Originally Posted by Boomer
I was a participant in a very similar incident, except that I was the cop who took the cyclist to jail. A cyclist in his late 30s was almost hit by a 50-ish driver in a BMW. Road rage ensued between the two...words exchanged, fingers flipped, etc. The driver parked at his destination and the cylcist caught up to him. The cyclist pounded on the window of the BMW and threatened to harm him. When I arrived on the call and got the stories straightened out, I had to arrest the cylcyst for criminal threats (section 422 of the California Penal Code). I did not cite the driver.
I think that situation is somewhat different in that the cyclist obviously had time to think about the situation and made the decision to go after the driver--the threats and actions afterward were premeditated. In my case, no more than a second or two tops went by between the time the car started to turn in front of me and the time their windshield was broken. The only thing I ever said to the driver at all, was that he should watch where he is going because he almost hit me and two other cyclists for that matter. Not once was I beligerant with them or anyone else the whole time, nor did I ever threaten anyone. My intention in the whole thing was to protect myself, and most states allow an individual to do that under life-threatening circumstances--which, in my opinion, this was.
And also, regardless of the cyclists behavior, any driver that "almost" takes a life should be cited at least. Cars kill cyclists, not just injure them.