There’s a certain sect of the car world that’s locked in an eternal battle with cyclists. These drivers, for whatever reason, simply can’t accept that they have to share the road with people riding bikes, and hate the fact that cyclists are increasingly being granted bike lanes of their own in major metropolitan areas.
Personally, I can’t understand this attitude. Sure, it might be a tiny bit inconvenient to make room for a cyclist as you drive past them, but when you’re driving through a populated place or down a fun, twisty road, that’s just part of the environment, and there’s nothing you can do about it. What’s wrong with playing nice with one another?
Alas, some people just can’t figure it out. The occupants of a BMW took things a bit too far when they decided to start road-raging against a couple of bikers in California, forcing one off the road and throwing liquid at another, before speeding off. Instead of just ending things there, the driver of the BMW started messaging the biker on Instagram, asking to fistfight. Now, they’ve been arrested.
A Bike Lane Is Called A Bike Lane Because It’s For Bikes
This all started last Saturday when pro biker Luke Fetzer, who goes by the username sendy_mcgee on Instagram, published a video on the social media platform of a BMW M3 driver running up behind him and his friends while they were biking down the marked bike lane on the Pacific Coast Highway in Corona Del Mar, a neighborhood in Newport Beach.
View this post on Instagram
The video shows the BMW driving fully in the bike lane, inching up to the cyclist behind, who eventually has to hop up onto the sidewalk to avoid getting struck. After that, the BMW comes up next to Fetzer before the passenger splashes a drink onto him and chucks the empty cup out the window before speeding off.
The clip immediately went viral, accumulating millions of views in just a couple of days. According to Fetzer, the interaction didn’t begin when the camera started rolling, but a few minutes before that. He published a follow-up video explaining the entire encounter, before and after the camera started rolling:
We’re riding single file, and we move right in towards the bike lane. At this intersection, the driver honked at us, swerves at us, and then the passenger rolls down his window, yells, slurs it at us, and then they get stopped at the following stoplight.
I was angry, adrenaline was pumping. These guys had just tried to kill us by swerving their car into us, and in the heat of the moment, I grabbed my water bottle and I squirted onto his car while he was stopped at the red light. When I did that, I had no idea that they were going to try to run us off the road. I pulled out my phone because I knew that there was gonna be some angry drivers, and I was filming for my own safety.
It’s at that moment you can see what the BMW driver and their passenger do in the video above. While Fetzer isn’t totally, 100-percent innocent in instigating the situation, I’d say the BMW driver took things a bit too far, especially when you hear what happened next.
View this post on Instagram
According to Fetzer, the BMW didn’t just speed off into the distance, never to be seen again. He and his friends actually stopped down the road to blockade the bikers and harass them further.
A few miles down the road, him and four buddies all stop on the side, waiting in line at the Shake Shack, a local burger joint. Cars will usually park and wait in the line at Shake Shack, blocking cyclists, which is fine. We move to the left, and we go around. But this time, these four individuals got out of their cars, ran into traffic, pushed into the two right lanes, blocked us, told us that they were going to kill us, and tried tackling us.
Well, that’s no fun. And Fetzer says it wasn’t just his crew that got stopped, either. Two other bikers who were totally uninvolved until this point were caught up in this:
It didn’t only do it to us. There were two other cyclists that weren’t involved with us at all who were also put in harm’s way by these guys. In shock, I stopped with these two two cyclists who were clearly already on the phone with the police, trying to get an officer to the scene.
Eventually, everyone went their separate ways, but the story doesn’t end there. In fact, it gets even weirder.
The Aftermath
After the video blew up on social media, Fetzer was interviewed by CBS News Los Angeles, where he shared messages he claims were sent from the BMW driver over Instagram DMs. If you don’t feel like or can’t watch the video embedded above, I’ve reprinted the messages here:
haha you’re a [redacted] dork, pro cyclist making 20$ an hour thinks it’s ok to spray gatorade at a $100k car, hope you enjoyed the soaking wet bike ride back home peasant ????
Hey bro let’s both sign waivers and meetup for a consensual Full MMA sparring session, let’s settle this like Men
if you have the [redacted]
Something tells me that the fight might have to wait. Yesterday, the Newport Beach Police Department released a statement saying it served a warrant in the nearby city of Corona and arrested an individual identified as Samir Weiss, charging them with assault with a deadly weapon. The police say they also seized a blue BMW M3 from the residence where the warrant was served, as evidence.
The investigation is ongoing, but Fetzer told The Canyon Carver in a Thursday interview that he’s happy with the outcome so far. “It’s good to know that he’s in Johnny Law’s hands now, and they’re going to throw the book at him, and we’ll just see where it goes from here,” he said.
If there’s any lesson to be gleaned from this, it’s to simply mind your own business and give people space to enjoy themselves, whether they’re on a bike, a motorcycle, a car, or a three-wheeled contraption that falls somewhere in between those. At best, you’re ruining someone’s day, and at worst, you end up in jail. Just share the road, people.
Top graphic images: sendy_mcgee on Instagram
This further confirms my opinion of BMW drivers. Oh sure, they’re not ALL like that. But far too many of them are.
