[Closed] road rage, keeping a cool head

YOU MEAN LIKE THIS!!!!!

http://www.karoo.co.uk/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=N0168501281072734941A&category=UK
😥

bloody hell! kind of the complete opposite of the spectrum of where i want to be.

Oh, I do get the red mist on occasion, yes. But I don't ever swear. That's how I know I've been angry afterwards: I don't swear when I really mean it!
I did ask one woman (Who actually clipped my front wheel) if she got her license free off a Frosties packet though.....

I try to think about what will make my point best (acting mental or calmly asking questions) and whether it's worth getting upset about - will crap drivers listen?

I try but it doesn't always work. I try to insult them in an imaginative way ( like PP above)then ride off laughing at them.

But sometimes the red mist decends and I get all shouty.

Thanks you for the post.
Hi guys, Im a newbie. Nice to join this forum.

[sig removed, bye - mod]

But did you jump any red lights?

Donk, a lot of people on here claim to be calm when some ignorant tw*t almost kills them. I'm not! Most of the near misses tend to be women IME, so a bit of verbal is the only response available.
Hardly ever makes any difference though as these people never think they are in the wrong.

BTW I don't understand that story posted above! How badly written is that?

What's the Nicole thing?

nicoledc109 - Member
Thanks you for the post.
Hi guys, Im a newbie. Nice to join this forum.

What?!? Get rid of the advert and you'll be welcome (maybe)

My problem is that my chest gets all tight when I'm angry/have had a near death experience so I end up short of breath and barely able to talk let alone have a stream of consciousness rant at a numpty in a bm.

[edit] re: the nicoled thing - first post is a spam link - I've pointed the mods at them.

BTW I don't understand that story posted above! How badly written is that?

DazH no 🙂

A cyclist accused me of being blind last week after he almost rode into me and my parents (crossing the road) and i suggested he get some lights. It was darker earlier than is seasonal due to huge storm clouds and he wasn't wearing anything bright, let alone lights. It made me appreciate that cyclists can be invisible without the right clothing/lights, and you can't really debate the errors of another road user's ways in the seconds most people stop for.

You could try throwing the spokes from your rear wheel at them in a Javelin styleee.

Nothing you choose to say will make any difference, so save your energy.

Nothing you choose to say will make any difference, so save your energy.

This is absolutely true in my experience. Remember, most motorists have never ridden a bike since they were little, let alone on a busy road in a city. They have no idea what it feels like to have a car pass by their elbow at 40, let alone 30, and so cannot appreciate how scary it is. Their idea of leaving space for cyclists is probably some way different than yours.

As I see it, there are three options:

1. Knock on their window/pull up in front of their car so they can't drive off and try and explain how it feels.

2. Keep Kalm and Karry on.

3. Ride with a basket upfront, like I do. Then, your 2kg hunk of Kryptonite U lock/spray can/house keys/bit of wood with a nail in can all be kept easily to hand in order to smash a wing mirror/paint or key their bodywork/puncture their tyres.

I go for a combination of all three myself.

mansonsoul re point 3 I have noticed how cars give me a wide berth when I'm on my way home from the shops nonchalently swinging my d-lock in my right hand.

I'm the same as donk, by the time I say something I'm already too angry to be calm and polite

I wish I could be. I'd love to be one of those people who can argue calmly and get my point across without shouting and swearing 😳

I got buzzed by a chap in a Landrover twice. First time on a wide open road so I knew he'd done it for sport, and I gestured that the cause of his myopia might be masturbation-related. I was tempted to do something when I saw him parked up outside a chippy but I rode on.

Then he did it again further up the road. I caught up with him stuck in a long line of traffic at lights, and after a bit of mental arithmetic to check he'd be there for long enough, I rode up the inside and batted his mirror.

The whole thing smashed! Does this mean I get 7 years bad luck? It was worth it to see him standing on the bonnet of his Landy screaming at me!

Nice one Shibboleth!

Ooh shibboleth you are such a he-man. Can I have your autograph?

Edit: I see you already have one juvenile fan.

I gestured that the cause of his myopia might be masturbation-related.

Brilliant! 😀

I've started riding a bit further out from the kerb, which seems to stop 95% of dodgy overtaking moves (and when the other 5% drive like muppets I've got a nice bit of space to my left to help in avoiding wing mirrors etc)

Making lots of noise while the crappy overtake is happening seems to work quite well too - bellowing "Oyy! Watch it!" (or your own favourite combination of swear words) while they're alongside seems to wake them up (and often embarrass them, if everyone around looks to see what's happening)

Donk,

I've had similar experiences. I'm normally pretty calm but when you have the near miss shaky feeling in your legs and arms rational thought sometimes goes out the window.

