[Closed] Road rage incident - opinions please

Good on you!

Most people would have said nothing (but will have an opinion on here!) 🙂

Yes to challenging the litter thrower.

No to chucking stuff through the window. That will just piss people off.

Glad you're ok, move on from it and be a little more curteous in future.

I would have ripped of his arm and beat him to death with it.

Yours,

Internet Tough Guy.

Shouldn't have ridden off. People are very brave in cars, less so when they get out. You legging it will have definitely worsened the situation.

You must have known you would get a reaction, if you don't want to hangs around - why bother starting it in the first place? I have done something similar, many years ago. It was outside a macdonalds and with a half full milkshake. He was livid, very shouty. He didn't get out though (maybe because I didn't run off)

What was the litter? If you chucked like a half a kebab through their window, I can sort of understand them being a little angry.

They proved they were ****s by throwing the rubbish... You are vulnerable on the bike and coud have got yourself killed.. They werent worth it!

I thought dropping litter was an offence, so therefore the cops should be interested in that, and then to basically chase after you as well, I'd definately get the Police to chase it up.

Even with a partial reg there cant me that many 6 series around.

I say well done! Just glad you're okay.

I'd challenge her - have done in the past

stoopid to "lob it gently through the window" though, and I suspect you're "massaging" the true intent and certainly the way it'd be interpreted

next time pull out your phone & hold it up as if filming (of course, actually do so if you get the time)

You did the right thing by reporting it.

It's not worth dissecting it, I had a BMW pull out on me a few years back and he apologised. A minute later he pulled up to remonstrate, asking why I was wearing black and riding a black bike if I didn't want to get run over. A minute later he tried to force me off the road. After that, he seemed to have a nervous breakdown at the wheel and beached the car on some grass.

My guess is that the passenger was winding the driver up, never underestimate the power of a wounded gold digging female.

What was the rubbish? Other than the car and the inhabitants...

I had a BMW pull out on me a few years back and he apologised. A minute later he pulled up to remonstrate, asking why I was wearing black and riding a black bike if I didn't want to get run over. A minute later he tried to force me off the road. After that, he seemed to have a nervous breakdown at the wheel and beached the car on some grass.

😯

No to chucking stuff through the window. That will just piss people off

Someone hit my dad with a still lit cigarette when he was on his motorbike at lights, they didn't like it when it landed in their lap at the next set!

That is very true. It's also the most scared I've ever been on two wheels.

I wouldn't have challenged them, there are too many nutters out there.

The rubbish was a half eaten sandwich in a paper bag I think. Its squidged when she caught it.

and I suspect you're "massaging" the true intent and certainly the way it'd be interpreted

Gentle lob was all it was - not done in anger

No phone so no camera

No point in making an offical complaint. It would take a lot of police time to chase it up without a full number and then there is no chance of a prosecution without witnesses or CCTV.

Stuff like this never goes well, especially if its starts in such a confrontational way.

Just ignore the idiots. They'll continue being idiots whether you challenge them or not, but at least if you leave them alone you'll live to see another day.

Ive remonstrated with wrongdoers, and been remonstrated with by the righteous, and people can learn, but not if they are defensive and angry.
I think it was going well until you bunged it through the window, the driver may well have got all macho anyway, but I reckon the woman might have learned something about herself, and about her boyfriend into the bargain.

I once had a road rage incident when I was driving a car and some idiot took exception to me overtaking him from a set of lights on a dual carriage way.

He followed me for about 5 miles nearly hitting me a few times, and I just took different directions in the hope he would get bored and go the way he wanted to go. Eventually dialled 999 and the cops were very helpful and told me how to get to the nearest Police station. In the end the guy just disappeared.

I got 2 further phone calls back from the Police, the first to say that I had indirectly driven near to where the guy lived, and that they were going round to have a chat with him.

Second telephone call they asked me for a very clear description of the guy, which unfortunately I could not give as I was too busy trying not to be driven off the road.

The copper actually was dissapointed that I couldnt give a full description. He said that the car was registered to a female only, and her husband had been banned from driving!

I once rode past a bloke just standing by the side of a road and he kicked a load of papers into the road (not at me deliberately) and walked off.

I stopped & shouted something like "Shall I pick it up for you? - cock!"
We had a bit of a shout at each other and off I went

Short while later the house went up for sale. Looking back at the situation I have a nasty feeling he was a funeral attendee on the day I had a go 😳 🙁

I suspect the guy would still have gone ballistic even if all I had done was remonstrated with them for chucking the litter

I have given people back their own rubbish before. It does always surprise them. Some have apologised, others have sworn at me. Always start with something non confrontational like 'you appear to have dropped this'

When lights changed legging it will have angered them further. Wait and motion for them to carry on. Much rather have 3 tons of idiot in front of me where I can see him.

