If the cager tard utters death threats, you are within your rights absolutely to dial 911.

I don't know where you've been but the world has always worked this way. If there's no fear of repurcussions, anything goes. Furthermore, I'd hate to think my life hung on the balance of a 9/11 call.

Just another reason to wear ear buds.

edit: I guess that would be rude with another rider though, eh?

It is extremely rare, in my (UK) experience, for a cyclist to hold up following traffic for more than a few seconds. It's also fairly rare for a cyclist to be doing as little as 5mph.

Yes, the kind of driver the OP was describing will go ballistic, regardless of how little time he is held up, but the majority will wait without doing so. You have the right to hold up following vehicles if it is unsafe not to do so, i.e. the road/lane is too narrow for them to overtake safely - and it is your right to decide whether or not that is so.

It is also courtesy (whether common or not) to pull in if you are holding up a line of traffic for an unreasonable length of time, but bear in mind that it is still your decision to do so only if circumstances and safety permit.

As for "what drivers would do", most will do nothing, or, at most, mouth off. Accept that that may happen and shrug it off, unless they then proceed to drive dangerously. What you do then is up to you.

So they'll actually track the guy down? I would've thought they would've had to actually catch him in the act...

If there are witnesses to the act, a report of the crime and witnesses names are sufficient for an investigation to proceed.

...what on earth are you talking about?

Jail looks bad on a resume and you can catch bad diseases in jail/prison.

This is true. Jail bad. Clean record good.

Let's just say some maniac comes after you screaming obscenities. Ready, set, go-you call 9/11. What happens next while the police dispatcher is combing donut shops for help? I don't think calling "timeout" is an option. Too bad that Mitch guy is already in jail. Damn.

I don't want to be "that" guy but I gotta call balogna. There are hundreds and hundreds of cyclists in that area and for him to have singled you out you have to ahve done "something" to him, intentionaly or not.

Well yeah, the "something" I did was being in the full lane. He made that pretty clear by his "move over", "get off the road" shouting.

I was about two blocks from my house (on a very busy multi-lane one way) - it's not like I had been slowing him down for miles...

Well, too bad, you are "that guy". Because no driver has ever needlessly had a screaming fit of rage. Clearly the OP did something to deserve it.

That's not the scenario under discussion. The situation as described by the OP involved verbal harassment and threats, but no attempted assault. The nutjob did not get out of his car. He did not gun his engine or threaten OP with his vehicle. He drove around OP and continued on his way.

You responded to this description by saying, "You should have kicked his a55", to which JanMM responded, "That's assault, or maybe battery, or both. Either way, might make for a trip to jail." JanMM is correct: no, you're not allowed to simply walk up to someone who is screaming at you -- but doing nothing else -- and "kick their a55". If you do so, you will be the one who ends up on the wrong side of the law. When this was pointed out to you, you spoke of "tak[ing] one for the team", which would seem to mean -- in context -- that you'd be willing to go to prison for the satisfaction of beating up a verbally abusive motorist. I'm still unclear on just what "team" is supposed to benefit from your going to prison (your family? your friends? your employer? society at large?), but I don't think you're really all that clear on that yourself.

Now you're moving the goalposts and talking about a completely different scenario, one in which "some maniac comes after you screaming obscenities". If by "comes after you" you mean advances on you in a manner that a reasonable person would consider a threat of physical violence, then you are allowed to defend yourself. If you can get in a call to 911 before things get to that point, or if bystanders can, so much the better -- your "a55" kicking skills may not be all that you believe them to be, and if you are involved in a very public fracas, it's likely that the cops will become involved at some point anyway, so better that it be when they can still help you out rather than merely scrape up the pieces.

By the way, why all the cop hate? All this crap talk about "donut shops" and so on -- what cop urinated in your Cheerios this morning? IME, cops in Boston are responsive, don't act like jerks, and take a dim view of motorists who scream at cyclists for no reason. If a cop had been there in the OP's scenario, I can pretty much guarantee that the motorist in question would have left the scene considerably chastened, light in the wallet and likely to watch his mouth in the future -- at the very least.

Well, if the OPs significant other is a really pretty female and can cry on demand (most women can) in front of the cop using words like "In fear for my life" then the car becomes a deadly weapon and the act becomes assault. Maybe. But yes, if a pretty girl cries, the cops will hunt the guy down with a plate number.

Nope - I've got a light on top of my helmet, most people think it's a camera...at least of those that ask about it anyway...

+1
That kind of threat is unacceptable, and those who resort to it should be reported. bummer that you forgot the license plate.

I had a similar incident (although a shade less threatening) happen last week, and neglected to catch the plate number, so I can relate to the 'in the moment forgetfulness'. If life had a rewind button, I'd certainly have gotten that plate and reported the a$$clown.

While the OP handled this in the best possible way, I would not be able to be so polite about it. If someone were to start flipping out on my at a light I would flip out on them in return. If he tried to step out of his vehicle then I would throw him a beating, or possibly take one from him but there is no way I could just sit there and take something like that. Afterwards it would be time to hop back on the bike and take off before the cops showed up. Of course that attitude does lead to the occasional trip to jail, which is not advised for the average person.

I don't hate cops. Granted, instead of my "donut shop" sarcasm, I might've said cops were busy and could take up to several minutes before they arrived. Whatever. If a bad situation escalates, you better be able to take care of yourself.
If someone threatens to kill you they've already crossed the (legal) line. Furthermore, going to jail for assault is better than going to the hospital or worse.

I LOL'd. Too bad I'm the kind of female with a filthy temper and not to the type to when some scumbag tard cager is hootin' an hollerin' at me.

Sure, but that's...not what we're talking about.

Which does not legally entitle you to perform any a55-kicking unless it is a credible threat.

Going home and opening a cold one is better than either. Beware the false dichotomy, it's worse than trolley tracks.

If I said the sky was blue would you argue?

The hell you say! Nothing is worse than trolley tracks!

I recently had some long bearded beer bellied redneck, honk, drive by less than two feet from me, and scream get on the sidewalk as he passed. I gave him a one finger salute, and he pulled into the next driveway. He got out, and left his door open, and screamed "Ahm gunnuh Kick yewer ASS!!" And yes, that is what he sounded like. If he had closed the door, I might have stopped and obliged him. The fact that he didn't meant there was a firearm in the cab of his redneckmobile. I told him I have the same right to the road as you do, and a nice FU to finish the sentence. He then drove by me at about 70mph, missing me by about a foot! If I see him again, I will stop and take care of business when he offers.,,,,BD

^ Good grief. I'd have probably busted out my U-Lock and said "come get some of this, ****face" and I'm a girl. heh.

I concur with Mitch. You should NEVER rely on 9-11 to save your life. EVER. I have bitter experience with that. Someone close to me came within cm of dying of a stab wound because the pigs took 30+ mins to show up, they could have been there in 10 mins or less. The reason they did not come sooner? We were slightly outside their jurisdiction, so cops from much further away had to come. I dialled 911 something like 3 times in the convenience store, progressively becoming more hysterical. I was 19 years old. I learned that lesson the hard way, and early.

There have been other incidents where dialing 911 was a waste of a time. You can ONLY RELY ON YOURSELF and no one else. Not the public, either, if you scream for help no one will come. I was grabbed by a maniac once and screamed my goddamned head off and broke the guy's hand some lady drove by reaaaaal slow and saw the whole thing and didn't even dial 911. Finally some neighbours came out, the guy could have cut me into little pieces by that point, if he was inclined.

As the song goes 911 is a joke.