Commute Rant
 

I see these "this happened to me on my ride today..." threads quite often, but have never felt the need to post my own...until today. So I'm riding my normal route and all is well, I pass through a light(green)and a moment later I hear the horn. I usually just ignore the beep beep, I hate bikes, horn honking, but this was the constant, I am trying to scare the **** out of you, honking. I look back to see if the left lane is open, which it is, and proceeded to coast and slow down, as it usually prompts these types top pull into the wide open left lane and drive by cursing and fist shaking. Not this guy, he roars up about six inches from my wheel and stays there on the horn the whole time. We pass a cop in the turn lane(turning into Starbucks), who sees what is happening, but opts to go for coffee rather than do anything about it. I catch the guy at the light and tap his window to inform him that I was riding legally, at which point he gets out and gives me the ride on the sidewalk speech. I rebut that it is illegal and dangerous for myself, motorists and pedestrians for me to ride the sidewalk. He begins to threaten me bodily and I ride off(I don't entertain the thought of fist fighting first thing in the morning). Of course he gets right back into position, 6 inches and horn blowing. I pull out my phone to see if this encourages him to lay off and give up. Nope. I really have no choice but to call 911 and report his actions(never thought I'd have to do that). He peels off and I relay my location and the license plate, description of his car and him. Cop says they'll file a road rage report, as I didn't want to press charges. I feel better knowing that if I encounter the guy again it will be documented that we had a previous run in. I guess in the end it just pisses me off that anyone would pull this ****, when I was riding legally and he had the room to easily get around me. I guess this kind of stuff happens between cagers as well, but the odds are a bit more equal when both people are wrapped in steel boxes. Just needed to vent, thanks BFers.

that dude sounds like a nutcase, glad he didn't have at you

Sounds like you handled the situation well. I mean you gave the guy every opportunity to pack it in and only resorted to the police when you felt you were at risk. Grats on not resorting to fists. Glad you are ok.


I just cannot fathom why some motorists hate cyclists so much.

You handled it well. And I'm glad you are OK. I'm not sure I could have remained as cool. His actions as you describe them would have put me into "my life is being threatened mode" which is likely to cause me to act in ways I might not be proud of later.

"he who fight and run away, lives to fight another day" Bob Marley "Heathen"

Ha, funnily, I just posted my own story of a harassing driver, although mine was MUCH less of a threat than yours. Although, once we started arguing, he did say to me, in a threatening way, "You're lucky I didn't hit you."

Anyway, I agree it sounds like you handled it well.

Thanks for the support. I just became a daddy a few months ago and my riding style has drastically changed. I wear a helmet and ride much less aggressively and follow most traffic laws. I also avoid confrontation with motorists as a rule, but this guy went a bit further than I was okay with. I'm used to constant heckling and buzzing, my wife is not, so if someone is that much of a danger I will try to communicate the law to them(as y'all know it's usually perceived as a confrontation rather than education) and maybe save the next cyclist the trouble. BTW Austin has the claim to fame of having the only cyclist vs. motorist where the motorist died(cyclist killed him with one punch)so you'd think people would chill...

Whoa... That's some serious power. Or unless the motorist was an old lady or something lol.

If you'd have pressed charges if someone had threatened you that way while you were driving or walking, you should certainly have done so here.

I think cops have enough to do and don't rely on them to police every unpleasant interaction I have on a daily basis. I'm alive and unhurt in the end, so I feel there really isn't any reason to bog down an overburdened criminal/legal system any more than I did. If it happens again with the same guy I will escalate to an appropriate level. I was pretty disappointed that the cop who witnessed it felt no need to intervene, if charges were to be filed it would be against him for failure to do his job while rushing to collect his free venti latte.

He threatened you with bodily harm, either defend yourself or press charges.

MY EYES! :eek:

Ok. Now that I can see again...

If someone does that to me, and the left lane is clear, I just move to the left lane and wave them by on my right. Done it a hundred times or more. They ALWAYS feel like a dork, like "Why didn't I think of using that lane?"

:innocent:

edit: I'll bet this guy is just like those a-holes that ride my bumper and honk at me for "only" doing the speed limit when I drive.

Threatened, you can't just hit someone for threatening something. How is that defending yourself. Walking away is defending yourself and more likely to prevent violence. I thought I gave a thorough explanation of my reason for not pressing charges, did you read it?

Actually, you gave no reason for the decision.


You played the whipping boy well. :rolleyes:

Clarity?

