Commuting - I got deliberately sideswiped by a delivery truck, and lived!

It's morning peak hour, I'm nearly at my destination in fairly heavy city traffic. I'm the last in line and make a left at a green light at a cross intersection (remember, we drive on the left here). I'm almost completed the turn when a small delivery truck runs the red from what would have been my right hand side before making the turn.

He starts honking as he comes up beside me (I'm right in the middle of my lane) then he starts swerving into me, still honking. I react by swerving away but he manages to sideswipe me. I managed to stay upright even though for a fraction of a second I thought I was dead. I hit the brakes and manage to stop just before getting pancaked between the truck and the first parked car. I swear there wasn't more than 3 or 4 inches left between the truck and the car.

What really enraged me is that I could see him looking at me, laughing, and giving me the finger through his great big side mirror. I sprinted after him and caught him at the next red. He was stopped in traffic but as I approached I could see his front wheel turning and him looking at me through his rearview. As I expected he deliberately lunged forward to block my path (or more likely to hit me) as I approached. Fortunately for me he didn't have enough room in front of him to fully block me... and I was anticipating the move. I landed a perfect punch to his rear view mirror and smashed it as I went past. It folded forward right around and hit his windshield.


Footnote: Don't try this unless you're wearing a stury pair of gloves. I use and highly recommend these (https://www.ironclad.com/www/productDetail.jsp?prodID=117&catID=64). There's a lighter model I use in summer.....

.... Nasty, but I do not know that I would have done that. The violence may be cathartic, but it renders it much harder, if not impossible, to get the police involved.

.... Nasty, but I do not know that I would have done that. The violence may be cathartic, but it renders it much harder, if not impossible, to get the police involved.

The only way the cops get involved in that sort of incident is if there's a dead cyclist under the truck's wheels.... and then it's just to report that the cyclist swerved in front of the truck and was therefore responsible for the tragic accident. After all, there's only the driver's version left.

Good to hear you are okay and I really hope you got his plate number.

I also wish that more than his mirror got smashed.

on a side note. what's your avatar. looks like a parrot head on a cheese grater.

Good to hear you are okay and I really hope you got his plate number.

I also wish that more than his mirror got smashed.

Nah, I didn't bother with his plate number, there's no point.

on a side note. what's your avatar. looks like a parrot head on a cheese grater.

The email was titled "another recalled toy from China" I guess it doesn't really work as an avatar, oh well....

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x248/cyclaholic_album/another_recalled_toy_from_china.jpg

Yikes!

The only way the cops get involved in that sort of incident is if there's a dead cyclist under the truck's wheels.... and then it's just to report that the cyclist swerved in front of the truck and was therefore responsible for the tragic accident. After all, there's only the driver's version left.And then the papers and apologist tell us how sad it is, that the driver will have to live the rest of his life knowing he killed a cyclist.


Maybe you could use a glove upgrade for the next time you see this driver:
http://www.wileyx.com/EcommSuite/ProductListing.aspx?ActivityCode=TACTICAL&SeriesCode=281

I'd boomerang the m@therf@cker.

Reaction is up to the individual. Don't rely on the moral judgement of others because it is all relative to interpretation. Screw that jackass in the truck for his motives. If something comes flying back at him,than as he might expect there is always an equal and or opposite reaction. The battles you choose are your own and that's completely up to you, not the wise men yelling from the sidelines. Find your own truth in every situation.

Screw 'em! After years on a motorcycle commuting, having fun and hitting the race track every now and then I have NO compunction to punch mirrors, kick doors, dent hoods or pop a deserving driver! Had a city bus cut me off because they ran a light trying to cut a different car off. Stood up on the pegs and destroyed his mirror.

The best is SUVs' and 'spensive sedans. Those mirrors are expensive and shatter quite nicely.

I know it doesn't solve the problem and I don't really care. They actively aim for riders of any sort and they get it in kind should it come down to it!

These gloves work great and have been thru several iterations of wonderfulness and plenty of mirrors and doors...

http://www.rideicon.com/showImage.jsp?class_id=5797&image_type=fullsize&rank=100

I had to kick an SUV that was running me off the road. I had my MTB shoes on that have spikes (2 3/4" aluminum spikes), left 2 nice little holes and a big dent in the door. The cops did get involved but sided with me saying it was self defense.

