[kil0ran]

Just been the victim of a road rage attack (I’m fine, and, more importantly, so is the bike).

Had a head-on close pass on a narrow country lane at well over 50mph (its a NSL road) which unsurprisingly caused me to yell out (I think it was F*** sake, or possibly something blasphemous).

Cycled on my way only to have the driver turn round, pull alongside, and force me to stop. Following a continued exchange of viewpoints I tried to cycle off, only to be shoved off into the ditch. At that point the driver left whilst I checked the bike over and sorted my bleeding elbow.

Got me thinking – literally all I did to provoke that was to (a) exist and (b) yell out when he’d almost killed me. If I hadn’t yelled at him there’d have been no afters, just another one to add the list. I don’t run cameras because I can’t be doing with all the charging and downloading of yet another device in a life I’m trying to make more device-free.

So I’m sat here wondering what I could have done differently. My partner’s now concerned about COVID-19 risk (yelling at each other for 5 minutes isn’t going to have helped but hey, adrenaline). Getting it in the ear for engaging but I’m struggling to think how I could have avoided it. I only stopped when he forced me into the verge because I’d rather fall off a stationary bike then be hit from behind on the road. In the middle of nowhere so at that point I couldn’t ride off (no way to get away from the wanker with the 2-ton metal box). No way to hop a gate and go cross country because he’d just catch me on foot. All I wanted to do was de-escalate and get away from the situation.

The most annoying thing about all this is that for the previous two hours I’d had a glorious stress-free ride. Zero close passes, lots of give and take – I even had a WVM pull in and flash me through on a narrow lane. But that’s the thing, it only takes one. At the moment I feel like it will be a while before I’m back on the road – I’ve just taken delivery of an MTB and my son prefers riding off-road anyway.

Sorry for the long post, just at a loss to think what I could have done and also worried about the fact it could easily have been the end of me.

Topic

[kil0ran]

Take them, ride off with them
Take them, ride off with them, hand them in at the nearest police station along with your statement and any camera footage

[Dicklexic]

bikeman01 wrote:

Then for good measure, chuck his keys and ride off.

 

I just LOVE the idea of chucking someones keys into the undergrowth if they’re being a dick. It really has crossed my mind on a couple of occasions, but then I wonder where you would stand legally. Technically you’ve not stolen or damaged their property, just relocated it! The idea of them having to rummage around in a rage trying to find their key as I trundle off does make me chuckle, although in reality I know it is not the right way to react, and it almost certainly wouldn’t de-escalate the situation!

[Dicklexic]

There’s no doubt in my mind

There’s no doubt in my mind that we all have ‘sliding doors’ moments constantly, but that most of the time we are blisfully unaware of them. It’s incidents like yours that reinforce the feeling that sometimes our entire lives, and those of our friends and family could have been completely altered, were it not for the sake of a few seconds delay or an apparently insignificant decision or choice.

[brooksby]

Mungecrundle wrote:

Because if you know when he is out, you’ll have the best opportunity to post a dozen venomous snakes through his letterbox.

Excellent…!

[Mungecrundle]

Because if you know when he

Because if you know when he is out, you’ll have the best opportunity to post a dozen venomous snakes through his letterbox.

[kil0ran]

Having been through the

Having been through the process previously of trying to engage with my local force, give statements, and so on I just don’t have the time. There’s no evidence beyond he said/he said. They don’t prioritise road crimes without evidence or serious injury – all I’ve got is some minor cuts and bruises. All I’ll end up doing is escalating the situation and I don’t want him involved in my life – it’s rural and sparsely populated around here and easy to bump into people. Don’t need that hassle particularly with everything else that’s going on. It would be easy enough for me to find him, just park up on that road and wait for him to head off to work, but what’s that going to achieve? 

[kil0ran]

This was basically the gist

This was basically the gist of the argument in my incident. Treating the speed limit as a target, not a maximum. “Road’s wide enough for my car at that speed, I don’t care about you”. All this despite the fact that there’s no pavements, high verges and it’s a popular walking route.

[fenix]

You need to report this. He
You need to report this. He chased after you.

Maybe drive up the road to see if you can identify the car as you say he likely lives up there.

He may well be known to the police.

[brooksby]

“Get off my road”???? 

“Get off my road“???? 

[kil0ran]

Over lockdown cyclists have

Over lockdown cyclists have undoubtedly become a more common sight on the roads around here. And by cyclists I mean everyone from the lycra brigade (guilty m’lud) to families on BSOs with no helmets to Doreen out on her ’70s vintage Raleigh Shopper. Overall, I’ve seen improved driver behaviour around cyclists too – to the point I’ve resorted to waving people through, and getting thumbs ups and indicator flashes to say thank you. As someone said in this thread there are drivers, cyclists, and wankers and my perception is that there has been far less of the latter. Which makes what happened to me all the more disappointing. There are moments in your life and your riding where you think “wow, if I’d left 5 seconds earlier, or pushed harder up that hill, I’d be dead now” and that’s what this incident was like. In fact, if I hadn’t slowed down further up the descent to give way to some other road users I’d have met this guy on a much narrower section and the outcome might have been different. Likewise, if I hadn’t taken a drinks break earlier than expected I would never have met him. Small margins sometimes. And I’ve known that throughout my life and riding – I recall a motorcyclist friend of mine who died in a classic wrong place, wrong time incident the odds for which were so vanishingly tiny it made no sense.

