Imagine the scenario. 70ish on stretch of motorway, me in outside lane overtaking cars. Spot a biker weaving in and out of traffic behind. Mahoosive light etc. No issue I’m a push biker etc so tend to be quite patient with other bikers (including ones with engines) as he gets closer to me I begin indicating to signal to him he doesn’t need to squeeze through the gap to my left and I will be getting out of his way in about 5 seconds.
Next 30 seconds went a bit mad!
In spite of me about to move over poitely to allow him to continue his *uc*wittery nowhere near me, he decides to camp himself around 4cm from my bumper with his billion lumen light burning holes in my Retinas. I move over and as he passes I wave my hand (no gestures) quite inocuous in a “what was that all about” way. Hard to describe but non aggressive. He then commences to block me in behind a slow moving van (bearing in mind I had pulled over quite quickly to allow him to pass easily, could well have continued in the outside lane for a few more seconds to clear the van) At this point he is looking at me and I am looking at him but having to slow down behind the van. He eventually accelerates away and I move over. Mini drama over.
Oh no, he slows, pulls in front of me (I had moved back to the inside lane after the van) then starts “brake checking” me!
I happen to know that my car weighs around 1500kg’s and at 70mph he was more likely to be puree on the hard shoulder if I hit him, than I was. I braked and allowed him to continue his idiocy up ahead.
Darwin award

Because he’s a knob.

Same as when cars or pushbikes do it.

Was he on a scooter?

Are you Ronnie Pickering?

I written it down, I feel better!

Drive on motorways every day so see the whole range of halfwits but this guy really put his safety in my hands. If I hadnt braked he could easily have been killed. There was only one loser.

You identified him as a *wit, then gustured to him, and then surprised when he acted like a *wit. Youve answered your own question?

Organ donor in the making. Carry on as you were being a sensible unselfish road user and try to ignore the ever growing percentage of **** on the roads.

You identified him as a *wit, then gustured to him, and then surprised when he acted like a *wit. Youve answered your own question?

Maybe. The “gesture” didnt really measure on the scale of “gestures” tbh, and I was surprised he even spotted it it was so trivial. How would he get through the day reacting like that.

Cool starry bra. I nearly turned one into pâté last week myself.

I was slowing for a roundabout from 70, he undertook me, sorry ‘filtered’ between my car and a lorry, cut back in front of me then immediatly yanked on the brakes. I was probably within a few inches of wiping him out at 50+ MPH.

He apologised so it was all good. Oh wait, no he didn’t, he looped the roundabout then sat behind me buzzing his shitty little engine on the rev limiter and flashing his high beam.

Some people are dicks. Film at 11.

I wave my hand (no gestures) quite inocuous

Sort of like the queen waves at us peasants from her carriage?

Some people have chips on their shoulders, and assume you’re an ignorant car driver who’s either not seen them or hates bikers or something, and they interpret your actions accordingly.

Other people are so convinced of their own rectitude that everyone else is wrong and their enemy.

And that’s just STW – people on the roads are no better.

Are you Ronnie Pickering?

Who ❓

I imagine he mistook your gesture for something else and then overreacted badly.

Gestures are almost as hard to interpret in situations like that as the intent of some forum posts.

No excuse for acting like a dick either way but it was probably the gesture that made the difference between him riding off and not.

Sometimes an angry person will interpret your “Eh, what was that all about mate?” hand gesture as “Oi, you massive **** plonker, what the **** are you on this morning?” even though it’s clear from your post that you didn’t mean it that way. Anyway, move on, nobody was hurt. It won’t be the last time you experience this. A few (maybe more like 20) years ago, I had a mutual hand signal battle of egos turn into someone following me, at times inches from my bumper, with occasional full beam headlights all the way from the motorway to where I lived (around five or six miles). I’d like to think I took it all well, but it was bloody terrifying. I think of this any time I’m tempted to do a hand gesture. So, the only ones I do now are thank-you waves to anyone who lets me out at a junction or flashes me to allow me to pull out on a motorway. And I still consider a thank you wave from a trucker as the most special wave of all. 🙂 (Followed by the foot-wave of a biker.)

Sometimes, when people act like dicks on the road, they almost want you to do the masturbation mime or something to show you’re annoyed. It’s much more fun to maintain a stony stare ahead and ignore them…like you would a toddler throwing a tantrum.

As the roads get more crowded, we just behave like rats in a cage…co-existing relatively peacefully until it just gets a little too congested at which point many of us start to act like arseholes.

Because he’s a ‘biker’ and not a motorcyclist. Possible small knob and/or sexuality/anger issues. Bad to the bone; live to ride, ride to work and all that. Meh.

all the way from the motorway to where I lived

When that happened to me, he followed me all the way to the police station, whereupon he had a sudden crisis of confidence for some reason.

It’s much more fun to maintain a stony stare ahead and ignore them…like you would a toddler throwing a tantrum.

I find that blowing them a kiss generally has amusing results.

I once made a **** gesture to a BMW doing about 60mph (in a 30 outside a school) towards me as I wanted to turn right across what should’ve been a clear road. Turned out it was a guy I worked with, and he was incensed and challenged me to a fight in the car park.

Later that morning I went and apologised for the sake of our jobs, and he was utterly mortified that he’d done it. He held no animosity and was otherwise a really nice guy before and after the incident.

Just goes to show that some people have a really short fuse and cannot handle their own anger.

Was this somewhere down South?

I saw a guy on a motorbike a few weeks back on the A27 dual carriageway with a billion lumen head torch thing. Completely blinding.