Anyway report it, naff all will happen but it builds a general picture for the polis.

I am fairly sure if I hadn't legged it he would have got out of the car and thumped me. I'm a lover not a fighter

Good for you! What a twit!

It's all down to road positioning. if you'd been in the primary position it would never have happened 🙂
You were totally correct to deal with BMW cocks like this, if ordinary people don't take a stand they will take over the world, oh they all ready have!!!!!

Bruk has the right idea, better they are in front of you.
Hope the crash didn't hurt you or your bike.
Better get that smart phone soon so you can record these incidents

I'm a lover not a fighter

I imagine if you had started humping his leg, he would have been too surprised to punch you.

If you've no phone, another thing to do is start repeating their registration number, maybe and a description of them if/as they get out of the car

Good for you. Glad you weren't hurt though.

If he got out the car, get your bike between you and him or turn around and leg it back down the pavement against traffic so he can't follow you.

Why no phone, the camera aspect alone is so useful every day?

Anyway keep challenging people but try to be non confrontational to avoid getting a leathering.

[i]BMW 6 series ( of course)[/i]
are you sure it wasn't a fish supper? you still appear to have a chip on your shoulder...

Bikes fine pawl - me a couple of bruises and a small tear in my jacket
Bruk - I don't own a mobile

Maybe I should have legged it the other way - the thing is I had got away from him easily - it was a couple of miles later after a major junction that he caught up with me again and I crashed trying to leg it again

Jamie - I might just do that next time

Good for you upholding common etiquette!

Perhaps another option would be to have pinned the half eaten savoury snack under a windscreen wiper or wedged in the recess between the bonnet and the window. I bet that nobody driving a 6 series wants to drive through Edinburgh with a half eaten sandwich stuck to their car! It'd force him to stop, get out and et voila; your chance to escape!

This course of action is likely to upset I suspect...

You are living in the age of "shit bags rule ok".

Whatever you do to challenge wrong doing, just remember that a car is a weapon and anyone in one can kill you.

A gent in our cycle club was cut up by an elderly lady a few months back. She then got caught at the next lights, so he pulled up beside her and told her what she had done and that it had been dangerous to him. Knowing him a little, I'm fairly sure this would have been conducted reasonably politely.
He then makes a mistake.
Having talked to her he rides in front of her and waits for the lights to change. Little old lady turns into a she-devil, guns the motor and runs him over. Luckily he fell away from the bike and she ran over the back wheel. He is certain she did it deliberately but she played the shocked old lady trick and escaped with an attendance at a driver training centre rather than a court case.

Attempted murder to let off with a sanction..........

Her insurance did pay out enough for a new bing bong carbon road bike....but that was largely down to a neck/back trauma. If it hadn't been for that and for the fact that his injury was well documented, he would not have had enough to replace his bike new, like for like.

Your man there was probably the local drug baron...possibly even had a shooter in the car

All mouth and no trousers 😉

You provoked them so the police wouldnt be interested in it.Count yourself lucky he wasnt some nutter ninja meister with a machete.You could have been sliced down the middle in one blow.. lucky escape.

:::grins and nods with raised eyebrows:::

nmdbase - Member

All mouth and no trousers

Me or him? 8)

You = Mouth

Him = Trousers

I'd have just told them they were idiots for throwing the litter out.

No matter though, the first crime was committed when they started to use the car as a weapon. The police should be concerned about that and if they're not you should escalate. No amount of prior interaction should justify trying to bully a cyclist off the road with a 2 ton car.

The problem with reporting it to the police is that I don't have a reg no - just a probable partial and there is no CCTV.

So hard to trace the guy and no chance of a prosecution anyway. Tehy could trace him but is it worth the man hours involved? remember no chance of a prosecution as nothing to corroborate my story. A whole series of crimes committed as well for sure

I'd rather not waste the police and my time

I think you did the right thing, too many people don't confront these people and thats why they get away with it. Shame the police couldn't do any more about it as it's not so much the litter issue but the crazy person behind the wheel.

I had a guy try and knock me off for cycling up the inside whilst they were in stationairy traffic, was never sure why but a really big whack on the side of his car and a good stare and arm waving put him back in his place. Can't understand the mentality of these people sometimes.

My wife stopped the car and shouted at a teenage girl to pickup her rubbish after she dropped it the other day, she did as well and didn't give her any abuse back. Sometimes it is worth doing it as maybe next time they will think.

Kudos to you for having the balls to do something - respect.

The police *should* have done something but TBH without a reg or CCTV, it's difficult to see what.