Maybe you could use a glove upgrade for the next time you see this driver:
http://www.wileyx.com/EcommSuite/ProductListing.aspx?ActivityCode=TACTICAL&SeriesCode=281
Oh that's niiiice! I like the injection moulded knuckle protection, I reckon that would leave a 'lasting impression' on car panels! ;)

Last time that happened I started to pull the driver out of his semi. The look on his face as I was trying to breach the cabin was priceless, but overall, I really should have just done some urban bike ninja hooey and ridden off without being in the altercation.

I do ride with hard armor gloves and toes spikes, though.

I had to kick an SUV that was running me off the road. I had my MTB shoes on that have spikes (2 3/4" aluminum spikes), left 2 nice little holes and a big dent in the door. The cops did get involved but sided with me saying it was self defense.

I've had to smack a few windows to avoid that but a good hard smack usually gets their attention. I'd increase to window smashing level quickly though.

Glad to hear you're okay Cyclaholic. I got pretty angry just reading your post. Good job folding that *****hole's mirror. Too bad you couldn't smash that idiot in the face. :beer:

Glad you're OK OP. Why didn't you hijack the truck Mad Max style?

I am usually a pacifist when it comes to relating to the rest of the world. Most folks that do stupid stuff are just ignorant, so I cut 'em slack....

In THIS instance, I fully agree and support you in your retaliation. This fella is living on another planet and he needed a broken mirror to bring him back down to earth. Hope your little dose of therapy helped!

For everyone else out there - always use your best judgement and keep a cool head. If you're gonna retaliate, have a plan for when things go bad... Here in the USA you never know when someone's got a weapon and is lookin' for an excuse to use it. Hard to ride faster than a speeding bullet!

All that said - I really enjoyed the story. Made my day!

I regularly tell drivers...Don't piss off the cyclists...they laugh when I explain what happens...They think I exagerate



What really enraged me is that I could see him looking at me, laughing, and giving me the finger through his great big side mirror. I sprinted after him and caught him at the next red. He was stopped in traffic but as I approached I could see his front wheel turning and him looking at me through his rearview. As I expected he deliberately lunged forward to block my path (or more likely to hit me) as I approached. Fortunately for me he didn't have enough room in front of him to fully block me... and I was anticipating the move. I landed a perfect punch to his rear view mirror and smashed it as I went past. It folded forward right around and hit his windshield.

Footnote: Don't try this unless you're wearing a stury pair of gloves. I use and highly recommend these (https://www.ironclad.com/www/productDetail.jsp?prodID=117&catID=64). There's a lighter model I use in summer.....

What kind of temp are those gloves good to OP?

It's morning peak hour, I'm nearly at my destination in fairly heavy city traffic. I'm the last in line and make a left at a green light at a cross intersection (remember, we drive on the left here). I'm almost completed the turn when a small delivery truck runs the red from what would have been my right hand side before making the turn.

He starts honking as he comes up beside me (I'm right in the middle of my lane) then he starts swerving into me, still honking. I react by swerving away but he manages to sideswipe me. I managed to stay upright even though for a fraction of a second I thought I was dead. I hit the brakes and manage to stop just before getting pancaked between the truck and the first parked car. I swear there wasn't more than 3 or 4 inches left between the truck and the car.

What really enraged me is that I could see him looking at me, laughing, and giving me the finger through his great big side mirror. I sprinted after him and caught him at the next red. He was stopped in traffic but as I approached I could see his front wheel turning and him looking at me through his rearview. As I expected he deliberately lunged forward to block my path (or more likely to hit me) as I approached. Fortunately for me he didn't have enough room in front of him to fully block me... and I was anticipating the move. I landed a perfect punch to his rear view mirror and smashed it as I went past. It folded forward right around and hit his windshield.


Footnote: Don't try this unless you're wearing a stury pair of gloves. I use and highly recommend these (https://www.ironclad.com/www/productDetail.jsp?prodID=117&catID=64). There's a lighter model I use in summer.....
I'm glad you're ok.

