After seriously getting into it with a driver who decided to yell at me to
get on the sidewalk and reinforce his opinion with a close pass, I figured
I thought of an alternative to shouting at each other. I would just hand
them a notice:


So you think you're doing society a favor by harassing a cyclist:

1. You are wrong: According to Florida state statutes, cyclists have the
right to use all roads except interstate highways or similar access roads.
This is because forcing cyclists to use adjacent paths is often more
dangerous due to crossing traffic and poor visibility problems.

2. It is illegal. Playing vigilante (especially when you are wrong) and
starting or escalating an altercation can result in assault charges.
Menacing a person with your car can get you convicted of assault with a
deadly weapon.

If you feel like being a vigilante, I might suggest you focus your intention
on drivers, who kill several thousand pedestrians and cyclists each year,
not cyclists who pose no real threat to anyone else.

As to the popular myth that cyclists don't pay for roads: All local roads
(along with police, fire rescue, runoff control, crossing guards, and other
services) are paid for by property taxes. This combined with other
subsidies such as "free" parking, oil defense, and other subsidies are
several times greater than the few hundred dollars drivers pay in gasoline
taxes and license fees.

The interesting ending to the story was the guy and I were going the same
way for about a mile after the altercation - a mile of roads with zero
sidewalks - a mile of me staying right behind him on the 25 MPH streets.
Boy, I was sure impeding his progress.

--
Robert Haston
Satellite Beach, FL