On Thu, 1 Nov 2018 20:04:26 -0700 (PDT), jbeattie
wrote:

On Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 7:54:46 PM UTC-7, John B. slocomb wrote:
On Thu, 1 Nov 2018 22:01:30 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 11/1/2018 5:44 PM, James wrote:
On 30/10/18 9:27 am, AMuzi wrote:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ke-bushes.html



It has emerged that the bike rider had keyed the vehicle before this
incident.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ent-viral.html


What hasn't emerged is why he keyed the vehicle.* I have been in contact
with the person who broke the story, and apparently the cyclist is no
longer willing to talk.* Hmm.

Yes, we don't know why he keyed the vehicle; and I don't think that act
is usually unprovoked. In any case, it doesn't justify an attack with a
deadly weapon.

Damaging a person's car is not the same as damaging his body. But one
weird psychological side effect of motoring is that many people react
the same way. I've seen guys get enraged when someone leaned on their
car, as they would if someone grabbed their neck.

I certainly understand what you are saying but we just bought a new
car - some $27,000 in U.S. money - and if some nitwit on a bicycle
were to carve a groove down the side of the new car I might not run
his bike off the road with the car but I'd be tempted, probably beyond
my ability to resist, to hit him with a stick. Just to test the
effectiveness of his helmet, so to speak.

Depending on the severely of the "keying" it can cost several thousand
dollars (here, in a decent shop) to return the car to its like new
condition. What justifies a cyclist doing that sort of damage to my
new car?

There is no justification, but that does not excuse assault. It is questionable
whether you could even effect a citizen's arrest for minor property
damage. The most reasonable approach would be to photograph or maybe
follow to an address. I really don't know, but running the guy down
is clearly not acceptable.

-- Jay Beattie.

I suppose that my attitude is largely influenced by living in a
foreign country for so many years, but the several thousand dollars I
mentioned - say two thousand - is not "minor property damage" here.
Using the legal minimum salary here, that is about 7 month's wages for
a working man.

(In Australia, where the event took place, US$2,000 amounts to about a
month's pay for a working man.)
cheers,

John B.