Now you have to hope this one never goes to court. If it does, all this “testimony” is just sitting here…
True… we could ask our friendly Admin to remove it though … 
Just a note on my … post above…
Your sister or your mom would want you to ‘react’ …
(maybe not verbally … but in thier heart , they know it’s love 
)
‘He had it comming …’ or ‘He deserved that …’ isn’t right …
(but I know that secretly inside someone’s brain… someone’s thinking … I wish I would have done that )
Re: Re: Re: Uni assault on a car (literally)
Err… I did warn you I was in rant mode. I actually expected far more flaming from dog fans than I seem to have attracted so far 
It’s not so much the dogs themselves that I dislike (although they are noisy, smelly, annoying things), it’s the whole “dog culture” and the attitude of most (or at least a significant proportion of) owners that everybody else must like dogs.
I don’t see why I should have to “cure” myself of my opinions when dogs and their owners are clearly evil 
Most of the time I just try to avoid them, but that’s not always easy - I don’t know what it’s like elsewhere, but dogs around here, especially on farms, seem to be trained to kill anybody who dares to use the (public) road that happens to pass their gate. I haven’t noticed the problem to be any worse on a unicycle that it is on a bike, but they do seem a bit less likely to go for you if you’re on foot. I agree that the unusual movement probably contributes to freaking them out, but if people are going to be out walking in a public area with an animal that is prone to attack anything it sees as unusual, then aren’t they the problem, not us (uni/bi)cyclists?
Obviously some of what I wrote was exaggerated, but I stick by the general point.
I think everyone who’s commuted in a city can sympathise with you somewhat. Presumably you only ride on the sidewalk in snow right? I ride on the road all the time in traffic that’s way worse than anything I’ve seen in New York, but we don’t get the cold winters here. Normally it’s way safer to ride on the road than on the pavement as people are much less likely to turn left (or right in the US) through you without looking.
If you’re a driver and you’re careless then you do deserve some kind of penalty for it. Careless actions by drivers harm thousands of people every day. You’re in charge of dangerous machinery, which has a habit of killing people, you should be treating it as seriously as if you’re pointing a loaded gun around.
Personally, it made me laugh, but I wouldn’t do it myself. I’m pretty relaxed about the whole traffic thing nowadays and I haven’t had a scary situation for ages.
Joe
Re: Re: Re: Re: Uni assault on a car (literally)
Methinks you must be a cat person. I don’t notice what you notice so much with dogs, but I find it mildly annoying with cat owners. Cats themselves don’t bother me. Most cats just want to be out of the way and pretend they’re cool, when we know they really aren’t.
Sorry we’re drifting off topic here. But for all you cat owners who like to claim the cat owns you rather than the other way around, or a less slave-like co-habitation, if it’s true ask the cat to pay the bills next month.
Yes, you shouldn’t have to like dogs, and at least in more urban areas, things are supposed to be set up to allow for this (leashes, cleaning up, etc.). But the more rural the area, I think the more you are likely to have dogs forced upon you.
I often walk my dog riding my unicycle, and it’s really nice.
Kanel (Cinnamon, the color of it) is getting really used to me riding a unicycle, i think it’s because were on much longer “walks”, and because it’s faster.
The strange thing about it is, when riding wiht my dog, and passing other people with dogs, all of them tend to bark, and i think it’s beause of my unicycle.
Anyway, if a dog efter was attacking me, i wouldn’t doubt of injure the dog enough for it to be unable to walk, smash it with my uni or whatever.
And, it is this problem with cars and unis, people seem unaware of unicycles exists at all, and they don’t know what to do. I’ve checked it out with the authoritys, and a unicycle is a toy, mening that i’m a pedestrian. I’ve been riding over a crossing, passing half of the road… and the car coming, is just driving behind me, passing me with one feet, at most. Not breaking, coming out and say they didn’t see me. More like they floored it to scare me.
If i ever get hit by a car, i won’t take it with a smile, i will charge them of whatever i can, because i don’t want to get killed riding no more than a pedestrian does.
I’m glad you are ok, David.
My trips to NYC have been less frequent of late, and perhaps because of this I have noticed that the pedestrian-car dance at lights has deteriorated in the last 6 months or so.
You might also keep in mind that there are many newspaper boxes, various poles, garbage cans, subway station structures, and other obstacles at corners in NYC that make it difficult for a driver to see a fast-moving unicyclist.
I’m not condoning or condemning either combatant. However, in the case of most altercations, the 2-ton automobile will win. Please be careful so that you don’t end up in the hospital. I wouldn’t want you to lose your ability to unicycle.
