Slow Train

I'm normally take a live and let live attitude when cycling but tonight a guy really got under my skin. I was riding on F St heading east directly towards the Old Executive Office Building. The previous 3 blocks are being resurfaced so traffic was having to pick its way around the construction and torn up pavement.

But the last block before the office building was clear. This is a typical wide one-way DC street with no lane markings. As I was going to make a left turn to proceed North on 17th I assumed the center of the left portion of the road. Finally on clear pavement I also was accelerating rapidly in order to make the light.

I was about mid-block going 18 - 20 mph when I heard a roaring car approaching quickly from behind. This was followed by a long blast of horn. Quickly turning my head I saw that the driver had run up on my back wheel and then braked hard to avoid actually hitting me (I just got glimpse of the nose of the car rising after the braking).

I gave him a typical one-finger salute for his driving skills and proceeded back to the task at hand. Next thing I know he again accelerates and passes me on the right. Not super close but certainly was crowding me a bit.

We both arrive at the intersection at the same time with him having about a car length lead. This is a T intersection so you have to turn either left or right. He makes a sharp left turn right in front me - I didn't have to brake to avoid him as by then he was moving much faster then me.

But I am really annoyed now and decide to chase him down. I follow him for several blocks and finally catch him at 17th and Connecticut. I roll up to his window intending to take task with him for his aggressive driving.

It is then I see that he is on the phone. He refuses to roll down the window and I see that he is laughing while carrying on his conversation. No amount of pantomime on my part can get him to roll down the window. Finally I start yelling at him to put the phone down. He just laughs more. In frustration I move to the front of the car and continue yelling at him to put the phone down.

At this point a Police Officer walks over and instructs me to leave. I do so hoping that the officer is going to write him a richly deserved ticket - it is illegal in DC to drive and use a cell phone without a hands free apparatus.

But as I roll away I see the officer lets the guy go. Another chance lost by Metro police to enforce the laws

In conclusion - I now regret having chased the guy down. I generally don't believe in confrontation for confrontation's sake. But there are some people who if you give them an inch they might start making a habit of it. I hope this incident has educated this driver that he can not wantonly use his car as an assault weapon and expect cyclists to roll over and play dead.

TRaffic Jammer

I hate to burst your bubble, you taught him nothing from the sounds of it and he will be re-offending quite soon. There really is nothing you can do for the poor sap. If you had so much as touched a fingertip to his ride he might have either shot you or driven you over in self defence, AND STILL have been let go by the police. mmmmmm I'm in my calm place, now where's my u-lock?

Robert Gardner

Giving the driver the "one finger salute" is a very stupid act. It could cost you your life.

TRaffic Jammer

Not more than the aggressive driving that was described by a long shot. Maybe the driver will learn when he is pulled from his car one day, or the biker rolls up beside him and flashes his badge.

caloso

Chasing down a driver is really, really stupid. And everytime I do it, I swear it'll be my last time.

Slow Train

I agree and wish I hadn't done so now. For the normal day-to-day "pardon me" traffic situations I don't have any problem whatsoever as it clearly is unintentional. On this I just lost my cool.

Maybe I was more than normally keyed up as I had another incident this morning that angered me. Now before you get the wrong idea I usually go months and months without any acts of outrage at cars. 2 in one day is really just an anomaly.

Anyway - this morning I'm in the right lane of a large city block composed of 5 lanes. The direction I'm going has 3 lanes with the curb lane under a no parking for rush hour restriction. I tooling along and, of course, up ahead there is a car illegally parked. I turn my head to clear myself before moving into the next lane but quickly reject the maneuver as a large, large SUV accelerates to discourage it.

Now the SUV driver clearly could see that I needed to move over and all he had to do was simply slow down to allow me room to do so. Instead he accelerated to cut me off - willing to deliberately run me down as so he isn't slowed for 10 seconds.

Slow Train

To boil my last post down to its essence - he had a choice between 10 seconds out of his life versus ending mine. So sad the choice he made.

TRaffic Jammer

Well what I do then is catch up at the light and then position myself in front of them and crawl to the next block. I know this whole eye-for-eye nonsense only makes things worse but sometimes you just gotta. On a rare occasion I stand over my bike pretending I don't see the green light and let them go bananas behind me, leaving just as it turns yellow. Hey be a prick, and watch me be one too, I'm not the one in the weapon. Not that any of these cars jockeys would ever have the stones to run you over, but they sure like to try to be bullies....call 'em on it.

-=(8)=-

Im the most peaceful, non-confrontational person
in the world, or my little world anyway, and yesterday
I had a kid inna big American type car ride alongside me and blow
his horn then speed off. Im not in anyones way, not bothering anyone,
why is this necassary ? I still never get it.
But, disappointingly to me, myself....all I could think of for about 5 min's
was bad stuff happening to the tooting imbecile.

smurfy

DC totally sucks for driving and I'm glad I didn't have to drive when I visited there in July 2001.

