View Poll Results: Near buzzes and the law...
Reported, and police resolved it in a timely manner.
2
8.33%
Reported and police didn't care.
7
29.17%
Took other method..
15
62.50%
Voters: 24. You may not vote on this poll
Near buzzes and the law...
10-16-11, 07:35 PM
#51
Banned
When I ride a bike I expect to be buzzed by cars, and because I expect it I ride in such a way to reduce the problem as much as possible. But because I ride on streets buzzing happens, I'm not going to waste my time calling the cops every time that happens, first off the cops don't care if you got buzzed, second because it happens all the time the cops will tag your phone number and label you as a nut job because of the frequent calling!
I got buzzed so close one time my elbow caught the guys mirror and hooked on, he dragged me down the road at speeds up to 48 mph (I was able to remain upright thus I was rolling) for 2 blocks before he slowed down enough so I could get loose, then he fled but I got a partial plate. I called the cops, showed then my scrapped up elbow and they laughed thought the whole ordeal was funny. So when I left the cops I went about 10 blocks and saw the same vehicle in a parking lot, upon close inspection I saw where my pedal had scrapped a circular pattern in the paint and the side mirror was loose...so I removed the mirror and left my business card with a note saying "I have your mirror, if you want it back you have my card". I never heard from the guy.
I got buzzed so close one time my elbow caught the guys mirror and hooked on, he dragged me down the road at speeds up to 48 mph (I was able to remain upright thus I was rolling) for 2 blocks before he slowed down enough so I could get loose, then he fled but I got a partial plate. I called the cops, showed then my scrapped up elbow and they laughed thought the whole ordeal was funny. So when I left the cops I went about 10 blocks and saw the same vehicle in a parking lot, upon close inspection I saw where my pedal had scrapped a circular pattern in the paint and the side mirror was loose...so I removed the mirror and left my business card with a note saying "I have your mirror, if you want it back you have my card". I never heard from the guy.
I'm not sure what to make of this incident, one thing, I wouldn't have left a business card. None of my calls to the police ended in laughter from either of us. Either it's time for you to move to another city, or make your voice heard on a higher level of authority.
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Prisoner No. 979
Prisoner No. 979
10-16-11, 10:38 PM
#52
24-Speed Machine
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When I ride a bike I expect to be buzzed by cars, and because I expect it I ride in such a way to reduce the problem as much as possible. But because I ride on streets buzzing happens, I'm not going to waste my time calling the cops every time that happens, first off the cops don't care if you got buzzed, second because it happens all the time the cops will tag your phone number and label you as a nut job because of the frequent calling!
When I lived in the mid-size port city of Duluth(Minnesota; Nov.'02-Jan.'07), I would see police on mountain bikes regularly along the coastal areas. But living in the Maryland suburbs of the DC-Metro region, I rarely see a police officer on a bike any time of the year. Also in Duluth, they took the traffic laws pertaining to cyclist's rights, more seriously. In the DC-Metro region, just like NYC, the police could care less.
I got buzzed so close one time my elbow caught the guys mirror and hooked on, he dragged me down the road at speeds up to 48 mph (I was able to remain upright thus I was rolling) for 2 blocks before he slowed down enough so I could get loose, then he fled but I got a partial plate. I called the cops, showed then my scrapped up elbow and they laughed thought the whole ordeal was funny. So when I left the cops I went about 10 blocks and saw the same vehicle in a parking lot, upon close inspection I saw where my pedal had scrapped a circular pattern in the paint and the side mirror was loose...so I removed the mirror and left my business card with a note saying "I have your mirror, if you want it back you have my card". I never heard from the guy.
10-16-11, 10:44 PM
#53
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I would have just simply reported I found the mirror on the side of the road when I broke it off with my elbow, and tried to return it to it's rightful owner. I doubt the police would have done anything considering they had a full report from me originally and "finding" the mirror would have gone along with the report. That's why I said "I have your mirror", not "I removed your mirror".
10-19-11, 10:57 AM
#54
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I know there's a lot of people who have been buzzed.. and near buzzed by cars in this subforum and I also know a lot of you have cams for your rides, good on you. How many of you have bothered reporting near buzzes to the police and was it successful? I'm going to assume that those that did it successfully had cams unless they say otherwise.
10-19-11, 12:09 PM
#55
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"near buzz" is a tautology. "buzz" MEANS a near pass. If it's not near it's not a buzz. Saying "near buzz" is redundant.
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10-19-11, 12:56 PM
#56
Tortoise Wins by a Hare!
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I'm sorry, but the details on this one just sound too incredible to be true. How were you able to not go down at that speed, for such a great distance, with one arm "hooked on"?
10-19-11, 08:48 PM
#57
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A cam will enable you to record his vehicle and license number. What you do with than information is up to you...but at least at this point in time even video evidence isn't taken seriously, let alone acted upon or used as some kind of permanent record or data store for potential future action by law enforcement. But having the record can't hurt.
Just a thought..
10-19-11, 08:57 PM
#58
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When the elbow hooked onto the mirror the back end skidded to the side of the vehicle, at that point I was fighting with the steering to keep the bike up right so it wouldn't slip under the vehicle. And this fight went on for 2 blocks. But I did manage to keep it upright, believe it or not. A scary point came when he slowed down enough for me to get free the bike jerked violently to the right after the rear wheel hit the side of the truck, but still kept it upright. My biking skills are not shabby by any means, I've had only 2 accidents involving cars in 40 years of riding; not including the above contact, but since I didn't crash I don't consider it a crash; and never had an accident in a racing not even at Cat 3 which are notorious for crashes, close calls yes but I was always able to prevent a crash. And the only other crashes I had were a result of a front blow out going around a mountain curve, and rounding another mountain curve at a high rate when the rear blew. Neither of those crashes were major just slide out and got some road rash but the bike was fine.
10-19-11, 09:11 PM
#59
Banned
So what is it we can do with the information? Perhaps a site that catalogs video by make model plate number city etc... that can be searched by police would be useful. Maybe cycling advocacy groups would donate some cash to get it up. Perhaps affected cyclists would pay a buck to have their video uploaded knowing at some point it could be used against the cager.
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Prisoner No. 979
Prisoner No. 979
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