noglider 

Why don't they want him to ride his bike on county roads? Because he takes the lane?

Bicyclist back in hot seat for ignoring court order to stay off Westmoreland roads

jon c. 

That's just weird. There's more to that story, I'm sure. Doesn't seem like the criminal justice system is really the appropriate venue for this guy.

CB HI

https://triblive.com/local/westmorel...-road-behavior

Pretty disgusting putting a man in jail for cycling and prohibiting him from using the county roads.

https://www.wtae.com/article/notorio...-again/7482011

https://www.wtae.com/article/westmor...-trial/7163723

Rollfast

Is anybody missing here of late? Sounds like the dude has a 'tude.

You'll never get it.

rseeker

" You see a biker and then you see 10 or 15 people behind him. "

They're acting like ten or fifteen cars is a lot. Sure it's courteous to take turns and let some cars pass, and apparently (from the article) the law requires it, but if 10 or 15 cars is the basis of the complaint I think they're complaining over nothing. If the law requires pulling over any time there's a car behind you, then a high-traffic road would preclude riding because progress would be so slow for the rider.

GamblerGORD53

Read the comments in those links, from eyewitnesses who know this BELLIGERENT guy. He is running red lights and trying to make trucks swerve ON PURPOSE. Looks and acts like a PSYCHO to me.
Just trying to ride his bike in peace?? LOL NOT
His whole goal is to be a JERK, and or to sue the state. He is not in the middle of the lane. He also goes over to near the center line to intimidate drivers.
Reminds me of the nut in Toronto who went psycho on the lawyer and his Benz car and got himself killed.

CB HI

And this post just like all of your others remind me of your extreme anti-VC position.

GamblerGORD53

VC is blocking ONE lane. Riding on the center line is blocking BOTH lanes. Pffft.

genec

I wonder if they'd throw him in jail for the same behavior... but in a car?

GrainBrain

Holy cow, 23 months for misdemeanors - then time served because he never posted bail? Crazy.

I watched the video and articles CB posted, the guy isn't crazy just doing what needs to be done. Most drivers out there are terrible fools, just watch the video posted, plenty of time to pass him. But they stay three car lengths back at 15mph then never try to accelerate around

It's nuts that people will follow me less then a car length behind at interstate speeds of 70+mph but lock up in terror at 15mph. I dunno though, isn't there alot of Amish in that area? You don't see them getting in trouble.

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Hoopdriver

Thanks for posting these links. The more info that we have about this, the better able we are to form opinions.

I wonder if there are any local riders that know or have ridden with Mr. Smith. I'd like to hear their opinions.

Maelochs

It seems like this is an obnoxious guy who also feels strongly about his rights as a cyclist. Unfortunately the folks who push society forward tend to be rebellious and often obnoxious.

I have seen no incidents of him actually kicking at or assaulting in other ways any drivers. he seems like the type who would mouth off though. On the other hand the idiot in the blue shirt, Wayne Casteel: "He had about 10 to 15 cars behind him. I got around him; I was the first car. He actually almost tried kicking the mirror off my car," Casteel said. "You're sitting in the middle of the road and someone behind you is getting angry because you won't let them pass. Heaven forbid somebody comes around the bend too fast, and you're going to have a major accident."

What does "almost tried" kicking a mirror off a car look like? Did he actually try to do something? Casteel admits he got angry because he couldn't pass ... poor boy in his climate-controlled compartment in his padded easy chair has to wait. I weep.

Then Casteel says, "Heaven forbid somebody comes around the bend too fast, and you're going to have a major accident." So ... Casteel would try to pass around a blind corner? And he is angry at the rider? They guy takes the lane Because of idiots like you, Mr. Casteel.

I assume, from all that I have read (Assume, yes .. I do not claim knowledge) that Smith goes out of his way to be a jerk, and to assert his right to ride in the middle .... but actually FRAP allows riders to use the whole lane When needed but also requires riders to stay as far to the right as practical. This guy probably abuses that ... when he Could pull over (or just pull far right) to let traffic by, he chooses not to. When cars Are passing, in one video he actually swerve left, to make it harder for cars to pass.

One another hand ... he seems to ride a lot of narrow rural roads where there isn't a lot of room for passing. if i were going to ride those roads i would be very careful to Cooperate with drivers.

