If the doctor pulled over, got out and kicked the guy’s ass I’d be cool with it – a fight, fair and square, but you are absolutely correct – the car being used as a weapon is outrageous and completely changes the dynamic of the situation. This could have been my father, a friend, my brother, or myself and thinking of it that way instantly makes me empathize with the rider, his loved ones and the fact he could have easily have been killed.

The doctor and cyclists may both have behaved badly, but only the doctor behaved criminally, or at least allegedly so. So, yes, the doctor deserves the blame; his actions were beyond the pale.

As you mention, cars have a weight advantage. This advantage does not give their drivers the license to bully or intimidate; if anything, drivers should use their power with care and conscience.

You seem like a reasonable guy. I think it’s really hard to understand the cyclist’s perspective without spending some time on a bicycle. I might recommend taking a ride from, say, Santa Monica to Century City and back, just to get the flavor of the street. When you get passed a few times by that Crown Victoria with inches to spare, you may develop a different sense of what it means to share the road.

It becomes frustrating when the bicyclists purposely prevent cars from passing, etc. We are supposed to share the road, but I sometimes see these guys acting like they are elite and they are going to teach the car “a lesson.” Well, physics doesn’t work like that and I think my 4200 lb. Crown Victoria will win if challenged by a 140 pound hot headed jerk on a bike.

In no way do I condone how this doctor handled himself, but I must admit I can see exactly how this went down. They BOTH behaved badly and the Infinity won. It’s crazy that people are putting all the blame on the doctor and overlooking the behaviors of these bicyclists.

One of the angriest anti-bikers swore if any cyclists got in his way, he’d run ‘em off the road — and said he’d done it before and gotten away with it. Ever since I’ve heard about the two other cases Thompson is suspected of, I’ve wondered if he was the jerk I’d argued with. But it would be just about impossible to track down the author of an anonymous post from 18+/- months ago.

I thought for awhile that this was the cycling community’s equivalent of the Rodney King case — that an acquittal would result in thousands of cyclists rising up, albeit less violently, and demanding justice on our streets. But like with Ron Peterson himself, the level of anger among most cyclists seems to have died down to a dispassionate desire for justice.

It’s too bad that you have to this over-the-top insane to be prosecuted for hitting someone with a car.