By Gabby
You may have seen the Youtube video that was all over the news this morning. This video was of a brutal attack of a man in a Range Rover by a group of bikers in New York City. Having learned to drive on that exact stretch of road (the West Side Highway) I can say from experience that ANY driver would find it uncomfortably narrow. I can also say from watching a great deal of the footage from the helmet cam, the weaving around that this group of bikers was doing, would make me an exceptionally uneasy motorist in a similar situation.After scrutinizing this video as carefully as YouTube will allow, I have decided that it looks as though the Range Rover may have bumped into the biker with the black vest who is on the white bike, in second :29 though this same rider then appears in second :29 upright and moving. Maybe something happened prior to this, I can’t be sure, but mixing cars with a pack of this many bikers just seems like a recipe for disaster.
Regardless of who began this altercation, my impression is that New York Gun Laws exacerbated it. The news mentioned that the driver of the Range Rover had his wife and baby in the car, and I we can assume that some of his actions were in the haste of self defense and personal protection. How different might the scenario have plaid out, if some of those involved had been civilized, rational concealed carriers?
Let’s say that everyone involved in this event was a law abiding citizen prior. If concealed carry in New York were common, the driver might have assumed the bikers were armed and would have been especially careful about driving among them and not doing anything to piss them off. He also probably would have done more to avoid them altogether. Also, he might have been carrying himself, and stopped the car immediately after the first situation and talked it out, called the police, traded insurance information (or defended himself) depending on how the bikers approached him. He probably wouldn't have gunned it, killing one of the riders in the process. Conversely, the bikers might have approached the Range Rover differently, had the assumed the driver was carrying a concealed weapon.
So that’s my An-armed-society-is-a-polite-society, rant… But I’d also like to address a few basic personal safety concerns for my fellow New Yorkers who follow the laws and are therefore, unarmed.
I noticed that in the video, at 5:06, when the car is stopped and a biker approaches the driver’s side, I noticed that the door appears to be unlocked when the biker reaches for the handle. When it comes to avoiding trouble, locking ones doors would seem like common sense. Then again, because it is not yet clear how this altercation started, I will say to those who ride, in the battle of You vs. SUV, your best chance is to avoid the whole thing.
2 comments:
A Sig P226 would have saved him from a senseless attack! He was indeed in fear of his life and that of his family!
put in a very bad situation by a 'flash mob on bikes'........wanna bet that NYC traffic control saw the whole event on their road cameras...and just ignored it....news tape at 6.....not....imho
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