I had an incident last week with a taxi. He pulled out a parking space without checking his blind spot and nearly wiped me out. I shouted as he pulled out on me and rode passed. We were only abot 20metres from a red traffic light at the time so we both stopped. I turned around a did the hands out "WTF look" The taxi driver started to shout at me told me to "**** off". I lost it a bit at this point - he nearly knocks me off and then starts swearing at me!! So I gave him the finger.

He's now really upset and puts on his handbrake and takes off his seatbelt, thankfully his passenger told him to calm down so it didn't go any further.

In hindsight I shouldn't have flipped him off I should have just noted his reg and phoned his company when I got to work. Don't get mad get even!

Bad drivers just don't give a F*ck. They don't care about bikes, other cars, peds, LIFE.

Ranting at them isn't going to change one damn thing.

Same goes for road rage. While driving, getting upset with an idiot in another car, won't make the slightest difference. Your protests won't be heard and they will not improve upon their bad habits.
So I don't bother with that either.

They're a bad driver, they'll probably always be a bad driver, but the one sure thing is that you telling them, that you think they're an AH, isn't going to change anything.

If you catch-up with said idiot, just open a door, preferrably a rear one, and leave them to have to stop to close it.

Swearing at them will only lower you, and remember, they don't give a sh1t.

Carry on.

EDIT: Oh, and cab drivers, they [i]double[/i] don't give a F*ck

druidh - Member
Ooh shibboleth you are such a he-man. Can I have your autograph?

Of course you can Dullard. I might add that it was accidental, I didn't mean to break it, but 1970s British engineering had other ideas.

I'm with Twinklydave, having recently started taking the girlfriend out on road rides, I'm appalled at how many motorists deliberately buzz us.

I'm an experienced roadie, so I tend to ride quite considerately when alone, but I appreciate that an inexperienced cyclist like my other half might slow cars down too much, but risking hitting her is disgraceful. So I now ride in a defensive position behind her and in the middle of the carriageway forcing cars to wait until it is absolutely safe before they can pass.

I've started riding a bit further out from the kerb

[i]do this on a dual carriage way[/i] 😯

Nnnoooooooo way I ride DC.

I chose life.

Nnnoooooooo way I ride DC

How can Shibboleth be a he-man? He likes Leo Sayer FFS!

If you catch-up with said idiot, just open a door, preferrably a rear one, and leave them to have to stop to close it.

That's brilliant! I'd never thought of that. I've often fantasised about somehow getting the keys off them and throwing them away but the logistics are problematic to say the least.

Scariest incident I ever had was whilst waiting to join a roundabout in Manchester, I heard a car with a screaming engine speeding up behind me. It was obvious it wasn't going to stop so I quickly jumped out the way on to the pavement. When it pulled alongside I was about to start a foul-mouthed rant at the driver when the passenger looked at me quite threateningly and waved what looked like a gun at me and asked me what my problem was.

I guess the lesson is to always get a look at who's driving before taking any verbal or physical retaliatory action.

Donk I've the choice of a 40 limit or a 30 slightly longer route to work for me.

I've never once ridden down the 40 limit. You'll always get some people driving above the limit who dont give a fig about cyclists.

50 next to a cyclist is bloody scary.

Not critisizing you Donk.

I passed a group of people using bikes, not cyclists, earleir this week. They were on a very busy stretch of DC during the PM rush hour.

I apporached them as the tail-end charlies were catching the others up.

They weaved and wobbled their way across the exit of the DC, onto a slip road.

Compared to the cars, it took them ages to get across the mouth of the slip road and I hated watching, waiting for them to get back onto soft-shoulder of the DC.

Truely dangerous.

I've even seen some muppet cycling along the HS of the M11, during AM rush hour. Mad.

The best reply I have come up with:

After getting cut up by a Dad dropping his little one off at school, (driver turning across me coming from the other direction)

I asked him "did you see me", he replied with the usual mouthful, bikes should not be on the road/road tax/fing this and that....

I replied calmly to his son "do the world a favour & don't grow up like your Dad" and then cycled off leaving the Dad in total melt down!!!!

Looking back the sons did manage a giggle 😉

Poor old dear nearly did for me yesterday - pulling out of a T junction to the road I was on.

