Advocacy & Safety - Was out riding today - car pulls up and passenger pushes me hoping to crash me!

I was out on a semi-major road today: one-lane, no shoulder, and a trench alongside the road. A car pulls up alongside, the passenger rolls down his window, and he uses both hands to try to push me off the road. I was doing 20mph. Fortunately, I saw his hands a split second before they touched me (via mirror), and I was able to brace somewhat - that was probably the difference between keeping on the road and heading for god-knows-what in the trench.

Since I was concentrating on trying to avoid crashing, I only caught the first three of the plate. And I really couldn't tell what type of car it was besides old, small, and dark. I chased the car for over a mile, almost catching up to them at one of the lights. Unfortunately, there was just too much distance between the lights to close the gap. :mad:

There are some evil people in this world.

I hope you report it to the police -- even with a partial description they would have a record of the incident and perhaps could match it to something that happened in the past or it could be helpful if these cretins try it again.

I saw a police car about 25 minutes after the event. I had been searching the area for the car, just in-case they had pulled into one of several nearby parking lots. I explained the whole situation to the officer. He said "unbelievable", but actually didn't act too surprised. Go figure. Anyway, I offered the first three of the plate and the limited car description, but he said there wasn't much he could do without the full plate and an ID. How am I supposed to ID the person when he is in a car speeding away from me? Basically, the only way they could have done anything is if I had caught up to the car, called the police, and was able to follow it until the police caught up. I understand his position, and that is the answer I expected.

yay for mirrorz!

The temptation for me would have been to grab a wrist with one hand and hit the brakes with the other. He'd have had to hire somebody to pick his nose.

The temptation for me would have been to grab a wrist with one hand and hit the brakes with the other. He'd have had to hire somebody to pick his nose.

Yep! The idiot would definitely deserve it, and such a move would be a self defense mechanism IMO. If only we cabled our brakes like they do in Europe (Right brake front), this would probably work!

You're right, there are some evil people out there. At least this nut-case chose to push you with his hands. I had a passenger in a car attempt a drive-by-dooring earlier this year. Fortunately I heard the car change lane positions (crappy roads do have some advantages) and veered right just as the door was opening.

If it is any consolation, this sort of behavior isn't new. My wife had someone attempt to grab her braid while she was going downhill in the early '80s and I had a friend give up cycling in the late '80s after an incident like yours. (She saw him in her mirror and had time to grab her pump and give him a mild bruising.)

Maybe we all need to carry fully charged and ready Tasers like Colleen C. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?692901-well-at-least-I-tried-reporting-it

You're right, there are some evil people out there. At least this nut-case chose to push you with his hands. I had a passenger in a car attempt a drive-by-dooring earlier this year. Fortunately I heard the car change lane positions (crappy roads do have some advantages) and veered right just as the door was opening.

If it is any consolation, this sort of behavior isn't new. My wife had someone attempt to grab her braid while she was going downhill in the early '80s and I had a friend give up cycling in the late '80s after an incident like yours. (She saw him in her mirror and had time to grab her pump and give him a mild bruising.)

Maybe we all need to carry fully charged and ready Tasers like Colleen C. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?692901-well-at-least-I-tried-reporting-it

If I had time to think and the lights/road had cooperated, they would have regretted it. I was riding so hard my chest was hurting (prob 30+ on a flat - maybe not top speed for others, but that is about my limit on level surface in a light headwind) - I was so freiken close to nailing their plate number. Makes me so angry. People like this rely on an easy escape, because they are cowards - "Wow, look how cool I am pushing over a cyclist!"

BTW, I f'd up my rim about 30min after this incident, as my shoe released from my pedal and temporarily lodged in my rim (at full speed). Little doubt my angry state had me riding fast and angry, and I probably swang my shoe too far and released from the pedal. The ride from hell, truly. Assaulted and $100+ out of my pocket.

yay for mirrorz!

No doubt. I would never ride without a mirror - it has saved me more than once, and it makes my ride a lot more comfortable.

Yep! The idiot would definitely deserve it, and such a move would be a self defense mechanism IMO. If only we cabled our brakes like they do in Europe (Right brake front), this would probably work!I actually do. All my bikes are set up for right/front. One of them has both shifters on the right, too. It's nice to be able to brake, shift, and signal all at the same time, and it has definitely saved my bacon more than once.

