Social media forces cyclist-doorer to fess up

[glenn forger]

Meanwhile, a Facebook user attracted criticism for publicly calling on drivers to start dooring cyclists and then upload the videos of the offences to social media.

The post attracted disgust from other Facebook users, who are calling on the man's employer, BMW Australia, to answer for his comments.

One Facebook user wrote: ‘‘Last night an employee of yours, a Tony Chirinian, incited violence by calling on others to start "dooring" cyclists and uploading videos to social media’’.

"Dooring a cyclist can kill a cyclist. He has incited others to injure, maim and possibly kill cyclists."

Another user said: "This is pretty bad. I hope Tony gets a good talking to about this, and appropriately reprimanded for how he has irreparably damaged BMWs image."

When Fairfax Media contacted BMW Australia for a response, a spokeswoman said: "BMW Group Australia does not in any way support or condone the views expressed by this individual on their personal social media account. This individual is an external contractor to BMW Group Australia.

"Vehicle, passenger and commuter safety is an integral part of BMW’s Corporate philosophy and is a matter which we take very seriously. This issue has been handled internally".

She also said the company's response would be posted on the BMW’s Facebook page.



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/c...of-reaction-20140319-352r5.html#ixzz2wUtf0KPw

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Yes, I heard about that, and I hope that the "handled internally" is more than just a mild reprimand. The fallout from this incident has been depressing me this week , because there just seems to be so much anti-cyclist hate in Australia lately. All week, I've been feeling like I have a big target painted on my back while riding the bike. On the bright side , I did manage to get my letter published in today's Herald Sun (Melbourne) newspaper. My submitted text is

Why does the Herald Sun think cyclist registration will keep in check the minority of cyclists who break the road rules? This clearly didn't work with motorists, because a higher proportion of motorists than cyclists break the road rules, and this has been the case for many years.
Education is a better solution: all road users, regardless of their vehicle type, need to be better educated on the road rules. It seems to be far too easy these days to get a driver's licence with minimal road rules knowledge.

and the edited text is

How would cyclist registration keep in check the minority of cyclists who break the road rules?
This clearly didn't work with motorists, because a higher proportion of motorists than cyclists break the law.
All road users need to be better educated. It seems to be far too easy to get a driver's licence with minimal knowledge of the road rules.

They didn't stuff around with it too much, and to be honest, I didn't really expect them to publish it, given their generally pro-motorist stance. My name and address is below it, too - now that target on my back's getting itchy .