I was in line to get into Ford theatre when an almost fight broke out between a cager and a ped, both women! I guess the ped didn't cross the street fast enough. One would think with all the tourism going on in the nation's capital that these bastards in thier cars would give people a break.

I think any use of private non-commercial vehicles in downtown DC should be strictly prohibited! Screw 'em.

baldylocks

I try to play it as cool as I can most of the time too, but man traffic laws just DO NOT get enforced in DC for cars or bikes. I only ever went after somebody once, after he got real close and started honking at me IN A BIKE LANE on 7th street. When I met him at the light I tried to be polite and was met with a string of real fun words and a request that I not operate my vehicle on the road,(in a bike lane, with a blinkey), and then informed of some unpleasent facts about my mom. So I relented and let the guy pass and he started slamming on his brakes and speeding up over and over again and swerving at me. So while I agree that it's a bad idea to go after people, I sure understand the desire to. I like the green light idea though...

N_C

Just waving & smiling gets you a better result then the middle finger. Giving the middle finger lets them know they got to you. Smiling & waving tells them you think they are an idiot & actually pisses them off. Next time smile & wave. You can still chase him down to confront him if you'd like, but smile & wave, instead of giving him the middle finger.

noriel

I've started doing a lot more of that this year. Nobody wants to beleive that they're #1, so I don't bother. Smiling and waving is the best, especially when you keep passing them in traffic, or when you finally leave them behind in a 30 minute traffic jam. I like the whole, "leave on the yellow," move, but I think here in Houston, that'd get you killed. It's funny how many cars start running reds when they see bicycles doing it downtown. I still get a kick out of catching up to yeller/honkers at lights. They just don't know what to do. I think I'm gonna start carrying a cheap digital camera so I can take their pictures, I mean, we're out in public, right?

Juha

Blow them a kiss. Works even better if you're wearing lycra.

--J

TRaffic Jammer

The smile and wave can be fun too.... I love the blowing of the kisses, being nice really throws them sometimes. Maybe lift your short line a bit tease 'im with some thigh. Then he gets burnt for running the red....lol Just take pictures of plates and locations.

My fav by far are the riders that reach in and take buddy's keys and then drop em in the sewer, leaving them in the middle of traffic.

Bockman

Don't confront, simply snap the radio antenna.

TRaffic Jammer

that's not confrontational? Be ready for a fight if you pull that.

fordfasterr

I had to pull a "slow down to a crawl while taking up the center of the lane" to keep a lady in her expedition from going more than 5 mph today... she buzzed me 2 blocks earlier and I caught up to her at the next red light =) She got a shot at passing me and she went into the next lane... but at least I took 10 seconds out of her McLife.

Thats 10 less seconds that she'll have to run other cyclists down on her way to work..


G733 ! =)

joejack951

I caught a honking motorist at a light yesterday where we both were going to make a left turn. The childish coward decides to pull out of the lane and go straight through the green instead, presumably to avoid having to talk to me about what grave danger he was alerting me to with his horn.

-=(8)=-

^^^ Ha Ha...When I would get that treatment on Rt. 30 in the
D-town / Coatesville area they would do this weird slouch and play
with radio knobs thing to avoid looking at the guy looking in thier window
smiling and shaking his head

Bockman

Or ready to sprint. I've snapped a few antennii in my day, although I reserve it for the most extreme countermeasure to aggressive driving. I really don't care if motorists curse and honk their horns, however when they swerve/ride up quickly then brake inches from my wheel/cut me off intentionally they put my life at risk and they need correcting.

TRaffic Jammer

As karmically bad as this is I have to admit to doing this myself. When I was messing I've had a few combats. I've left a shattered mirror hanging from it's wire once after a few blocks of car vs bike dualing.
U-locks are the great equalizer.



I still love to this day the look of shock and horror when you tap on their driver window and calmly explain what flippin' arseholes they've been on the road.

DCCommuter

Slow Train -- What sucks about your story is how lame the cop was -- the Chief was just on the radio last week saying they have zero-tolerance for cell-phone violators. The thing to keep in mind is that the whole Metropolitan Police force, from the chief on down, is completely cowed by the White House and Capitol Hill. Since you were literally a block from the White House it's unlikely the cop is going to mess with someone who looks like he might be important. It sucks, but that's life. On the other hand, that street is plenty wide for sharing; if you're taking the lane and the car was able to pass you on the right there's no reason to take the lane.

To the bigger issue, I generally believe in calling people out when they are being obnoxious, and I will occasionally try to catch up to a motorist to give them a piece of my mind -- but I have never had a positive outcome from doing so. Usually the encounter just leaves me even more upset. Behavior like that stems from a fundamental lack of respect that is not going to be changed by a tongue-lashing.

Sawtooth

I usually yell something like "Read the law Jacka$$!" but I admit that I think even that is stupid. My temper will get me assaulted one of these days. I am sometimes even tempted to through my beater bike through someone's windshield. OK.....breathe......back to my happy place.

TRaffic Jammer

Now THAT would be something to witness