Had this happen a couple years ago. Three cars (two pulling jetskis) of kids headed to the lake, passenger in the middle car tried to push me off the road as they went by. Was able to get a full plate and a description. Called 911 and twenty minutes later CHP finally showed up. Said there was nothing they could do since they didn't witness it, and they didn't have the time to drive the ten miles to the lake and check the boat ramp.
Nice to know my tax dollars are hard at work.
FWIW, this is the same CHP district that had an officer run several bikes off the road during the Napa Valley century a few years ago.

The temptation for me would have been to grab a wrist with one hand and hit the brakes with the other. He'd have had to hire somebody to pick his nose.

Be careful, though. If they grab your hand tightly and car doesn't stop, you could end up being dragged by it. These people can do anything. If you had a camera on and took pictures of their faces, vehicle or plate, that would be useful.

Just imagine that this happened to him the next time he did something like that:

http://www.flicklife.com/6f090fd382b68e230b43/Guy_falls_out_of_car_and_gets_hit_by_another_car.html

Had this happen a couple years ago. Three cars (two pulling jetskis) of kids headed to the lake, passenger in the middle car tried to push me off the road as they went by. Was able to get a full plate and a description. Called 911 and twenty minutes later CHP finally showed up. Said there was nothing they could do since they didn't witness it, and they didn't have the time to drive the ten miles to the lake and check the boat ramp.
Nice to know my tax dollars are hard at work.
FWIW, this is the same CHP district that had an officer run several bikes off the road during the Napa Valley century a few years ago.

Yep, that's absurd. Seriously, it's like a free ride for the lowlifes - in my book, these type of people are committing assault with a deadly weapon (or WORSE). The officer I talked to said they could possibly charge them with assault with a vehicle (or something like that), which would make it a felony.

Had this happen a couple years ago. Three cars (two pulling jetskis) of kids headed to the lake, passenger in the middle car tried to push me off the road as they went by. Was able to get a full plate and a description. Called 911 and twenty minutes later CHP finally showed up. Said there was nothing they could do since they didn't witness it, and they didn't have the time to drive the ten miles to the lake and check the boat ramp.
Nice to know my tax dollars are hard at work.
FWIW, this is the same CHP district that had an officer run several bikes off the road during the Napa Valley century a few years ago.I know some cyclist that would have cycled the ten miles to the lake and made sure that at least 2 tires of the car were flat .

For the safety of all cyclist the rest of that day.

Did you file a police report?

Another reason to get a CWP and ride armed.

Another reason to get a CWP and ride armed.
Its legal to shoot someone in my state that tries to remove you from your bicycle.

Had this happen a couple years ago. Three cars (two pulling jetskis) of kids headed to the lake, passenger in the middle car tried to push me off the road as they went by. Was able to get a full plate and a description. Called 911 and twenty minutes later CHP finally showed up. Said there was nothing they could do since they didn't witness it, and they didn't have the time to drive the ten miles to the lake and check the boat ramp.
Nice to know my tax dollars are hard at work.
FWIW, this is the same CHP district that had an officer run several bikes off the road during the Napa Valley century a few years ago.
The Napa CHP office has a long history of bike hate. Back in the late '70s one of their officers was trying to "encourage" the 1700 mass-start riders of the Davis Double to stay away from the center line. He put one rider in the hospital. One year on that ride a drunk driver killed a woman. Her parents and fiance had ridden ahead and were waiting at the finish when they got the news. The Napa CHP totally botched the investigation so the drunk didn't even get prosecuted. They know that most of the cars leaving Lake Berryessa are driven by drunks, but they refuse to ever have an officer patrol there, unless there is a cycling event that would allow them to harass some cyclists. Most CHP officers are real professionals who do a very dangerous job quite well, but the Napa office has always been the bottom of their barrel.

I asked the officer if it would be okay if I went up to the lake and took care of the problem. "No, that would be assault with intent." "What if you didn't witness it, then it never happened." "That doesn't apply to something like that." WTF?

