Bklyn

My first instinct was to lose it, and I was ready for a fight. But I finally understand that the cellphone is a better weapon than the fist.
Not that this cabdriver didn't deserve a beating. He was pissed that I had the lane and that his lane ended with a construction pylon. He didn't see it coming, and he had to -- god forbid -- apply his brakes. So after he got around it, he tried to drive me into another cab. Literally tried some Nascar move. I had to brake hard to avoid getting killed. We, um, exchanged words. Many of them profanities. And instead of kicking his door in (my first impulse), I pulled out the phone. He was stopped at a light, and I leaned in to his license plate and made a big show of reading the number to the nonexistent police dispatcher. But it worked. How do I know?
The guy shut up. When I leaned in his open window and told him, "You are f*cked," all he could say was, "Yeah, whatever." He was crapping himself. Visibly sweating. He'll think twice about trying to run somebody off the road next time.
Or...maybe he'll just finish the job next time.

slowandsteady

Why just go through the motions?

Bklyn

Well, I don't actually want the guy to lose his hack license. I know that sounds crazy, but I don't want to ruin the guy's life. And I also don't want to waste time on the phone when I'm late for work.

gonzoknife

Phones are a must have. A couple of weeks ago a car was using the shoulder to get ahead at a traffic light and in the process was riding right on my rear. I HATE THAT. I stared the driver down and flipped a finger. Maybe not the wisest thing to do but it usually doesn't cause a problem. This time the driver started slowing down and moving over in front of me while yelling and threatening me with harm. I whipped out my cell and made it look like I was dialing. The guy took off immediately.

I always carry a phone.

aadhils

And now, after police don't give him a call, he'll go on harrassing cyclists figuring police don't give a damn about cyclists complaints...

CastIron

Or perhaps he'll figure he was lucky and that we are more trouble than we're worth. Likely not.

caloso

I had a guy make an aggressive move at me when I was in a bike lane. At the light I pulled in front of him and made a big show of taking a photo of his license plate and then said, "Smile for the camera. I'm emailing this to the police."

The guys face totally fell and he apologized profusely then started begging me not to call the cops. What a pathetic POS.

*new*guy

Do you folks actually believe the cops would have acted on it if the OP had made the call?

Xrisnothing

possibly, it's kind of attempted murder

fordfasterr

make friends with local cops....... get their cell phone # ... you can call them if you need help !!!!!

Bklyn

"Attempted murder." Yeah, I guss so. Who would you have called? 911? Taxi & Limousine Commission? I still remember the number, you know, 155Y.

CastIron

No, it's not.
Had the cabbie actually hit him with the intent to kill him and he somehow survived, THEN it would be attempted murder. As is, it's likely just a driving violation. Most large/urban agencies wouldn't even take a report had they been called.

Gabbo

Using a vehicle like a weapon -- even if just to intimidate, rather than actually hurt or kill someone -- has gotta be reckless endangerment at the least, IMO. A car is considered a deadly weapon. If someone uses his or her car or truck to harass you, it's not very different than pointing a gun at you to harass you. In fact, it's probably worse, because if the clown can't control a vehicle very well, you might become a hood ornament.

As for whether or not the police would actually react if you call, it depends on the situation. I ride other two wheelers in addition to bikes and the last time someone used their vehicle to repeatedly put me and my friends in some very dangerous situations, I reacted in a pretty extreme way, and did some things I shouldn't have.

Well, my buddies and I got stopped by several very nice billy club-wielding officers several miles down the road. Because there were no witnesses or other parties around when they stopped us, the cops pretty much had to let us go.

BUT, as we were gearing up, one pulled me a side and said: "Look man, I ride, too, and I know it's hard not to go after someone when they mess with you, but don't. Call us. We can do something about it."

Moreover, after the recent tragedy in San Francisco, something tells me that if I call 911 and tell them that some lunatic just tried to run me off the road with their car, the cops might perk up and listen.

Get the license. Get a witness. Give it a shot and call the cops.

kill.cactus

Or just wait till the cabbie craps his pants and then show him what a good sport you are by appologizing for the profanities and clarifying that although you were joking, you ARE serious about him needing to RESPECT cyclists and others.

chancho

Report him here:

https://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/pas...omplaint.shtml

highlyselassie

If you really want to murder someone, a car's got to be one of the best ways to do it. What's it worth?...18 months for negligent driving, perhaps. Strange how there's not a law for negligent knife/firearm handling. Should we really be branding these people murderers, maybe they were just negligent?

mwrobe1

And that's exactly the reason why, in a couple months, this guy will probably be trying to run someone else off the road...all because you were so....nice.

