Annoying work colleague

Patorikku285

One of my work colleagues seems to think that using their car horn to say 'goodbye' just before they overtake me on my way home is a GREAT idea... there's no way that they are using their horn as a warning, or to express anger on my cycling, as I keep as far left as the rough edge of the road will allow. As they pass, I can see them waving, so it is definitely a case of them using their horn as a 'goodbye' gesture...

I've tried asking them not to do this, as I find it unsettling having a car horn go off behind me as I make my way home from work. It doesn't happen every day, but this has happened about five times in the last four weeks or so, I guess they have short-term memory problems or just don't think that my request is important...

Any ideas on what my next step should be? I guess from a legal point of view they are using their horn improperly, maybe I should report this to the police?

ride_whenever

Slash his tyres, the police won't do a think about him beeping you.

If you want to be sane, try making a formal complaint as this is technically harassment.

Gussio

D-lock....

unixnerd

Get one of those air horn things for your bike, I'm sure someone on here knows the one I mean.......

deptfordmarmoset

Take him up onto the roof at work, grab him, hold him over the edge of the building, and then ask him if he thinks it's a good joke.

Kieran_Burns

As this is the serious forum, I would suggest having a word with him the day after each time he uses his car horn.

If this fails to elicit a mature reaction I would speak to your Line Manager and escalate it formally.

If this was not the serious forum I would suggest a water balloon.

Jay dubbleU

+1 for the water balloon


No smiley as this is the serious forum

rjsterry

No smirking at the back Burns!

I think jokes are allowed so long as we stay on topic and give a sensible answer as well. KB has pretty much got it: ask nicely, ask again, then take it up with your manager.

Hrun

+1 for the private word
+2 for the chat with his line manager if it doesn't stop.

Chances are he thinks he is just saying bye when he blips the horn.

Speak to him directly first, and I mean directly, don't hint.

daviesee

If you have already had words with him

chances are he is doing it to wind you up..............

kelsen

[deadly serious tone]

How are they using their horn?

If it's a quick 'parp' from a safe distance, I would take it as a friendly gesture. Just smile, wave back, and enjoy the rest of the journey home.

If however, they creep up behind you and deliver a great big emission from their horn, it's obviously meant to scare you. I would have another quiet word in their ear, explaining the issue and how it can endanger you and other road users. If that doesn't work, make it well known to other colleagues/management what they are doing. Perhaps the added pressure from other people will stop them. If that fails, your colleagues will be much more supportive of you reporting it to the police.

[/deadly serious tone]

BiggerBoat

Get one of those air horn thingies. Sneak up behind them at work and set it off. Then just walk past and wave. Should do the trick.

wizzlebanger

+1 for a quiet word and then escalate formally if you get no response.

I had to have a quiet 'word' with a couple of people at work. They are actually a 'couple' who I generally have lunch with most days but they thought it was great fun to slowly come up behind me (he was driving she was in the passenger seat) and see if they could get close enough so that she could touch me.

It happened once just as I had left work and I knew they were behind me so I let it go. However, the 2nd time was once I'd gotten to the main road and was up to speed.

The next day I had a little word saying that it's difficult cycling on the roads as it is without my so called 'friends' playing silly games. It hasn't happened since.

Just explain that it's very unsettling and could cause you to be involved in an accident. More than anything you aren't to know that it's actually someone beeping their horn to warn you about something!

spen666

unixnerd wrote:

Get one of those air horn things for your bike, I'm sure someone on here knows the one I mean.......

Get one of these horns (Airzounds?) and bring it into work, and everytime you are behind him, give him a blast as a "goodbye gesture" as you pass them

wizzlebanger

A dirty protest will defo do the job. Might have other negative effects though!

dodgy

Is he an oldish guy? I think many years ago it was considered sensible to give a beep of the horn when about to overtake a cyclist. Might explain why I sometimes get beeped by drivers wearing hats (hats - not baseball caps).

always_tyred

The point is that the guy seems to think he knows best.

If you have only asked him once, ask him again, tell him its not a good idea, tell him why, do it quite sternly (but politely) and point out its the second time you have had to ask. Do it while he's at his desk in hearing range of others. That way, if you do it a third time, you can be overheard by the same people asking, "Why are you doing it even though I've repeatedly asked you not to?"

CometGirl

Have you tried smiling and waving goodbye back?

I love it when someone beeps in a positive way, to say hello or goodbye or keep going (halfway up a Norwegian mountain). Although not right behind me, I have an exaggerated startle response and I'm likely to fall off.

tomb353

and stop riding in the gutter

invincible

my boss did the same thing to me....

used my water bottle to good effect on his windscreen whilst filtering through traffic he was stopped in....

next day at work he complained saying i could have caused an accident, to which my reply was "so could you"

was a bit OTT but i think he sort of got the idea

EKE_38BPM

[over-reaction]
I'm still thinking D-lock is the way forward.

Then do the friendly wave goodbye as you walk away leaving them in a pool of their own blood.
[/over-reaction]

Buckled_Rims

Pretend to put in an iPod. Over emphasize when you putting in the ear pieces and say, "Arh, now I wont hear that damn beep!"

nich

I suggest you purchase a mini cannon for the office, and take pot shots at him while he's sipping coffee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi4g_U0hoOg

Either that, or fit one of them to your bike and take his tyres out as he toots you!

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

de_sisti

Kieran_Burns wrote:

........ I would speak to your Line Manager and escalate it formally..

There's not much a line manager can do in this situation if the incident happens out on the
road away from work premisis.

Radioactiveman

Get a large thick rubber glove or gauntlet , fill it with talcum powder and tape it to his exhaust pipe. Then watch as he drives off and thinks his engine has blown after the glove goes bang.

If that fails report him to the police preferably with helmet cam footage or an independent witness. My local police take harassment of cyclists seriously.

carrock

Kieran_Burns wrote:

As this is the serious forum, I would suggest having a word with him the day after each time he uses his car horn.

If this fails to elicit a mature reaction I would speak to your Line Manager and escalate it formally.

If this was not the serious forum I would suggest a water balloon.

Why has this got anything to do with his Line Manager?? :?

Anything that happens outside work whilst not working is nothing to do with work, whether it involves a colleague or not

Simply a matter of reckless driving with intent to endanger others, and the OP should report it to the police

wgwarburton

Don't over-react!

He's being friendly.. misguided, perhaps, but a "hoot & a wave" at the end of the work day isn't cause for starting Disciplinary Proceedings!

Ask him not to do it. Again. If it seems that he can't or won't stop, then just ignore him.

Cheers,
W.

sc999cs

or try asking him to do it after passing you so you can see who it was.

lucullus

Patorikku285 wrote:

... there's no way that they are using their horn as a warning, or to express anger on my cycling, as I keep as far left as the rough edge of the road will allow. As they pass, I can see them waving, so it is definitely a case of them using their horn as a 'goodbye' gesture...

Aside from the other ideas you've had here, I would suggest you own your lane. There are simply no circumstances when you should be "as far left as the rough edge allows". You have every right to be on the road, and you should make sure you occupy the space you need to use that road safely. If that means cycling down the middle until there's space for this idiot to go by, then so be it.

Every time I ride to work (3-4 times a week) I cycle by people who think they should be in the gutter, or trying to navigate between the double yellow lines ...

dcurzon

this seems like a lot of moaning about a colleague saying cheerio. Get on with life!

Headhuunter

Patorikku285 - With a name like that it sounds like you have lived in or at least been to Japan! But I think in romaji it should be "Pattorikku".... If you were writing in katakana there would be a small "tsu" before the "to" character to emphasis the "t" in English rather than the "o" of the Japanese "to"....