I was riding today down a fairly busy road when I had a driver purposefully change lanes into my lane such that I had to brake hard to not get run off the road. He had all windows open so I shouted at him and got no response.

I was pissed so I chased him down doing 35mph up a short 4-5% grade. Caught him at a light and he had his drivers window open so I proceeded to yell at him about his driving being unsafe, illegal, and likely to get someone killed some day.

The look on his face when I caught him at the light was awesome. It was pretty much an oh-**** face. I'm pretty sure that he and the passenger thought it was great fun and didn't expect an uberclyde to be able to sprint fast enough to catch them.

And people wonder why cyclists are increasingly adding video cameras to their rigs...

Iconic Flux,

I'm glad that you weren't hurt, injured, or worse killed. But just remember that the next person you try that with may be "packing heat." And you could find yourself looking down the business end of a rather large handgun. Is it worth the possibility of loosing your life to vent at some brain dead motorist? Next time get their license plate number and report them to the police.

That said it's funny how so many don't seem to understand that in the short distance that we've got the advantage, not them.

Agreed, and it's funny how those who did often get labeled as being the "troublemakers." As if I remember correctly that's how a certain cyclist who had a negative encounter with a company can of a local business was painted.

K'Tesh, I was thinking the same thing

DC, You are very right. Both about the potential of a motorist 'packing heat', and how motorists' don't realize that on short distance, a cyclist, does have the advantage.

Motorists aren't the only ones "packing heat."

Confronting the driver MAY not be the best choice but this

has almost zero chance of accomplishing anything.

Especially if the cyclist "reporter" has nothing to report to the police other than that his feelings got hurt.

[QUOTE=soonerrebel;14624022]Confronting the driver MAY not be the best choice but this


I agree with this statement. If you willing to confront someone be prepared to fight. Also think of the other things that could happen like arrest and a good ass whooping. Just my opinion.

In the past I've run down a few idiots who tried to hit me, but I've since stopped chasing them, as there is no point. During the times I've chased them down and asked them why they made such a bonehead maneuver, I'm inevitably told to get up on the sidewalk where I belong. My little 15 second rant on the side of the road is not going to change stupid and all it manages to do is ruin the rest of my ride as well as make an enemy that could be coming up behind me the next day. I now just shake my head and thank the powers that be that I was able to avoid being hit.

My personal reason for adding front and rear cams is so that I don't have to chase a motorist down, it usually doesn't have the desired ending that one may be expecting.


Just the other day, I was able to report an aggressive motorist, my rear cam shows the motorist deliberately positioning his vehicle to make a close pass, then suddenly accelerating and sounding their horn right as they are along side me as they were accelerating by. Though the motorist was traveling too fast for me to make out the vehicle license plate numbers while this was happening at the time, the numbers were clearly visible in videos, along with all the vehicles details.

I'm thinking of getting a dash cam in my car. The crap you see when there isn't a cop around...

Yes, A cyclist's moniker, should be comedian Ron White's catchphrase, 'You Can't Fix Stupid'. I just shake my head, now.

I would have no trouble getting a guy like that charged here. I dunno what the laws are like where this guy was.

If it went to court of course it would be my word against his, but that's okay. Even if I lost, the driver would still get the message that if he does something stupid, there's at least the potential for consequences.

That's amazing. I suppose that driver will be charged. Will you know if he / she is?

I go out of my way to avoid traffic, and didn't even know drivers did things like this. Guess I'll be going even more out of my way now.

There are LEOs about, it's just that many of them are off duty. At one of our local cyclist meetings, we had some guest speakers from various law enforcement agencies, and they let us know that they are all too aware of seeing far more of some motorists dangerous driving habits while they are off duty in their personal vehicles than when they are on duty in their patrol cruiser.

DD,

That's why I think that police departments and sheriffs offices should have more unmarked cars on the road. And that those unmarked cars should match those cars already found on their streets, so as to blend in and not stand out as being a cop car.

What would that guy be "Charged" with in the absence of any evidence of anything illegal occurring, unless you embellished the story with fabrications?

After wasting your time in court over a chimeric violation, you would be getting the same "message" as the charged fellow about doing something stupid.

Some large metropolitan areas have this in place, and I happen to see an unmarked sport sedan in operation while traveling through a larger US city. One wouldn't really have known that the average looking sport sedan was a patrol cruiser until it's stealth emergency vehicle lights were turned on.

Lol? The described behaviour is illegal in most of the civilized world. In other news, water is wet!

Yup, my son and I were just driving back from the big box store, we were on this 35MPH arterial road that goes within a few blocks of the house and just in front of us is a very slow car that keeps swerving. So I go to the right lane and get on past, and glance over and there is a young woman, eyes on a iphone, small child in the back. OK slow and swerving are bad enough, but after we pass her, a large truck is coming up in the same right lane we are in (my son is watching this, while he comments on how bad texting is...) and she swerves into and out of the right lane, just missing the truck.

If she had not been on the cell phone, I would have sworn she was drunk. It takes all kinds.

It is always amazing how people suddenly straighten up in the presence of a cruiser... meaning folks KNOW they are doing wrong otherwise.

A couple of weeks ago my SO ripped the front license plate off a car that harassing us (epic!). He wanted to be sure he had the number. The cop was happy to talk to us. Not sure if changed the driver's tune.

But, yeah, otherwise, giving the cops a license plate number and a story rarely accomplishes anything.

...but then again, having a motorist or vehicle documented into a local law enforcement's data base can also be helpful in their determining if a motorist is starting or has an established pattern of bad/dangerous driving habits if enough reports were made by a number of individuals, and law enforcement will take much quicker/stronger action than if no reports were made at all.

DD,

And uh correct me if I'm mistaken, but isn't that what helped to convict a certain Dr. out in LA?