AndrewHenle

I had an encounter with a dangerous driver just west of Leesburg, Virginia, yesterday, June 13.

I was coming south/east down Dry Mill Rd about 11:45 AM, when a silver/gray car tried to pass me with traffic coming the other way.

I caught the car out of the corner of my eye, and luckily decided to touch my brakes.

Because then the car shot back into my lane, right where I would have been.



So I shout his license plate at him.

Then, he started slowing down and I thought, "Here comes the

BRAKE CHECK!"

Yep - brake checked. I actually had to swerve around the car on its left side because there was no room on the right side to get by, and I was too close to ensure stopping without hitting the car.

The car passed me way too close again, this time with both windows down and the driver and his wife both shouting something like "Get off the street!"

Inspired by a recent BF post, I couldn't help but respond, "Funny, I told your mother the same thing last night!"



Aw crap. That REALLY angered him. (But not enough for him to be brave enough to get out of the car. Imagine that. )

Two or three more brake checks. The car actually stops.

I go past again. I'm not stopping for this clown. No way I want to give up the one advantage I have on the bike - maneuverability. Even if I'm behind him, if I stop and he puts his car in reverse there's a good chance I won't be able to get out of the way.

Clown driver waves a badge at me like he's some kind of cop.

I yell, "If you really are a cop, you should damn well know better! Jackass!"

Yes, I got the car's plates. I filed an online traffic complaint with the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, and I'm still mulling over whether or not to file a criminal complaint.

Because this guy tried to do to me what that doctor out in California did a few years ago.

And I think he's done it before, too.

I ride out in Loudoun County a lot - and the more I think about it, this car meets the description of one that buzzed me and another cyclist about a month or two ago, again on Dry Mill Rd, but that time I was going west/north.

The scary thing is, if it was the same driver, last month all he was doing was buzzing close by cyclists, and now he's actually brake checking them and even trying to run them off the road.

Now, with the traffic complaint I've filed, if this driver is out to "teach those cyclists a lesson", maybe we can stop it before someone gets hurt or killed.

So, if you've had problems with an aggressive silver/gray car in or around Leesburg, VA, please file a police report.

(And yes, I normally post under another account not associated with my real name. Tom allowed me to create this account under my real name for the purpose of posting what happened in the hopes of preventing something worse.)

CyclingGiant

I too have dealt with drivers who were angry enough about me being on the road that they have cursed, attempted to cut me off, throw things at me, pass me too close, etc... Though my first response is to respond in anger likewise, I have found that doing so only angers them more. The best thing to do is to ignore them and keep on riding.

Digital_Cowboy

Good on you for starting the paper trail. Hopefully someone else has already filed a report against this fool. When you filed your report did they also make a charge against him for impersonating a cop? As isn't that what he did when he "flashed his badge?"

Also if he had been a cop wouldn't they have said something to you to that effect when you filed your report?

smasha

video, or it doesn't count. absolutely, file the report, but he's got a witness, and his witness will swear under oath that you were driving erratically and being abusive towards them. "your word against theirs." maybe if the cops can connect some dots they might give him a warning, but brake-checks and other aggressive behavior that you're describing is bordering on assault, not to mention a handful of traffic offenses. if they ask you if you want to press charges, the answer is YES.

if nothing else, a pattern of aggressive behavior being reported will let the cops know where to look if there's a hit-n-run. he thinks he's playing a game, but if/when he hits someone, i'd bet he'll just leave... and swear that he never saw anyone on a bike.

JimF22003

All the drivers on that road think it's their "secret" back way to get to Rt 9, and get affronted if anybody but them uses it. I've been yelled at by a chick in a VW on an otherwise pleasant Sunday afternoon. I don't know where she was going in such a hurry. Maybe she was coming home from church? The big issue for some is that the W&OD trail is "right over there" and they all think we should be using it.

I've had generally pleasant experiences in LoCo, but I had 3 nasty encounters on Airmont Rd a few weeks ago: - a looooong honker, a jacked up pickup truck that intentionally blew a cloud of diesel smoke at me, and another tooter. Totally out of the blue, and I wasn't doing anything wrong or impairing their country-road-riding experience in any way.

ccsdc83

I never have much trouble with people on the roads around here, but two years ago someone in a pickup truck used to do way over the limit in the early mornings and get dangerously close to the riders that were in the shoulder lane.
I called the Sheriffs Department and let them know what was happening and gave them the time every morning when it was occurring with a very vivid description of the vehicle. I started attaching my digital camera to the front of the bike and caught the person almost every morning and sent the video in for proof so they would not think it was crybaby whiner on a bicycle calling foul. I know the resources are stretched thin for law enforcement here so proof got everything rolling. They caught the guy in the act one morning and ticketed the fool.

Lets the cops handle it if you have a good department in the area. I would also keep a video device handy if possible and record them in the act.