Well done you for doing something though!

You didn't even kick his wing mirror off? Shame on you.

How many times do I have to say get the reg then section59?

It should be the law that anyone throwing rubbish out of their car window gets repeatedly punched in the chops.

The country lanes round here were covered in McDonalds packaging from a drive thru a few miles away. Seen it being launched all too often. Then a KFC opened nearby and their stuff is everywhere too now. Off topic but these fast food companies should have a street cleaning tax levied on them.

The thing about motorists is they are less likely to have a go at cyclists if they are wearing a helmet as its a good headbutting weapon and in a fight you have extra protection.

The thing about motorists is they are less likely to have a go at cyclists if they are wearing a helmet as its a good headbutting weapon and in a fight you have extra protection.

Ahh so thats why TJ isnt a fighter! 😆

Aye, good for you. Not sure I would have been brave enough.

next time tho, don't lob it in the window, smear it on the windscreen, that way they have to stop and get out of the car.

I lost the plot once and egged the windscreen of a car on Grove St when the alarm went off four about 3 hours overnight once.

So you could also remember to carry eggs about with you when you go riding....

The thing about motorists is they are less likely to have a go at cyclists if they are wearing a helmet as its a good headbutting weapon and in a fight you have extra protection.

Or you'd pop your fingers in the vents- pull the head forward and down then uppercut a few times?

Get over.

Car throwing rubbish is litterlouting and not to be condoned, but you returning rubbish into car was definitely provocative, maybe 'having your say' but not playing sandwich tennis may have kept it at verbals rather than escalate to a postion where you end up falling off your bike !

I always think 80kg of spindly bike + squishy rider Vs 2000kg of metal box is not a good position from which to be self righteous and provocative - better another half eaten sandwich in the gutter than another broken cyclist.........

It may not be my place to comment as I'm still new and don't really like these 'aggro' threads, but here goes anyway.

1)It's a woman at fault here so you've already lost, they can do no wrong, pointless to argue, your role as a man is to pick the litter up and put it in a bin and to say nothing, just feel lucky she allowed some mild interaction with her, smile then be on your way.

2)Having challenged both her and effectively her 'escort' you have now introduced the need for said 'escort' to prove his ability to defend her. You then acted in a manner that encourages pursuit, never a good position to take in an aggressive debate.

3)You probably don't have all the necessary defensive weapons (have you a hammer clipped to you handlebar, I find it an essential device for dealing with traffic, they really don't like you hitting their cars with it.)

4)The answer to this question is key, what were you wearing? Tell me it wasn't spandex and spankies, if it was, then everything that happened to you was deserved.

5) Are there not people in fully paid employment whose task it is too look after the young damsels droppings? She would have been especially mad with you for denying them gainful employment.

No I think in your case you should not get involved, mind your own business is probably the best counsel I can offer, or arm yourself better, then a simple tap with the hammer to the BMW wing would have rectified the situation and if not then a tap to the skull of the escort and a tut tut to the lady..

Tj mini cameras are so cheap now, get one, www.7dayshop.com as for cctv, the local council are usually the data controller for the cameras, not the police, who just access them for crime prevention duties.

I'd rather not waste the police and my time

So basically the point of this thread was this:

so - who else would have challenged the litter thrower - its not he first time I have done so.

ie - 'I challenged the litter thrower, aren't I brave and noble, everyone look at me and tell me how great I am'.

Also given the way you act on here it's highly unlikely that you weren't incredibly pompous and slightly aggressive in your initial response to her.

Sorry to burst the bubble, but TJ is anything but pompous and aggressive IRL.

definately did the right thing. i doubt that he'll ever litter the streets again after that little lesson.

he'll probably have more respect for cyclists as a result too.

excellent work all round 8)

Fine to challenge tgen verbally but throwing it back in maybe not so good...easy to say with hindsight tho.

love the anti-bmw rhetoric, I wonder if the driver is now ranting about do-gooder cyclist lefties?

Sorry to burst the bubble, but TJ is anything but pompous and aggressive IRL.

Gets it all out on the internet eh? That's good to know I suppose.

[i]so - who else would have challenged the litter thrower - its not he first time I have done so.
ie - 'I challenged the litter thrower, aren't I brave and noble, everyone look at me and tell me how great I am'.[/i]

Can't help but agree with grum's sentiments.
I wouldn't bother challenging a litterer, as it's just inviting confrontation. But if I had invited confrontation I wouldn't run away like a little girl.

should have just tucked it under the windscreen wiper.

TandemJeremy - Member
The problem with reporting it to the police is that I don't have a reg no - just a probable partial and there is no CCTV.

