canklecat

That's an incredibly stupid and reckless thing to do in Texas right about now. If you're familiar with a significant change in Texas law in September 2021, you'll understand why it behooves drivers to treat cyclists, pedestrians and everyone with common civility and respect.

Violent crime has spiked about 60% in the DFW area since 2019, including my immediate neighborhood.

Traffic fatalities have increased at least that much due to negligent, reckless and hostile driving, and that doesn't include the road rage shootings.

Poking a grumpy critter in this climate is about as stupid as it gets.

GhostRider62

Very odd indeed that there is no penalty for modifying the diesel to "burn coal" and even more odd that the penalty is a paltry $100. I bet there is zero enforcement.

What gets my goat is the lack of enforcement for textaholics.....they are the ones killing us. I accepted many decades ago that some motorist hate me on the road and that the cops are not going to do anything to help, even if there are laws broken. Having coal rolled on me does not get my panties all bunched up. Someone drifting over the center lane at me while texting? Like on this Sunday's ride? That chaps my butt. Or the grudge pass that comes very close.

ahsposo 

Did using your inhaler help?

Kat12

I've always wondered why it is that the road-rage nutters never meet up with each other. Certainly statistically, they would have to at least sometimes? (Or is it that they do, and one's just faster on the draw and so the other plays innocent after the fact?)

Hondo Gravel

Never understood road rage. One road rage guy was driving all over the place then a few miles up the road he was getting a ticket. People were beeping telling road rage guy something as the traffic cop laughed. The guy was red as a ripe tomato.

Milton Keynes

Especially when the entire purpose of "rolling coal" is to envelop in a large cloud of black, toxic smoke people who are just minding their own business. The entire purpose of it is to be a colossal d**k to someone else.

If there's any consolation at all it's that the current price of $5 or more a gallon for diesel fuel makes "rolling coal" an expensive thing to do.

Milton Keynes

Probably because deep down they're secretly cowards, so when they begin to rage at each other they back off because they don't want an actual fight.

livedarklions

Look, people are joking about that. I wouldn't do business with the guy after that, though. It's an assault, I don't do business with people who think it's funny to assault people. If that's unduly "woke" in your eyes, I don't care.

Troul 

wasn't there to witness it, but it might be worthy of careless or reckless driving ticket. Back to driving school & immediate impound of vehicle might lurnz dem somethins.

OldTryGuy

Late as usual to the PARTY, but I had a Rolling Coal cause a total BLACK OUT just like a blizzard WHITE OUT and I was fortunate that I didn't ride off the road or hit something. As for me, it was an ASSAULT worthy of lock-up and then have the driver go looking for the key engulfed in a cloud of diesel exhaust

livedarklions

This is absolutely an assault. This is the same as randomly spraying people with mace or any other noxious chemical. It's also probably a driving offense, there's no problem charging him with both. I believe this guy is going to find himself facing charges since he's admitted that's him in the video.

Bald Paul

Here in SC, laws regarding diesel fuel system modifications and rolling coal seem to only apply to commercial vehicles. However, a recently passed law states SECTION 56-5-3445.It is unlawful to harass, taunt, or maliciously throw an object at or in the direction of any person riding a bicycle. A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.

Some moron rolled coal on me while I was riding. Little did he know I have GoPro cameras on my bike (front and rear facing) that managed to catch the entire incident, and got a clear shot of his license plate before being obscured by black smoke. That video was forwarded to the local sheriffs department, who stopped by my house a few weeks later to let me know the offender had been identified and fined, and told that his next offense would mean 30 days in the clink.

Comfort is King

I thwarted another coal roller last summer on my first day of a bike tour, just before my first big break. As always, I have three metal water bottles. And as always, I controlled the lane when there's two lanes in each direction, a turning lane, no shoulder, and minimal traffic. I try stay alert for those people, and when a heavily modified diesel truck got right behind me as to intimate instead of passing, I got out a bottle, held it out for him to see, then held it in the ready-to-throw position. He tried to coal roll me, but didn't start until he was out of range, which proved ineffectual, because I swerved around the cloud. Then I made a visual display of my victory to rub it in. Good times!

