supertj

Topic subject may sound serious more then what really happenned to me today. Riding along 347 (aka Nesconset Hwy) eastbound near intersection of Lake Ave/Gibbs Pond rd. This is on Long Island and its not really a highway. Some !#(*@!!!hole threw a sleuth of tacos/pizza out the window directly hitting me. The guy caught a red light at the next intersection trying to make a left and I was able to caught up. I tried blocking him by standing in front of his car while trying to get someone to call 911. I thought I had his plate# memorized. Unfortunately the car behind him did not have a cellphone and the ******* managed to pull around me while I was busy trying to see if someone around me could dial 911.

Though I am not hurt other then a mere scrape on my ankle, but it certainly hurt my pride and made me quite discouraged about further riding my bike. It is an assault and a crime. People have known to be sent to jail for hurling drinks at other cars in road rage so this was not any different. I did go to the police precinct to file a police report. Unfortunately in my shocked state someone would do such a thing, I must have failed to remember the plate#. It was something EKR9399 but I was told that is a surrendered plate.

So the only thing I have is that the car was a brand new (or no more then a year or 2 old b/c it looked completely shiny without any noticeable scratch) dark green Jeep. It was driven by a young fit person around anywhere between 20-25. He probably lives somewhere in the st james/head of the harbor area by where he was turning. I'm not asking anyone to do anything as there is nothing to do. But if any remote chance you're in this area and have seen a new jeep in this color with similar plate number, let me know and I will file that report. I'm just really frustrated.

I have been tossed pennies at, yelled at, and more things tossed at that missed. This was the first time I actually caught up with the person that committed the crime and I'm ashame I failed to remember the plate number.

nelson249

First of all, I am glad you are safe and relatively uninjured. Don't be too hard on yourself for not remembering a plate number. As you mentioned, this was a pretty shocking thing to happen and the human mind is notorious for forgetting things in stressful situations. At least you refused to be a victim and did what you could to hold the driver to account. I don't think I would step in front of an offending vehicle, however. If the driver has so much disregard for your safety by chucking stuff at you, he might not be all that deterred from clobbering you with 2 tons of plastic and steel.

thenomad

Well, that beats my loaf of bread story...

pipes

Glad your ok thats what really matters anyway IMHO ! BUT thats why I NEVER leave home without my Blackberry phone it has video and picture capability ! I also keep a pencil and paper in my trunk bag NOT a pen they might leak .

Sooner or later that arse a get caught they always do !

Blue Roads

I'm glad you're okay and admire your resolve, but IMO as a general rule, standing in front of a car during an altercation is not a good idea.

www.king5.com news excerpt:

bkrownd

The police will also get on your case for escalating a confrontation.

urodacus

So, did you break his nose?

And what sauce was on the taco?

duke_of_hazard

This sounds awful . Can you post a google map link of the area. I would wait for half an hour every day at that same spot waiting for them to return. We are all creatures of habit, so drive the same routes most of the time..

nvincent

Damn, that sucks! I've had stuff thrown at me by passing motorists, though they've always missed. I don't what I'd do if they actually hit me and then I caught up to them. I would imagine a U-lock could bust a windshield and put some dents in a car if swung properly.

I don't know if it's worth it to you but maybe you could get hypnotized and help recall the license plate number. But I don't know if any police department would waste resources on a minor crime like that.

Cyclaholic

I would have dragged the scumbag out of his cage and b!tchslapped him into next week.... but that's just me and not a course of action I'd recommend to anyone else.

cyclezealot

Often I carry a camera during my rides. Maybe it's a good idea to make them instantly available.

Griffin2020

The problem is that you are a cyclist, not a person...sorry it sounds cynical, but that has been played out so many times.

supertj

I know you were being sarcastic when you said "minor" and there is a good chance the police would think so too. However, this princinct I went to said they will put out an arrest for the guy if I had the plate number. Its not a minor crime. If the police officer thought so, I'm sure I can make my case and change his mind. If I had lost my balance, I could've fallen in the way of traffic and the cars behind him may not be able to dodge me quick enough. I phrased it as being "assaulted" when I approached the officer. I mentioned the speed the guy was driving at and my speed. You simply do not attack someone while moving.

