Road Rage in the Southeast
 

It seems that biking in the Southeast presents some "special" challenges due to the busy, narrow roads and frequent anti-cyclist attitudes (as compared to other parts of the US).

This thread is for discussion of car-bike road rage incidents, and ways of dealing with the issues, such as local law enforcement, local laws, and other strategies for dealing with vehicular road rage on the southeast's busy roads. If nothing else, it will provide a place to vent, and perhaps to make a record of drivers who are particularly problematic and who should be taken off the roads.

The thread was inspired by a road rage incident where a driver tried to run me over today. I will post that in a followup message.

Morgan

Crazy woman in caravan tries to run me over
 

I'm still a bit shaken by this, so I just have to share it.

Be on the lookout for a crazy woman in a white Dodge Caravan of
mid-90's vintage in the Chapel Hill area of NC.

I was bike commuting down old Greensboro towards the stoplight at
Jones Ferry today, when this woman drove past me and started
gesturing wildly. Pulling up next to her, she rolled down her window, and I got an earful of
obscenities, with the occasional "share the road" interspersed. When
she told me she me she hopes someone runs me over, I decided to get
her plate number. I went behind her car to write it down, and she
put her car in reverse and tried to run me over! I had to jump out
of the way, or I would have been mowed down. Ironically, she was
yelling "fine, call the police, I'd be happy to talk to them". But
as soon as I pulled out my cell phone to report her trying to run me
over, she peeled rubber and headed out. (This is exactly why I
_always_ carry a cell phone biking!)

I waited for the Sheriff and made a report. But it was unclear
whether they would do anything. It didn't help that I wasn't
absolutely sure of the plate number, since I didn't exactly have calm
moments to memorize it while she was attempting to kill me.

Just a note about the situation: When she passed me, I was riding
down the long steep hill, and I was doing near 30 mph. I wasn't
hugging the right shoulder (given the speed) but I wasn't in the
middle of the road, either. She easily passed me, with no
perceptible delay (maybe she had to tap her brakes). Besides, I
always pull over at that intersection and let any cars pass, because
it's a busy road.

It is even more upsetting because I just spent a week in Madison WI,
where there are many great bike paths as well as wide roads, and
drivers there (mostly) seem much more relaxed and cautious. What is
the deal here in NC? It makes me want to move.

I'm thinking of getting one of those helmet mounted cameras to record future such incidents!

BTW - Does anyone know how to look up a license plate number?

Google FTW.

maybe she wasn't from the chapel hill area; I would think anyone living there knows that cyclists are to be expected and frequently encountered. Chapel Hill / Carboro is one of the more "cycle friendly" communities in N.C., except for the white minivan b1tch I guess.

I tried google searches, and several sites come up, but they want at least $40 for an annual subscription, and if I were to pay that, it's not clear that the license number I got will actually come up with the right car (since I had to rely on my memory, which is ailing)...

Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Morgan

as a 15-year chapel hill resident, i'd have to agree that in general, it's a pretty cyclist-friendly area. that said, there are asssholes everywhere...i've been cursed, run off the road, and hit with a hamburger (maybe one incident a year, and i log several thousand miles per). but that's nothing compared to...

a good friend of mine is a national-caliber crit racer and used to stay with me for a month or so in the winter to train. he and a teammate were *shot* while on the bike just north of CH (rogers rd.). it was a couple of teens with a pellet gun in a beat-up black honda prelude. luckily, no one was seriously injured...they were both hit in the legs/buttocks only, got some nasty welts but managed to stay up.

unfortunately, they didn't get a plate either. worse, they didn't have a cell, so when they called the orange cty sheriff to report the incident, they got indifference. despite good descriptions of the individuals and the car, with no plate and a significant time delay (i.e.: the perp probably left the area), the sheriff's office wouldn't even dispatch a cruiser.

i ride g'boro st. a lot...i'll be watching for a caravan! glad you're not hurt.

I sent this email last month to a buddy of mine who's a local cop:

The end result was a deputy went out to her place, she admitted to everything, and he explained to her about vehicular homicide and the trouble she could be in if we decided to press assault charges. We chose not to press charges, we were just happy that she was paid a visit by the cops and was educated on the laws.