She looked once.
She looked twice.
She still pulled out parallel to me forcing me into the gutter.
I kicked hard and pulled in front slightly to make myself visible, just in case those secret Govt experiments on me had worked.
I waved cheerily.
She was so surprised/shocked/psychotic she swerved into me again and I had to take immediate evasive action.
Luckily she was so flustered she screwed up the gear change so I could get ahead and fire up the Close Encounters style LED to make it bleedin obvious where I was.

Best one I saw though was some fell a cruise up the inside of a queue of traffic to the presumed offender, and just open their passenger side rear door and cycle off. Made me laugh that did.

The door thing sounds dodgy, you do it with a volvo or similar with autolocking doors and you'll be in trouble, door stays shut, driver doesn't have to stop and if he wasn't angry at you (for having the temerity to be on the road) before he is now.
I once purposely clipped (not broke) the mirror of a lunatic who had sped passed me seriously quickly in a 30zone while I was already overtaking a slow lorry. The guy started to chase me, wrong side of road, through a red light and up a one way street the wrong way. I don't do stuff like that now.

I do my best just to ignore them, can't even be bothered to have a go at people these days most of the time. When I do feel like saying something I do my utmost to remain calm and just say 'why didn't you look ?' ...'you pulled out without even looking to the right, what if I was a bus ?' ..but it's pointless really becuase people just say, 'oh sorry I didn't see you' - which of we already know - what else can you expect them to say ?

Gone are the days hopefully when I used to rant and rave at people, seems another lifetime ago now. I remember once some yound kid in van pulled out on me without looking. I caught him up at the lights and tapped on the window. He wouldn't open it and just sat there staring straight ahead, he wouldn't even look at me which wound me up even more so I pulled a punch on the side of the van and made whopping great big dent in it... Kid nearly leapt out of his skin. Really stupid and really pointless thinking back on it.

Kev

See thats what really winds me up.

You are the wronged party and yet the idiot in the car still wants to spout abuse at the cyclist even though they've done nothing wrong.

I'm not perfect, I make mistakes when I'm driving and when I'm riding. When I make an error I generallly hold my hand up and apologise

I've often fantasised about somehow getting the keys off them and throwing them away but the logistics are problematic to say the least.

My mate did this a few years ago to some yob who was looking for a fight after cutting us up. After he got out of the car and started threatening me my mate calmy rode over to his car took his keys out of the ignition and then waved them at him before riding off. He went about 50m with the yob chasing him down before hurling them into a field of wheat and shouted good luck finding them ya @@@@!!

I was cut up in Ambleside a few months ago by a car pulling out of a side street. We fully stared each other in the eyes before he pulled out so I knew he saw me but still pulled out and forced me on to the other side of the road in to the incoming traffic. Luckily they're was nothing coming the other way at the time but I struggled to keep up right.
[b]Oh yeah and I had my 18month old son on the back of my bike!!!![/b]
When I pulled up to his window as hestopped in traffic 20ft later he basically said you shouldn't be on the road!
How exactly do you responde to that??!!

Can't you just subtly key the side of the car when you catch up to them and say "Excuse me, but you might have damaged your car when you clipped me overtaking too close back there"

[i]'oh sorry I didn't see you' [/i]

Now [i]that[/i] would be a result. I think I've been apologised to twice in about 10 years. Totally changes the situation and I am no longer angry. But as said, most idiots (read: motorists) don't know they've done anything wrong and won't accept that they have.

One thing you'll find with car drivers who commit road rage on cyclists- most if not all aren't big or hard people. The car is an extension of their rage and frustration at life.

Most of them wouldn't get out of their car if you had a spat- speaks volumes.

If a manoeuvre is blatantly dangerous surely you can make an official complaint under section59?

Had someone knock me off my bike on a country lane once. Noted reg number and car model and spotted the car two weeks later when I was in a car too. Chased it about a mile into a car park, did a Police style "block" (was quite pleased with this) and had a very firm "conversation" with the driver. Extreme grovelling apology extracted.

He he...

As Hora says, if someone uses their car to be aggressive for them, they are 99% certain to be a complete spineless wimp.

