Ex-Ontario AG Bryant held after cyclist killed

Globe article:

Several people, including Mr. Bryant and someone "closely related" to him, called 911, police said.

Michael Bryant has always been an arrogant prat - while this is a shocking incident, it will not totally surprise me if he has gotten himself into serious trouble.  He has always had a sense of entitlement - expecting Dalton McGunity to give him one major cabinet position after another and then throwing a hissy fit and quitting when he didn't get what he wanted.

Seems very fluid at the moment. The latest Star headline notes that 'charges are pending' against Bryant yet the accompanying text quotes a police spokesperson who speculates that Bryant may walk away without any charges being laid.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/689220

This is from the link above. If it is true then he needs to be charged with manslaughter at least. 

"Witnesses said the westbound vehicle was driving on the wrong side of the road and up onto the curb trying to knock the cyclist off for about 100 metres.

Witnesses said the cyclist hung onto the driver's side of the car, which had its convertible top down, while the driver allegedly yelled at him to get off.

The vehicle veered into the eastbound lanes and mounted the curb, brushing against trees and poles. The victim was apparently run over by the rear wheels of the vehicle, witnesses said.

"Lots of people were watching and they couldn't believe what was happening," said Ryan Brazeau, a worker with a crew laying sewer pipes on Bloor."

Even bike couriers are humans.

Aaaah, so Unionist was right to just "wait and see what transpires"... Finest justice money can buy!

Sineed wrote:

farnival wrote:

i haven't heard of a single incident in toronto where a cyclist caused a vehicular death. i've heard of too many the other way 'round, so do forgive our bias. 

"Woman, 56, dies after being struck by bike on sidewalk" (August 7, 2009)

http://www.thestar.com/article/678179

I'm playing devil's advocate a bit, as I like to do.  However...I see lots of bad behaviour from operators of both bikes and cars and don't take either side, really.  

Maybe this whole notion of sharing the roadway just isn't working out in Toronto, and we need to have physically separate lanes for bikes, not just those "bike lanes" consisting of painted lines on the road that basically serve as taxi stands.

i thought about including that incident, which is a red herring to my point btw, to discount it.  as the article states, it was a 15 year old boy.  children's bicycles are allowed on the sidewalk, as are children, which i'm sure the 15 year old wouldn't like being called but it is the law.

the only reason people ride on sidewalks is because it is unsafe or impossible to ride on the road.  ask them when you see them.  also, every single bike rack in the city is on a sidewalk.  it's impossible NOT to ride on the sidewalk at some point, the way the infrastructure is designed.  and don't tell me to get off and walk my bike to them.  have you ever tried to get off your bike in traffic?  certain death.

my point above is that in a bicycle-vehicle accident, the bicycle loses every time.  road rage from any quarter only makes things worse and escalates the danger.  that said, when a motorist spits on me, i'm likely to spit back.  when i'm obeying the rules of the road and a motorist drives right into me and i'm forced to bang on the car to get their attention so i don't fall, then said motorist starts swearing at me, i will swear back.  and if said motorist then gets out of his/her car and physically threatens me, which happens on a semi monthly basis, i will use all of my 200lbs and whatever else i have on me to defend myself.

so fuck you motorists.  stay out of our way, be polite, and go fuck yourselves.  i've had it with all of you.

Cycling in traffic is an extreme sport.  Occasionally I go down Queen West to do some shopping, but mostly I stick to parks and residential streets.

I maintain, however, that cyclists can be jerks too.  Obviously car drivers can do a lot more damage, but the whole "cars versus bikes" thing is just silly; lots of people do both.  For me the real villain, the true cause of these confrontations, is the infrastructure.

Michael Bryant has been charged with criminal negligence causing death.

