epnnf

What can we do when, a car passes us, but trying to come as close to us as possible? It's intentional that they miss us by inches. They try to run us off the road. Sometimes they say something. If we get angry, catch them at the light and yell at them, they laugh- it's just what they want. I guess you're supposed to smile/wave, but that's really hard when you almost just got killed. Do we have any options?

10 Wheels

Get the license plate no. Call the police.

topeka111

Calmly call 911 with a description of the vehicle. Explain that you were intentionally run off the road. You might ruin their whole day.

talleymonster

break their side mirror off and ride off into an alley or some other area that they cannot follow.


Seriously, like the others said. Call the cops. Maybe they'll get caught down the road, maybe they wont. But I'd love to see their face if they did get pulled over!

topeka111

If the cops are bored and the dude in the car has an attitude (which he does or he wouldn't be assaulting a guy on a bicycle) it can get real ugly for the perp!

Sianelle 

It is best to simply take no notice. You could pray for them perhaps and I often find a cheery, 'Bless you' works well in most situations.

jsmithepa

"Call the police" totally waste of time. Unless yer can prove that you are actually suffered injury, the police has better thing to do.

911 - STOP already, the 911 system is innundated with frivorous calls. They are short of people to handle ACTUAL emergencies. Stop being such whinners.

REAL Alternative - Pick car-les trails, or MOVE. Really, lots of bike-friendly cities.

xenologer

If they're close enough to actually run you off the road...
they're close enough for you to reach over with your multitool and key the side of the car as they go by?
Tho I wouldn't try that unless they were actually yelling stuff as they pass... might just be a old guy who's blind and doesn't know how wide his car is...

Rogue Leader

Carry a Gun...

Nothing says "I love you" like a few rounds through the trunklid!

StephenH

Mount big spikes all over your bicycle. Then if they run you over, they'll get flat tires, and it'll serve 'em right.

topeka111

"It's INTENTIONAL that they miss us by INCHES. They try to RUN US OFF THE ROAD"

Frivolous ??

If I want to be treated seriously while sharing the road with automobiles I shouldn't ignore blatent
assault??

jsmithepa

If this was a one time occurrence, u have thin skin.

If this is a repeat occurrence, with the same guy, yes u should do something (not 911).

If this is a repeat occurrence with different cars, u gotta ask yourself whether u want to live there or are u doing something to attract negative attention.


Repeat what I post earlier, some kids yelled at me when they pass, Mom stopped car and commanded kids to apologize. Come live Palo Alto! (and many other cities). It's totally civilized over here.

Rex G

Unless your jurisdiction has a law specifying a minimum passing distance, there may me little the police can do. An inch may be as legal as ten feet.

As another member already indicated, if this is a repeated occurrence with certain individual motorists, it is much more of a legitimate complaint. Keep in mind that in some places, riding in the street is not socially acceptable, and bicyclists are expected to yield the whole road to motorists, no matter what the law says.

I see you are a newbie. Welcome to Bikeforums! Now, note that you posted this in General Cycling. Most members of Bikeforums to do not look at all the forums here, but concentrate on their areas of interest. Your topic falls under Advocacy and Safety; take a look there, and you will find discussion of this kind of stuff regularly.

Retro Grouch 

Macho postureing notwithstanding, the fact is that we're pretty much defenseless. I wouldn't depend on the police to help very much. Thinking anything else is being in denial. If you can't deal with that you need to find other places to ride.

operator

Bust out your concealed carry and pop a cap in their ass.

Sianelle 

Ah, the tale of Cain and Able all over again. Not exactly very useful advice and more likely to end with you behind bars for the rest of your life and the 'cager' dead and buried.

bkaapcke

Get the plate, find out who it belongs to, and take them to small claims for as much as your state allows. Intentional infliction of emotional distress is exactly what it is. If you win the case, send a copy to the local paper with a letter explaining. This might chill out some of the jerks. bk

Retro Grouch 

Now see, that's exactly the kind of macho posturing that I was talking about.

fredddir

I always carry a a rock or pebble in my pocket. In case people try to bully you, just try to damage their car and see if they will laugh then.

nelson249

A orange flag that sticks into traffic tipped with a nail or an awl.

tsl

I never worry about the cars that don't hit me. It's the ones that hit me that I'll worry about.

Chris L

Calling the police is largely a waste of time unless you live in one of the few areas where the police might actually do something about it. That said, I've had enough "close calls" over the years not to worry about them all that much. I've actually had incidents where passing cars have actually hit me and I've continued riding along with no more than a twitch.

If you're really that worried about it, your only option is to ride a little further from the kerb so you have a little more space in which to back off if they come too close. If you really want to "get them back" after the event, just blow them a kiss. That said, I'm more into just riding on these days and forgetting about it. Yes, they passed too close, but once they're gone, they're gone. If you let it get to you, all you'll do is ruin the rest of your ride.

ATAC49er

Usually, the ones that buzz me like that are in too much of a hurry for me to catch; twice, I've had confrontations, but no one's ever gotten out of the car. A hollered expletive, followed by half the peace sign, is about all the answer I have time to give.

ONE time, I caught up to one at a light; he didn't buzz me, just hollered at me to get on the sidewalk; when I answered his 2ND demand with, "Same right to the f'n road as you!" (cleaned up for ths post), he said he'd put me in jail for talking to him like that. F.O.P. sticker on his plate, so I wrote the Chief. Didn't get the answer I wanted, but I got an answer.

Be as aggressive as you feel you can survive, but don't expect much. The mainstream public has bought into two main thoughts (and I've seen them expressed here, as well):

1. Don't sweat the small stuff (BTW: how big does something have to get before somebody STARTS sweating it? Curious).
2. No blood, no foul (I call BS on the whole country on this one!).

FredOak

The times I've be buzzed by close it is almost always one of two...an old folk who can barely see over the steering wheel to begin with ( last one I had I saw his wife lay into him as he went by) or contractor trucks. Don't know what it is with these guys but they are generally the ones always beeping or buzzing. Sometimes not a bad thing to get beeped by them as their damn ladders stick out so far.

CastIron

Refuse to be intimidated. Refuse to engage. Refuse to be their entertainment.