Should I report this city employee?
#51
Likes For teejaywhy:
#52
Report to the authorities. Get a case number, to ensure a report is actually recorded, and then follow up on it.
Telling his boss isn't likely to have the employee held accountable, as it would only make the boss look bad too. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to bury any incident internally.
Drivers like this are eventually going to kill someone, and that needs to be pointed out to the authorities. The authorities need to start taking killing people on bicycles seriously.
If you get resistance or "eye rolls" from the authorities, I would ask them: if they were on a bicycle, and were screamed at, yelled at, threatened, by someone operating a motor vehicle... how would they deal with that? Is your life less important than theirs?
Telling his boss isn't likely to have the employee held accountable, as it would only make the boss look bad too. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to bury any incident internally.
Drivers like this are eventually going to kill someone, and that needs to be pointed out to the authorities. The authorities need to start taking killing people on bicycles seriously.
If you get resistance or "eye rolls" from the authorities, I would ask them: if they were on a bicycle, and were screamed at, yelled at, threatened, by someone operating a motor vehicle... how would they deal with that? Is your life less important than theirs?
#55
Been Around Awhile
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Burlington Iowa
Posts: 30,119
Bikes: Vaterland and Ragazzi
Liked 1,650 Times
in
1,111 Posts
#56
Tragically Ignorant
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,612
Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM
Liked 9,103 Times
in
5,054 Posts
Sure just like every bicyclist who violates any traffic regulation or witness' delicate sensibilities. Shouldn't all adult bicyclists be required to wear large identifying plates with their name and employer's telephone number so anybody who witnesses anything that they think is a traffic violation or not "proper" can be reported to the same authorities, both police and employer?
Wow, that's a stretch. Obviously someone mishandling a motor vehicle is clearly a bigger threat to the general safety than anyone on a bicycle who isn't actually wielding a weapon. This is why all trucks and cars have identification plates and the drivers are required to be licensed. Your false equivalency posts, and you make them a lot, all ignore this rather obvious fact. Several tons of metal that can be brought up to very high rates of speed are always going to be a bigger threat than up to about 300 pounds of bicycle and rider limited to probably about 20 mph. When someone is yelling, swearing and honking at you from a moving motor vehicle, it's again a very fine line to a threat with a deadly weapon.
Company and government vehicles are often not just wearing a name plate, they're usually actually numbered. Employers don't want their drivers acting as bad will ambassadors to the public or, worse yet, running around potentially incurring liability on the employer's part so, yes, if you drive around like a knucklehead in a company/department vehicle, you should take for granted that people are going to know who you are and who to complain to; That's literally how the system is designed to work.
You want to discuss seriously whether delivery cyclists on powered bikes should be required to wear something indicating who they're working for, that's actually a serious question, but your straw man here is just a totally misfired analogy.
Last edited by livedarklions; 10-25-21 at 07:36 AM.
#57
Tragically Ignorant
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,612
Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM
Liked 9,103 Times
in
5,054 Posts
I know a pretty funny anecdote about a driver who was unlucky enough to have done this to the guy who maintains the cops' bike fleet right in front of a cop. I'm not sure what eventually happened to the guy, but the cops did make him get out of his car.
#59
Newbie
Join Date: Jul 2021
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Absolutely report him
Absolutely report the incident. Sounds like the employee should get reprimanded for his actions and language used. I imagine the taxpayers would have a problem paying to support a position that employs someone who doesn't reflect the city in a positive light.
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?
#61
Senior Age Man In Lycra
Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 20
Bikes: Trek Domane
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times
in
4 Posts
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?
#62
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: So Cal
Posts: 119
Bikes: Pinarello; Canyon; Lauf
Liked 48 Times
in
38 Posts
I work for a large government agency and we often forget that we are accountable to the denizens of the city that we work in. Please report this city employee. He will get a call from his personnel division for a report and will most likely get reprimanded, deservedly.
#63
Senior Member
I once saw a guy in a company environmental truck with a number and a phone on the back throw trash out while waiting for a red light. Trash pisses me off, so I called the company and reported the truck with the number, i was nice but explained it didnt make since for their employee to be throwing trash out on the ground when their whole business was to keep stuff clean. she agreed and said it would be taken care of. a couple of weeks later i saw the same truck at a light and the driver actually got out of the truck and picked up some trash next to the truck that wasn’t his.
sometimes things get corrected. but they cant correct anything if they don’t know about it.
sometimes things get corrected. but they cant correct anything if they don’t know about it.
Likes For RoadKill:
#64
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Fort Wayne, IN
Posts: 464
Bikes: No. 22 Bicycle Great Divide, Lynskey R260, Salsa Colossal Ti, Litespeed T5, Lynskey Peloton, Bianchi Vigorelli, CAAD 10, Giant FastRoad CoMax 1, C-Dale Quick 1
Liked 36 Times
in
18 Posts
No no no. ESPECIALLY if it is a police officer. We were on group ride once (5 cyclists) and a cop pulled us over for road violation. Tried to educate him on state cycling law, but he was having not of that. Contacted Chief of Police, got a well meant apology and the officer was "educated."
#65
Full Member
Report.
#66
Full Member
THis was a citizen, being harrased (dangerously) by a public employee.
Likes For dkatz1:
#67
Full Member
And dad summit, on a bike, it's GOOD (maybe even safe!) to be able to hear what's going on around you.
Likes For dkatz1:
#68
Full Member
It's "alternate" facts. It exists only in your febrile imagination.
Last edited by dkatz1; 10-25-21 at 12:45 PM.
#70
Full Member
Sure just like every bicyclist who violates any traffic regulation or witness' delicate sensibilities. Shouldn't all adult bicyclists be required to wear large identifying plates with their name and employer's telephone number so anybody who witnesses anything that they think is a traffic violation or not "proper" can be reported to the same authorities, both police and employer?
Likes For dkatz1:
#71
Junior Member
check your state, county & city cyclihg statutes.....and, as I'm thinking of most state statutes have cars giving at least a 3' room, then report to both city AND police.
#72
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bastrop Texas
Posts: 4,771
Bikes: Univega, Peu P6, Peu PR-10, Ted Williams, Peu UO-8, Peu UO-18 Mixte, Peu Dolomites
Liked 1,846 Times
in
1,183 Posts
In the 60s there was an article in the San Antonio Light newspaper. It was about a city employee who got out of line with a driver upset about a nonworking back hoe operator eating his lunch while blocking traffic. Horns were blaring sp the upset backhoe operator started making threatening gestures with the bucket at the stationary cars. There were reports and memos circulated but really nothing happened. Then two weeks latter the back hoe operator was found outside his residence with both knee caps capped. I think back and it could have gone many other ways.
Getting back to the OP if reporting this guy will actually precipitate a change I could see doing it. But if not then not...
Getting back to the OP if reporting this guy will actually precipitate a change I could see doing it. But if not then not...
__________________
No matter where you're at... There you are... Δf:=f(1/2)-f(-1/2)
No matter where you're at... There you are... Δf:=f(1/2)-f(-1/2)
#73
Been Around Awhile
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Burlington Iowa
Posts: 30,119
Bikes: Vaterland and Ragazzi
Liked 1,650 Times
in
1,111 Posts
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?
#74
Senior Member
Skip City, cops. Hope you got the license. He could have caused a crash. And that attitude is not a good thing to have in a city worker.