I'm sure everybody read it; however, your statement above is probably not accurate, at least from a legal standpoint. If someone announces their intention to harm you, in many (most? hard to say, self-defense law has a gazillion local variants) situations you do have a right to respond with force appropriate to defend yourself. That doesn't mean it's always the best course of action, but you don't always have a legal duty to retreat when explicitly threatened.

As many cop friends have let me know, yell out and testify to "I was afraid for my life" in any and all resultant police reports/assualt charges/ court appearances.

Then beat the crap out of them.

But you handled yourself a lot better than I would have (obviously).

Sweat not the Internet Second Guess Club members...

Safe riding to you...

I woulda been on the phone with 911 when it was obvious it wasn't a honk and go. This driver should not be on the road, he probably "punishes" other drivers in any number of unsafe ways when they do something he doesn't like. And from my observation, nothing drives these freaks more insane than someone driving in a safe and careful manner and not exceeding the speed limit.

As far as "defending" myself in such a situation, I probably could if push comes to shove. But I'm not so confident in my pugilistic skills that I'm going to start a fight without superior firepower. It's not some sort of social imperative any more, we've advanced past that as a society. That is the behavior of the people that don't do well.

Must be a nice feeling you get sitting in a big truck, thinking you're invincible and possess superhuman powers. So strong is the force of this conviction, that it stays with you even as you get out of that shielded truck to show some lowlife cyclists their proper place. What a nasty surprise it is to discover that the truck's magical powers do not apply once you're out of it, and that your sorry ass gets whipped by some pedal-pusher who, amazingly, turns out to be fitter and stronger than a pick-up driving salesman! No fair!

I carry pepper spray, and if somebody gets out of their vehicle and threatens me, I'll spray 'em, and then call the cops. And yes, the "I was in fear for me person" defense would definitely come into play.

He did defend himself. He left the scene without a scratch. That's a pretty good defense if you ask me.

Kudos on not escalating it. That would have ended much worse than a rant post.

I carry pepper spray right on my bars. I've talked to enough a**hole cagers to make me want to carry it even if the stuff is expired.

Yea the cops have so much to do that that pig just watched some clown harassing you with his vehicle and being that he was so damn busy he went on with his business to score some free coffee. There so busy every time you see one there illegally yapping on the phone breaking a few million laws that YOU have to follow or cutting in line in front of you and scoring some free food somewere. Don't feel sorry for the crap line that they have to put up with a lot of crap. So do you and the rest of us and nobody gives us the benefit of the doubt. THAT IS THERE JOB and what we pay them to do. Screw that, your paying these cops to serve you, your the reason for there paychecks, put the corrupt legal system to work and maybe something will come out in your favor. Then again, they are there to serve the corporations who use them on the taxpayers dime to keep the heard under control.
So forget everything i just said.


Glad your alright.

you did the right thing.

there has been on the news in my city cases where ... the drivers pulls off, fist out the cyclist, and to finish off throw the bike over with force to smash it to pieces right in front of a starbucks...

there has been several incidents like that in downtown.

i tell you, drivers near downtown area, are crazy. :twitchy:

Not in this town. If you make no effort to physically get away from the person threatening you, or even attacking you, prior to defending yourself; you stand a very good chance of being brought up on assault charges. You can't just haul off and let them have it for talk, or even coming at you if you can get away from them.

Now whether or not you would be convicted? That's another story.

I think you did the right thing in reporting and not escalating the situation, however you should definitely press charges or he'll just do it again to someone else.

FYI if you use clipless pedals and someone starts a fight with you, a cleat to the kneecap is going to put a halt to that!

Castle Doctrine laws, particularly in Texas are pretty good. I am fine with you just riding off. Nothing wrong with not getting into a fight. That said, anywhere you have a legal right to be, you have a legal right to stand your ground. (Check local laws, I am far from a lawyer)

As for Police, If someone threatens me, I call them. Sometimes people simply pass too closely on accident, no problem. I let them know at the light and usually they are genuinely apologetic. If they honk and buzz me, piss on them. I will file a report. Intentionally endangering my life is not acceptable. I would hope more cyclists would do the same. Firstly, if the same vehicle gets called in several times the police will either step up patrols or pass the issue on to detectives. Secondly, I might get lucky enough as to have the police visit them and remind them that I am welcome on the road.

My life is worth wasting a cops time.
Frankly, if some clown yells at a person then takes a swing, but misses, with a bat, nearly everyone would press charges. Why not the same when they honk, yell, and swing a 1 ton+ steel bat on wheels?

That is about the most ignorant and mindless post I've seen to date. You'll go far in life. Get a clue.

Internet tough guys, meet em everywhere. ;)

You handled yourself just fine. Kudos for not letting your temper overcome your brain.

Why am I not surprised.