Also if that cyclist and the guy in the BMW did get into a fight, my money would be on the cyclist as I believe the cyclist would have a much higher level of fitness. I predict it would play out something like this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IdiotsInCars/comments/x9rzr5/impatient_driver_attacks_cyclist_and_gets_knocked/
They feel so big and tough inside their climate controlled vehicle compared to a cyclist. Then they get out and oh sh*t they remember they’re just a soft weak human, and they picked a fight with someone who actually exercises
This is why painted bike lane ‘infrastructure’ doesn’t get much use, only pathways seperated by concrete curbing feel safe enough for people other than hardcore bicycle enthusiasts to utilize.
Concrete separated bike lanes would keep that M3 out.
I hope that hothead goes to jail or at least loses his license. There is no excuse* for swerving a two ton chunk of metal and glass at a person wearing spandex and a plastic helmet. Doing so should disqualify you from ever operating a motor vehicle again.
Edit to add
*Assuming bicyclist didn’t randomly point a gun at someone. Obviously not the case here.
I’m sure there is way more to this story – other sources report the cyclists had an exchange with the driver of a Corvette as well. While the BMW driver is completely out of line and there is no excuse for his actions, some cyclists don’t understand that “share the road” goes both ways. I frequently ride my bicycle on the roads and do my best to not be an obstruction even if I have an equal right to the road.
Still, it is nice to see someone get arrested for road rage. I had an incident recently where a dickhead in an older Mercedes sedan tailgated me for 3 miles, gave me the finger, and threatened me, all because I wouldn’t go more than 38 mph in a 35 mph zone. This dickhead lives in my neighborhood and I regularly see him drive aggressively and road rage at other drivers. I can’t imagine how much of a pathetic individual he must be, and I’m glad I’m not him. Still, I would absolutely love to see him in the back of a police car someday.
“Share the Road” gets misinterpreted – it’s a sign directed at motorists to remind them that bikes have the same rights as them (i.e. can use the full lane). In that sense, it doesn’t “go both ways” – it’s a reminder for drivers of equal footing.
Unfortunately, it gets interpreted by motorists as “bikes should move aside and ‘share’ the exact same piece of road”. Your comment of not wanting to be an obstruction speaks to this. You aren’t an obstruction.
Many jurisdictions have now changed “Share the Road” signs to “Bikes May Use Full Lane” signs, which is what the initial intent was.
“This dickhead lives in my neighborhood and I regularly see him drive aggressively and road rage at other drivers. I can’t imagine how much of a pathetic individual he must be”
Hmm…
“pathetic /pə-thĕt′ĭk/
adjective
1) Arousing or deserving of sympathetic sadness and compassion.
2) Arousing or deserving of scornful pity.
3) Expressing or showing anger; passionate.”
I’m assuming you are going with #2 but even that seems too generous. I suggest “vile”:
vile /vīl/
adjective
1) Morally depraved; ignoble or wicked. “a vile traitor; vile accusations.”
2) Disgusting; repulsive. “vile effluent running down the city streets.”
3) Unpleasant or objectionable: synonym: offensive. “vile weather.”
This #2 seems particularly applicable.
How many stereotypes can this guy conform to?
-BMW
—BMW M
—-pignose BMW M
——MMA fan
Guessing he was listening to a manosphere podcast too
No front license plate either (technically illegal in CA)
It’s just California man being California man. At least Florida man is amusing.
Inland Empire California man, specifically. They were visiting a richy rich area of Orange County from Corona, CA, a generally not nice area.
Good. Justice is served.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
This is why I rarely ride my road bike and most frequently take out my ACME rocket bike—nobody takes issue with it. I found that, not only do I not get microphallus behavior like from this stereotypical M car owner, but I don’t even get the once frequent “accidental” close calls I only suspected weren’t accidental until the total absence of them with the rocket bike proved their intent. While pathetic behavior like this BMW guy’s is unacceptable, part of the problem with road rage is that far too many road bikers are also entitled douches. Guilty by association, I blame them for the BS I’d get from drivers on my road bike even though I never ride in spandex or in groups and ride the same way I do on every other bike (that is, not like a typical roadie. I don’t block roads and I follow traffic rules, including actually stopping at lights and signs—I guess 5-figure plastic bikes don’t mean they can track stand). Honestly, I hate them more as a cyclist than a driver. Anyway, this guy should have his license revoked so that he has to ride a bike.
“I never ride in spandex”
No? Personally I hate riding in anything other than cycling clothes, either wool or spandex. I find street clothes uncomfortable, especially on hot days and lack proper support in critical areas. If my fashion makes others rage with jealousy at how amazing and fabulous I look then it sucks to be them.
1) If you don’t want to be lumped in with the BMW driver stereotype, don’t contribute to the BMW driver stereotype.
1a) That’s a joke. Calm yourself, BMW drivers. If it doesn’t apply to you, cool. If it does, well. That’s on you.
2) That lane is for bikes. It doesn’t matter if the cyclist dumped spaghetti into your car, you don’t drive there.
