Ultimately, in response to the stress of fairly frequent run-ins on my commute, I read John Franklin’s book “Cyclecraft”. This helped me fine tune my road riding making me less likely to be a victim of aggressive or inattentive drivers. I also changed my route to avoid hotspots.

I guess it could be argued that the “bullies” have won and I have relinquished my rights but it wasn’t a battle I wanted to fight any more. Now my ride into work is much more pleasant, mainly along a canal towpath.

I suspect that the drivers are still sat in their cars, with temple veins throbbing, on the point of emotional breakdown/thrombosis/doing something they’ll seriously regret and taking it out on someone else.

Getting into a fight isn’t going to help. You WILL lose. Maybe not right that second but two days later when the driver of the car you damaged happens to be on the same road again… Smashing a car up will leave you open to
a) retribution
b) criminal proceedings

You survived. Ride off knowing that you’re right and, more importantly, you’re safe.

a “sticky” liquid

😯

This is what heavy Kyrptonite D-Locks were invented for. When I used to live in Glasgow I rode with a great bike steel basket on the front of my bike, so my lock was always to hand for smashing someones car if they threatened my life.

EDIT: I don’t do this anymore, I prefer to just chill out and remember to breathe.

+1 crazy-legs

Similar happened to me yesterday.

On a busy road, negotiating a queue I was cycling gently between the queue and the kerb (the oncoming traffic was V busy and too dangerous to consider going outside)which was about a 3ft gap.

About 3 cars up, a car pulled over to leave about 1ft between me/the kerb. I could see it was deliberate as I could see the driver looking at me in his wing mirror. As I inched passed, his window was open and I may have used the W word.

But whats the point? Its just agitation for agitations sake IMO, jealousy cause he couldnt move forward and I could.

If, to protect yourself, you had to put up your spd clad foot, wouldn’t that be a shame????

I got forced on the pavement by a motorist trying to get out of the way of an ambulance, windows open I asked him what the hell he was doing ‘moving over to let the ambulance through’ was the answer he looked a bit embarrassed when I said I didn’t want to be in the next ambulance and he was a bit miffed when I pointed out that the gouge in his car door was going to be expensive to fix.

What was really nice the woman in car behind him stopped to say she had seen everything and if I wanted to call the police she would wait. What I didn’t know was that a woman cyclist lost her life only a couple of yards from where we were 5 months earlier and she knew her. I took her details and his registration number reported it to the police, un surprisingly no action taken.

Chugg08 In a very similar vain I’ve thought about sorting out some stickers to put on windscreen of Car’s/Vans which park consistently on pavements/cycle route cause obstructions. There are a few on my commute which bug me

I guess the issue with causing permanent damage to a car is that it opens you up to legal action. I read somewhere about someone spraying a “sticky” liquid on the windscreen that smeers. It causes no damage and is non toxic but it is bloody annoying. Does anyone know more / have any suggestions about what it is?

Engine oil would prob do the trick. No lasting damage, but would wash / wipe off very easily. Although it would potentially obscure their vision which may not be a good idea!

next time carry a frozen turkey with you in an Asda bag and take a swing at his wing mirror, should do the trick.

Worked for my uncle….

Nowadays my tactic is to make sure it spoils their day more than it spoils yours – so do get angry with them – laugh at them make it obvious. ride away laughing.

I don’t always manage this but its what I aim to do.

A slap on the top of a car makes one hell of a noise and no damage but is best for the dozy ones who don’t know you are there

I have tried having a big heavy lock to hand – the trouble is you get tempted to use it and I did – did a chunk of damage to a van. I have kicked lumps out of a car in the same situation as the op – he just kept coming back for more and getting angrier – each time he got another dented panel leading to hundreds of pounds worth of damage to a big 4×4. You do have an excuse / defence to that – if the car is close enough that you can touch it its too close – you were only trying to warn him / fend him off. I have also been right down the side of a car that pulled out on me – bar end too a full length scratch.

The best remains I think to laugh at them for being so stupid and ride off. spoil their day more than it spoils yours a good insult or two helps as well? “got a driving licence?” “from a cornflake packet?”

“Where’d you get your license? In a cracker”
– Ric Mayall in Mr Jolly Lives Next Door

should read don’t get angry with them

DOH

I just don’t know what we are going to do about these kind of drivers?

Helmet Cams are the only real “solution” IMO, catch the **** and their number plates in the act, if you want a conviction out of it though don’t bother the Rozzers direct though get it straight up on youtube – this appears to get more attention and hence more done about it…

Or see it from his POV… The poor shit drives a Meriva, no wonder he’s riddled with angst, plus there’s every chance a harsh stare would put a significant dent in the door, no need to bother with fists/elbows thought the window….

TBH the Karmic approach that others suggest is ultimately the best way to deal with these things, avoid the confrontation/violence, a suitably disapproving look is enough, they will either know they were in the wrong straight away, in which case pointing it out doesn’t really solve much (they’ve probably already learned), or they “Know” they are NEVER wrong in which case pointing it out won’t change their mind and is also ultimately fruitless…

Helmet Cams are the only real “solution” IMO, catch the **** and their number plates in the act, if you want a conviction out of it though don’t bother the Rozzers direct though get it straight up on youtube – this appears to get more attention and hence more done about it…

Yep. Direct quote from that Met Office Road Safe site mentioned earlier:

“Occasionally, as well as reporting something to us, people post video footage in the public domain e.g. YouTube or similar sites. In the course of dealing with your information we may direct others to any material that has been openly posted, to raise road user awareness and to promote safety. “

I’ve found that cars give me more room on my MTB, could be the thought of my bar ends gouging a big scratch down their nice BMW or Audi!?