I wish there were a way to know if a truck has been modified to roll coal just by looking at it. That way I could preemptively strike one in a parking lot

Korina

I went for my second Critical Mass ride last night; we had to be ~200 people on the Arcata Plaza. The first incident was a youngish man on his rather spiffy motorcycle, who evidently wanted to join us, as he drove (slowly, at least) to the center of the plaza where the most people were. No one was amused so he drove back onto the street and proceeded to spend the next 10 or so minutes speeding around the plaza, doing wheelies, and generally behaving in a "Look at me, I'm cool! I'm so cool! Aren't I cool? Please like me!" manner. It was kind of embarrassing, really.
Then we started to move out, which involved riding in big, boisterous, happy circles in the streets around the plaza a few times. That's when the douch-bro truck roared by; I'm not sure if he was trying to roll coal but something went wrong, or if he just wished he could; either way, his efforts were met with initial loud boos, which dissolved into hilarity, because we were having such a good time. Okay, so some were having more of a good time than the rest of us, but we had a great ride anyway.

As for the rest of this thread, it is entertaining to watch people feed the Please, keep it up!

Troul 

An actual useful law... that's CRAZY!

Daniel4

Rolling coal will eventually end when all motor vehicles become electric- including pickup trucks. By that time, self-driving technology will also prevent bad drivers from trying to harass vulnerable road users.

Paul Barnard

What a world class prick. If he had done that to me, I would have paid him a visit.

homeless in ca.

I hope he gets sued.

canklecat

I wouldn't expect to see widespread adoption of laws protecting cyclists from malevolent drivers, including rolling coal. We're in a bizarro world in which a guy can randomly shoot an unidentified something in the dark making noises, murder a young woman who was laughing about a fart, and face no criminal charges, and get away with it because "he thought it was a panther."

As a responsible gun owner who believes in armed defense against legitimate threats, I find this horrifying.

I haven't ridden my bicycle outside since October, due to persistent vertigo from COVID-like symptoms that lasted for months. And at this rate I'm not sure I'll ever ride outside again. I do walk a lot, jog and even run short distances on good days. But the more reckless, negligent and outright hostile driving I see in my area while I'm out walking and jogging, the less inclined I am to risk a pleasant bike ride.

JoeyBike

A friend of mine and his wife are serious cyclists, all three of us have been car-free cyclists at times (by choice) so we've pretty much seen it all. An interesting story on the topic of rolling coal happened with these two. My bro and I were watching YouTube videos and came across one filmed by the passenger in a diesel pickup truck chugging up a mountain pass during some kind of cycling event where dozens of cyclists spaced pretty far apart were winching themselves up the paved mountain road at what looked like walking speed in the video.

The driver must have been a professional coal-roller because he nailed every cyclist perfectly as he passed them over the course of a couple miles. I guess the wind was just right or something but nearly every cyclist disappeared behind a thick black cloud as they got passed. My bud and I were dying laughing along with the two hillbillies in the truck. His wife eventually came over to see what was so funny and freaked the hell out, scolded us, and became just generally infuriated at the scene in the video.

The reason I bring this up is to illustrate how a situation can differ depending on the tender sensibilities of the people involved. Of course I don't have any breathing disorders that would make that scene less funny but had I been there in person getting rolled I would have given those dudes a freaking trophy.

When I throw my leg over that top tube and press down on a pedal heading into auto traffic land, I kinda expect the worst. Just so long as nobody actually HITS me with a solid object, it's just all part of the program. It is difficult to infuriate me because I AM THE ONE RESPONSIBLE for putting myself into those situations with FULL KNOWLEDGE that sooner than later, I'm going to be "assaulted" out there.

Cycling around motor vehicles SUCKS. If you can't handle a little smoke, perhaps find another pastime. Otherwise you will likely be sad a lot of the time. IMO.

livedarklions

I'm with your friend's wife on this--that's an incredibly stupid post. No one on the road is consenting to be assaulted just by virtue of being on the road. I get that I can expect this a-hole behavior, but that doesn't mean I have to take it without protest or recourse.
And yeah, if you find video of a bunch of people being gassed funny, there's something wrong with you.

Daniel4

"There is no law in the arena. Many are killed." Shiek Ilderim

We hope to see you again.

Daniel4

Rolling coal will be phased out by the manufacturer.

Korina

Oh goody, stealth semis.

PeteHski

This rolling coal thing just seems like ****ting in your own bed to me. I grew up in the industrial north of England and my grandfather, who worked in the mills, suffered with respiratory issues from breathing that kind of **** all day. It was pretty much the norm for his generation. Yet some people actually think it's cool to chug out thick black smoke from their bro-truck.