Whatever happened to consequences to peoples actions? (i.e. justice)

There are too many people in this world that cheat justice.

Just my $0.02.

mwrobe1

Depending upon the location...yes...it is possible.

EDIT: Forget it...the OP is in Brooklyn, NY...their police are busy enough.

However, if a NYPD officer actually observed this...thats a different story.

flipped4bikes

Unless the guy up and beat you up, the cops don't care. I tried the same strategy, pretending. The dude still was too thickheaded. So I ended up calling 911, and no surprise, he couldn't care less. Of course if a cop was actually there witnessing the thing, it's another story.

I've thought about how to deal with road rage a lot, for I've been a real victim of it. Ignoring road rage only works until one is actually assaulted. And even then, your local police and DA will forget all about it in a week. Cell phones help, but if you can actually record the knucklehead in action, it may be even help. Having a phone with camera or even better, a video capability turns a filed complaint into a no-brainer conviction. Of course, trying to avoid a fist while capturing the rager is another issue.

Now where did I put my pepper spray?

A lot of responses to the OP that I relate to. This is the most relevant thread I've come across...

markf

The times I've called the police, it's been on the regular dispatch phone number. If it's not a time critical, life or death situation, then calling the regular dispatch number instead of 911 lets them take care of the more compelling emergencies first. I think the police are a bit more sympathetic if you show a little sense of proportion instead of behaving as if the car that just cut you off but never actually hit you is just as important as the guy bleeding to death after a car really did hit him.

Around here the State Patrol maintains a database of complaints about aggressive drivers. Too many complaints and they either send the offending party a letter, send an officer to talk to him, or have an officer follow him when he's driving. This is good for situations where you can't realistically press charges because of a lack of witnesses, inability to positively identify the driver, etc., etc.

ItsJustMe

What are the rules around there? Here in Michigan, if they receive a 911 call and can get a location via caller ID or the caller giving the location, they are LEGALLY REQUIRED to dispatch. That's one of the things they talk about when the cops come in to talk to groups of kids; use 911 when you need to, but don't screw around with it, because the cops WILL show up if you dial it.

oboeguy

Screw that, the guy is a danger and maybe SHOULD lose the license. Anyhow, you done good, Bklyn, you done good.

oboeguy

No it's not. You might be surprised at how little cops around here care about bicyclist safety. They'll gleefully hand out a ticket for lack of a (IMO useless) bell (the law to have one, believe it or not) but help a cyclist out? Rare.

jsonnabend

NYPD by and large suck. I've had more than one cop tell me to get in the bike lane in PP when the road's closed to vehicles or when there's been debris in the bike lane. In either case, the park rules/state laws say I'm good to go in the car lane (and am required to in the former case).

As for the hack mentioned in the OP, why shouldn't he lose his license? He almost killed the guy, and there's no shortage of replacement drivers for him. If he can't drive safely (even as measured against other hacks) he shouldn't be driving. Remember the fatal cab accident back in June on the West Side Highway? It was caused by a pissed-off cabbie who went nuts when his passengers asked him to turn down his radio (the NYT article is here). There's zero room for a cabbie driving like that.

- Jeff (in BKLN)

flipped4bikes

Good question. LSS, when I made the 911, I was in my car and the jerk was on a rice rocket. I really didn't want to call the cops, but the dude kept on insisting that he play bully. I have all the non-911 phone numbers of the communities I ride in. I just felt that the 911 was warranted at the time. Now, if the 911 dispatcher said, this is a non-emergency call, sure, I'd be non-plussed. But I'd get over it and call the regular number instead next time.

I really wanted the cops to show up, 1) Because I felt physically threatened, and 2) the guy was riding his motorcycle endangering others, never mind himself (not that I really cared). So, I guess the ground rule is call 911 only when it's too late? I gave them location, description but before I could give the plate number, he hung up on me. Rightly or not, I came away from using 911 that the cops didn't care or too low priority for them.