Personally, I can’t see unicycling on the street in NYC under most conditions, especially on the busier or rougher roads. That’s just asking to be crushed. There are some established, official bike lanes on certain streets… how do those work out in practice?
having ridden a bike across the country, sometimes through major citys(eugene, Buffalo, Cleveland, etc etc) i’ve been buzzed by so many cars that it hardly bothers me anymore. its also made me hyper-aware of my surroundings. i never assume anything, i triple check where things are. Had this been me and a car honestly came out of nowhere, i would been pissed but probably just hopped/dismounted and cursed a fwe times then gone on my merry way. I’ve wanted to do things like that, but my fear of getting beaten to death by drunk rednecks stops me from doing more than shouting.
I am often on sportbike forums and I hear a lot of stories with them having trouble with traffic. Studies showing people slides or movies of a scene driving along the road have shown that people do not recognize unfamiliar objects on the road. They would remember the cars, but the test mixed in a man in a gorilla costume in with the cars. The people had no recollection that there was a gorilla anywhere in the test.
How many times do you see a gorilla on the road. Never!
It suggests that the people looked directly at the gorilla (or any unfamiliar object) and did not process it into their thinking. This is a contributing reason to why cars will pull directly out in front of a moving motorcyclist even though they are wearing reflective clothing and a brightly colored full face helmet. The people looked down the road and saw nothing.
This can be transferred to your situation. A guy riding a unicycle down the sidewalk is a very strange object indeed! I have rarely rarely ever seen people riding where I live, and I’m looking for them!
The car may not have seen you, even if they were actively scanning through the turn.
Or maybe they were a problem driver.
Regardless if anyone swings their stuff at my car, I’m coming back for them. I can’t promise I would be reasonable in the least when something like that happens.
You’re taking your chances, good you came out on top this time.
lol … I can’t gaurantee that I would be reasonable if you actually stopped either … hehe
‘edited’ 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Uni assault on a car (literally)
Touché. I do quite like cats actually (never owned one myself though). And a cat has been responsible for me falling off my bike once… so has a hedgehog for that matter.
Still hate dogs though. 
One thing I forgot to mention earlier is when cycling I do not to proceed in front of a vehicle until I have made eye contact with the driver. This is something I was taught when I took up road biking in '93.
Regarding dogs, if you’ve got good stories send them to UnPlanned Dog Dismounts.
Eye contact! This is the best advice I have heard regarding riding in traffic. It’s amazing that some drivers can be staring straight ahead but won’t register you on their radar… it’s happened to me on road bikes and unicycles alike. Damn zombies!
Staying alive requires developing a healthy paranoia of everyone else on the road. Expect every parked car to open their door on you, every sidestreet to produce a speeding car, every driver to turn across your lane, right in front of you. Plan an “escape route” out of every potential situation and you’ll be fine.
Throw the concept of “right of way” out the door. It won’t make a lick of difference when 2 tons of steel are flying at you and your piece o’ Schwinn.
Wow. I cant say I blame you for doing that.
Fortunatly, I never get any close calls because I live on the driving schools’ testing route. All the people getting tested are hyper-aware, so i ride my uni in front of them and flail my arms wildly. They have no clue what to do and get really freaked out. I guess I live in probably the safest uni areas, car wise.
Its nice saying “Why should unicycles always give way?”.But tell that to the guy in the car.I rather wait a few minutes and give way than be aggressive and end up under a car.
Pressing charges is an option but that should be the last resort.Though nothing will ever make it up if you lose a leg or two.Though where I come from if an incident like this occurs, it has to be the “reckless idiot on a unicycle” who is at fault. Additionally the rules of the road here are “Bigger=Right of way”.
Cars give way to trucks and cycles give way to cars…Unicycles are at the bottom of the chain…unless you count the pedestrians(with dogs)…
Okay im a little confused…is it common in America to have your car dented/cut or something? Because you dented/cut this guys car and he just drove away?
Now I don’t know if its just NZ…but if I did that to any car the person driving it, regrdless of anything (you said he couldnt reverse or somehting) would get out and chase me down until they caught up to me, and either beat the living sh!t out of me, or ordered me to pay for all repairs (depending on what kind of person it is) they would at least report it to the police and I would never be able to uni in public again…but your telling me the driver continued driving???
Wow, what a great thread.