In the other incident, the officer came within a couple inches of a pace line. He had several cyclist stopped up the road, so we stopped and tried to talk to him. He threatened to arrest us. We opted to continue our ride, and a mile later he did run people off the road. At the next rest stop, the Napa office was called and on Monday about a dozen people filed statements. I don't think anything ever happened to him.

I have worked with the Fairfield CHP office during the Solano Bicycle Classic, and it was a completely different experience.

Another example of why, I take the lane all the time.

Another example of why, I take the lane all the time.

You have to be kidding - If I was in the middle of the lane, these lowlifes would have rammed my back tire. I have absolutely NO DOUBT about this. These are depraved individuals - it doesn't matter if I was 6 feet off the road in the widest shoulder in the world, or in the middle of the lane - they were intent on causing me to crash.

Another example of why, I take the lane all the time.
Because taking the lane solves all of your problems with angry drivers.

You have to be kidding - If I was in the middle of the lane, these lowlifes would have rammed my back tire. I have absolutely NO DOUBT about this. These are depraved individuals - it doesn't matter if I was 6 feet off the road in the widest shoulder in the world, or in the middle of the lane - they were intent on causing me to crash.
while I don't disagree with you, I don't see what is stopping someone from doing this to a cyclist cowering in the gutter.

Nasty stupid people, I'm glad to hear that you didn't crash. Shame about your rim. I ride on the road quite a bit and have been thinking about a mirror. Stories like these make me lean towards getting some type of mirror.
Considering the type that attach to glasses.

while I don't disagree with you, I don't see what is stopping someone from doing this to a cyclist cowering in the gutter.

That's the entire point: there is nothing stopping them from doing it to someone "cowering in the gutter" OR sitting in the middle of the lane (they could have easily pulled into the opposing traffic lane and done the exact same thing - hoping to topple me on the pavement). I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and hopefully assume you aren't making a direct reference to my story, or my riding style. Because, seriously, who in their right mind would try to be antagonistic towards a normal cyclist that was outright assaulted on a road? I ride at a NORMAL distance from the shoulder. I don't fault anyone for riding in the middle of the lane, or in the shoulder, depending on circumstances - so I'll avoid the adjectives and the biker ego when describing riding style.

Nasty stupid people, I'm glad to hear that you didn't crash. Shame about your rim. I ride on the road quite a bit and have been thinking about a mirror. Stories like these make me lean towards getting some type of mirror.
Considering the type that attach to glasses.

Despite all those who would tell you a mirror is Fred or whatever BS they spew, a mirror is a lifesaver. And, tell me, what is the downside to wearing a mirror? I used to think I'd have a blindspot. Nope. I used to think it would annoy me. Nope. I don't solely rely on it, but it makes things much safer - like I said, name the negative?

I'd highly recommend a helmet mounted mirror. I used a handlebar mounted mirror for many years, and I thought I would never like a helmet mounted one - but, after about 5 uses, I was hooked.

That's the entire point: there is nothing stopping them from doing it to someone "cowering in the gutter" OR sitting in the middle of the lane (they could have easily pulled into the opposing traffic lane and done the exact same thing - hoping to topple me on the pavement). I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and hopefully assume you aren't making a direct reference to my story, or my riding style. Because, seriously, who in their right mind would try to be antagonistic towards a normal cyclist that was outright assaulted on a road? I ride at a NORMAL distance from the shoulder. I don't fault anyone for riding in the middle of the lane, or in the shoulder, depending on circumstances - so I'll avoid the adjectives and the biker ego when describing riding style.
No, I've been assaulted too, and I would never assign any blame on you for what happened. I know that nothing a cyclist does will stop some of these people from trying things like this. However, I can't imagine that most of the people that do the sort of things you described in your OP would ever actually hit a cyclist with the vehicle. I know the people that assaulted me were fairly normal teenagers from upstanding families -- in fact, the guy that punched me was the son of my Boy Scout troop leader. I simply can't imagine them hitting my wheel with the bumper of a car, that exceeds boundaries that most people wouldn't even consider. My only regret from my incident is that I didn't pull the guy out of the car; he was sitting on the windowsill and would have been easy pickings. I was riding up a big hill on the shoulder, I'm sure it just seemed like an amusing thing to do in the short time they had to think about it.

