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An Anonymous Coward writes:
Velonews has this story, http://www.velonews.com/2017/05/news/legally-speaking-brought-justice_437651 which describes an incident of road rage against a bicyclist. Turns out, this was the wrong cyclist to buzz, he was a lawyer and eventually settled with the cager's insurance company for USD $4500 -- setting a price for cyclist harassment in Louisiana.
The road-raging driver had just endangered the life of the cyclist and his toddler, and now he was spoiling for a fight. It began on a calm Sunday morning in New Orleans. Charlie Thomas had gone for a ride with his young daughter Colette, towing her in a Burley trailer, enjoying the ride and time together. But on the edge of the iconic French Quarter, their peaceful Sunday morning was violently interrupted when a speeding car buzzed them, passing within a foot of Charlie and Colette.
[...] "I'm not trying to start anything," Charlie said, "but you passed way too close to my daughter and me."
And that's when the driver, motioning that he was about to get out of his car, responded with his tough-guy threat: "How about I get out and f—k you up in front of your kid?" Charlie's emotions surged, but he knew that any further engagement would be unproductive, and with his daughter there, unsafe. So he broke off the encounter, and the driver sped away.
[...] Although the incident didn't involve a physical impact, Louisiana has both a three-foot passing law and a non-harassment law on the books. Charlie filed suit seeking damages for the driver's harassment. There had never been a case setting the value of damages for a harassed bicyclist under Louisiana's law, so Charlie and the driver's insurance company were in uncharted negotiating territory.
Eventually, Charlie negotiated a settlement that established a value of $4,500 damages in a civil case for cyclist harassment in Louisiana; the proceeds were donated to Bike Easy, the New Orleans-area bike advocacy group. The official case on the books is Thomas v. Arbona, Case No. 16-03127; First City Court for the City of New Orleans. Now, any other cyclist who sues a driver for harassment in Louisiana can use the value for damages established in this case.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Tuesday May 09 2017, @10:10PM
Having lived in multiple southern states and multiple northern states, I absolutely disagree. I'm a northerner by birth and still see myself as such, but I can't agree with such blanket stereotyping.
Sure, there are jerks EVERYWHERE -- in the North and the South. Cultural norms are different (and aren't just a North/South thing, but also vary significantly by region going east to west and everyone in-between). In many Southern states (particularly Southeast), there is often a stronger "veneer" of hospitality and courtesy, e.g., people will more frequently make small-talk with strangers and express interest in them. People in the Northeast (particularly in most cities) will think you odd or even annoying if you try to do so.
Underneath this casual interaction between strangers or acquaintances, I'm not sure I've perceived much difference, and I don't think there is. There are jerks and nice people everywhere. In many Southern communities, I think there's still a bit more tendency to "be in everyone's business" than in the North (where, excepting certain neighborhoods or close communities, people are often more isolated than in the past) -- and that has both positive and negative effects. When coupled with the "veneer" of courtesy, it can seem odd or almost "passive aggressive" to a Northerner when it turns out that people who act nice to each other in public sometimes hate each other. But the percentage of jerks overall is about the same most places.
Anyhow, one thing I will agree with is that Southern behavior and attitudes toward people on the road is often very different from the North. Once on a trip to the South before I was familiar with the culture there, I made the stupid mistake of stopping at a crosswalk on a four-lane road. I mean, it was marked as a crosswalk with signs and even flashing yellow lights. And there was a guy literally standing in the middle of the road on the yellow line trying to cross the remaining two lanes of traffic. In the North, there's no question you stop and let this person cross. Not where I was. I was almost struck in the rear by a pickup towing something that veering off to my right to speed around me, while the pedestrian stared with confusion at the fact I was stopped for him. Eventually I realized I just needed to drive, because he didn't know what to do.
Since then, I realized that pedestrians and cyclists don't have the same "standing" on streets in many places in the South as they do in other places. It wouldn't surprise me at all if many Southern drivers wouldn't take kindly to being corrected on their driving by a pedestrian or a cyclist. Obviously that does not at all excuse the behavior in TFA, but I also doesn't think it justifies claiming that all Southerners are complete jerks.