3) Don’t challenge a cyclist to a fight. Those people get places by muscle power; they may not look like much but they have the fat content of a chicken wing and a power-to-weight ratio that will far exceed anything you expected. Engage at your peril. If you get a pair of handlebars to the face, you were warned.
4) You have no right to the road. Not any part of it. You are accorded the privilege to use the road when you sign your name on the license; this comes with the expectation of adhering to the rules. ALL the rules, that includes things like not driving in the bike lane (see above) and not swerving into other motorists as an act of intimidation or aggression. This is why, when you act like a dick on the road, the state retracts the permission to use the road because you have demonstrated an unwillingness or inability to share it as you promised you would – the promise you made when you signed the license.
This kind of shit makes me furious. I’m a wheeled enthusiast. Four cars and a half dozen bicycles. Why do people safe inside a car (or more often a truck) think it’s ok to intimidate, harass, and threaten other human beings that are on a bicycle? How is a bike rider ruining their day so badly? It makes no sense. Laws protecting bicyclists need to be far more severe than they are today.
“and a half dozen bicycles.”
Only half a dozen? Good on you. I had to stop myself at fourteen.
It’s been 50 years but I can attest that no one should fuck around with the Newport Beach cops…
They have seen some shit, and most are not what you would call patient, or forgiving.
I really was hoping to read that the bike guys had really beat the shit out of Mr. Samir.
OTOH I fully expect this saga is far from over…YMMV
They are constantly recruiting from other states now. Will come in to other states with a job fair style recruiting event. Absolutely wild. Cost of living and dealing with extremely entitled narcissistic idiots doesn’t pay enough. Probably can recruit some psychopaths other departments would like to see the back of. Should be some spectacular incidents coming.
When this clown sees a yellow sign with a silhouette of a bicycle or a farm tractor with the words “SHARE THE ROAD”, he automatically assumes it is directed at the bicyclists and farmers, not his self-absorbed ass.
So happy they took his car as evidence! Hopefully they suspend his license too. probably the only way he will learn this lesson. a night in jail probably would not have been enough
Suspended license isn’t nearly enough. He should never drive ever again for the rest of his worthless life. He has proven that he is entirely willing to murder someone with a car. His license should be permanently revoked and every car he owns should be seized with no compensation.
This asshole threatened to kill someone and took multiple practical steps towards doing so. He should never have access to anything more dangerous than plastic kindergarteners scissors.
I see incidents similar to this too frequently (albeit without the weird Instagram flexing. That BMW driver needs help and/or a swift kick to the groin). This drivers vs. bicyclist bullshit will never end in this country.
Drivers get pissed that bicyclists get their own lane that “they don’t pay for” and don’t follow the rules of the road.
Bicyclists get pissed because drivers are aggressive and don’t pay attention to their surroundings.
Chicago has bike lanes everywhere and they’re constantly adding more. I drive my car and ride my bike regularly. If more people would use both modes of transportation, these incidents would decrease significantly. When I drive my car, I drive knowing what I would want to see as a bicyclist. When I ride my bike, I try to be predictable and clear because that’s what I would want to see as a driver.
Drivers need to watch for cyclists and should be grateful that a bicycle is one less car on the road. Bicyclists need to stop blatantly disregarding traffic laws and making drivers angry. Above all, everyone needs to be aware that in an accident, the bicyclist always loses and that’s why I wear a GoPro on my helmet.
+1 for the kick to the nutsack idea…
JFC, things like this show why we can’t get along.
My money is on the cyclist and not the driver if they do an MMA fight. We know for certain that the biker dude works out constantly.
Bingo!
Slow news day?
actually I was super happy to see this. I saw the video last night on insta and was left wondering/hoping the dude would be arrested.
Just go over to Old Site…
I’d like to apologize on behalf of the residents of Corona, California. We’re not all like that toolbag.
We know. Any bets on how this guy voted?
Oh no, water got on your car. Whatever shall we do?
I’m melting, I’m melting!!!
Not defending the bike rider, but a justifiable gut reaction.
Pittsburgh has been adding a LOT of bike lanes, both downtown and in other neighborhoods in recent years. There has been some loss of street parking (an issue in ANY city), but it is arguably making driving BETTER. Some old traffic patterns are being rerouted, and I actually think flow is better. TBH, maybe more limited flow one-way streets with nose-in parking and a bike lane is actually BETTER for communities.
Jesus. Do I go into the turn signal bit or the “difference between BMWs and porcupines” bit or the tire pressure bit or one of the other million jokes about stereotypical BMW M-car driver behaviors? The fact that this jag jumped straight to “I’ll MMA fight ya, bruh” is enough of a joke for today, I think.
This is one of the reasons why I often carry weapons in my velomobiles or when on my bike. If anyone decides to treat me in a similar manner, they have an opportunity to FAFO. I’ve learned early in life that you don’t have to go looking for trouble, since it will seek you out instead. Best be ready to address it when it finds you.
That said, the motorcycle disguised as a mountain bike attracts greatly more hostility than the velomobiles. The velos look like something that will damage their car if they hit them. The mountainbike greatly more often gets run off the road.
Kind of garbage content. Haven’t heard about the WWII Jeep lately
boo. this is good content.
Also boo.