Chasing down bad drivers

thelawnet
thelawnet Posts: 719
edited April 2011 in Commuting chat
Do you do this?

Had an eejit today, I was turning right from minor to major positioned on the right side of the lane, he pulled up alongside me on the left of the lane and turned right without signalling across me. Tried to chase him down but he went a different way, I was a bit annoyed.

Another one recently, a guy in an FU black Range Rover HSE pulling out of a gym driveway into a residential street, signed as a cycle route, I heard him coming as I approached revving his ridiculous engine, and moved over to the right of the lane because of the pedestrian refuge in the middle of the road, so he overtook on the other side of the island. Caught up with him at the end of the road where he was in a queue to turn right onto the busier road it was joining, normally would have waited in the queue, but instead I jumped in front of the queue to show Mr. Range Rover that driving like a pr1ck doesn't get you there any faster.
«13

Comments

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    I don't chase cars, dangerous when you already know they are a bad driver and have a 1.5tonne+ weapon in their hands.

    I will pass cars that drove like twits and make the point it was all in vain though.

    Simon
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • pastryboy
    pastryboy Posts: 1,385
    I once spat at a woman's car (mainly directed at the windscreen) as I was going to fast too stop and have a go at her. She was on my right and cut straight across me to get to a set of lights (on red) over to the left.

    I wouldn't chase after someone for driving badly unless it had put me (or someone else) clearly in harm's way.
  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    I have once.

    By the time I caught up with them I was too sweaty, knackered and out of breath to really get my point across as a well though out and persuasive argument.
    Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
    Race - Fuji Norcom Straight
    Sun - Cervelo R3
    Winter / Commute - Dolan ADX
  • dancook
    dancook Posts: 279
    I was about where this google van was

    http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 1,,0,12.81

    When an elderly lady pulled up to the junction on the left, hesitantly she edged.. and then just as I got near she pulled out on me.

    I chased after her with the intent of making myself visible in her rear view, so that she could see how close I was.

    It was a good way to burn off steam and adrenaline, I had no other intent -I'm quite laid back really.
  • kurako
    kurako Posts: 1,098
    Best to try to remain calm. They are just trying to steal your zen-like calm to make you as miserable as they are. If you get agitated and p!ssed off they have won.

    If you change your behaviour such as
    normally would have waited in the queue, but instead I jumped in front of the queue to show Mr. Range Rover that driving like a pr1ck doesn't get you there any faster
    you could just get into trouble. You ride the way you do for a reason, right.

    Last thing is there's not much point gesticulating or shouting at them. They tend to react in kind so rather than think about how dumb their driving is they just think about how the hate cyclists and we're all a bunch of caaaahhhhnnts.

    Best thing I find is just to give a puzzled look, a shake of the head and be on your way.
  • Wallace1492
    Wallace1492 Posts: 3,707
    For chasing down bad drivers, you should look up "megatron" on YouTube. He seems to make a career of it, though some are particularly bad drivers. Funny thing is though, he covers a lot of the same roads I do, but i have never had the same sort of incident he has!!

    Maybe the camera attracts the nonsense.....

    Cant access YouTube from work.... :x
    "Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"
  • Butterd2
    Butterd2 Posts: 937
    I did this recently coming round the one way by Tower Bridge, guy in a car was upset at being stuck behind me and firstly hooted then drove past too close and cut in deliberately.

    Unfortunately he then turned onto Alie St which I knew had a set of lights at the end so I chased him down there and sure enough he was stopped by the lights. I asked him if he's done that on purpose and he said yes I was in his way so after a couple of expletives I folded in his near side wing mirror.
    He shouted "do that again and I'll smash your face off" which I thought was an interesting response so I unfolded and refolded his mirror. Sadly the lights then changed and declining my offer to hop out he drove off.
    Not very grown up I'll admit but I'm not going to be bullied.
    Scott CR-1 (FCN 4)
    Pace RC200 FG Conversion (FCN 5)
    Giant Trance X

    My collection of Cols
  • kurako
    kurako Posts: 1,098
    For chasing down bad drivers, you should look up "megatron" on YouTube. He seems to make a career of it, though some are particularly bad drivers. Funny thing is though, he covers a lot of the same roads I do, but i have never had the same sort of incident he has!!

    Maybe the camera attracts the nonsense.....

    Cant access YouTube from work.... :x

    Magnatom surely? He's from up your way. I'm surprised you've not seen him about (or on STV).
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    Kurako wrote:
    For chasing down bad drivers, you should look up "megatron" on YouTube. He seems to make a career of it, though some are particularly bad drivers. Funny thing is though, he covers a lot of the same roads I do, but i have never had the same sort of incident he has!!

    Maybe the camera attracts the nonsense.....