No, I've been assaulted too, and I would never assign any blame on you for what happened. I know that nothing a cyclist does will stop some of these people from trying things like this. However, I can't imagine that most of the people that do the sort of things you described in your OP would ever actually hit a cyclist with the vehicle. I know the people that assaulted me were fairly normal teenagers from upstanding families -- in fact, the guy that punched me was the son of my Boy Scout troop leader. I simply can't imagine them hitting my wheel with the bumper of a car, that exceeds boundaries that most people wouldn't even consider. My only regret from my incident is that I didn't pull the guy out of the car; he was sitting on the windowsill and would have been easy pickings. I was riding up a big hill on the shoulder, I'm sure it just seemed like an amusing thing to do in the short time they had to think about it.

Now, logically, there is almost no difference (in my mind) between someone trying to shove you (with their hands) to the ground at 20mph and someone brushing your rear tire with their fender - the potential damage to rider/bike is about the same. But I get your point - these cowards aren't thinking about the consequences, and perhaps there is some distinction in their f'd up minds.

Now, logically, there is almost no difference (in my mind) between someone trying to shove you (with their hands) to the ground at 20mph and someone brushing your rear tire with their fender - the potential damage to rider/bike is about the same. But I get your point - these cowards aren't thinking about the consequences, and perhaps there is some distinction in their f'd up minds.

Belligerent drivers are unlikely to intentionally rear end you because they are afraid that such an impact with you or your bike will damage their car. Most belligerent drivers know that they don't want a bike tangled up under their front end.

In the OP, it sounds like they didn't want to scratch their paint, either. If the intent is to injure the cyclist, why not just sideswipe the cyclist? Because they don't want to make contact with their vehicle.

bummer, dude. Hopefully, karma will catch up to them.

Had this happen a couple years ago. Three cars (two pulling jetskis) of kids headed to the lake, passenger in the middle car tried to push me off the road as they went by. Was able to get a full plate and a description. Called 911 and twenty minutes later CHP finally showed up. Said there was nothing they could do since they didn't witness it, and they didn't have the time to drive the ten miles to the lake and check the boat ramp.
Nice to know my tax dollars are hard at work.
FWIW, this is the same CHP district that had an officer run several bikes off the road during the Napa Valley century a few years ago.


so, i suppose that if you were able to get the car to stop, and then pummel the perp to death, the cops wouldn't do anything about it because they didn't witness it ? i like that theory. vigliante justice rocks >

Anyway, I offered the first three of the plate and the limited car description, but he said there wasn't much he could do without the full plate and an ID. How am I supposed to ID the person when he is in a car speeding away from me?Even so, the officer should have taken a report, and you should have pushed for it if he didn't want to, or call 911 and make your report to them if he won't/can't take it.

Why? Because if they did this to you, they probably will or have done it or something similar to somebody else, and perhaps more than once. And if they keep doing it, somebody will probably catch the full plate or description or something. And then the police will go back through old police report, find yours, find that the first three of the plate matches and the crime matches, and oh look, their case just got a whole lot stronger.

I can empathize with the O.P. I've had a car passenger reach out and grab my elbow attempting to pull me down. Fortunately, he couldn't get a good grip. I wasn't able to get the license though.

And you know how the next time you go through that place, in the back of your mind, your thinking that the same thing may happen.

It didn't. 24 hours later at the same spot, the passenger in a truck shot me with a pellet gun.

Variety is the spice of life.

Hope you got a license and the jails got a new inmate after that one.

Now, logically, there is almost no difference (in my mind) between someone trying to shove you (with their hands) to the ground at 20mph and someone brushing your rear tire with their fender - the potential damage to rider/bike is about the same. But I get your point - these cowards aren't thinking about the consequences, and perhaps there is some distinction in their f'd up minds.
Yes, I really don't think they thought it through. Falling off of a bike can be fatal or cause serious injury, but people don't think of it that way. I don't recall if I had the complete description of the car in my case. I halfway recall that I didn't, but these kids were out causing trouble and the cops put two and two together and nabbed them. It's always worth making a report, cops don't realize how often cyclists are assaulted. I have only been the victim of one crime when not on a bicycle, I can't count how many crimes I've been victim of when on a bicycle. Certainly, many of these crimes are fairly petty, but I'm using the same accounting in making the comparison.