Drivers who threaten Cyclists

Crispyapp

This is a hard situation to be in tbh. I think you have done the right thing and stayed quiet. You never know what other people will do when there rattled especially when they have stopped and got out the car. My advice would be to still report this situation to the police. If you haven't, then call them now whilst its still fresh in your mind. As for the camera, more commuters wear them these days because of this problem. But there is nothing to say he wouldn't of seen it and then ripped it from your bars and smashed it.

mallorcajeff

symo wrote:

Coach H wrote:

Moral, you never know who you might be taking on if things resort to violence therefore its ALWAYS best to aviod it.

This

Not to go too off topic but reminds me of this video been doing the rounds lately!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx8KSIDiEWs

AlexMac1973

mallorcajeff wrote:

symo wrote:

Coach H wrote:

Moral, you never know who you might be taking on if things resort to violence therefore its ALWAYS best to aviod it.

This

Not to go too off topic but reminds me of this video been doing the rounds lately!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx8KSIDiEWs

I know I shouldn't have laughed, but that was hilarious.

AlexMac1973

Crispyapp wrote:

This is a hard situation to be in tbh. I think you have done the right thing and stayed quiet. You never know what other people will do when there rattled especially when they have stopped and got out the car. My advice would be to still report this situation to the police. If you haven't, then call them now whilst its still fresh in your mind. As for the camera, more commuters wear them these days because of this problem. But there is nothing to say he wouldn't of seen it and then ripped it from your bars and smashed it.

The thing is I learned my lesson years ago, my mouth would engage before brain! :roll:

I'm a lot more calculated than I used to be, I've learnt that brain will always conquer brawn (eventually!). It has helped that I used to be a pub & hotel manager over the years, you learn to be more eloquent with your choice of words given the situation.

Crispyapp

AlexMac1973 wrote:

Crispyapp wrote:

This is a hard situation to be in tbh. I think you have done the right thing and stayed quiet. You never know what other people will do when there rattled especially when they have stopped and got out the car. My advice would be to still report this situation to the police. If you haven't, then call them now whilst its still fresh in your mind. As for the camera, more commuters wear them these days because of this problem. But there is nothing to say he wouldn't of seen it and then ripped it from your bars and smashed it.

The thing is I learned my lesson years ago, my mouth would engage before brain! :roll:

I'm a lot more calculated than I used to be, I've learnt that brain will always conquer brawn (eventually!). It has helped that I used to be a pub & hotel manager over the years, you learn to be more eloquent with your choice of words given the situation.

Yes where as I'm the opposite and would probably of smacked him and then asked what the f*** he thought he was doing.... :evil:

Buckie2k5

DanDax1990 wrote:

Since when did being tall and weighty mean you can take on anyone? Oh my.

The majority of tall/stocky men seem to think they're automatically 'nails'

its actually the other way about, short men think there hard and give it all the talk. thats called small man syndrome.

Being tall and stocky doesnt make me think im a "nail" but if i get in to an argument its usually enough to deter them from trying to punch me.

Monty Dog

I used to ride with an Army guy - he was once confronted by three builders in a truck who were trying to force him off his bike on a country road. He stopped in front of the truck and did a complete loopy on them, saying he was Special Forces trained in unarmed combat and invited them to 'have a go' - they sat in their truck and phoned the police saying they were being 'threatened' by a cyclist in lycra!

A clubmate was out riding and had an altercation with a guy on a motorbike - the biker stopped astride his bike mouthing-off. Ex-weightlifter clubmate pushes him and his bike over, leaving him pinned to the road and simply rode-off

Bustacapp

DanDax1990 wrote:

I'd rather take Bas Ruttens advice than yours, Dangity dangity dang!

What would happen then if the guy you take on is at Ruttens level?

Coach H

Bustacapp wrote:

DanDax1990 wrote:

I'd rather take Bas Ruttens advice than yours, Dangity dangity dang!

What would happen then if the guy you take on is at Ruttens level?

Plenty of Bas Rutten wannabe's get the living daylights kicked out of them every saturday night in marketplaces all over the country :roll: A few years ago I witnessed a young guy (probably watched loads of MMA on TV and about 22 ) taking up a Muay Thai stance, the 50ish year old good old boy hard man he was taking on stated something like "That oriental $h*t doesn't impress me sonny" before flooring him with an uppercut to the abdomen and strolling off without a care in the world.

