pschmidt

I commute from Rockville to DC every work day. Other than the occasional "get off the road!" I really haven't had any problems since I started in March until this morning.

I take Connecticut avenue straight down into the city. The entire length is 3 lanes wide, with a speed limit that varies from 40 to 25. This morning as I get to one of the more residential areas I hear someone approaching fast from the rear. Then he lays on the horn. This isn't the normal 2 second blast as someone does the flyby; this guy is a foot off my rear wheel laying on the horn. I look back then wave him to the other two lanes that a completely free of traffic. He persists. After a 3/4 of a mile he finally tires of sticking behind me, flicks me off, and blasts by. Sweet I think, problem gone.

Lucky for him there's another rider 200 yards up in the right lane. This guy has two cars behind him who have no problem with him riding. Mr. Anger Management then swoops over a lane to cut off these two driver to get behind the rider, who then receives the same horn treatment.

Now, the lights on Conn. ave are timed for 30mph. There are signs stating this. It's a matter of time before he gets stuck at one. What do you know, next light he's there. EDIT: I went on minding my own business EDIT. Tough guy refuses to roll down the window, and locks the doors. I get the one finger wave again. I figure this guy is the typical tough in the steel cage, afraid to chat guy so I pedal off to the right side of the road to regain my 3 feet off the curb position.

Then he hits me. Nothing major, just a little tap on the rear wheel. This is when I get the red mist going. Yell, fine. Honk, no problem. Hit me with your car, now it is time to Smile EDIT.

I'm fine, the bike's fine. I guess I'm just in disbelief. Has anyone else had this happen to them? How did you handle it? What should I should have done differently? (I know riding in front of him was not a great idea)

Thanks for reading. Maryland Tag# XXXXXXX, Burgandy XXXXXXXXXXXXX I'm watching out for you.

Cheers,
Pat

BenyBen

Report it to the police!!!!

It might not go anywhere this time, but if the jackass repeats, they might look into it.

rgilmore

Pat, please report him. He assaulted you. If he gets away with this the next time he's going to maim or kill somebody.

The Seldom Kill

Report him. Absolutely. Not just because the police might be able to do something but also because reports of crime feed into statistics that affect how policing and counter-crime measures are funded and determined.

Sorry, just the civil servant in me talking.

Last time I got hit it was by a left-turner (UK). Accidental but the driver didn't so much as stop as pause before driving on. Red mists drove me to ride him down over the course of a mile and ***** him out on a set of lights. I stopped when he started to cry in front of him mum.

Blue Order

If you don't report this guy to the police, you're giving him a free pass to assault other cyclists. If the cops do nothing else, there needs to be a report implicating him in aggressive anti-cyclist behavior in the event that he assaults, or even worse, kills another cyclist down the road. If he assaults and/or kills another cyclist in the future, you don't want this guy getting away with the excuse that it was an accident and he didn't see the cyclist.

A police report will be incriminating evidence of his past conduct. File a report, and if you can, file charges. The police, who would rather eat donuts than file paperwork, will try to convince you not to file charges. File charges anyway. Insist on it. This guy needs to have law enforcement attention focused on him before somebody gets killed.

Daily Commute

I agree with the others. For the sake of all other cyclists, REPORT HIM!!! And do it now--get off the internet and call the police.

What the driver did was a criminal offense and dangerous. Google "Jane Dolkart" for the story of the felony conviction of an SMU law professor for "tapping" a cyclist.

You did a good job by getting his plate. Now follow through.

bigbenaugust 

If you report him, does that show up on his insurance the next time he's billed?

halfbiked

Yup. Report him. See if you can find the other cyclist too, if he was a witness to the assault.

supcom

Report him by all means. But why on earth would you have ridden up ahead of the guy after seeing his agressive behaviour??? You even saw him go out of his way to harrass another cyclist.

budster

Assault with a deadly weapon. Felony. And you have him dead to rights, with plate # and solid visual ID.

If you do the right thing, he'll get the cooling-off time he deserves.

Wait'll he tells his fellow prisoners what he's in for....

noisebeam

How fast were you going when the tap happened? What did it feel like? Did you struggle to keep control of bike? Just curious, let us know after you report to police.

Al

ItsJustMe

Please, please please report this. This guy is a homicide waiting to happen. Not reporting him is gambling on who he's going to kill first.

d2create

Report him. Did you get his license plate? Hit and run is a felony whether you were injured or not. And if you were able to get the other guy to back you up, even better.

huhenio

Please please please don't tempt fate again. Honking is like hills and wind ... they are there to make us tougher.

Don't confront some idiot for honking ... you have a beautiful life. Do not ruin your life for some idiot.