BILLB58

I carry a small camera in my handlebar bag...I also carry a small notebook and pen......

Glad you were not injured...

Itsjustb

I grew up on LI and used to live on 347. I once had a hard-boiled egg thrown at me while riding on 347; it hit me on the leg and hurt like hell.

I can't find the case now but a woman here in the Carolinas was charged with attempted murder for throwing a drink into the open window of another driver during a road-rage incident. There was a lot of outcry against the charge as being excessive, but the DA on the case made the argument that distracting or injuring a driver at 55, 65 mph is extremely dangerous and could easily result in death. Sure, a cyclist isn't going that fast, but we all know just how dangerous it can be when something like this occurs on a bike. Besides the obvious risk of falling, what if the surprise made you veer into traffic?

Roody

Long Island sounds like a terrible place to ride. I've cycled more than 40,000 miles in Lansing and never had anything thrown at me.

StrangeWill

This would have been invaluable.

Most of this thread seems to be needless macho man talk. Most of these guys wouldn't do ****, and would just get in trouble if the police did get involved.

BLACK BIKE

I carry a small 9 millimeter automatic in my handlebar bag...along with a notebook and pen.

duke_of_hazard

It is probably more a numbers things than anything else. In big cities you have a lot more cars passing you. I also find drivers are under a lot more stress. Also cyclists are very common and a nuisance in driver's minds. In my small city, I am kind of a novelty since there are so few commuters. Drivers get all excited when they see my 'christmas lights'. I doubt I would get the same reaction in a bigger city.

Silent Otto

I willing to venture that ever rider on these boards has had something tossed at them. It means you are part of the club
Im confused tho, was it tacos and pizza, or a pizza taco?

But seriously, carry a celphone, and don't let it discourage you from riding.

hotbike

I live on Long Island, thanks for the heads-up about the green jeep.

Nesconsett Highway? Only driven on it once, would not try riding my bike on it.


I have been carrying a notepad and a pen, to write down plate numbers.

About six or seven years ago, I called 911 and reported a plate number. The Officer said "Can you call back in five minutes?" I waited five minutes and called back. The Officer was very thankful and said, "the perp was the subject of a high speed chase in Suffolk County, they called Nassau, but the call went to the third precinct, Thanks to you, we got him!"
This was the Old Brookville Police that nailed the driver, after he left Suffolk and went into Nassau.

nvincent

For sure, there's nothing minor about it. As cyclists we are vulnerable when we're out on the road. I would hope that the guy who threw the garbage at you did not have malicious intentions, and the police might feel the same way and think that it was not an attempt to cause you severe injury. But the fact of the matter is that what he did was very dangerous and could one day get someone killed. He probably did it impulsively without thinking of the consequences. Either way the police need to treat this very seriously, but my concern is that they won't be too interested in pursuing this. That's why sometimes I advocate vigilante justice. Personally I would not have hesitated to deface his car with whatever weapon I could find. But then again that could make things worse.

unterhausen

I have had a lot of success memorizing license plates. Every time I wanted to do so, I have remembered it all the way home, sometimes this means remembering it for hours. Just repeat it over and over to yourself. And often the cops can use the last digits and a car description to find the car.

silver_ghost

When I was younger I had a water balloon hurled at me from the window of a speeding, oncoming Jeep. Sure, a water balloon sounds pretty harmless but anything travelling more than 70 km/h is pretty destructive. It hit me in the chest, knocked me off my bike and winded the hell out of me, leaving a nasty bruise for weeks.
Unfortunately, by the time I caught my breath enough to look up, the @$$holes were long gone. I have no doubt that if I'd caught the balloon just a bit higher it would have broken my nose, at least.

Be safe out there.

RedRider2009

BLACK BIKE, was that a joke about the 9mm or not, the only reason that it may not appear to be a joke is because your avatar looks like (you?) as a police officer, therefore you may own a 9mm.

For some reason, I have been riding for the past few years, but have never had much thrown at me, more just yells and honks, but tonight 3 different people threw cigarettes out their window as they passed me. It seemed very intentional, but they must have slightly bad timing because they all landed a few feet ahead of me. They were probably all just pissed because I put a planet bike superflash on my bike tonight.