I think it was one of those Ewan McGregor type bikes.

all the way from the motorway to where I lived

Simple way to deal with tailgaters is to slow down until the gap between you is appropriate for the speed. Might mean slowing to a crawl (not on motorway obvs but just about anywhere else is ok). They can either overtake or not, I don’t care.

“When that happened to me, he followed me all the way to the police station…“

And when it happened to me, we went to a Hospital and did three laps through dropoff area with him hooting and gesticulating, before he realised quite a lot of people were staring and he was definitely on their CCTV 😀

Had a tailgater absolutely raging on the way into Leeds the other day. I was following someone doing 28 in a 30. He eventually overtook both of us into traffic did a bit of brake-testing and fist-waving, then turned off into his street about 100 yards later.

It’s scary knowing that these people are out on the roads every day. Don’t think I could ever roadie it around here.

And FWIW, I’ve mostly found “bikers” to be nobs.

I have a motorbike, but am not a biker, and when buying & selling a few bike-related bits on ebay there’s been a level of rudewordery that I’ve not encountered with other stuff.

^ this times a billionty zillion.

Road rage is very odd
I had a 4×4 pick up brake very suddenly behind me whilst waiting to turn right, I was on my MTB. The driver shouts alsorts of lovely things and claims he didn’t see me indicate, I was wearing White gloves too.
He follows me on foot having parked his truck, shouting whilst approaching me as I am waiting outside our LBS to start a ride.
I refused to get into an argument or start trading insults as this never works, what really blew the wind out of his sails was I could smell alcohol on his breath and pointed this out to him… A suggestion was made to go away before I called the cops.. He did…
What a dick though… Seriously.

Some people are dicks. Some people aren’t.
Some people turn in to dicks when they get on the road.

He probably didn’t give you a second thought once he’d moved on. Probably because he found the next person who looked at him the wrong way and started his suicidal games with them instead.

Most bikers are dicks. I was a biker & was most definitely a dick. Some say I still am to be honest.
Van drivers are also dicks although this has no bearing on your story, but they are.

Dashcam! then send footage to local constabulary!

Van drivers are also dicks although this has no bearing on your story, but they are.

Had a transit box van all over me on the M1 50 average speed section near shefield the other week. All three lanes full of cars, I’m in the outside lane (50mph like everyone else) and he’s hopping mad, flashing his lights and weaving around. Finally the limit lifts and after the traffic eases off a touch I go to move over and he’s undertaking me at well over 80mph. He nearly takes the bonnet of my car and got a grand total of 5m further forward. Arse

Some fatboys think riding a motorbike makes them real hard.

Whereas really they’re quite squashy…

Some (a lot) of cage drivers think driving a car makes them invincible and that there is nothing else around them they need to look out for.
They aren’t
There is

hammyuk – Member
Some (a lot) of cage drivers think driving a car makes them invincible and that there is nothing else around them they need to look out for.
They aren’t
There is

I would suggest the numbers are proportional to the numbers of each type of road user, wouldn’t you?

Never had a problem with motorbikes, however MTBers out on a night ride with enough lights to power Blackpool illuminations really grip my shit…..please explain to me what the difference is between a car dazzling me with full beam headlights and some twonk on a push cycle doing the same thing?

Glass houses and all that.

Brake checking? Should’ve just driven into him.

Me colleague would go ape shite if you drive on the middle lane even when there are only two cars (the other car and me colleague’s) on the road …

He kept saying it’s for overtaking etc and emergency vehicle might need to pass through at high speed … 😛

I really cannot understand why … 😆

please explain to me what the difference is between a car dazzling me with full beam headlights and some twonk on a push cycle doing the same thing?

NONE?
the later cannot kill you by ramming you?
Speed?
Weight?
The car has dipped choice the light might not?

Is there a prize if i get it right?
Please say its a bright light for the bike

deviant – Member
…please explain to me what the difference is between a car dazzling me with full beam headlights and some twonk on a push cycle doing the same thing?

The twonk gets to live because you have seen him? 🙂

I’ve ridden with the other sort of lights and won’t be going back to them.

That’s a great plan. Dazzle, blind and piss off the driver of the oncoming car in an attempt to reduce the risk of getting hit. Just tilt the light down a bit for heaven’s sake. It’s still as noticeable, but doesn’t create another cyclist-hating driver.

My bet – you annoyed the biker far more than you realised but the biker is a total tool.

cars not getting out of the way on motorways used to really annoy me – they forget how quick a bike can accelerate so stay out in the overtaking lane rather than pull in and let the bike past then pull back out again

However all said and done brake checking a car when on a bike is so stupid an act its right out there with leaving the EU! all I would have done when you finally allowed him past is to accelerate off then pull to the left asap

wobbliscott – Member
That’s a great plan. Dazzle, blind and piss off the driver of the oncoming car in an attempt to reduce the risk of getting hit. Just tilt the light down a bit for heaven’s sake…

They are pointed down to give a decent view of the road surface and to allow me to travel at a decent speed without having to worry about potholes etc.

I accept your point that there is some dazzle. That happens even with them pointed down. It’s a result of the poor quality of the lens design on LED lights.

We do need better quality lenses on bike lights. Any light that is directed upwards is a waste of the energy required to power the light, but in the meantime to ride safely at a decent speed unfortunately there will be some dazzle.

Personally I have not found it a problem driving towards cyclists.

epicyclo – there is a simple solution – use german lights that give a nice road beam pattern