I'm still waiting for when one of your Australian garbage trucks tries to take out a cyclist with those robotic arms type story. Your's was pretty good, but no robotic manipulating arm. Better yet, the robotic arm swoops down and plucks you up to safety, right before a car t-bones you. It could happen. Geeze, I hope the cyclist would be wearing a helmet cam then. Oh... yeah, glad you're okay.

Judging by some other posts...It sounds like Aussie drivers are pretty tough!

Damn, that's F'd up! If that happened to me I would do all that I could to track him down. I would find out where he lives, then visit his house and completely destroy his car - puncture all tires, break windows, create dents, etc. I would be SOOO pissed.

I'm a newbie biker. This story makes me want some nice gloves :)

.... Nasty, but I do not know that I would have done that. The violence may be cathartic, but it renders it much harder, if not impossible, to get the police involved.

This is Australia. The police weren't going to get involved regardless, I know from dealing with similar incidents myself.

Judging by some other posts...It sounds like Aussie drivers are pretty tough!

I'm not sure "tough" is a word I'd use to describe someone who lauches an attack from inside a truck, thinking they can just accelerate away without any consequences. I think "cowardly" comes closer to the mark.

I'm glad you're ok.

+1

You guys are crazy.

In a nice way.

You should have found out the company he worked for, and had a nice talk with his boss.

The only way the cops get involved in that sort of incident is if there's a dead cyclist under the truck's wheels.... and then it's just to report that the cyclist swerved in front of the truck and was therefore responsible for the tragic accident. After all, there's only the driver's version left.
Absolutely. I am aware of an incident in which a cyclist retaliated against an intentional physical assault by a motorist by damaging their vehicle, and the cyclist ended up being arrested for "vehicle tampering", or some such thing. If cops get involved, it is rarely good for the cyclist. And cops couldn't give a whit about your difficulties in traffic, so don't bother reporting them.

You should have found out the company he worked for, and had a nice talk with his boss.

I've tried that a number of times, but I doubt if anything ever really gets done, and if you get aggressive, the idiots are just as likely to kill you.

However, one time when a bus nearly run me over, the driver was constantly going in and out of the dedicated cycle lane, I bashed my fist against the side and bellowed at him to no avail, so I took his registration number and rang the company and complained. Luckily the manager was also a cyclist and dealt with it properly, and guess what? As fate would have it, I now work for them...go figure!!

It's morning peak hour, I'm nearly at my destination in fairly heavy city traffic. I'm the last in line and make a left at a green light at a cross intersection (remember, we drive on the left here). I'm almost completed the turn when a small delivery truck runs the red from what would have been my right hand side before making the turn.

He starts honking as he comes up beside me (I'm right in the middle of my lane) then he starts swerving into me, still honking. I react by swerving away but he manages to sideswipe me. I managed to stay upright even though for a fraction of a second I thought I was dead. I hit the brakes and manage to stop just before getting pancaked between the truck and the first parked car. I swear there wasn't more than 3 or 4 inches left between the truck and the car.

What really enraged me is that I could see him looking at me, laughing, and giving me the finger through his great big side mirror. I sprinted after him and caught him at the next red. He was stopped in traffic but as I approached I could see his front wheel turning and him looking at me through his rearview. As I expected he deliberately lunged forward to block my path (or more likely to hit me) as I approached. Fortunately for me he didn't have enough room in front of him to fully block me... and I was anticipating the move. I landed a perfect punch to his rear view mirror and smashed it as I went past. It folded forward right around and hit his windshield.


Footnote: Don't try this unless you're wearing a stury pair of gloves. I use and highly recommend these (https://www.ironclad.com/www/productDetail.jsp?prodID=117&catID=64). There's a lighter model I use in summer.....

the driver of that truck is lucky that was you, and not me, and all that got smashed was his mirror.

I carry "countermeasures" now after incidents like this.

What kind of temp are those gloves good to OP?

I wear them autumn, winter, and spring. About 0-27degC, whatever that is in deg.F I don't know. This time of year I'm usually wearing lighter gloves but it's been a bit colder here for the past few days.


