Apologies surfer.. I wasn’t attacking you.. Just playing devil’s advocate..

I reckon its pretty impossible to say what anyone else would have done… some days, some moods, some circumstances you would be confrontational. Other days… meh, walk on by.
You did what you did, probably made no difference to the knobber in the Merc. Can you imagine anyone who would react differently to how he did though?

No worries Junki 😀

This has been quite interesting reading for me.

I commute (by bike) daily through Bristol and my opinions have changed as the years have gone by. I would consider myself a pretty battle hardened city cyclist and was very militant at one point but found that regular confrontation was gaining nothing but stressing myself out.

Nowadays I don’t sweat the small stuff, i’ve found eye contact and a disapproving headshake is just as effective as banging on the window. If someone cares if they have done wrong they will learn from having it noticed.

Can you imagine anyone who would react differently to how he did though?

Yes I did. If I thought it would kick off like that I wouldnt have got involved TBH. I thought he would just maybe reflect at least for a second. We all make mistakes on the road and occasionally get the head shaking treatment etc and most timed you just suck it up if you know you are in the wrong. What I find more prevalent on the road is people who are aggressively indignant if you have the affront to be a bit pi**ed off with their behavior.

If illegal behaviour like this guy’s was challenged more frequently then maybe we’d have fewer than 5 dead people a day on UK roads.

This kind of low level law breaking – speeding, mobile phone use, sat nav fiddling etc etc is pretty much the social norm and considered acceptable behaviour. Despite the dead people.

Drink driving and smoking have been tackled in part because they became socially unacceptable. Pretty much everyone cares about what other people think of them, so I’m with those like the OP who challenge such irresponsible driving. If we all did it, maybe there’d be fewer dead people and maybe our world would be a little more pleasant, and driving and cycling would be that bit more enjoyable…

I was following some d1ck on a brompton in London in the week and he would go up onto the pavement at the slightest provocation to avoid some lorry parked at the kerb.

I’d do the same. Minus the Brompton though…

a few occasions when i have told drivers to get off the phone, never polite, never quiet, and always in the middle of town.

Most drivers are scum.

see plenty of drivers jump red lights, as for obeying speed limits or parking restrictions!!!

If i could report every driver i see driving dangerously or breaking the law to the police i would, i just tend to report one or two a week.

Numbers game, screw the police statistics and maybe they will actually do something about driving offences.

Smashed his face in,then shot him,then burnt his car out but I do reside in the ‘Pool.
Really I would have ignored it. I see such appalling driving whilst riding and driving it amazes me but as stated he’s a moron and would never see your point. Only winding yourself up I fear.

We all make mistakes on the road ..

USing a phone in the car isn’t a “mistake”. It’s being an arrogant dick, so you’d always get the arrogant dick response.