    Cant access YouTube from work.... :x

    Magnatom surely? He's from up your way. I'm surprised you've not seen him about (or on STV).

    Oh. God. Him. :?
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • If a careless driver gives me a near-miss then I'll (where safe) swing right into their mirrors so they might think "oh crap, I nearly killed a cyclist" and be more careful in future.

    If a bad motorist deliberately gives me a near miss then I'll chase them a bit if I have a chance of getting right in their mirrors so they can see that a large, angry cyclist might be about to pull them out of their car.

    I have been a shouty, sweary cyclist in the past but like most people on here I came to realise that it's pointless making a scene since any witnesses just see a tool in lycra having a tantrum.

    Mudguard Nazi, FCN 10
  • Pufftmw
    Pufftmw Posts: 1,941
    Cycling down a narrow street with cars parked on both sides but quite swiftly, car comes up behind me and toots for me to get out the way - like where to? Nowhere to pull over anyway :roll:

    I just slow down deliberately and turn to look at him, then cycle slowly on until it the road opened and it was safe to pull over and let him pass....
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    I generally find that in and around London the traffic is such that you inevitably catch up with twats without even trying as usually they hit traffic a few metres down the road. Even if you want to avoid them. It generally just illustrates that idiocy doesn't get you anywhere fast...
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • Wallace1492
    Wallace1492 Posts: 3,707
    Kurako wrote:
    For chasing down bad drivers, you should look up "megatron" on YouTube. He seems to make a career of it, though some are particularly bad drivers. Funny thing is though, he covers a lot of the same roads I do, but i have never had the same sort of incident he has!!

    Maybe the camera attracts the nonsense.....

    Cant access YouTube from work.... :x

    Magnatom surely? He's from up your way. I'm surprised you've not seen him about (or on STV).

    Oh. God. Him. :?

    That's the boy!! Yes, apparantly he was on TV not long ago.

    You heard of him Kieran?
    "Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    I've watched his vids on youtube - really comes across as a self-righteous type, and just seems to get into trouble all the time.
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • Wallace1492
    Wallace1492 Posts: 3,707
    I've watched his vids on youtube - really comes across as a self-righteous type, and just seems to get into trouble all the time.

    Absolutely. Never seen someone have as many issues on a commute as he does. All on my route as well. I have the occassional incident, but only now and then....
    "Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    I chased down a couple of guys in a Smart car once, after they took the corner off a van on New Kings Road and then drove off. Kept them talking long enough for the van driver to pick up the pieces and then catch up with us. The van driver was quite grateful, the guys in the Smart less so...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    I've watched his vids on youtube - really comes across as a self-righteous type, and just seems to get into trouble all the time.

    Absolutely. Never seen someone have as many issues on a commute as he does. All on my route as well. I have the occassional incident, but only now and then....

    I was going to say he a self-righteoous arrogant aggressive pr*ck but I didn't want to appear to be rude. So I didn't.
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • Origamist
    Origamist Posts: 807
    I've watched his vids on youtube - really comes across as a self-righteous type, and just seems to get into trouble all the time.

    Absolutely. Never seen someone have as many issues on a commute as he does. All on my route as well. I have the occassional incident, but only now and then....

    From his blog - doesn't seem that he has that many incidents:
    Actually I don't, and the majority of the incidents I do have are relatively minor. By that I mean, although my safety might have been compromised, it was not seriously so. If i didn't have these incidents recorded I would probably forget about them. However, I post them, just to show what happens to cyclists on the road.
    As well as this a good number of my videos are about other things, such as heavy rain, other cyclists, people weeing in cycle lanes etc. So it turns out that I have incidents (most of which are minor) on about 3% of my commutes. So not as many as it might appear.It also fluctuates. Towards the end of 2008 I had a long period of about 3 months where virtually nothing happened that endangered me (apart from one door opening but that was a young girl, so all was forgiven!). I cycled exactly the same way during those 3 months as I normally do.
    http://www.magnatom.net/2009/01/magnatom-faq.html
  • cee
    cee Posts: 4,553
    I dont want to let the idiots steal my mojo.....so i just laugh. If i do respond...its usually with a big thumbs up, or something equally sarcastic as i pass them further down the road. To be honest...I have noticed myself being more annoyed with other cyclists than car drivers recently though.....there seem to be loads more tha usual bikes on the road in the last week or so....silly season must be approaching.

    Magnatom....in fairness...the one with the HGV on the roundabout was a shocker...i almost soiled my shorts just watching the video......

    Not sure if there was anything he could have done to avoid it or not though.

    I do get the impression that having a camera *can* encourage some people to ride into stuff, that others among us would just anticipate and avoid, because, they are technically in the right, and have the video footage to prove it!

    c
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • Wallace1492
    Wallace1492 Posts: 3,707
    Origamist wrote:
    I've watched his vids on youtube - really comes across as a self-righteous type, and just seems to get into trouble all the time.