Judging by some other posts...It sounds like Aussie drivers are pretty tough!
Like Chris said, not tough, more like a bad combo of agressive and gutless.


Damn, that's F'd up! If that happened to me I would do all that I could to track him down. I would find out where he lives, then visit his house and completely destroy his car - puncture all tires, break windows, create dents, etc. I would be SOOO pissed.

I'm a newbie biker. This story makes me want some nice gloves :)

Yeah, I could have gone after him since he had nowhere to go but I had places to be and really, taking out the mirror felt good enough to call it even. I reckon that taking out his mirror is going to really screw up his entire day trying to negotiate traffic without it (the gift that keeps on giving ;) ) plus he had to spend the time and money to fix it so it will be a while before he forgets about the psycho cyclist he messed with.

About the gloves, if you're going to mix it up in traffic then I would highly recommend full finger gloves. I've lost skin off my hands and beleive me, it aint fun. Trust me on this.

the driver of that truck is lucky that was you, and not me, and all that got smashed was his mirror.

I carry "countermeasures" now after incidents like this.

Aww c'mon man, you gotta share. :D what are you packin'?

Wow cycloholic.......

Australia must be a ruff place to ride !
Sounds just like here :cry:
How did your last run-in with a violence crazed idiot turn out ?
Did he get time ??

Glad your OK.

...more like a bad combo of agressive and gutless...

It seems that the US, UK and Oz all have the same problem. There's at least one national class cyclist from the UK who's moved country because of the bad and inconsiderate drivers in the UK.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article735168.ece

I wear them autumn, winter, and spring. About 0-27degC, whatever that is in deg.F I don't know. This time of year I'm usually wearing lighter gloves but it's been a bit colder here for the past few days.

About the gloves, if you're going to mix it up in traffic then I would highly recommend full finger gloves. I've lost skin off my hands and beleive me, it aint fun. Trust me on this.


Hmm, 0c isn't so good for winter, but that range would cover me nicely for spring and fall. Hooray more impulse purchasing

@#$% the MFer. You did well to get your revenge. POS commits "attempted murder" but the law wouldn't do a thing about it. I don't get how crimes committed with cars are somehow not as severe or a crime at all compared to the same crime without the car.

the driver of that truck is lucky that was you, and not me, and all that got smashed was his mirror.


I agree. If I catch someone who intentionally runs me off the road, at least one of us is going to the hospital.

Damaging the truck does nothing... some paid driver couldn't care less.

Aww c'mon man, you gotta share. :D what are you packin'?

ok I confess,....I don't ACTUALLY carry any(legal disclaimer) but IF I did,....it would be:

a) grade 8 1/2" nuts shoe goo'd to the knuckles of the glove (one tap on a mirror or window and :eek:

b) spring loaded center punch, set it to about the middle.
one push against a tempered glass window and it'll shatter the window into a billion 1/8" cubes

c) tetsu-bishi (caltrops) I actually designed a 4 hollow prong caltrop that always lands with a point facing up, and with the hollow tubes it flattens a car tire in seconds, once run over.

d) squirt gun filled with aircraft stripper (you can figure this one out) don't forget to write witty sayings!

e) saltpeter/sugar/match-head smoke bombs (google) great tossed into the
backseat of the offenders car while he's driving.

f) 1" tool grade steel balls (MSC supply) bounce on the street beside your bike
while rolling and it'll bounce up to about windshield level: only works at
speeds above 20mph and the car needs to be tailgating you (yeah THAT
never happens, huh?)

I have thought up about 4 more, but those are so evil I can't reveal them for the sake of all humanity.

the point here is, WHY would an otherwise gentle, nice, caring, humanitarian, ex-paramedic like myself feel the need to even think up crap like this?

you shouldn't have to take your life in your hands to ride a bicycle, yet in sharing the road with the average disgruntled road raging traffic stressed cager, we find ourselves riding to protect our lives in some cases.

nuthin' wrong wit makin' tha rules.

