daven1986

TBH one thing you should have done is pulled up beside the truck at those final lights and got the driver's face on camera then gone straight to the police. Of course you can give them the video as it stands but it would have helped ID the driver.

Glad you are ok - taking the lane may have helped a bit in stopping the driver considering the overtake.

dynodonn 

When the mind is racing (mine would be) after a situation like the OP's, one cannot think of everything, especially if incidents like the one in the video do not occur on a regular basis.

fuji86

Looks like you drew the line on your riding on a straight line about a foot to the left of the storm drains that you passed periodically. Just me, but I move closer to the curb yet still on the asphalt pavement between storm drains like that. But that makes it a busier ride for me to make it back outside the drain and edge, I can make the move a smoother, more gradual and less noticeably abrupt move or I can wait until the last moment and swerve over. About the only thing that the rental truck driver did that I thought was too close, was to pass when the bus was going the other direction that made it tight for everyone. Timing is everything on that. I really wish a car that is going to pass, make the effort to go wider and get the job done rather than poke along, not really going fast enough to make a swift & quick pass. Rest assured as a motorist, I'd go way around a cyclist and use the gas to accelerate to get as far ahead of the cyclist as possible.

Top Gunner

You're a better man than I. I would have approached his vehicle once I caught up and yelled at him.

Chris516

Good point

There are always those thoughts(not all of them) after the fact, of 'if only I had....', 'why didn't I....', or 'what if I had......'.

Chris516

I have done that. But it is better to get the evidence without confronting the motorist.

dynodonn 

The one incident that made my final decision to install video cams on my bike didn't involve confronting a motorist, but just my personal act of physically writing down the motorist's vehicle license number was enough to make this particular motorist get out of their vehicle and go into a face to face tirade.

Daves_Not_Here

I'm guilty of 20/20 hindsight -- if you were aware that a rental truck was tailgating you, why not swoop into the right-hand cutout at 8:43:33 and eliminate the problem? It would not have cost you 2 seconds. Why not assume control of a dangerous situation that involves your life? You had by far the most at stake.

Rental trucks are often driven by those who are inexperienced at handling a wide truck. Is that who you would choose to assign responsibility for your own well-being? You had a near-death experience and it's possible he didn't even know it.

Relevant links:
Discretion is the better part of valour - to avoid a dangerous or unpleasant situation is sometimes the most sensible thing to do

Cutting off nose to spite face - to hurt yourself in an effort to punish someone else

So what was the upside? By refusing to give way, you "stood up for your rights", and "demanded that drivers grant you full access to the road". You put yourself needlessly at risk -- you could have been killed. You may have created an impression in the driver that cyclists intentionally provoke incidents in games of chicken (which could negatively affect his future interactions with others cyclists like me -- thanks alot for that). You reinforce the impression of some that in conflicts between motorists and cyclists, more often than not, the cyclist has behaved in an intentionally provocative manner.

Rant incoming

You are not Rosa Parks. The rights of cyclists versus motorists is not on the top 100 list of concerns of productive citizens in this nation. Ridership is diminishing in some areas. Your taking a stand and getting yourself squashed will have no net positive affect for cyclists. On the contrary, it would be a blow to us, as well as a huge blow to you, your friends, and your family. The driver would probably feel terrible, if that's any consolation.

"But it's the driver's responsibility to pass safely and honor the rights of the cyclist". "Its the other guys fault". "He was a psycho -- it was him." "Alway the other guys fault, never mine".

In a nanny-state of infantile, victim citizens, it is alway the responsibility of others to care for us, to honor our rights, to take responsibility for our well-being. We have no personal responsibility for even our own continued life.
Rant off

I know my point of view is probably not widely shared here, based on the responses posted so far. I therefore fully accept that I am an ignorant asshat, a reactionary, an enemy to cyclists, the problem not the solution, a fascist, one gun collection to the right of Attila the Hun, and any other names you should call me that are only too kind.

Chris516

I need a helmetcam outright. Because even if I did write down all the particulars:

1. Date
2. Time of Day
3. Direction of car
4. Distance between me n' passing vehicle
5. Vehicle manufacturer
6. Car model

The police in the region, regardless of department(U.S. Park, State, County, City) would want eyewitness identification in lieu of an officer actually witnessing it themselves. Also if an officer does witness an incident in the DC-Metro region involving a bike, they will only do something if cyclist is at fault, not if the driver is at fault, which I can attest to.

degnaw

He wasn't behind me at 8:43:33. He was tailgating me approaching the stop sign, but wasn't following me at any point past that. He didn't catch back up to me until the moment of his pass.

tadawdy

Mostly, I agree with your view of these things. We diverge here, though. You can have all of the rights you want, but none of them should be allowed to infringe upon the well-being of others. I'm pretty sure that's why governments are supposed to exist.

You can control your actions all you want, but some guy can still walk up to you on the street and stab you in the throat. You'd tell the victim they shouldn't have gone outside, right?

dynodonn 

Hopefully your local law enforcement doesn't try to use that frame of mind in murder cases, by only involving themselves in ones witnessed by an LEO.

dynodonn 

Pretty much what the motorist in the OP's video was counting on, and to make a quick braking maneuver with a motorist tailgating is sometimes not the best option, and even worse, reinforces the notion to the motorist to do it again to another cyclist.