    Absolutely. Never seen someone have as many issues on a commute as he does. All on my route as well. I have the occassional incident, but only now and then....

    From his blog - doesn't seem that he has that many incidents:
    Actually I don't, and the majority of the incidents I do have are relatively minor. By that I mean, although my safety might have been compromised, it was not seriously so. If i didn't have these incidents recorded I would probably forget about them. However, I post them, just to show what happens to cyclists on the road.
    As well as this a good number of my videos are about other things, such as heavy rain, other cyclists, people weeing in cycle lanes etc. So it turns out that I have incidents (most of which are minor) on about 3% of my commutes. So not as many as it might appear.It also fluctuates. Towards the end of 2008 I had a long period of about 3 months where virtually nothing happened that endangered me (apart from one door opening but that was a young girl, so all was forgiven!). I cycled exactly the same way during those 3 months as I normally do.
    http://www.magnatom.net/2009/01/magnatom-faq.html

    Very interesting! Never seen his Blog, so will have a look tonight.... (can't access though firewall)
    "Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"
  • georgee
    georgee Posts: 537
    Twice I've chased down Foxtons minis to have 'discussions' with their driver. Always at the same junction and in both cases they cut me and others up to get across to sit in front of a red light. Muppets.

    I've never had the full blown confrontation, I am sure one day it'll have one.

    The best i've had is a idiot beeping at me to get out the way furiously going nuts. 300m up the road he's stuck in traffic so I made a comment as I passed. then I found him blocking a bike lane so asked him for more space. I swear he was about to have a heart attack with his rage.
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    I chased one once after being cut up at a pinch-point, and caught him - turned out to be her - at the next but one junction after following the slow-moving traffic for maybe half a mile.

    Halfway through the usual cr@p - you don't pay road tax, you're not traffic [Yes I do, yes I am, doesn't mean you can try to run me down anyway] - I got fed up so leaned in, took the cigarette out of her fingers and threw it away for her. I've never seen that combination of shock, outrage and horror on one face anywhere else. Mad old bag.

    Then I left the scene, lost her in heavy traffic.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    I've had a few drivers who after a bad manouvre on me have had a fenix in their mirror.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • magnatom
    magnatom Posts: 492
    I was going to say he a self-righteoous arrogant aggressive pr*ck but I didn't want to appear to be rude. So I didn't.

    I'm quite happy to meet up sometime if you are interested in sharing information on the route and telling me this to my face.
  • magnatom
    magnatom Posts: 492
    Oops! Got mixed up! Your not from Glasgow. Still, I'm always happy to hear peoples view face to face. :)
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    magnatom wrote:
    Oops! Got mixed up! Your not from Glasgow. Still, I'm always happy to hear peoples view face to face. :)

    I think KB is from somewhere near the south coast isn't he? One of you has a long ride ahead of you...
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • magnatom
    magnatom Posts: 492
    magnatom wrote:
    Oops! Got mixed up! Your not from Glasgow. Still, I'm always happy to hear peoples view face to face. :)

    I think KB is from somewhere near the south coast isn't he? One of you has a long ride ahead of you...

    I'm looking to do a long ride for charity at some point! :)
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    magnatom wrote:
    magnatom wrote:
    Oops! Got mixed up! Your not from Glasgow. Still, I'm always happy to hear peoples view face to face. :)

    I think KB is from somewhere near the south coast isn't he? One of you has a long ride ahead of you...

    I'm looking to do a long ride for charity at some point! :)

    May be you could meet in the Midlands somewhere...
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • magnatom
    magnatom Posts: 492
    magnatom wrote:
    magnatom wrote:
    Oops! Got mixed up! Your not from Glasgow. Still, I'm always happy to hear peoples view face to face. :)

    I think KB is from somewhere near the south coast isn't he? One of you has a long ride ahead of you...

    I'm looking to do a long ride for charity at some point! :)

    May be you could meet in the Midlands somewhere...

    I'll bring the duelling pistols! :shock:
  • Clever Pun
    Clever Pun Posts: 6,778
    Butterd2 wrote:
    He shouted "do that again and I'll smash your face off" which I thought was an interesting response so I unfolded and refolded his mirror. Sadly the lights then changed and declining my offer to hop out he drove off.
    Not very grown up I'll admit but I'm not going to be bullied.

    :lol:

    I've seen a few people mention the twat tax which involves knocking off someone's wing mirror, not big or clever imo, but sadly for some it's the only language they understand (both cyclist and driver)
    Purveyor of sonic doom

    Very Hairy Roadie - FCN 4
    Fixed Pista- FCN 5
    Beared Bromptonite - FCN 14