Should I report this city employee?
 

I was in the left lane of a four lane road (2 lanes each way). Traffic wasn't very heavy. There were cars parked on the curb lane. A driver of a city government vehicle, came up behind me and started honking his horn. He passed me and then he started gesturing me towards the sidewalk. I caught up with him a couple lights later, and he shouted, "F*** you! get on the sidewalk". I got his license plate number and am debating whether to call the city about this city employee. I'm pretty sure he was the same driver that buzzed me earlier on my ride. Report or not?

Do it.

Yes.

Noise-cancelling headphones are more useful than reporting clowns to the circus.

Report!

I've done this a few times, and to be clear have limited expectations on the response, but things will never change if we stay silent with hateful people .... especially when they get paid with our tax money.

FWIW - I've been using a GoPro on my rides for many years and I really enjoy posting short edits with this type of behavior to YouTube and share it to cities/companies. I figure there's some documented in the public domain if someone get hurt or killed by the same hateful person. My all time favorite was an unmarked police car that tried to use his vehicle, with lights on, to intimidate me (steering into me at an intersection), I had the GoPro mounted on my helmet and leaned down so he could see it ... quickly, he had something better to do than harassing a person biking to work. And that was the day my SD card corrupted and I had no footage.

I wouldn't expect anything to come of it, but report him anyway. You don't hit critical mass of reports if nobody adds mass!

Report him. Nothing may come of it, but nothing will if you don't. At the least his employer will inform him and that may be enough to make him think twice next time about his actions.

I was going to say forget it, until you mentioned the prior buzzing. Assuming that means an illegal and/or dangerously close pass, that's a whole 'nother level. Report that.

If an "accident" occurs in the future with the same driver, having that documented somewhere could be useful.

Report it.

Don't forget the date, time, the location and which direction you were headed.

I would go to your local advocacy group. I am guessing it is Queen City. Ask them to advocate on your behalf. They might be able to leverage it for a city wide training program or something bigger than a single complaint. Also they may know about other instances that could be helpful in their approach.

Do it. Unless the "city employe" was a police officer.

It's difficult to sanction a public employee for incompetence but it's very easy to do so for violation of "standards of conduct" or whatever the government entity calls it. Public employees are usually very courteous, IME. This one obviously wasn't, report him.

As a long time municipal employee and department head, I say report him. While most likely nothing will happen with one complaint and no video evidence, if there are multiple complaints on the same individual it would help in any discipline action.

I'd report him just because..... which part of side-WALK is hardest to understand?
Which part of the rules of the road is he unclear of? pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles ALWAYS get the right of way. Do you have streets that are marked no Bicycles?

Boring Anecdote....
A long time ago, maybe 30 years, I rode down the sidewalk in Bellevue Washington, right in front of the Police Department. There was an intersection light and it turned green and I kept going through the crosswalk.
Next I hear a woop-woop and a "bicyclist pull-over"
There was a Bellevue City Motorcycle Cop chasing me down the sidewalk on his motorcycle.
I got a ticket for riding on the sidewalk and not walking my bike across the cross walk.

I never learned my lesson.
Moral being, some places it is against the law to ride on the sidewalk. The street is where wheels belong... but again, I never learned my lesson so.....

I know some of you don’t put in your location because, well. This is a good example for why having your location in your profile is a good thing. Try it out.

As mush as we would like to think otherwise a Snitch is a Snitch, often more trouble than they are worth...

Be selective in choosing this role. It's not for everybody...

Definitely report anybody driving a company or city vehicle. They are representing whoever owns that logo on the side of the truck and I'm sure their boss would love to know what kind of people work for them.

The OP's role is as a road user and taxpayer.

Absolutely! Furthermore, shoot down 4 more and you are an ace.

Most larger agencies have a safety officer of some type that would be interested in this type of harassment by a government employee.
Be concise and polite in your complaint.

Btw, informants are highly valued in law enforcement circles.
Are you in high school trying to pull one on the teacher or are you a citizen that actually gives a damn about your country?

In Chicago, headphones are technically illegal. Bike messengers may wear one earbud to receive radio messages, but "noise-cancelling" says they're in both ears. That's taking a big risk in traffic.

Twenty years ago, when I started commuting to work by bike in Chicago, I would receive that sort of abuse. But I have to say it's been ten or fifteen years since anybody yelled at me to get off the street. Chicago has become fairly bike-friendly. NB: it's illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in Chicago if (IIRC) you're over twelve years old.

Just to make sure we're reading this correctly: it was two lanes on your side of the street, the right lane was blocked with parked cars, but the other vehicle passed you? Or were you staying in the left lane because occasionally cars would be parked here and there in that right lane, and you wanted to avoid going in and out of the #1 lane?

It's tough for cyclists (or any occupant of a lane) if going slower than the rate of travel for other vehicles in that lane. No real way to "win" in that situation, as in the eyes of others we're blocking the flow of traffic. To an extent, they're correct. Being in the #1 lane when two lanes are available prompts such a response from other drivers. Still, it needs to be balanced with the risk of going in and out of the #1 lane if the #2 lane is occasionally blocked with other vehicles; which might well mean the #1 lane is the only safe lane for a cyclist along that stretch.

Still, NOTHING justifies an angry and retaliatory "F you" response. Even less so from anybody representing someone else's organization ... a company vehicle, a city vehicle, etc. If you've got the plate number, I'd summarize and report in writing to the city. That sort of response in a driver shows a level of angry aggression not compatible with driving a vehicle on public roads. At minimum, sanction by the organization and getting it on the person's "company" record would be worthwhile, serving as notice that such crap won't be tolerated by the organization. Of course, as the accuser, you get to document who you are ... and that might well get back to the aggressor; something to consider. Still, a bully's a bully. Up to you.

Report him if you want for cussing you out and being technically wrong but you are being antagonistic with your lane choice and what happens when he sees you again after he gets called on the carpet?

Don't !
A famous sage once said that holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned...
Breathe, put a smile and go out for a very slow ride and enjoy all the cagers who get angry at you while you're riding your bicycle :thumb: