Montana Bicycle Blogger Terrorized by Drunk Driver

One of our Streetsblog Network
member bloggers had a terrifying encounter with a pickup truck full of
drunken men the other night. , who writes the blog Imagine No Cars, wrote of being chased through the streets of Missoula, Montana, in fear for his life:

Is terrorizing people wth motor vehicles just part of the American way? (Photo: Unhindered by Talent via Flickr)

All of a sudden the engine revs and the tires squeal and the hunt is
on. I didn't have time to think of what to do, the adrenaline just
kicked in and I was off pedaling as fast as I could. I rode through the
cobblestone street where the Farmers Market is held in the summer and
hopped up onto the sidewalk as if that extra 4 inches of cement would
be an adequate buffer between me and the lifted truck.

"Woof, woof, woof!" "Run 'im down!"…

As I turn, I hear, "Want a
beer!" screamed out the window, and an empty beer can hits me on the
leg. I speed off and gain some space on them as they try to turn
around. The gap doesn't last long and I turn onto Pine before their
grill almost makes contact with my back tire. The sound of the V-8 is
deafening. They were going fast enough that the truck goes wide on the
turn and I hop back up on the sidewalk because I can keep a few cars in
between them and me.

Amazingly, the cyclist made it home alive. But he was left feeling that the harrowing incident was somehow his fault:

Perhaps it's not surprising he felt that way, considering what the
police said to him when he reported the assault the next day:

As
several commenters pointed out on the original post, he had every
right to be out on the road at any hour of the day or night --
certainly more right than an evidently drunk driver who found fun in
terrorizing a bicyclist with his buddies. But the cop reinforced the
idea that somehow, people who ride bicycles are "asking for it" --
perhaps like women who wear short skirts in public places?