Originally Posted by
G1nko
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
We go 'round and 'round on this all the time. Why would you confront someone like that so aggressively? What if he'd pulled a gun when you were at the light yelling at him? Would you feel you handled it well then? @Number400: if the driver had gotten out with a weapon, instead of driving away, where would your antics have gotten you?
Smile, wave, take the license, call the local LEOs. Confrontation between a 50-pound bike and a 3-ton car or between you and a stranger of unknown stability is dangerous.
I think if it was stupidity rather than malice he would have at least made eye contact, and possibly apologized after I explained the three-foot rule to him. I wasn't being sarcastic in the OP - I really was polite, just loud to make sure he heard me with his windows closed. Not really aggressive; I didn't touch his truck, though I was tempted to rap on his window to make sure he paid attention. And yes, I was polite BECAUSE of the possibility of instability and/or weapons.
My conversation with the LEOs did not inspire confidence that they're going to do anything, so I feel like I took my one chance at possibly changing this guy's behavior by talking to him.