This guy deliberately annoys and inflames drivers, and then has to cope with the expected outcome.

This is just a really ugly story on all points. The guy is a jerk, the roads aren't good for cycling, the drivers (who might be fine with a courteous but decisive rider taking the lane courteously) are over-reacting (taking the bait,) the court system maybe overstepped by trying to ban him from riding ... but on the other hand, if this were any other person arrested for multiple offenses, we would expect the judge to stop him while the accused was out on bail.

Basically, this is a guy causing his own problems while dealing badly with a situation which requires delicate handling.

livedarklions

I have no sympathy for the guy. The video shows him deliberately riding much further toward the center than necessary, definitely disobeying FRAP requirements, and that's just what happens to be on video.

BobbyG

I try to avoid busy two-lane roads with no shoulder. But when I do ride them I can see traffic behind me quite well in my glasses-mounted mirror. When there is a vehicle coming up behind me I pull as far right as possible and motion them to pass with my left arm. When there is oncoming traffic I will pull off the road and stop if the roadside is unridable. Even of there is no oncoming traffic, if there is a line of vehicles approaching from behind I will pull off and stop, since subsequent vehicles may not see me.

The 5-10 seconds I have to occasionally stop is much more pleasant than the ongoing stress of having potentially lethal vehicles on my tail piloted by drivers whose impatience and frustration grows by the minute.

I guess my philosophy is "it's not you VS. traffic...you ARE traffic" and there's a certain give and take to allow for the most harmonious travel for all.

Maelochs

I think this is what all sensible cyclists do. The rest are statistics or news stories.

koolerb

Did this guy write "take the lane" articles for magazines in the late 80's-early 90's. After reading I took the lane for my whole 25 mile commute one day on the way home from work. Probably the most hostile, miserable ride of my life. I stay as far right as I feel safe.

CB HI

No one said he was riding the center line. One photo shows him in snow riding the right tire track. Another video shows him in the left tire track on a very narrow lane for which motorist should move completely into the oncoming lane for a safe pass.

CB HI

FRAP laws allow a cyclist to use the full lane when too narrow (14 feet or less wide) to share. The video of him in the left tire track shows a lane that is no more than 10 feet wide and bends ahead.

Also, he may have been extremely courteous back before 2012 when he got his first ticket for obstructing. I would become more and more militant the more improper tickets the cops gave me while riding legally. How militant would you guys get if you were jailed for legal cycling? You guys do remember that a cyclist riding at a reasonable speed for a cyclist, under case law (two cases) cannot be considered obstructing traffic.

His troubles seem to be cops not really understanding cycling safety, getting a public defender from the county that really did not care to work hard and a judge from the same county, biased towards motorist. Anybody remember how the cyclist in Blackhawk, CO fared in the county court? Justice in that case did not occur until it reached the Colorado Supreme court which restored cyclist rights under the law.

I am glad to hear this cyclist has a new lawyer and is appealing these BS cases.

CB HI

How many motorist harmoniously pull off the road in that give and take for you in traffic jams so you can easily pass?

livedarklions

One of the video shots appears to show him riding to the left side of a lane that is considerably wider than 14 feet. Regardless, I doubt you are actually discussing Pennsylvania cases or Pennsylvania's version of FRAP, which has substantially different wording than Colorado. Even if the wording was identical, it's not unusual for different states' courts to interpret the statutes differently.

I've never been ticketed for my riding, and I don't know anyone who has. I gotta say, "how was he riding before 6 years ago?" is not the first question that comes to my mind about why he's consistently getting tickets for 6 years. I doubt that appeal is going anywhere.

wphamilton

Everything about this is weird. Did Smith get into a big pissing contest with local law and the local judge, and lost?

Rollfast

And you get out of their way because you are going to start a chain reaction wreck when somebody over 10 car lengths back doesn't see what the hindrance is or fails to stop in time.

You are a traffic hazard and can't be seen like a John Deere.

CB HI

First lane is 10 feet and the second lane is 10 to 12 feet at most. The cars are about 6 to 6.5 feet wide. And Pennsylvania law allows the cyclist to use the full lane when there is only one lane in each direction as shown in the video.
https://www.wtae.com/article/wstmore...-trial/7163723

CB HI

Where is that law written?

CB HI

Actually, Pennsylvania law is far more liberal with cyclist may use full lane than almost any other state.