I think I did a bad thing....what would you have done?

pclarke0046

Hello everyone. I would be grateful for your advice on an incident that occurred during my bicycle commute.

I used to be bike mad and cycle everywhere including a two month tour to Istanbul from London. Then I started my job and bought a motorbike and became a motorcycling fanatic. Four years later I have dusted off my Surly and I am cycling in to work again but I may have picked up some bad habits.

During my commute yesterday I was cycling along the Embankment full of the joys of life, my blood was pumping and I had the wind in my hair and I was really enjoying being self-propelled once more. I was approaching a slower moving bicycle in front of me and moved to overtake by looking over my shoulder and pulling a foot out of the bicycle lane to give the cyclist a berth. In so doing I must have upset a car behind me who thought I should stay put in the bicycle lane and, rather than permitting me to complete my manoeuvre, the driver forced his way from behind physically pushing me to one side so that I had to steady myself with my hand on the car's roof to stop from being knocked over as the car dragged past me.

I was quite shocked at the lack of consideration for my personal safety and my blood was up. The car was now about 50 yards down the road and had encountered traffic so I gave chase and soon caught up with it. As I drew level with the car, and without thinking, I swung my open hand into its wing mirror which detached itself from the car and bounced down the road. Then the vulnerability of being on a bicycle struck me and I realised I had no horsepower to make my getaway in addition to the fact that I hadn't cycled for years and was most unfit. I tore away as fast as I could until I found a turning and I ducked down panting and sweating and feeling a little sick due to the exertion but exhilarated and vindicated.

Now I feel as though I reacted badly :oops: but I still can't help but think that the car driver will think twice before treating a fellow road user with such disdain. I would be grateful for the comments and input of any experienced cycle commuters.

Thanks.

extrusion

where's that thumbs up icon gone ...

verloren

I've no doubt that what you did was wrong, but I can't criticize you for it. It's so common to have some near miss on my commute that my standard reaction is a near-tearful* internal dialogue something like "Look what you just did, scaring the crap out of me, making me dump so much adrenaline that the rest of my commute will feel horrible, and probably making the rest of my day that bit darker. And there's not a damn thing I can do about it. Hell, you're probably thinking it was my fault (it wasn't) if you even noticed me at all, so you haven't even learned from it."

So the fact that you took matters, and wing-mirrors, into your own hands was wrong, and you should do your best to shake any such tendency. But it's so difficult...

*no actual tears, I'm still just about a man

AidanR

I can't condone it, but I can be quietly amused by it.

71freerider

Can't condone it either but...right on ..Wing mirror is one thing but you squished under a car is a completely different thing altogether..people (car drivers) need to realise the consequences of their actions..I'd have done the same thing.

lockstock666

How likely is it that you will bump into this motorist again?

That's the only think that worries me when I have an altercation with a car. I ride the same way in pretty much the same clothing, at the same time every day.

Chances are they probably didn't even notice you put your hand on their roof and think you are a nut-job. It must have caught their attention though. If only you could have watched their face!

The thing that really winds me up about cars drivers is how fast they think their car is and how slow they think your bike is, they overtake and then cut you up at a speed bump 20 yards further down the road as if you were a mile back, no mate I'm RIGHT NEXT TO YOUUUUU!

Gizmo_

verloren wrote:

I've no doubt that what you did was wrong, but I can't criticize you for it.

My thoughts exactly.

People who key cars are scum. But I'd call that justified retribution for stupidity...

Only trouble is, he's got an excuse for SMIDSY now.

king_jeffers

AidanR wrote:

I can't condone it, but I can be quietly amused by it.

+1

I feel ashamed to say I

Hope your hand is alright

Chrissz

I'd have danced all over his freekin bonnet!!! Never mind a wing mirror - he'd have lost a little more if he did that to me (I tend to be quite agressive on the bike - compensation for the vulnerability I feel???)

king_jeffers

Chrissz wrote:

I'd have danced all over his freekin bonnet!!! Never mind a wing mirror - he'd have lost a little more if he did that to me (I tend to be quite agressive on the bike - compensation for the vulnerability I feel???)

Same here... think its that extra adrenaline, or the fear I could be squished at anytime

Initialised

I neither condone nor practice any of the following methods

Windscreens will be covered for vandalism so don't bother.