I am the guy with the 1 pound chro moly wrench for self defense, not a hippy.

cerewa

That may be true. And a court may agree with that statement. If they do, that guy could wind up owing you a lot of money. I have no sympathy for a person that intentionally taps a moving bicycle with a car, and neither should you. At the very least, though, when you tell the police you should give them any details you can about the driver, such as sex, age, weight, glasses if any...

pschmidt

Thanks for all of the advice.

The Montgomery County Police are coming out this evening to take a police report. Unfortunately I have to be in county for them to take the statement otherwise I'd have given it already.

Noisebeam: I was going maybe 3 mph when he hit/tapped me. As I was riding in front of the car ( ) he gunned his engine. I turned to make eye contact with him and he crept forward and tapped me. I stopped immediately and he revved the engine to push the rear wheel of my bike a little further.

So what now? I have to get to work somehow. Day after day I see the same cars; I'm sure I'll see him again. If the police do contact him I'm sure he's going to be completely rational and see the error of his ways . Do I keep riding the same route, or take the looonng way 'round? Change my commuter bag, take my fixed gear? Point is, he's going to recognize me and after today's little hissy fit and I really don't want to be on the road with him.

Should I strap my XXX on my back and continue on my merry way?

Cheers,
Pat

Blue Order

This guy wasn't just honking. He was driving erratically, going out of his way to get on the tail of cyclists and harass them. That's not honking, it's assault (threatening battery). And making contact is battery. You can't let assault and battery go, because he's going to keep at it until somebody forces him to stop.

noisebeam

As noted later you were traveling at 3mph.
But I am a bit confused. You were next to his window, light turns, I assume you went in front of him and cut across his path to get '3 feet off the curb' position (i.e. the right side of lane). How did you get in front of him and start merging left while traveling at no more than 3mph?

I am not doubting you in any way or suggeting this guy is not completely at fault or shouldnt be punished, but, I just can't quite visualize this situation: How do you get in front of a car traveling at 3mph when you started next to their left drivers window at a red light?

Al

Marylandnewbie

Pschmidt, glad to hear you reported the incident. I'm also glad to hear it happened at low speed, at least there is less likelihood of injury.

If you want to push it further contact your County Council member -- they always like a good incident to get energized and with only a year to go until elections they may be even more energized. I don't know where you were, but if you were near a school, rec center or senior citizen residence make sure you play up the danger to such innocent victims by agressive driving. Sometimes making a complaint is all in the packaging!

I would stick to the route and keep an eye out. Obviously if he behaves in a reckless or agressive manner again hop off the road (sidewalk or wherever you can get quickly) and call tyhe cops right away. With 1 report filed a second complaint will be serious. Its a lot to ask, but if you catch the plate of one or two cars that might have witnessed the event so much the better.

Blue Order

You need a commuting partner-- safety in numbers because there are witnesses about. Be vigilant-- not afraid, just aware of who's on the road. Alter your route/routine. Carry a cellphone. And definitely report any further incidents with this guy-- right there, on the spot, on your cellphone. Bust his a** every time he harasses you or anybody else on the road. Haul him into court every single time.

truman

When you DO report him, be sure to tell the police that you are now legitimately in fear for your personal safety, citing the same things you just said, about being scared to take the same route to work anymore. Seriously. And if the cop you're talking to appears to not be taking you seriously, please take the time and effort to speak with his superior officer. It's not just for you, but the the next biker, kid, wife - whoever will take the brunt of this clown's rage, next time he's having a bad day.

Oh yeah, and in the future, realize that the next guy you wanna put in his place for misbehaving is gonna be on the same road tomorrow, coming up behind you...

KrisPistofferson

Now that the police are involved, you might want to erase some of the pertinent information from this thread. If this guy's lawyer gets on the 'net, and sees how you may have escalated the situation, it might reflect badly on you. This HAS happened before on Bikeforums.

pschmidt

The light was still red and there was another vehicle in front of him. I had said my piece (more like gesticulated wildly) and kind of shoved off with my left as my right was still clipped in. We had our up close and personal moment as the light was either still red or turning. Honestly, I wasn't paying attention to the light. I was more concerned with him either popping the door and wanting to have a man to man, or after I had ridden into his path, him running me down. Believe me, as soon as I moved in front of him I realized it was dumb.

Cheers,
Pat

pschmidt

Thanks MDNewbie.

The funny thing is, the low speed stuff happened right at Connecticut and Bradley. There's some kind of school as they have a freaking MoCo police crossing gaurd at the intersection in the morning. I was actually thinking if I was going to have to beat this guy in front of children.

I'll be sure to note your advice when I speak with the police later. I'll leave out my concern

cc_rider

Thank you for following up with a police report. With luck, a visit from the police will throw a scare into him and he'll behave. If not, the incident will be on his record and next time it'll be easier for the police to take some action.
Let us know what happens.