[theslowcyclistxx]

Hi, I need some kind of object to hit cars which are passing far too close (and I encounter far too many of these types). I was thinking about some type of old school pump or something along these lines. Any experiences?

Topic

[Mungecrundle]

Just don’t. Not worth either
Just don’t. Not worth either the potential retaliation from someone driving a bigger weapon than you can carry or the legal trouble you could find yourself in. Your plan also assumes that your driving antagonist cares about a dent in their vehicle.

Stick with the camera and stay squeaky clean yourself, including swearing and not breaking any traffic rules yourself.

[theslowcyclistxx]

None, in my country you can

None, in my country you can call a line and report it, but nothing ever happens.

[Bungle_52]

Who is your local

Who is your local constabulary?

[chrisonabike]

What everyone else said.

What everyone else said. Sometimes you have to stand up to bullies – but if you chose to I’d strongly advise picking your moment.  That’s not going to be when you’re cycling (or walking, in wheelchair, scootering …) and someone else is in a car.

Also if you escalate the consequences are completely on yourself.  More than that – are you willing to provoke what could be a life or death situation in which whatever happens you’ll be in the wrong when the law finally gets round to sweeping up the mess?

If you feel this will deter people I think you’re mistaken.  If you want to stick it to the man there are campaigns (for legal changes, for better infra) and direct action (Critical Mass) you can channel your energy into.  Just getting on your bike and riding it is righteous in the UK.

[mdavidford]

A hard stare?

A hard stare?

[BalladOfStruth]

Get a camera, back off, and

Get a camera, back off, and report. The last thing you want to do is escalate and get yourself into a fight with two-tonnes of metal.

A lot of drivers are lunatics – I’ve had a guy get out fists swinging before now, just because I had the audacity to shake my head after he cut me up at a roundabout. If you go out and intentionally escalate every bad encounter with a driver, it won’t take long before you get one of these lunatics, and you’ll probably be dead before the year’s up. Just don’t do it.

[theslowcyclistxx]

Already done that, and the

Already done that, and the police does not do anything. It gets worse from year to year. I don’t know what else to do.

[brooksby]

I remember reading someone

I remember reading someone saying that hard boiled eggs were useful…

Ignoring that, I would say use particularly harsh language.

Anything that actually contacts the vehicle and risks damaging it, even if it proves that they were too close, could leave you open to a compo claim or charges.

IMO.  IANAL.

[hawkinspeter]

My experience is that the

My experience is that the best way to make a driver angry is to touch/hit their vehicle and I wouldn’t recommend it as there’s a lot of bottled-up rage out there.

Some people use pool noodles to enforce the recommended minimum distance:

Personally, I don’t like the aesthetics of that and it’d get in the way of my egregious filtering at times, so I just go for running cameras and let the police deal with the worst offenders. It’s much better if you don’t allow the bad drivers to live in your head rent-free.

However, on occasion, I have daydreamed about wreaking vengeance on drivers and I reckon a decent lock would be the best choice – heavy, damaging and completely plausible for a cyclist to be carrying. Also, don’t bother searching for Ninja Rocks on your own computer if you intend on using them.

[mark1a]

I would advise not equipping

I would advise not equipping yourself for this purpose, you could end up far worse off if a driver takes umbrage and retaliates with a swerve, or gets out with a bat. Get a camera and report them instead. 

[Author]

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