AI6YR Ben(Paint does not protect you against road raging drivers)
KTLA: Competitive cyclists nearly run down by raging Orange County drivers
John@ai6yr so weird. I've ridden that stretch a lot, and I would say cars are generally cool.
Like once in 30 years I saw someone who didn't understand what the lines and the road meant and was upset about where the bicycles were.
can everything be outside now?@buckfiftyseven yeah drivers are definitely worse than they v used to be in both moral and skill related ways @ai6yr
@thesquirrelfish @ai6yr I guess. When I think about it, every couple freeway trips I see somebody maximizing their commute by cutting a few feet from every car. That psychology, that you're more important than everybody else, is going to be especially dangerous to bicyclists and pedestrians.
@buckfiftyseven @ai6yr yes, and there's very few people left from the generation before cars were dominant. Like for my grandparents and great grandparents they grew up in an era where pedestrians were the default. (This may also be related to the fact that elders are being hit at much higher rates than younger adults.)
It's probably a shifting baseline thing - as driving gets worse, the expectation of driving skills are lowered, and as driving becomes more mandatory, worse drivers drive more often, further lowering the expected standards of drivers.
And then you have the social stuff like less free time, larger cars, more expensive cars and gas, longer commutes, worse traffic, more addictive gadgets, more multitasking, plus there's probably some subliminal element of "I'm killing the planet and harming the people I drive past anyway, why should I care more about this specific other road user?".
It's probably a shifting baseline thing - as driving gets worse, the expectation of driving skills are lowered, and as driving becomes more mandatory, worse drivers drive more often, further lowering the expected standards of drivers.
And then you have the social stuff like less free time, larger cars, more expensive cars and gas, longer commutes, worse traffic, more addictive gadgets, more multitasking, plus there's probably some subliminal element of "I'm killing the planet and harming the people I drive past anyway, why should I care more about this specific other road user?".
@thesquirrelfish @ai6yr One of my theories was that beach cities are a bit safer for bicyclists just because it is more common there. It's a common way for kids to get to the beach etc.
I'm thinking of a particular elementary school in Costa Mesa that has a bike parking lot with like 200 bikes everyday.
@ai6yr "An arrest has been made in a Newport Beach road rage incident involving a BMW driver and a pair of cyclists that was caught on video."
@buckfiftyseven Excellent!
Mathaetaes@buckfiftyseven @ai6yr of course it was a BMW driver.
I don’t know what it is about that car, or people attracted to it, but most of my negative driving encounters involve BMWs. Maybe they’ve just got really big blind spots? Or maybe they attract assholes….
The second place goes to distracted women in SUVs… but it’s a *distant* second.
@mathaetaes @buckfiftyseven They attract a**holes.
I was shopping with my dad (who really, really, really wanted a BMW), and their salespeople are a***holes, and they refused to even talk to us, and then when my dad mentioned he was going to pay cash they UPPED their offer price (he did not buy the vehicle there). I have no idea why he wanted a BMW, and he shouldn't be driving anyway, and it sucks that he bought a BMW, because... BMW drivers.
@mathaetaes @ai6yr in all seriousness, a big reason I bought an Acura this month was my impression of BMW drivers
me_valentijn@buckfiftyseven @ai6yr
Ugh, the jerk even found the victim online to taunt him 🙄
It's great that they're investigating it as assault with a deadly weapon. Maybe he'll be getting around like a "peasant" too, now that his $100K BMW has been seized.
Nearly everyone is spelling his name wrong though: it's Samir Sweiss, not Weiss. https://www.facebook.com/reel/2836077120085912
12K views · 3.6K reactions | Newport Beach Police Arrest Suspect in Road Rage Assault Involving Cyclists On 3/21/26 at 11:00 a.m., a road rage incident occurred in the city of Newport Beach between cyclists and a blue BMW sedan. The NBPD traffic division opened an investigation into the incident and began conducting interviews and reviewing relevant video evidence. On 3/26/26, investigators executed a search warrant in the city of Corona. At the conclusion of the warrant service, a male suspect (Samir Sweiss, resident of Corona) was arrested for 245(A)(1)PC- assault with a deadly weapon and 148(a)(1)PC- obstruct/delay arrest related to the above-mentioned incident. Additionally, a blue BMW M3 was seized from the residence as evidence. The investigation is still ongoing, and no further information will be released at this time. Anyone with additional information can contact Sergeant Sabrina Fabbri at [email protected]. (Footage of the initial incident from KTLA 5 News) | Newport Beach Police Department
Newport Beach Police Arrest Suspect in Road Rage Assault Involving Cyclists On 3/21/26 at 11:00 a.m., a road rage incident occurred in the city of Newport Beach between cyclists and a blue BMW...