Be calm, knock on the driver side window, start talking about what they did and how they could have killed you while noting location of ignition keys, when possible grab keys, remove from ignition and hurl into oncoming traffic and let them see how vulnerable they feel without an engine and a big metal box.

Mirrors maybe not, but use a foot, it's more effective and better protected in decent hard soled bike shoes, cleats are also good for scratching paintwork.

Snapped wiper blades are a right pain in the rain when someone poured cornflour all over your windscreen

Carry a bottle full of:

Paint stripper for the roof/bonnet (caustic soda in methylated spirit works well) offensive text optional!
Pepperspray (look up DIY methods, use Naga or Scotch Bonnets) for dogs/pedestrians drivers in open tops or with windows down
Oil for their brake pads

After deploying any of these tactics change hair, facial hair, clothing and paint your bike a different colour.

Seriously though, last time I chased down a car I had to change my rear wheel after it got run over. Don't bother. Note their reg and submit a 'hit and run' report to the local police. If you'r lucky it'll be followed up with a warning letter telling the in strong language to be more considerate to road users. Otherwise it'll just be ignored. So wear a camera and berate them on YouTube.

Headhuunter

I've never actually knocked a wing mirror off, nearly did once when an Addison Lee driver cut me up, but I simply knocked it flush with the car/folded it in. I've had moments of utter outrage though. Last week some idiot pulled out in front of me from a side road as I was bowling along at 20+mph. I seriously thought I was going to slam into the back end of his car but luckily he accelerated hard and I just missed him. Later on I caught up with him (this is always the case in London - idiot motorists do something stoopid and about 2 minutes later you're alongside them anyway so they have saved absolutely no time in cutting in front of you) and I banged hard on the roof of the car and back window yelling expletives... He yelled back.

This kind of thing has happened a few times and I always feel guilty and upset with myself once the adrenalin has dropped off and I've reached my destination... As for escaping, you don't need horsepower just hop onto the pavement and go the other way or take a sudden turn down a side street, nothing anyone in a car can do, bikes are waaaay more manoeuvrable than cars!

rick_chasey

Must have hit it quite hard to bring it off!

rolf_f

I've clouted peoples windows (just with a fist) mainly because it probably scares the crap out f the driver but doesn't do any damage.

I'm all to aware that I occasionally make mistakes (no, seriously ) whilst on bike or in my car. A move that seemed reasonable at the time, on reflection turns out to be clearly pretty stupid. It just doesn't seem reasonable to damagie someones property for their thoughtlessness alone (and you often don't really know for sure that they were being a deliberate bstard). And you don't know if the driver of the car had had a load of cyclists pull out on him already that morning. It doesn't condone it but it does explain it. In the case of the OPs incident - from the drivers perspective the incident might appear "I was driving down the road when all of a sudden a cyclist veered into my lane. I managed to avoid knocking him off and 100 yards down the road he deliberately smashed my wing mirror". This might make him more careful with cyclists in traffic but it might also make him take it out on cyclists on the open road.

Besides, I tend to think that a near miss is still a miss. If someone, for example, cuts me up badly I will obviously seeth about it but I'm disappointed with myself if I'm still seething about it much more than 10 seconds later.

Border Cyclist

Hi - writing things down is probably a good way of clearing one's frustrations, but you might all like to reconsider whether posting in such a public place is for the best... I certainly sympathise even if I can't condone...

pclarke0046

Thank you all for your comments. On the whole you have corroborated my thoughts that it was with righteous indignation that I reacted but that such adrenaline fuelled responses should be avoided for the greater good. I appreciate that there is a chance that the vehicle involved probably has a very different perspective on events to mine but it is the attitude of drivers that just because they are faster and bigger than cyclists and motorcyclists, they have more of a right to be on the road than we do which really gets my goat. While taking off the wing mirror was a rash response (cycling gloves and a speed of 25 mph helped to make it a clean removal) and made me feel guilty enough to seek your advice and comments I think that car drivers (or 'cagers' as the motorcycling community refers to them) do need to realise that having a metal box around you doesn't make you a more significant road user and that the vulnerable cyclist with his natty getup deserves more respect.