G. Pie wrote:

farnival wrote:

and if said motorist then gets out of his/her car and physically threatens me, which happens on a semi monthly basis

Seriously? 

yup. unfortunately. they don't always fully get out of their car, but the old "open the door to scare him" tactic is alive and well. it is amazing how quickly they back down and apologise when they realize i'm not a kid but a 200lb adult with a beard and moustache and a 7 pound U-lock in my hand ( i have a courier style belt holster for it, very handy).  in fact, just a few weeks agoi had a fellow at lakeshore and carlaw circle around the block twice to yell obsenities at me because he was honking at me and an elderly lady who was cautiously trying to turn onto lakeshore and i told him to relax. He stopped his car and was about to get out when i waved my u-lock in the air.  he drove away, round the block, and threatened to fight me...twice. and blocked traffic to do it.  i was happy to oblige of course at that point BECAUSE I'M SICK AND TIRED OF THE FUCKING HUBRIS AND ARROGANCE OF MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVERS THAT THINK THEY OWN THE ROAD AND ARE ENTITLED TO ANY KIND OF BEHAVIOUR NO MATTER HOW DANGEROUS. and as usual, he spit at me, swore some more, flipped me the bird and zoomed out into traffic recklessly.

motor vehicle road rage is a deadly thing. it can take a normally quiet, passive person and turn them into an anger monster, bent on destruction and revenge.  how many of you posting here have seen one of your nice friends or family members turn into an epithet spewing, wheel bashing freak the second they get behind the wheel, claiming everyone around them is in their way or wrong or a jackass that should learn to drive.  my guess is everyone.

can you tell i'm upset by this?  a cyclist lost his life. again.  on a roadway that cyclists have been demanding a lane on and the city repeatedly denies.  perhaps now that someone high profile has killed someone, this issue will get the attention it deserves.

http://takethetooker.ca/

Bike lanes don't necessarily solve the problem. Its not as if drivers don't drive into them and its not as if bikers don't leave their lanes either. There are plenty of altercations between cars and bikes in places where there are bike lanes - and i have no idea whether the presence or absence of lanes on Bloor St. (which is a mess of road construction right now) would have been a factor here.

We are not blocking traffic, we are traffic.

Apparently, there is a memorial ride at 5pm tomorrow (Wednesday). Meeting at Bay & Bloor and riding to Avenue & Bloor. Lay down bikes + 5 minutes of silence.

Sineed wrote:

Bryant just made a public statement, saying he extended his deepest condolences to the family of Darcy Sheppard, and thanked the press for respecting his family's privacy.

Didn't hear an apology in there.

Farnival, I don't agree with everything you're saying, but I have to say, if I rode with you, I think I'd feel safer.

Quote:

perhaps now that someone high profile has killed someone, this issue will get the attention it deserves.

Yes...shame, though, how so often a tragedy is needed to get positive change.

well sineed, funny enough, i don't agree with everything i was saying.  i don't agree that it should be part of my day to be a target for road rage assholes in cars and trucks.  i don't agree that me reacting angrily is the best way to handle things either.  but the situation does unfortunately dictate the response.   what i usually do, when someone cuts me off or is driving dangerously near me, is wait til the next light, knock on their window and politely point out what just occured.  yes, this is somewhat passive-aggressive, but usually i get an apology, which is great.   hopefully next time that motorist will shoulder check, look in their mirror, get off their phone, stop eating or just pay attention next time.

for what it's worth, my experiences of the last 21 years of commuting to work year round (12 of that in winnipeg!) is i now conduct bike commuting workshops at my workplace.  one in the fall for cold weather/winter cycling, and one in the spring.   i cover the clothing and gear and style of bicycle that is appropriate and i also cover how to ride and what to do around cars.   I decided a while ago that instead of coming into work all in a lather about yet another near miss, i would try to educate my fellow riders at work so i don't read about them in the news.

your bicycle is a vehicle under the Highway Traffic Act.  act like it and you will be respected, and when you are not, at the very least, you won't be at fault.

r.i.p. Darcy Allan Sheppard.  i didn't know him, but he was a cycling brother.  may your wheels keep rollin'.

martin dufresne wrote:

Part of the problem with many car drivers is that they perceive the motorcar as a sealed, autonomous environment of unaccountability where drivers (male drivers, almost exclusively) consider themselves king of the castle and sometimes even besieged by non-motorists whose behaviour "doesn't figure" in their view.