But you'd thai-box the **** out of them anyway Matt?

a middle aged lady in a people carrier overtook me yesterday evening and left around 10cm room. I waved at her and shouted hello and she pulled up a little further up the road and apologised which was cool

mind you on the same stretch of road I had a prick in a red merc convertible threaten to kill me after i'd taken offence to him cutting me up at around 50mph. Just started singing his reg to him and it seemed to calm him down, as did the catcalls from the traffic backing up behind him.

bottom line for me these days is to make whatever you say polite and say it with a laugh, sardonic or otherwise. It would be a shame to avoid getting squashed only to get stabbed or whatever because you can't control your tongue.

My biggest fear is knocking someone off a bike- even if someone pulls an idiot swerve out of the kerb etc I'd resist using my horn incase its startles them (and causes them to lose control).

I still remember the lad in his works-livery-van that I posted up on here where he used the side of his van to guide me more into the kerb as in his words 'you were using up too much road so I though you should move over more' 😆

But you'd thai-box the **** out of them anyway Matt?

Kickbox actually. No fighting needed. He could clearly tell I am a World class ninja/streetfighter/death deliverer and so backed down immediately 😉

Matt this is no fun. My week's not complete without an online scrap with you.

Matt this is no fun. My week's not complete without an online scrap with you.

new medication?

I am about to go on an all night stag do and so am in a state of semi fear/semi excitement - so fairly placid...

A few beers and I'll get my fighting boots on and scrap with anyone that even looks at me 😉

Then he did it again further up the road. I caught up with him stuck in a long line of traffic at lights, and after a bit of mental arithmetic to check he'd be there for long enough, I rode up the inside and batted his mirror.

The whole thing smashed! Does this mean I get 7 years bad luck? It was worth it to see him standing on the bonnet of his Landy screaming at me!

Whilst I don't exactly condone that kind of behaviour, I certainly wouldn't oppose it (and beyond, e.g. dinking a panel with a bar end of clear/toecap, etc) if it's obvious enough that the driver is being a complete twunt.

The thing is, there's enough road rage/anger/moodiness/aggression/incompetence/snobbishness/etc that it really doesn't need adding to.

But some drivers deserve all the sh1t that comes their way.

As ever [url= http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lirpa.html#bayonetz ]Sheldon Brown has the answer[/url]

A couple of things I have done - the person who pulls out of a side road in front of you and then freezes in your way - a last minute stoppie or big skid stopping inches from them sometimes scares the crap out of them as they think youa re about to appear thru the window.

I have also had a car pull out of a parking space as I was passing - I went down the side of the car leaning into them scraping the bar end right down the side - big scratch the entire length of the car. I couldn't avoid them completely but I did ensure the damage was as much on their car and as little on me as possible

Can't you just subtly key the side of the car when you catch up to them and say "Excuse me, but you might have damaged your car when you clipped me overtaking too close back there"

Very tempting, but you'd probably get a harsher punishment than they would if they knocked you off and injured you.

Very tempting, but you'd probably get a harsher punishment than they would if they knocked you off and injured you.

When I pulled up to his window as hestopped in traffic 20ft later he basically said you shouldn't be on the road!
How exactly do you responde to that??!!

The thing is, there are two types of driver who will cut you up. One lot do it accidentally - it's worth speaking to or scaring them. The other lot you can either report to the police (if you have evidence) or damage their car - the latter will make you feel better, but is unlikely to change their behaviour.

Rather than angry shouting, fistiness and car-damage (tsk TJ)- does anyone have any concrete advice on how to complain legally and how effective it can be?

I for one am not interested in damaging someones property- I'd rather stop their behaviour using the Police if possible.

After all- you dent someones car- that driver will forever think '****' when he sees a cyclist in his/her way.

I've noticed on big group rides plenty of mountain bikers haven't got a clue when they get to road sections.

I certainly don't keep a cool head when riding behind hubby whenever he's pulling our young nephew along on his trailgator. He only rides a short stretch of busy road this way, until we get to a quieter lane or cycle path, on which the lad can ride by himself.
On the short stretch we rode the other weekend, I (at the back and slightly outside the lad) got buzzed at least twice, each time by drivers in their massive off road type vehicles. The second one had his window open, so I shouted "please leave some space", to which the driver hurled loads of abuse and swear words out, some of which my nephew heard.

I use the wobble tactic if riding by myself, if you wobble about 50-60cms out of the kerb edge, then the driver racing up behind usually gives more clearance.

If you regularly get such incidents (I don't) surely the answer is a helmet camera. At least you stand a chance then if reporting something to the police, as you have direct evidence.

does anyone have any concrete advice on how to complain legally and how effective it can be?

1. Go to the Police (Erm were you thinking there might be a different answer?)
2. Complete waste of time unless you have evidence beyond your own.

