Dangerous incident

[Nebulous]

I had what feels like a targeted incident yesterday, and I'm not sure what to do about it.

I started commuting in February, and quickly had a few incidents where I became upset at stupid / dangerous activities from motorists that put me at risk. Following advice on here things gradually calmed down and I learned to let things go. I very rarely have any conflict on the road now.

Yesterday on my road bike however I had an incident that felt very deliberate - and has shaken me.

I was coming into a town going downhill- doing high 20s mph. In front were two cars, one of whom had just overtaken me. They were going slightly faster than me so were pulling away. They pass a side road and a car squeezes out into the gap, without really enough room. Instead of accelerating though he goes really slowly and I'm closing fast. I consider overtaking, but worry he will speed up and leave me stuck on his outside so I brake down. At this point I think he hasn't seen me - but then I realise he is watching me intently in his mirror. I shake my head and he starts gesticulating angrily in his mirror. I must admit I responded in kind! He speeds up - we get to the bottom of the hill - a t-junction with traffic lights, the other two cars go through a green light. He doesn't indicate left or right but with the light still green slams on the brakes and pretty much comes to a standstill. He then accelerates left. I follow (I was going that way anyway) with light still green, but he disappears quickly.

Although I usually let things go I'm finding this one difficult, because it feels as though he was trying to pick a fight. I didn't see him properly but it was an older car with a private plate, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't a youngster.

I've considered reporting it to the police, but doubt if they will do anything.

He was coming out of a quiet residential area, early on a Saturday morning, so the chances are he stays there. I've considered going knocking on his door to say how concerned I am about his actions - but that carries a lot of risks; I already know he is aggressive so it could become a full-on barney, he might not be there and I could be accused of upsetting his family etc.

 

[david k]

I think you worrying too much. I know its not me and i may think otherwise if it was but id ignore it.
I never put fingers up or likewise to anyone, you dont know who your dealing with, they may have nothing to loose and you everything

he did a stupid manovoure, therefore he is stupid, leave it at that. If you go round looking for him you are the aggressor and have everything to loose
not easy i know, been there, it plays on your mind for days, not easy but try too forget and learn

 

[exbfb]

+1

Immensely frustrating at the time, but what can you honestly do about it ?

Also, as David says, you dont' know who you're dealing with. The indicidual has already shown you some of his character in what you've seen of him so far. I shouldn't imagine a conversation on his doorstep would finish with an outcome that would make you feel better.

Little bit of non cycling guff here.
I was in the supermarket car park yesterday and had just sat down after putting the stuff in the back of the car.
There, across from me was your man piling beer into the back of the the new Jag XF with private plate. I like Jags, but your man looked a bit of a self important cock if I'm being honest.
He was one of the individuals who just annoyed me woth his expression far less his actions.
Anyway, beer in back of Jag.
The trolley ?
No problem, just set that free on a course of it's own choosing.
All the better to smash into any car that the wind might take it into.

Grrrr........

I'm not very good at fights, but equally so, I'm not very good at keeping my mouth shut either.
So I went over grabbed the trolley as it started its random trajectory across the car park, took it back to him and told him. "If you can't be bothered putting this away, I think I will. Save it smashing into somebody elses car."

The tosser was not impressed by this, but hey that's fine. I wasn't impressed by his attitude either.

 

[gallego1968]

I ride motorbikes as well as cycles and i see this a lot and it is getting worse out there as i feel the standard of driving has fallen and cagers just don't give a hoot about people on 2 wheels regardless if it is a cycle of motorbike.
I am thinking on getting myself and helmet cam so when i go out and something like that happens to me i will have proof to show the police on which they will have to act on it.

 

[david k]

i think attitudes have got worse in general, not just in cycling, but schools, respect for elders etc etc

seems that people in a car feel they are allowed to be abusive. i was in wifes open top friday , talking to parents and daughter outside their house, somebody drove past and shouted 'nob head' . Why? what upset me wasnt the slur at me but the fact they felt it fine to do that in front of my young daughter

 

[Red Light]

These things happen occasionally. Best to let it go. If it had been me I would have gone for the pass on the outside. If he had accelerated away then fine, just pull back in, if not you have passed him and he is out of the way. There is a junction near me where cars are doing that to each other all the time - pulling out in front of fast moving traffic and then not accelerating off.

The police will likely not do anything about it. Pity we don't have the LAPD here.

 

[Hip Priest]

i think attitudes have got worse in general, not just in cycling, but schools, respect for elders etc etc

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Society as a whole is getting more aggressive and egotistical, and this is reflected on the roads. I'd agree that it's always best to rein in any aggressive gestures if possible, because you never know who you're dealing with.

 

[Jezston]

Do report it to the police. At the very least they'll have the report on record so if it happens again they will be more likely to pay him a visit.

 

[Nebulous]

Thanks guys

you know I have real trouble holding onto emotions - especially negative ones.

I had a nice clubrun this morning, a thirty miler on twisty country roads. The cars were all considerate, a couple of them even pulled over and waited until we had passed. I then went home and had a nice herring salad.

So the world seems a much better place, and somehow it seems much less important, so I'm more than happy just to drop it and move on.

 

[dr snuggles]

sad state of affairs but these things happen and probably always will! once you've been riding a while you learn to forget them and enjoy yourself although there is always one or two that pray on the mind a little bit longer than they should.
When I first started I would try to catch them all up absolutely seething but now I tend to mutter something then forget it.

 

[Bluebell72]

Hi Nebulous,

I too would let it go - nothing to be gained from initiating a confrontation, though I might write the reg number down and the date of the incident in case of anything in the future.

This morning, I was riding on a narrow country road which goes over a hump back bridge, and there's a footpath just to the side of it. As I got to the bridge, I could see there was a man, aged around 60, walking in the long grass, on the path, coming in my direction, carrying a small dog. The man missed his footing a little, and his sunglasses fell off, and I slowed a little, to wait and make sure he was ok. At that, another, much larger dog that was also with him, and not on a lead, launched itself out of the long grass and ran towards me.
I'm embarrassed to say that I screamed like the girl I am and just avoided falling off (nearly a clip-pedal incident in its own right!) and avoided riding into the dog.
The dog ran at my side, jumping up and barking, while the guy shouted 'you're alright love, he only wants to play' to which I shouted back 'you f****** w***** get your dog on a f***** lead' not very courteous, I know, but I felt a lot better afterwards.

Acceptance of wankerdom is tough, but its a daily test!

 

[HLaB]

Unfortunately there's some prats out there Nebulous and you came across one; don't let it spoil your enjoyment of cycling, let it go its not worth it. I seriously doubt the police would take it seriously as there seems to have been no contact and even if there was I'd still doubt it.

 

[Grizzly]

The average driver in the UK is appalling, ask any traffic cop. The first chapter of Police Roadcraft is about driver attitudes and asks the question, how good a driver are you? The majority of people answer "a bit better than average", it's simply imposable for the majority to be better than average. So the question is, why don't we know we are bad drivers? I don't know the answer, but what I do know is that people are stupid, and like dumb animals there's no point in getting angry at their mistakes because they simply don't understand. The Dalai Lama says you cant fight anger with anger (sorry to be religious), rather than concentrating on the negative I make a point of giving good motorists a BIG thanks for their efforts, that way the bad ones don't bother me as much.

 

[gavroche]

The average driver in the UK is appalling, ask any traffic cop.

and I want to add to that that traffic cops are no better. Rules of the road dont seem to apply to them, I see it every day.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

+1

Do report it to the police. At the very least they'll have the report on record so if it happens again they will be more likely to pay him a visit.