Attorney Melvin Belli is a bicycle enthusiast whose passion for biking often crosses over into his professional life. That’s what happened a few years ago when a friend asked Belli to represent him after the friend was hit by a car.

Belli, who’s been riding since he was a kid, has certainly seen his share of close calls and says, “I don’t like it when bicyclists get hit by cars – it makes my blood boil.”

In this case, an out-of-state driver made a right turn into Belli’s friend, who is a champion bicycle racer.

“The defendant claimed that my client was riding on the sidewalk and came off the sidewalk as he was making a turn. But the true facts were that my client was riding down the street and the defendant just made a right turn into him,” Belli said. “The driver’s claim was ridiculous.”

The driver was from Nevada and “probably didn’t know where he was going,” Belli said. “It was by San Francisco City College and there’s a bunch of streets that come together there, so it was probably confusing. But still, the driver wasn’t being careful, he wasn’t being attentive.”

Belli settled the case for an undisclosed amount.

“My friend, who suffered soft tissue injuries in the wreck, is an experienced bicyclist, which means he knows he has to exercise caution on city streets,” Belli said.

Drivers not paying attention to their surroundings is a big problem, he said.

“Motorists don’t even see bicyclists because they’re not paying attention and they’re not expecting a bike or motorcycle,” Belli said. “The problem is that people in cars feel that they’re entitled to the road and anyone who gets in their way is a nuisance, whether it be a bicyclist or a pedestrian. And you’re dealing with 5,000 pounds of iron versus 20 pounds of carbon fiber.”

Belli admits that some bicyclists are not as observant of the rules of the road as they should be but he thinks they’re a minority.

“For example, one of my friends used to get furious when  bicyclists would ride side by side,” Belli said. “If you’re riding along and talking, then you’re riding side by side and you’re hogging the lane. So, if you’re going to do something like that you need to find a place where there’s not a lot of cars around.”

That said, Belli reiterated that ”car people need to pay more attention to bicyclists – they either don’t see them or they just don’t really care about them. There’s a story of a doctor in L.A. who got mad at a bunch of cyclists and went speeding around them. Then, the doctor slammed on his brakes once he got right in front of them.”

Two bicyclists were injured in the road rage incident that occurred on July 4, 2008.

The doctor was sentenced to five years in state prison, his driver’s license was revoked for life and he was ordered to pay restitution to his victims.

“Fortunately, cases like this are rare but the consequences can be life-changing,” Belli said. “We all need to exercise caution. The bottom line is people need to be in less of a rush.”