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Road rage is baaaad ! I get pissed off when drivers/motor-cyclists/pedestrians/dogs/hedgehogs/horse-riders … do something that might put themselves or someone else at risk - all the more if it is my or my families welfare at risk. About the worst I have had whilst uni-ing though is abuse from passing vehicle drivers - “You’ve lost your back wheel, you C*NT!” (29/01/2004) or baseballhat-wearing pricks in sooped-up hot hatches blasting a horn when I was least expecting it (I now always expect it, but it still catches me out). If I give the one-finger-wave (hedgehogs seem imune to this form of provocation) I would not be surprised if the hot-hatch would turn around and the situation gets ugly. Ugly kids with knives showing off to their mates/girlfriend on an otherwise deserted country lane are unpredictable and dangerous.
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Dogs are baaaad ! Not evil, just baaaad. If there were no dogs, then there would be no bad dog-owners. Is that like saying if there were no cars, there would be no bad car drivers ?? Dogs belong on the plains of Africa doing their wild doggie things and getting kicked by wildebeast and zebra. I used to live in an urban area where dog owners would regularly let their animals pooh right outside my front door - I don’t think they were picking on me particularly but they would do it outside anyone’s front door except their own. I never actually caught any in the act, but if I had, I had a riposte - “Do you want me to come and sh1t on your front doorstep ?” It doesn’t happen where I live now - I just get cats using my garden as their latrine and eating the songbirds. I also get hedgehogs in my garden, and they still don’t respond to my one-finger provocation - dumb slug-munching creatures, they’ve got no balls, or knives.
I’m not imune to the desire to vent my dissatisfaction of other’s inconsideration, but I think being alert to all posibilities and being willing to backdown from the onslaught of tons of metal driven by the undead zombies have kept me from those confrontation situations, as a driver as well as a uni-er.
To summarise:
Stay alert, stay safe - electric shock collars for all cats straying from their owner’s property, ship all dogs back to the Serengeti where they belong - power to the hedgehogs !!!
Chris
I’ve only been in New York a couple of times, so maybe I’m underestimating it, but it’s American roads, which are just so much simpler to navigate than anywhere else in the world(*) and the traffic seemed pretty jammed most of the time, which is the best way for it to be when you’re riding unicycles in a city. I reckon It’s the same as on a bike, whilst people are scared of riding on the street, in almost all cases it’s safer to ride on the street, because cars see you as a vehicle rather than getting you at junctions. The statistically most dangerous point is any point when you go across the flow of traffic, by riding on the pavement/sidewalk, you increase the number of these danger points incredibly.
Of course I wouldn’t recommend riding on the road unless you’re certain you’re not going to fall off, but I’m presuming we’re talking a good coker rider here. Other than that I’d always ride a coker the same way I’d ride a bike, which would be on the road not the pavement in pretty much every case.
Joe
(*) If you’re at the nearest roundabout to one of the car hire places at Heathrow Airport in London, you can see all the American drivers coming up to it and getting all confused by our weird road going round in circles things!
Damn it you cat loving people, cats suck they arent even pets just animals that you leave food out for and eat it then they poop in a box. They dont even like you most of the time they just come over wipe them selves on you and say your mine hoe.
Dogs are there for you, sometimes to much but they really acually like you even if you look funny. Dogs are great for people with disabilitys it lets them be more independent from other people and get around alot better. Dogs only smell if they arent bathed.
I dont think my dog should go around pooping on peoples lawns or run around loose nor do I let him. We pick up after our dog because its the law and every other dog owner I know does too. I dont expect everyone to like dogs if you dont thats fine. I dont like cats myself. Just because you know of some bad dog owners doesnt mean they all are the same. Its like if you hit some random guy while riding a unicycle he’ll think all unicyclist are jerks. Is that fair? no. Sorry to go off like that but you came after me and my good fellow pet owners soo you earned it (cats arent pets).
SO back on topic. Yeah I dont think that either of you in the insodent are in the right. Its kinda like street justice but more fair.
B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name-O.
Anyways…the main thing when cycling is to never ever give drivers the benefit of the doubt. Always assume the worst and plan for it.
In your situation you should have looked back and assumed the driver was going to turn the way he did. Then you should have slowed down.
In Chex’s situation there are different things you could do, none of which are good. I’d prolly end up doing what he did though and either getting my ass kicked or getting arrested or feeling bad for kicking the ass of another.
As for dogs, I’m a big proponent of the quiet, clean, loyal dog that some people have. However the annoying violent dogs some people have should be shot. What this really comes down to is training.
If you have the time, you can train a dog who is obedient and peaceful, but will defend you and your house. If you don’t have the time you should either get one of those little wussy dogs or not have a dog. Those wussy dogs are annoying also though, and should be kicked.
End ramble.