[Spokesperson]

I have been knocked off my
I have been knocked off my bike and injured several times, punched, spat at, doored, you name it, over many years of cycling. Only in this country, however, but never in Ireland, France, Spain or India, where I have cycled extensively and only met with good humour (yes some hairy driving skills!).

I agree with others that swearing is great, but I try to avoid further confrontation. I worry though that it then eats away inside me, so I am talking to a counsellor about my feelings of anger and wanting to clock drivers with my D-Lock.

I am thinking of buying cameras as all my efforts to get the police to take any action in previous incidents failed.

[Dicklexic]

Totally understand your

Totally understand your feelings on this. I always like to think of myself as a pretty chilled fella, but honestly if I feel someone has put me at risk, or unfairly wronged me or a companion, it’s a sudden internal battle to stop the red mist descending and potentially escalating a situation. It’s also a perfectly normal response to shout out or react in an animated fashion if you’ve just experienced a scary situation, and those sort of reflex responses are pretty hard to eliminate. I have definitely benefitted in recent years from trying to acknowledge (either externally or internally) when someone has been decent and ‘done the right thing’ when I’m out riding. Yes there is the argument that we shouldn’t have to ‘thank’ a driver when they are simply doing what they’re supposed to be doing anyway, but it helps me remember that the majority of drivers ARE considerate and will wait for a safe overtaking opportunity for example. I also like to think that in some small way, me waving thanks to that driver who passed nice and wide, or the one that waited for me at the side road instead of pulling out will go on their journey thinking about that ‘polite’ cyclist, and just maybe they will be that bit more considerate with the next one they pass. This could all be complete fanciful bollox of course but hey, it helps me stay calmer and appreciate my cycling for the right reasons, so it’s good enough for me.

[LetsBePartOfTheSolution]

I really understand your

I really understand your emotions. You have just been the victim of criminal threatening behaviour.

I am learning about myself that no matter how in the right I am, no matter how smart I am, and no matter how tough I am….any confrontations never have a winner. I still swear at close-passers and other drivers who put me in danger: it is completely instinctive due to the speed that events unfold. They also need to know about the danger they are causing. But if they don’t continue on their way, then there are normally a few seconds before any next chapter begins. This is the time I make myself take stock. If there is absolutely no other option than to fight for my safety then I would do exactly that – and without restraint. But there has never been such a case, as usually there is another option – and that is to back down. It is a hard decision for me to have had come to ( I’m 6ft 3in ) but if necessary, I will now even actually apologise to someone who has nearly run me over, if they come back for afters which is looking to turn physical. By this time they already know I found their driving unacceptable – shoving my point down their throat further won’t add much. I’m not going to jail for something I didn’t invite. I’m not going to take injuries simply for the winning of my point. What I most want is to be out of there; away from this person who is not a part of my life; and to be back on my bike. And the quickest route to that for me is to say: “sorry sir ( madam ? ) I shouldn’t have sworn at you”. And I make sure there is no sarcasm present in there either. I have found it is very difficult for the assailant to keep building up to their boiling point once I have conceded in such a way. It sounds really counter-intuitive to back down. But 2 minutes later I am back on my bike doing what I love ( with only a small bitter taste in my mouth ). Rather than spending hours in A and E, or giving a statement to police about my own actions. Also I know I won morally by not retaliating. And I can choose to untwine from that person mentally.

The assailant can still be brought to account by reporting to the police. Camera footage is obviously helpful – but people got charged before action-cameras were invented. So don’t be fobbed off if you wish to take things further – even if only to prevent it happening to the next person. 

I really believe there is nothing to be gained by fighting at the roadside unless the assailant is hellbent on murder. I will instead take a tactical loss to my pride, not a strategic loss to my standards or my liberty.

Keep safe.

 

 

 

[Gary's bike channel]

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[Gary's bike channel]

when you get into a road rage

when you get into a road rage situation, you’ll get the flight or fight response. Its almost impossible to ignore it. It has caused many people to fight in the street over something minor, whereas if they were walking with others they would never dream of attacking someone they didnt know. You will likely meet other wankers on the road, who deem cyclists frail, feeble or to up their own arses to get a car. Don’t respond to them. Dont stop. Get away and never let them back you into a corner. What i do is not this, because of my past experiences. I will admit, i spent 6 years of my life in prison, for assault. Someone was attacking his ex girlfriend, slamming her into the wall, so i intervened, especially as she was my work collegeue. It didnt end well. I got sent down for GBH and he went to hospital, into intensive care. Nowadays, if i cycle and come across an idiot who tries to attacked or rage with me, i wont back down, i will try to de escalate the situation, by saying to them” i understand you are angrym, but stop for ten seconds, and just breathe, so we can sort this out.” By then, the flight or fight response has subsided somewhat, and they may be inclined to listen to you, rather than just shouting abuse and fighting you. Its part of our evolution sadly. The bloke in the photo is one i got into a fight with, over a shared path, and it would never happen if we were just two blokes walking through a town. But put one person in a car, and the other on a bicycle, and the responses of both sides completely change. 

[Author]

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