>If you regularly get such incidents

Then you're probably riding like a c*ck 🙂

Every time I have tried to say anything to a male driver who's cut me up, they've flipped out and gone absolutely mental.

When people get annoyed, reason goes out of the window. So save your breath, you won't do anything except make them hate cyclists.

Very few people are reasonable and rational when examining their actions - practically no-one is when they are in a state of heightened emotion.

The roads are full of cocks Donk, as is the earth. You can argue with all of them or just try and ignore them and carry on having the best time you can.

You know I have a lot of issues on the road but I see the error of my ways most of the time. I've banged my fist into van windscreens before now and offered all the gusy sat inside out for a fight. I was wrong.

Nowadays, if I feel someone has done me wrong on the road I try and explain to them why it's a problem rather than getting stuck in. It feels better. Most of them want trouble but I just let them go, the people who can be talked to are the important ones. Some, just some actually respond and understand. I hope they change their ways.

I've popped the boot a few times at traffic lights and ridden on.

Hora I do a national speed limit and a Motorway roundabout MTFU

On a commute with sleepy or stressheads? -not a chance. On a road-ride off-peak yes.

I was threatened with a bus this week.
The driver pulled out of a bus stop, despite looking at me riding in the road. He stopped at a round-a-bout a few seconds later and I managed to stop in front of him. As I pulled out on the round-a-bout he started shouting "you C"·t" "t&"t and such things. I shouted that he had cut me up and carried on riding. The next moment the bus was next to me, we were both moving down the road. He opened the doors so he could continue swearing and shouting and waving his fists (there were passengers on the bus). He was red with anger and almost spitting hatred. I explained what I thought of him too and said I would report him. He then swerved the bus towards me pushing me closer to the curb, threatening to run me over.
I stopped and wrote down the number and time. I saw him moments later so calm and normal picking up more passengers as if nothing had happened.

I've reported him and am waiting to see the outcome.

I have reported bus and post van drivers to their management a couple of times - the management certainly appeared to be taking it seriously and I believe its worth doing.

I"m not expecting anyone to read this, I'm just getting it out of my system...

We're all great cyclists and they're all crap drivers. But keying cars and smashing wing mirrors isn't going to pacify the driver in the long term. If he/she doesn't see you again and take it out on you, they'll take it out on some other poor cyclist. Bad karma, kids.

Noting number plates does at least remind drivers they do have an identity on the road that other people can track them down with. I think the naughty drivers tend to think they can hide behind their wheel, giggling to their mates as they buzz us on the road.

Last week a 4x4 tailed two of us riding along a wide but quiet road and then pulled up alongside us as we rolled along. The driver leaned across the passenger (who was holding a dog on her lap) and shouted "you aren't allowed to ride like that [side by side] - you have to ride single file" whilst looking at us, taking her eyes off the road and driving one-handed while stretched across the car.

The cycling side-by-side issue is a different stw debate but one that does seem to rile drivers. In this case, we waved at her as she sped off. We debated chasing her to the next junction (it amuses me that drivers often rage at us and then forget there's a stop junction/lights 30 seconds down the road!), but figured even if we did try to reason with her, she still wouldn't change her attitude to cyclists.

I don't think that all cyclists ride that well on the road, and as a driver experiencing the situation from that p.o.v, there must've been times where you've thought "****, I didn't even see that cyclist" or, "that cyclist needs to have some lights" etc. And if you aren't, are you a hot-headed idiot cyclist with biased opinions about who's the better road user? There've been times when I've wobbled/been caught by the wind/ etc or just plainly not ridden well and acknowledged that to the driver, thinking "sorry mate, my bad".

Each one of us has our own routine for cycling on road, and reacting in different situations. Perhaps all cyclists and drivers should go to "cyclists and drivers" instruction workshops and then we'd see we're all as bad as each other.

The End.

"sorry mate, my bad"

Samurai, the cool calm pointing out the drivers error approach was what I was aiming for and failed miserably.

Re complaining to the police I've been on the GMP website and submitted a complaint on their "we are listening, talk to us" page (about a complete mentalist driver) zero response, you may get on better going in to a station. I think bus companies and other employers take these things more seriously.

I reported a bus driver to her employers and got a std-looking "we have dealt with the matter and take this very seriosuly" letter, they wouldn't tell me what action they'd taken, citing data protection.

"nothing you choose to say will make a diffrence."

try a four letter word beginning with C and get back to us!