A driver and a cyclist were caught on camera squaring off in a fistfight along Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach on Saturday.
The video, which has been circulating online, shows a man in a yellow shirt stepping out of his vehicle and confronting the biker in the roadway. The man appears to square up to the cyclist and make boxing motions as the two argued. Two other cyclists can be seen attempting to intervene, at one point moving their bicycles toward the corner as they try to keep the confrontation from escalating.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the fight or whether either person was injured. The scene unfolded along PCH, or State Route 1, although the exact location was not immediately clear. The stretch of roadway shown in the video does not appear to have a dedicated bike lane.
California law generally gives bicyclists the same rights and responsibilities as drivers. Cyclists traveling slower than traffic are generally required to ride as close as practicable to the right side of the roadway, with exceptions including when turning, passing, avoiding hazards or when the lane is too narrow to safely share with a vehicle.
The video sparked a heated debate online, with many commenters appearing to side with the driver despite the circumstances surrounding the confrontation remaining unclear.
“I’m sorry but Laguna isn’t the place for cycling,” one person wrote.
“Super dad vs annoying cyclists. Team Dad,” another commenter said.
“These bike dudes should not be able to cycle PCH during peak hours. They never get out of way and all they do is slow traffic. I get it they need a place to ride but PCH is a crazy highway,” another user wrote.
Another commenter claimed they had recently been stuck behind cyclists on the same roadway.
“Omg I was stuck behind them taking up entire lane I was going crazy. Of course I didn’t try to beat them up but they do bug the you know what out of me,” the person wrote.
Laguna Beach sits along the Pacific Coast Highway in Orange County, roughly 50 miles south of Los Angeles and about 70 miles north of San Diego, between Newport Beach and Dana Point.
The incident comes amid ongoing tensions between drivers and cyclists along the scenic but heavily trafficked coastal route.