Colorado Policeman Doesn't Like Being Called On His 'Distracted Driving'
Let’s have some fun with this video featuring two narcissists whining at each other about the use of a cell phone in a stopped vehicle. It’s extra fun, because one of them is a cop!
As is always the case, I like to offer a little summary for those of you who don’t like to watch YouTube videos. I know you’re out there; I can hear you turning up the volume on Matlock.
- A typical adventure bike rider is out riding his adventure bike on the freeway.
- He pulls up behind a Ford Explorer at an intersection where he, and the Explorer, have a “Yield” sign.
- At this point, the ADVRider suffers a classic narcissistic injury. The driver in the Explorer is on the phone! When he, the always-endangered rider of a wannabe dirt bike, is at risk from this distracted behavior! Never mind that the Explorer is ahead of him, completely stopped, and posing no threat to him whatsoever.
- So the rider honks his horn, makes the “hang up” motion, and tells the driver to “get off the fuckin’ phone!”
Okay, let’s pause the action for a moment to reflect on what an utter and complete moron Mr. Adventure Rider is. He is knowingly confronting somebody who, in the time it would take to put the “Explorer” into “R” and press the accelerator pedal, could kill him stone dead. I don’t know this fellow from Adam, but based on the attitude he takes in what happens next, I strongly doubt that he would have done the same thing if the car ahead of him had been a ’78 Bonneville on 36-inch wheels containing two young male African-Americans. In other words, he’s the ADV rider Michael Bolton:
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He should've trial-biked over the Explorer. Wuss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upPMuzN3rRc
Frankly, I don't see what the biker did to escalate this. He comes up on a roundabout; and there's a doofus who can't figure out how to enter the circle. WHILE he's yap-yap-yappin' on his phone. Blocking traffic; and apparently what he's hearing/saying on the phone has taken him away from his immediate task. A horn toot is, if not appropriate, not outside reasonable behavior. Now a cop comes out. Is he in a police car? NO. Until he stepped out there was no way of KNOWING he was a cop. Moreover, his decision to stop in the single, curbed-in lane of traffic, instead of pulling over a few feet past the circle...is about as stupid a decision as can be made. THEN his threats against the biker. Can we say "Badge-Heavy," boys and girls? AND his complaints about the rider STANDING UP. Rider is exactly right - standing up is the legal, appropriate and intelligent way to get over railroad tracks or chewed-up areas without getting bounced off his seat. The threat of a ticket. Fine...ticket meet complaint and lawsuit. Escalating the situation? Maybe. Seems Mister Policeman was spraying plenty of gasoline himself. It was 20 years ago I left Colorado. I can see there's been changes, and not good changes. This guy has NO BUSINESS being a cop; and if he's that burned out, and that early in his career...it's time for another job or a psychiatric disability pension. And FWIW, I am not down on cops. They have a tremendous responsibility and I'm ready to cut them some slack. But not this time...this individual was WAY over the line. He was blocking traffic, using his cellphone in traffic...is that legal in Colorado?...and then ready to lash out. At worst, he could have stepped out and shaken his fist and gone on his way.
I agree with Jack's assessment - both were at fault. You make good point JPT. The thing that bugged me the most was the cop and his non-stop, hell no I'm not goin' to listen to anything you say attitude. The cyclist should have exercised restraint in his reaction to the stopped vehicle in front of him. The cop should have shut up long enough to listen to the cyclist's explanation and apology. He certainly could have gotten out of the lane of travel so other motorists could have passed safely and continued. In fact both of them should have taken the pissing match to the side of the road - not in the middle of it.
Shocking, another video from a dick on a bike seat.