Actually, I find that the worst, most self-entitled drivers in Toronto are white, Canadian-born, and 40 to 55 years of age - of both sexes. The stereotype of bad drivers as male, young and/or ethnic seldom holds true - with the exception of cabbies.

Remind, I don't think he was leaving the scene of the accident. He parked a few metres away and dialed 911. Thus he wasn't fleeing.

leaving the scene of the accident would have been from the very moment he chose to step on the gas pedal of his car during the intitial "confrontation".  regardless of the behaviour of the other person involved.  period.

I agree farnival, the initial contact was the accident, and speeding away to park a few blocks away, leaving Mr Sheppard in a pool of blood,  in the hotel parking, is leaving the scene.

%$#@& should have viewed what he had done instead of avoiding it, and public scruntiny.

Just a somewhat aside to say that Richmond has almost a useable bikeline system and I find it works very well.  I am not an expert cyclist by any means and I find them very helpful.  As for cars parking in them, well I pity the car owner that tries to do that too often.  I think that speed is a big issue.  I think both cars and  some bikes could dial it back a bit.

What else added to the picture would you need?

What is a short distance?

...or to abandonment of same, if Bryant's defence team is agressive enough. Dead men tell no tales.

edited for double post

This is terrible. How violent is it to drive a cyclist into a pole and mailboxes? What kind of tendencies must this guy have? Jesus. Why didn't he just get out of the car! I don't get it at all. What an ass. I hope he gets the book thrown at him. Anyway, jut wanted to express my rage and comment on a few things below. My thoughts are with the cyclist's family.

martin dufresne wrote:

Also, I have never heard of a cyclist hurting a motorist in an incident of road rage

It happens, although much less frequently than cyclists getting hurt by motorists. Where it occurs, usually the car shields the driver from harm. Unfortunately cyclists don't have that protection. I've been the subject of road rage as both a cyclist and a motorist, and from both groups as well. Admitedly, I've made some mistakes as both a cyclist and a motorist, but I'm a safe on both counts and follow all road rules. Twice, as a motorist, it's been my car that has protected me, once from the cyclist aiming to hit me and another time from the bikelock thrown my way that cracked my rear windshield. (And both times it was where a cyclist failed to stop at four way residential street stop near my apartment and narrowly missed being hit (once it wasn't even my car that was the closest). So few motorists or cyclists follow the rules of the road anymore...it's terrible.) This is nowhere near as widespread as the incidents of motorist assault of cyclists, but I wanted to point out this misconception.

martin dufresne wrote:

Part of the problem with many car drivers is that they perceive the motorcar as a sealed, autonomous environment of unaccountability where drivers (male drivers, almost exclusively) consider themselves king of the castle and sometimes even besieged by non-motorists whose behaviour "doesn't figure" in their view.

While the majority of road rage assaults on cyclists are likely perpetrated by men I don't doubt, road rage applies very much to both sexes and the statement above, if applying to road rage generally, is inaccurate.

Unionist, thanks for your clear head in this matter. I don't think rushing to convict within 24 hours is how due process works. The first indications look very bad for Mr. Bryant; worse for the man it appears he killed. If Bryant is indeed guilty - and it sure does look that way at first blush - he should go to jail. But we don't know all the facts, yet. A police investigation is under way. I'm sure we'll hear a lot more about this for a good long time.

The only reason I can see for not laying a leaving the scene charge is that the criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death are serious enough charges to make leaving the scene a detail.

IANAProsecutor (and my experience with a prosecutor is they think cyclists should go away) but would have laid a laundry list of charges, including manslaughter, even if I didn't expect it to survive a plea  bargain. 

I found this as an example of where manslaughter charges were laid.  I'd say this event deserved it more than that one, a lot more deliberate behaviour.  OTOH Bryant has intrinsic pull.