I say again; you have know idea who you are taking on until its too late!

kingofthetailwind

Coach H wrote:

before flooring him with an uppercut to the abdomen

Liver shot? Rutten's speciality. Sure it wasn't him?!

BowtomePhil

This is not unique to cyclists. I have been chased a few times when I am in the car and they are.

Nutters are nutters.

robertsims

Guanajuato wrote:

mallorcajeff wrote:

After it was settled I took great privelegde in walking back to my bike clipping in and slowly peddling off looking at him searchign for his van keys that somehow ended up in my pocket whislt he was rummiging in the back of his van for what turned out to be a large spanner.

Now THAT'S funny!

SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

de_sisti

Coach H wrote:

A few years ago I witnessed a young guy (probably watched loads of MMA on TV and about 22 ) taking up a Muay Thai stance, the 50ish year old good old boy hard man he was taking on stated something like "That oriental $h*t doesn't impress me sonny" before flooring him with an uppercut to the abdomen and strolling off without a care in the world.

I say again; you have know idea who you are taking on until its too late!

If you adopt a stance to show that you can look after yourself, I would imagine in most situations that it would
deter the other party from having a go. However, if they don't back down, you've got to be prepared to show
what you've got.

On an occasion when a motorist went for me (I was crossing a narrow road and he came screening around
a corner) with the intention of grabbing me and perhaps punching me, I remembered what a friend of mine
who's pretty handy in unarmed stuff told me; he said that if you can't get away then forget about queensbury
rules and all that, it's about survival. As the chap went to grab me I instinctively grabbed his wrist, and bit
as hard as I could on one of his fingers. I didn't let go until he screamed "stop it, stop it". I was frightened,
but as he walked away calling me all names under the sun, I knew he'd think twice before being aggressive to
someone much smaller than himself.

(I was wearing my thick, heavy coat with a bag strapped over my shoulder at the time, so I wasn't in a
position to run away when he got out of his car to confront me).

SaddleBags

De Sisti wrote:

As the chap went to grab me I instinctively grabbed his wrist, and bit
as hard as I could on one of his fingers. I didn't let go until he screamed "stop it, stop it".

That's hilarious, good job!
(though I suppose you're lucky he didn't completely lose it and start kicking 7 bells out of you!)

I find if it all gets out of hand, without doubt, the best self defence move when threatened by much bigger/stronger/more aggressive people, is "Poo Finger".
Stick your middle finger up your own @rse and point it at them, as if it was a loaded gun ...then watch them back off.

I think that's why we have fingerless mitts...

wheezee

Not easy wearing bibs.

proto

Don't do this if wearing mittens. It might make your bum sore.

de_sisti

SaddleBags wrote:

(though I suppose you're lucky he didn't completely lose it and start kicking 7 bells out of you!)
.

You're right, he could have leathered me, but sometimes you either can't help yourself, or weigh up the
situation and think that you've got to stick up for yourself.

dai_t75

SaddleBags wrote:

RobertSims wrote:

As the chap went to grab me I instinctively grabbed his wrist, and bit
as hard as I could on one of his fingers. I didn't let go until he screamed "stop it, stop it".

That's hilarious, good job!
(though I suppose you're lucky he didn't completely lose it and start kicking 7 bells out of you!)

I find if it all gets out of hand, without doubt, the best self defence move when threatened by much bigger/stronger/more aggressive people, is "Poo Finger".
Stick your middle finger up your own @rse and point it at them, as if it was a loaded gun ...then watch them back off.

I think that's why we have fingerless mitts...

fantastic, had me in stitches! I can just imagine their face when you do it

I would like to think I would be in the keep quiet and carry on camp, but I haven't got the longest of fuses. Although reading this thread has definitely made me lean more to just getting on with it.

The Ors

wheezee wrote:

Not easy wearing bibs.

That's why I always ride 'pre-pooed'!

Phil Fouracre

Too much tension!! relax, life is too short. Riders saying they have a short fuse or can't control themselves are just as bad as drivers who lose it

wheezee

Quite. We're the same people. Only in slightly different situations.

Drivers get equally riled with other drivers. It's not them and us. It's them and everybody else. As cyclists we're in more danger from the situation, so we're naturally more alarmed by it.

Sometimes of course, when we're behind the wheel, Us are Them.

The Faecal Finger should only be used as a weapon of last resort.

de_sisti

Phil Fouracre wrote:

Too much tension!! relax, life is too short. Riders saying they have a short fuse or can't control themselves are just as bad as drivers who lose it

Have you ever "lost it" during your entire life, in any situation?