So hard to trace the guy and no chance of a prosecution anyway. Tehy could trace him but is it worth the man hours involved? remember no chance of a prosecution as nothing to corroborate my story. A whole series of crimes committed as well for sure

I'd rather not waste the police and my time

A partial may be enough.

You have witnesses to (i) the driver chasing you then (ii) driving away after fell - 2 offences no?

I'd go for it.

I doubt I would have done anything about the littering, it's just not worth the risk IMO. I may have given them a dirty look though.

If it turned out that was enough to make the driver go mental (which is not outside the realms of possibility) then I wouldn't have tried to ride away. Like I said in the other thread, there's too much of a risk that they can use their two ton vehicle as a weapon. I think it's much better to take the risk with an individual.

Saying that, if he had a weapon or if there is more than one of them then I'd try to escape (on pavements, against traffic, into the nearest shop, etc).

I have done the same in the past TJ with litter droppers in the High Street or shopping centres. but never yet out on my bike.

Hoddies forget their hoods make a good bin when they drop litter 😉

I wonder TJ if they would have acted differently if they were out walking on a street & you had handed them back their litter?

Tj mini cameras are so cheap now, get one

+1

You seem to get in a few rucks TJ. Not sure if this is due to the route your commute takes or just your, err.. nature.. but a little helmet cam would definitely be a useful of evidence in these situations. Have a look on YouTube and you'll see lots of cyclists using them to record and highlight bad driving.

And even fellow [url= http://www.sillycyclists.co.uk/ ]Silly Cyclists[/url].

Good on you for challenging TJ, but not sure I would have thrown rubbish back in the car.
As above, I worked in Sheffield that it is best sometimes to sit there / step onto pavement if challenged, rather than give opportunity for car to move/be used.

Get the reg next time.

I cant believe you didn't rip his door open and beat him to death with your penis!

Seriously though, you did the right thing by aasking them to pick it up, but you escalated confrontation by [s]throwing[/s] putting the rubbish back in the car and then running off. 🙄
The running off was probably the red rag to his bull, but if you'd stood your ground who knows what may ave ocurred?

a little helmet cam would definitely be a useful of evidence in these situations.

Good point.

Is there an adapter that lets you mount it on an inflated sense of righteousness? 😉

No point in getting a helmet cam. The helmet sits on top of the wardrobe ;O)

Going back though.. i would have probably done the same.Maybe tossed it onto their bonnet. Would have peeved me off too.

what colour was it? there is a navy blue X6 I see every day in Bruntsfield that carries out some terrible driving, reg no is X6 ___ . given the sheer number of peni in X6's in Edinburgh there is a one tiny chance of it being the same one though, therefore we shall burn them aaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllll

Think this is a case of mtfu surely? As if you are going to go around telling people what to do, well you should expect and be able to handle a wee bit of confrontation.

I agree you did the right thing but if you're not prepared to stand up for yourself then there is little point.

Dropping their litter through the window was never going to end with 'you're right and thanks for returning our rubbish'. These people are idiots and they won't change.

You're just lucky you got away and I suspect this ruined your day a lot more than theirs.

So when you checked with the Police did you tell them what you actually did? Can't imagine they'd be too impressed. My opinion is you're lucky you didn't get a right spanking or worse. Move on.

Excuse me officer, I've just confronted a person who dropped a sandwich from their car window, I then fell of my bike whilst running away

Not really going to make Crimewatch is it...

Stand your ground if you're going to start a confrontation. Otherwise it's just bickering

I would never engage in a confrontation with a car driver. I'm just too timid and pleasant natured. 😳

There's being in the right, and there's protecting yourself. They're not the same thing.

I might have said something to the driver, but I don't think I'd chuck the rubbish back, however much they deserve it. As others have said, only a **** would deliberately chuck rubbish out of their car, so it's unlikely you're going to get a positive outcome.

Well done for challenging - I doubt I'd have had the nerve to do it. Not sure if there's ever the right outcome from these incidents but if no one tries...

grum - Member

ie - 'I challenged the litter thrower, aren't I brave and noble, everyone look at me and tell me how great I am'.

.

Not at all - fully prepared to be slagged off and actually interested in other peoples reactions to the incident.

hilldodger - Member

"!Excuse me officer, I've just confronted a person who dropped a sandwich from their car window, I then fell of my bike whilst running away "

Not really going to make Crimewatch is it...

😳

rewski - Member

So when you checked with the Police did you tell them what you actually did?

Interesting the number of folk that think legging it is adding to their anger. I had never considered this. To me its just running away - the aim is to be somewhere else - Usually I will go somewhere where a car can't go (quickly) - as I did this time