Collision 1.

Full sized image.

I was walking around the corner from George Street, west onto King Street, and I glanced at the traffic just in time to see this car rear-end the cyclist, who had stopped behind a taxi. There was a big screech of brakes, suggesting that speed was an issue in the collision.

The cyclist asked the driver for his details, blocking the lane with his bike, since it seemed like the car might not wait - he later implied that the collision was deliberate, due to an earlier exchange. The driver certainly wasn't cooperating.

The driver was angry, saying to me that the cyclist shouldn't even be on the road, that "all bikes should get off the roads and make room for the cars." I told him that wasn't the issue, since bikes were legally allowed on the roads and he'd just hit one. I didn't get a chance to tell him that it's cars that cause traffic jams - just saying bikes are okay annoyed him so much that he took off, mounting the curb with one wheel to get around the taxi ahead. He sped around the corner, south down George Street.

The friendly bus driver in the background offered to act as a witness, as well as me. I hope they get this guy. It's drivers like him who should be taken off the roads, not cyclists.