I'm not sure what happened, but the number of local motorists with the diesel train air horns has dropped off considerably as well, in my not hearing one for quite some time.

For years I have emptied my water bottle into the face of charging dogs while yelling as loud as I can. Stops them in their tracks. I wonder if the water spray would work for obnoxious and aggressive drivers? They would get the point at least. Could we then be charged for throwing a missile from a moving vehicle?
I ran over a stone on my bike commute 2 weeks ago in traffic. It popped out like a shot and hit a car. He pulled over at the next turn lane and politely asked me to talk. We exchanged business cards as the stone did leave a ding in his door. My USAA auto ins. didn't take a report as I was not driving a car. My home owners ins. didn't either as they said his insurance would handle it.

Oh crap! :eek: I've "pinched shot" many stones over the years, and my biggest fear is nailing a ped. Just yesterday I nailed somebody's fence with a good thud backing it up, fortunately there were no peds on the sidewalk.

On a quiet weekend morning commute some years ago, I did nail, very loudly, the side of somebody's new shiny pickup, that was parked across the street with a "pinch shot", and with myself hightailing it out of the vicinity.

ROFL! I've had the 'pinch shot' thing happen too. I got the heck outta Dodge. I live in PA and I saw mtbikerinPA mention the 4 ft law. I only heard a blip on TV about this a couple of weeks ago. I was curious if you had the full details?

Touring down the West Coast from Canada to Mexico several times my wife and I actually looked for small stones to pinch at passing cars. It became an entertaining game to pass the time. We got pretty good at hitting our targets and no one ever came unglued about it.

I was threatened with death for spitting on a new black Mercedes I could tell was going to Jerry Brown me on Torrey Pines Road in spite of having an empty left lane in which to pass me safely. The driver decided he didn't want to stick around when I pulled out my cell phone and dialed 911.

I have a story about a driver who encountered me every morning on my way to work at 6 am in the dark on a certain road I had no choice but to take. I began watching my mirror for headlights coming up behind me and came to recognize him because it took him so long to reach me compared to the other drivers who were moving at a faster speed. Every morning he would match my speed, draw even with me, and lean on the horn. Sometimes he then pulled in front of me and brake checked me.

This went on for several months. I tried leaving earlier, but sometimes time got short and I ended up in the wrong place at 6 am once again.

The turning point came when I purchased a Magicshine 1600 and mounted it on the bars. The first time I used it he pulled in front of me and brake checked me. This time I was able to read his license plate for the first time and called 911. I never saw him again.

People behave badly for a lot of reasons, crappy jobs, bad marriage, too many bills, pregnant girlfriend...the list goes on and on. They have to take it out on SOMEBODY, and the guy on the bike seems like fair game I guess. A few years ago I had a guy in a little pickup pull out on the shoulder to get up next to me as I was trying to make a left turn in the traffic lane, and tell me to "get that piece of S*** off the road!" I was riding a short wheelbase recumbent so I of course gave him a one finger salute and told him to "F*** OFF"... He put the truck in park (right there in traffic) and got out, all 5'-7" and 150lbs of him. I stood up, and dropped my bike the the pavement, all 6'-4" and 250lbs of me. Swung around to see what was next...he simply looked up at me, muttered, "oh S***!" got back in the truck and sped away. I got on my bike, made my left turn and rode the short distance home, laughing!!!

I don't encourage anyone to confront an idiot in a car, but sometimes it happens...

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

Sometimes, over here in Portland. If a driver does that, other cyclists will come in that lane and chat with you while riding. Completely ignoring the driver and blocking his/her path, when a car honks at you, generally it gets ignored or you get the finger.
My dad drives all the time, even he says, "If you don't have the patients to put up with pedestrians or cyclists, then you shouldn't be driving at all".

You can also, call your LEO, and report a reckless driver. They may pull them over. ;P

I never thought of aiming pinch shots...hmmmm

When a driver squeezes me towards the curb or acts like I am not existent in the traffic, I tap the side of their car with my hand when they're very close. Then they think they hit me or my bike and suddenly become very polite and say they're sorry.

It is my thought that if you try to warn them without any kind of incident (without the tap), than they may become rude. They usually think, well I didn't hit you, did I, so what are you bothering me for.

How you handle it mostly depends on where you live.

Here in Northern Colorado, there are lots of cyclists. Some of them are real jerks to automobile drivers, so lots of us try to be "good will" ambassadors. Smile and wave.

If someone repeatedly threw stuff at me, or tried to hurt me, I'm not sure what I'd do. Probably try taking a picture of them with my phone camera, or a helmet camera, and sending it to the police. If that did not work, I'd probably start carrying a loaded pistol to even the odds a little bit.

THIS!! When your bicycle is your car there is little point in envying drivers their cushy driving experience. Where i live, 17 miles outside of Portland, OR the vast majority of cyclists have had their drivers licenses suspended. They HATE biking. They think every driver is out to kill them. Hmmmm. Makes you wonder what they were thinking when they were behind the wheel of a car.

H

Some good buds go a long way towards drowning out the honking. Then just smile and ride.

Interesting... I feel bad as hell when someone's car gets hit by one of my shots. They are never intended. I cannot imagine what it would take to do it intentionally. Better look out for that Karma. The payback is sure to leave a mark.

H