I will be a paragon of calm from now on.

lighty89

Totally understandable

snig

not saying if you were wrong but I would try and balance how mad you were with how guilty etc you feel now, and also your safety if he was a big bugger and had stopped, seems by the tone of your post here that breaking his wing mirror has not made you feel any better but only changed those feelings to guilt.

chances are the wing mirror will not have been broken if it was designed to drop of if hit so no need to feel guilty over it.

sloppycowpat

i would have done the same i reckon or some choice words, that or get the no plate and report him for dangerous driving

JimboPlob

Congratulations on enforcing the negative press cyclists get. Be the bigger man.

iwearshorts

I would have gotten in to a shouting match with the perp.

Headhuunter

JimboPlob wrote:

Congratulations on enforcing the negative press cyclists get. Be the bigger man.

What about the negative press that motorists get amongst cyclists for perpetrating stupid and dangerous acts as described? Why is it always up to cyclists to be the saints of the road to improve their image and prove themselves to motorists? Quite frankly motorists needs to look at themselves and their actions before believing negative press regarding cyclists! Cyclists have as much right to the road as motorists and do not need to prove themselves....

Southgate

A bunch of arseholes in a car once pulled alongside me and for no reason whatsoever started hurling anti-cyclist abuse before swerving their car at me in an attempt to either hit me or force me off the road. Having narrowly failed, they yelled some more abuse and sped away. Well, it was rush hour and I knew exactly where I'd find them queuing in a minute or two.

I unclipped my 2kg U-lock and riding on the outside of the lane, crept up behind them like a cat until I was alongside the bastards. I lifted my U-lock high above my head and then brought it down like a hammer right in the middle of their back window! BANG! SMASH! (recalling the sight and sound of it breaking into a thousand little pieces still brings me joy today, and this happened more than 20 years ago). Finally, I ever so slowly pulled away from the traffic jam, turned my head back to take one last delicious glance, and gave them a cheery wave.

Non, je ne regrette rien!

bushu

Bad press this, image that.. if your endangered by a moron in metal your well within your right to dish out a slap or several! Im also a motorist sometimes, i would expect similar treatment if i acted this way, simple mortal reaction - if unintentional ill be more careful next time behind the wheel of a tonne+ of human squashing materials.

In short "a wingmirror", they got off lightly!

bushu

Thank feck its friday!

Double decker bus driver tried wiping me out today, pulling out from a bus stop across the cycle lane. Luckily the cars saw this tw@t also and gave me room to manoeuvre, wasn't even a gap in the cars for him to pull out just wanted to write me off from what i could tell.

After telling the fool what a fuckwit he is as i pass the driver window he received the two finger salute and later down the road must have felt guilty as he was either offering me a lift or asking for a pasting on his CCTV system for compo.
This time i declined having to get to my place of work, knowing i can't take my bike on smelly pt and also not wanting the criminal record for his mistake.

"what would you have done?"
be good peoples

pclarke0046

Headhuunter wrote:

Cyclists have as much right to the road as motorists and do not need to prove themselves....

I agree entirely! Might is not always right. If cycling and motorcycling featured more in the highway code and the driving test I am sure attitudes would be improved. All this takes time and until then I am very glad that a third of my commute is through the park! Also I know I keep mentioning motorcycles and bicycles in the same breath but I genuinely believe we have common interests as vulnerable road users who both stand to gain from changing the attitudes and awareness of careless drivers.

Furry Mommy

Yup I'm afraid you did a bad thing and put yourself both in harms way and on the wrong side of the law......but I've been there and done it in the past.

OK, nowadays I just use the helmet camera - down load the details and report it to the police, getting an incident number (even if they don't want to give me one and the name of the officer who is dealing with it) etc.

If you feel you do want to make a point - rather than cause "criminal damage" to the offending vehicle and possible risk that the next cyclist does not get off as lightly as you did this time, fold the near side wing mirror in back on it's hinge, so that the motorist has to reset it by stopping and getting out of the car....buggeration factor but NOT criminal damage.

memsley89

Furry Mommy wrote:

nowadays I just use the helmet camera - down load the details and report it to the police

Too true, best (cheap asian DV cam from eBay) £10 i've ever spent... upon reflection you, albeit very occasionally, get the drivers perspective and can respect, if not condone, their actions.

However, if they've been a complete dingdong end, I'll catch up and tell them to search their number plate on google for the video...