I mainly pullover when I feel safe to do so, plus I found that most motorist will tailgate at further distance than they will pass at, like many others here, I will generally pick the lesser of the two evils.

Chris516

I know it will sound like I am 'out to lunch'. But, I would rather have a motorist tailgate at 15-20ft. behind me, than pass me by less than 3ft.; Because by the motorist staying behind me at that distance, it is far better than being buzzed by a moving vehicle. I also can keep an eye on them.

CB HI

I always find it odd that when a motorist tailgates a cyclist, nearly has a head-on collision with a bus and runs the cyclist off the road; that it is the cyclist who gets accused of escalating things if the cyclist yells of flips the bird.

Although I must add that if the cyclist pulled a gun and shot the motorist dead, then I would consider that as escalating the situation.

Now if the cyclist shot and missed, that would be on par with the motorist actions and not escalating either.

dynodonn 

Sounds like we're both in agreement on the tailgating issue, that having a motorist several feet behind us is better than a motorist trying to pass us with several inches to spare.

degnaw

I agree with this one, but when I think of tailgating at bicycle speeds, I'm thinking more like 4-8 feet behind. (The truck was no more than 2 feet behind me coming up to the stop sign, granted that was at a relatively low speed)

billdsd

Standing up for our rights is not likely to get us squashed if we do it correctly.

We are in a very similar position to Rosa Parks. We have people trying to deny us basic rights for no good reason. One difference between us and Parks is that she actually had the law against her and was arrested for standing up for her rights. The law as it is written is (mostly) on our side.

I don't expect to get squashed and I'll continue to stand up for my rights and ride in a manner which makes it extremely unlikely for me to be hit and impossible to be hit accidentally.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

I'm sure that you'll just keep being an Uncle Tom.

CB HI

So you would also accept full responsibility for getting mugged outside a five star hotel and not put any of the blame on the mugger?

009jim

If you get a lot of tail-gaters, I theorise that the solution is a long metal pole at the rear at radiator height with a nice point. I envisage this being attached to the top tube. When unwanted tailgate gets too close just slow down and allow said metal pole to puncture radiator. Then speed away and watch them cook their engine over the next mile or two.

Digitalfiend

I get passed like that all the time by transport trucks (i.e. experienced truckers) doing 80km/h+ on this one stretch of road. I wish I could avoid using that road but it connects to all the other good roads around the area and I don't want to ride on a gravel sideroad for 10km (farm country.) It's extremely annoying because if I were a farm tractor, a passing motorist would give me a wide-berth so as not to cause an accident and damage their vehicle. I don't see why the same courtesy can't be extended to a cyclist trying to maintain 45+km/h within a 1ft-2ft narrow shoulder.

By the way OP, what camera is this? It looks like one of those 808 #11 cams...I'm trying to decide if I'm going to pick one up or not in lieu of using my GoPro HD...

loug

had a bus do that same type of thing to me on a bridge in pittsburgh. talked to a cop about it shortly after it happened and he was ready to laugh about it, said there was nothing that could be done

Daves_Not_Here

Then I may have been too hasty in jumping to an incorrect conclusion. It sounds like he had been tailgating, but you pulled away from him at the stop sign and he had to catch back up to you.

I have some questions, but I'm not trying to put you on the defensive:
- Given the tailgating, did it seem like he was menacing you? That he was starting rage at not being able to pass? I'm curious if the situation was heating up or if the close pass was a complete surprise.
- Prior to the pass, were you aware that he was approaching you from behind?
- It seems like he passed with speed. Did you know he was barrelling through like that?
- Just prior to the pass, you look back twice, similar to when he had been tailgating. Seems like you sense that something is going to happen. Were those look-backs for a reason?
- You are abreast a road to the right about two seconds prior to the pass. Any reason you wouldn't veer into that street, given the pending close pass?

degnaw

It is in fact.

1. I was more annoyed than menaced by the tailgating, at the time.
2&3. I was aware once I looked back.
4. I look back the first time because with the bus pulling out, I'm anticipating the possibility of a dangerous situation and want to check for traffic. The second look back is to see what the truck was doing.
5. By the time I realized the truck wasn't slowing down (about the time of the second look back, a fraction of a second prior to the pass), it was too late to pull in.

adamtki

Were you using a mirror? My guess is you weren't. Otherwise, you would've noticed the impatient guy was making the same right turn as you a little earlier - earlier enough to know not to take off so quickly and just ride easily into the cutout at 0:40 and let him pass. The mirror could've easily told you that nobody was behind him and so letting him pass would give you a more pleasant ride.

Or you could've decided that you could out ride him down the road and finding that you still can't as he's quickly approaching, you would've taken the lane and stuck your left arm down and out to give a "slow down, not yet" message and wave him through after the bus passes.

I'm definitely not saying you were in the wrong. He's certainly at fault for what he did, but I wanted to give some tips on staying alive and stress free out there!! The mirror does wonders in helping you make better, more efficient, and safer riding decisions.