Thelittlesthobo

Hmmm, I have gone through the aggression phase and now I am in the let it be camp. My story comes from a year or so ago.

I have had 2 yrs plus of recovery from a knee injury which basically I am pretty unsteady on. I am not a shrinking violet at 5'10 and 13-14st depending on time of the year. I am also quite used to a bit of physical rough stuff so know my limits etc.

Anyhow I was nearing the end of a winter solo ride and coming to a mini roundabout and turning right. With about 10-15yds to go I indicated turning right. I was just about to put the hand back on the bar to turn right when a car flew past me and clipped my hand, thus overtaking me on the roundabout. If I had turned I would have been under his wheels.

I shouted and gestured my displeasure and this car stopped 20yds further up the road. I went up to the car and angrily told the guy what I thought of him. He argued I indicated late but as is the law, it doesn't matter if I had stripped naked, danced a jig and took a dump, this doesn't allow him to overtake on the roundabout. What if I had for some reason just fell off?

His partner was also giving it some so it ended in me telling them both they needed a trip to the local asylum. Then the guy got out. I think he would have made Hightower look small. He looked down on me and I stood my ground. He started getting physical and I ended up with a bust nose. A bus had stopped so I had about 30 witness's. I also had a community nurse come over and give her details as a witness.

I didn't take it any further because I deemed it a good lesson to myself to calm down and hoped the guy may have thought about it later.

The bust nose was nothing but the guy would have mashed me if he had wanted to. Be carefull out there.

verylonglegs

I find it a little strange that the guy clearly doesn't know how (or care) to drive safely and is also willing to use violence when out of the car yet you take it as a lesson learned for yourself :? Just how much damage would he have been allowed to do to you until you considered he overstepped the mark?!

Briggo

Thelittlesthobo wrote:

I didn't take it any further because I deemed it a good lesson to myself to calm down and hoped the guy may have thought about it later.

The bust nose was nothing but the guy would have mashed me if he had wanted to. Be carefull out there.

He may have thought about it later, such as some idiot on a bike tried it on with me I pummeled him and got away with it, get in.

Thelittlesthobo

Very true. I considered that. Hoped that he didn't, that's all

diy

Here is a different perspective: I was out riding on box hill, surrey yesterday, near the top, a group of about 10 riders drifted out of the eating area, made no attemp to be considerate of those already on the road, proceeded to chat and wobble about all over the road as the warmed up. They forced oncoming cars to slow down, and upcoming cyclist to wait. They eventually sorted themselves out and I was able to pass. Once they got the group organised they cought me up and instead of getting on with it, just swallowed me in to their group assuming I wouldn't mind them riding 2" from my wheels. I slowed down dropped out of the back and then passed them again because they were riding too slow. My point is plenty of cyclists ride like this and it frustrates the hell out of drivers. It's no wonder some of them get a bit pissy with us.

Gweny

Not threatened as such, but yesterday i got told "i give cyclists a bad name".

STATIONARY waiting at a train crossing, i was "taking up the space of a car" by waiting in the middle of the road instead of the gutter...

I informed the 2 idiots that i have as much right as they do on the road, and that i would not be pushed to the side of the road so they could move forward 1 meter and give me inches to spare.

They cared that much they drove up almost next to me on the other side of the road!

The mentaility of "i'm bigger than you, move out my way" is amazing!

bernithebiker

I've had several incidents like this and give hand signals, and sometimes get them back from the driver. So I put on my crazy face, put out my 450 watts and give chase to the car screaming 'Come on then!'. It kind of freaks them out, and they p1ss off quickly!

So far so good, maybe one day it'll be a prop forward in the car who'll stop, and them I'm in the sh1t 'cos I'm only 5'8 and 63kg! (but I do have sharp teeth...)

greggbaker

Makes perfect sense to ignore and walk away, as my dad always said there's always someone bigger and harder!!!
BUT, sometimes you can't help it. Had a van nearly stick me in the hedge the other day and I lost the fcuking plot. Caught up with him, had a QUIET word and he apologised. Was so pumped up I moved 20 places up the Strava section I was on.

Only problem is if I were to jump off my bike and have a go, cleats on Tarmac would mean I'd fight like Bambi on ice!!! Not good at all. So i've decided, if it ever happens I'm just gonna kick them in spuds and cycle off. Don't know of any man who can take a swift one in the plums and go 12 rounds!!!!!