I have pretty much quit riding my bike here in Atlanta. A substantial proportion of the drivers here (much higher than Tucson or Vancouver or Missoula) seem to have the attitude that the roads belong to them and cyclists can fuck right off. I’ve had people drive right up behind me and lay on the horn (on Piedmont, where there are four other lanes going the same direction), yell at me, and give me the finger, and others in my lab have had similar experiences.

I don’t know if that’s the kind of driver that killed a cyclist less than two miles from here, but I give it better than even odds.

ATLANTA (CBS46) –
Police say a cyclist was hit by a vehicle in downtown Atlanta Monday evening.

The cyclist was hit at the intersection of Luckie Street and Ivan Allen Jr. Drive.

A spokesperson with the Atlanta Police Department says the driver of the vehicle left the scene.

The cyclist was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition, according to the police spokesperson. Police later confirmed that the cyclist died.

The video, which won’t embed, shows a helmet and the mangled bike in the bike lane. It also shows that the intersection has cameras. I hope they are able to identify this hit and run piece of human waste.

I’m not judging for killing a cyclist. That could have been no more than a small lapse in concentration. It could even, despite the bike ending up in the bike lane, have been the cyclist’s fault. We don’t yet know what caused the accident, or whether the driver was impaired or aggressive. But leaving the scene? Fuck that guy.