk pedestrian stumbles onto the street, drunk driving a big wheels, riding a skate board rolls into the street, is riding his razor scooter into the street, and causes other cars to swerve to miss the cyclist, and those cars hit other cars and people get killed"

biking drunk should definitely be illegal but a DUI is fucking retarded.

7/16/2008 10:04:04 AM

RRWI (Roller Racing While Intoxicated) should be a criminal offense as well.

7/16/2008 10:14:14 AM

If a Roller Racer slams into a pedestrian and the pedestrian cracks their head open on the sidewalk, good chance they won't live.

7/16/2008 11:04:18 AM

I beleive we have plenty of OTHER laws that this person could be charged with besides a law created to punish the drunken operation of a licensed and registered motor vehicle. The consequences of which effects your CAR insurance and CAR driving privileges.

A drunkard who gets angry and in a fit of rage can also "crack" someones skull.

Lets go ahead and charge people for Horse Back riding while intoxicated too.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 11:39 AM. Reason : k]

7/16/2008 11:35:53 AM

Ky. Man Gets DUI While On Horseback
Police Say Man Nearly Fell Off Animal

http://www.wlky.com/news/4476223/detail.html

Alabama Woman on Horseback Gets DUI

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,263862,00.html

BONUS:

Man Gets DUI Riding Lawn Mower

http://www.topix.com/forum/atlanta/TRAOQPTHEP3COOI0Q

7/16/2008 12:07:31 PM