Dang. I think I may have to rethink my desire to visit Australia. Seems more like the wild wild west. Maybe I should find somewhere else more civilized to ride in like Brazil. :p j/k
One wonders why y'all aren't all packing heat with your looney drivers.

Aussies are definitely made of sterner stuff. IMHO

Dang. I think I may have to rethink my desire to visit Australia. Seems more like the wild wild west. Maybe I should find somewhere else more civilized to ride in like Brazil. :p j/k
One wonders why y'all aren't all packing heat with your looney drivers.

Aussies are definitely made of sterner stuff. IMHO

It's not too bad overall, I average one deliberate road rage incident per year, the rest of the time people are reasonably well behaved. Come on over, you'll have a great time, if you amke it to Sydney drop me a PM.


Wow cycloholic.......

Australia must be a ruff place to ride !
Sounds just like here :cry:
How did your last run-in with a violence crazed idiot turn out ?
Did he get time ??

Glad your OK.

time! :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

For those that don't know about that one, About 8 months ago I was stationary at a stop sign waiting for cross traffic to clear. A guy and his buddy in a ute started honking as he approached from behind, after stopping behind me he then deliberately hit me from behind just enough to push me into the cross traffic (which had already cleared) then reversed up and sideswiped me as he took off. All that in front of 6 witnesses, all of which gave statements to the police and one of them got it on video and showed it to the police. I was towing one of my cargo trailers which is what saved my bike from damage, and I took the side hit on my body so apart from a bit of soreness the next day I was OK.

According to the officer in charge he got a $400 fine for some sort of traffic infringement (culpable driving, I think) basically the same as if he had accidentally caused a minor copllision with another car where nobody was injured. When I asked the officer about assault, road rage, or other criminal charges his response was "he got a fine and that's all he's getting, isn't that enough for you?".

Cops are so wierd. No doubt if that had been a cop that was assualted inthe manner you just described the driver would have received the same treatment. Next time someone tosses a couple of tonnes of metal at you just toughen up and suck it in and don't waste the good cops time ok.

sheesh the hide of some people.

There is a lot to be said for not getting someone else involved and taking care of business yourself.

I have not had reason to "Take care of things" yet but I hope I have what it takes to do so.

As an ex EMT I would feel like I had to give them medical care afterwards though. :)

Glad you're OK.
Steven

There is a lot to be said for not getting someone else involved and taking care of business yourself.

I have not had reason to "Take care of things" yet but I hope I have what it takes to do so.

As an ex EMT I would feel like I had to give them medical care afterwards though. :)

Glad you're OK.
Steven

How quickly can you perform a roadside lobodomy? ;)

Disagree here. I got run into the ditch by a UPS truck last year. I got his truck number and called his dispatch, they dealt quite harshly with him.....he needed to find a new job :D Trucking companies take this kind of thing very seriously.


Nah, I didn't bother with his plate number, there's no point.

I got hit last week on the way to work. I was right hooked and fine, but she had to go home and explain to her hubby why the power heated mirror on their brand new Honda Oddessy was smashed off. The only conversation between us was that she wanted me to pay for the mirror. I didn't even break it intentionally, I just put up my forearm when I saw her turning towards me and that's what I hit. Some people will never learn.

Reason #3 I like the New York Kryptonite chain: capable of folding in car doors with a good swing.

Good to hear you got through this one well :D

It seems that the US, UK and Oz all have the same problem. There's at least one national class cyclist from the UK who's moved country because of the bad and inconsiderate drivers in the UK.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article735168.ece

The thing is, I spent a month riding in the UK last year, and was actually amazed by the relative politeness of the drivers that I encountered. Apart from one minor incident in London where some guy thought he'd been told to "F*** off" (and nothing came of that anyway), there were no problems.

Disagree here. I got run into the ditch by a UPS truck last year. I got his truck number and called his dispatch, they dealt quite harshly with him.....he needed to find a new job :DI would check again to see if that driver is still employed by UPS. It is quite likely that he is. UPS is union controlled, and management has a very difficult time terminating drivers for *any* offense. When they are successful with a termination, it is only after an arduous and very detailed documentation of a driver's shortcomings, and then it is adjudicated by a union/management board, and terminations are seldom recommended.