Yes – If it starts to get worse again (shouldn’t) I might get a cheap helmet cam 🙂

Direct quote from that Met Office Road Safe site mentioned earlier

Crikey, they’ve branched out! 😉

I don’t know if I’m blind to this sort of thing, a better rider (unlikely) or just lucky, but considering I do a lot of road riding, on some of the busiest roads in the country, I can count on the fingers of one hand how often I’ve actually been involved in anything where I’d even consider saying anything! I’ve thumped a few car roofs to let people know I’m there, but most of the time I just get on with it, can’t let shit drivers ruin your day, there’s too many of them!

You don’t need to punch windows or carry a hammer.

Let your pedals do the work. Nice curved gouge out of his paintwork and irrefutable proof he came too close.

Drivers won’t give even a seconds consideration to what you’re saying if you point out the errors of their ways at the roadside. People in general are just not wired up to respond well to that sort of thing from strangers, people in their cars even less so, and the sort of driver who’d be giving you grief even less so again.

What’ll most likely happen is one or all of:
– they’ll drive off still thinking they were in the right, but with their preconceptions about arrogant cyclists reinforced
– they’ll get even angrier
– you’ll get wound up

None of those are very productive so I try and just let it go, or not let it happen in the first place. Obviously adrenaline sometimes takes over though.

http://www.cyclelifestyle.co.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=173%3Aoutrage-at-0-fare-rise-for-cyclists&Itemid=1

Thought this was funny – mad me feel better as he was burning his wages to get to Tesco to buy up everything in the place because it might be shut for 2 days 😉

However, some people get out the wrong side of the bed every morning, go out with weapons and don’t need any provocation to use them. Google “Kenneth Noye” if you need convincing on this point.

I shall try and remember not to get into an altercation on the road with my drugs supplier who I owe money to 🙄

Also worth remembering that to err is human?

Someone who has just realised how close, through a moment’s inattention, they were to hurting/killing someone and suffering the personal consequences of their actions/inactions may be as much in shock as anyone else.

Last thing they need is a torrent of abuse, damage to their vehicle, the threat of violence. Ultimately a near miss is still a miss. “As good as a mile”, my mum used to say. A karmic response is probably most likely to help both parties in the long run.

I shall try and remember not to get into an altercation on the road with my drugs supplier who I owe money to

😆

Someone who has just realised how close, through a moment’s inattention,

True but doing it on purpose to intimidate you into using the cycle lane is not excusable in my book 🙂

aluminium bar-plugs, or bar-ends.
If they’re close enough to hit you on the bike, then there’s no reason why the end of your handle-bar won’t scratch along the side of the car as they get too close.

If they complain, ask why they were so close to you, and then try and claim on their insurance for new bar-ends 🙂

It’s a common enough experience. I’ve had it several times when I’ve been avoiding dangerous cyclelanes in favour of the safer open road where I am put in less conflict with other users (ie where the cyclelane has 100 driveway entrances directly next to me which are all hidden from my vision until I’m two yards from them). And you are right, these prats get very upset for some reason, but I’m not going to put myself in danger to satisfy their troubled minds.

Another thing that winds me up is jesticulating motorists who do not appreciate that the time gap on certain traffic lights is not long enough for a mountainbike to get through before the lights change the other end.
Duddon Bridge anyone!

I think this all boils down to a lack of understanding, empathy and tolerance.

Feel free to cut it and paste it to use it in any argument you wish about anything 😉

As always – Sheldon Brown has the answer
bayonetz

Outwit them by staying calm and polite. Ride away laughing knowing their day is spoiled more than yours 😉

[u]OR[/i][/u] carry some smashed up ceramic particles from the insulated section of a spark plug in a convenient pocket and flick a piece at the cars’ windows. If you hit, you’ll score! (Plan getway first though…) 😈

The majority of road accidents occur between 8-9am and 4-6pm. I recall a statistic indicating most accideents caused by aggressive driving occur post work between 4pm and 6pm. Makes sense, work sometimes pushes us to cracking point, perhaps a bullying manager, and voila! That angry man who’s had a bad day is now behind you!

Which leads me on to the flow of negative energy that results.. if like me you hold on to it you can find yourself barking at the moon, well other cars, and so what started as 2 people upsetting one another, ends with a whole school full potentially.. the waves of hostility scattering from one person to the next..

Makes sense, work sometimes pushes us to cracking point, perhaps a bullying manager, and viola!

😆

I would think its illegal to drive whilst playing the Viola? 😀

If I get the chance, I just tell drivers how they scared me to death, and that I thought they were going to knock me over. Usually takes the wind out of their sails.
This approach may work better coming from me as a female, rather than a six-foot, well built bloke!

Simply wait until he is stuck in traffic or at lights, open the rear passenger side door and cycle off.

That is jeenyis! 😀

I cannot understand the cars that bib you as they pass you. They get alongside ( and thus are overtaking ) and then just bib, like you shouldn’t be there or something. Mind you last time that happened a car overtook and hadn’t left enough room ahead to safely pull in before a crossing island, so i guess they then assumed you are in the wrong for being in the way. Sometimes though they just bib, whilst overtaking. Think I need to find a quieter route tbh.

“bib”?

sound the horn ;0)

Well, to give a bit of balance, i’ve just had a nice experience with a motorist.
Riding home tonight, pulled out through the lights onto a 40mph dual-carriageway and headed uphill towards the lights. I could see/sense a car behind me seemingly waiting, then the car pulled right across into the 2nd lane as it overtook. I caught up at the lights and pulled alongside, looked down, smiled and mouthed “thank you” at the driver.
In return i got the biggest, most beaming smile from an absolutely stunningly beautiful young Asian lady 😀

AND she was driving an Audi!!!!

8)

I find most motorists are good tbh.