Confront the driver? Can anything good come of it?

[AlanDog]

So I had a close call last weekend: a minivan rolled through a stop sign turning right on Hwy 1 and didn't see me. It wasn't really that close--I was able to get on my brake quick enough that I slowed down to his pace about 20 feet behind him, really just thanks to my attention to the right spot seeing him before he pulled out. He definitely did not come to a complete stop, spent a fraction of second looking to his left. That's all takes to be killed.

When you're almost taken out it's like you've been jumped, the adreneline kicks in like someone is trying to kill you. After flipping him off (who knows if he was watching?) I actually pulled up beside him with oncoming traffic just to harass him, but then pulled back. Then came all the angry thoughts, I was going to kill the guy, I was going to follow him until he stopped and confront him.

So I'm still on his tail as we are going north on Hwy 1 south of Big Sur and I back off and try to take a breath. I really had to concentrate to think that he didn't really try to kill me--I mean he could have, but he wasn't *trying* to. He was in a hurry to get to the beach, in a hurry to beat everyone else to the next sightseeing attraction... who knows. Was he sorry? Did he care? Was he afraid of me now that I was on his tail? I got some pleasure out of that thought. He's got to pull over eventually, should I confront him? Just to make sure he understood that he almost killed me? Later, it occurred to me that I watched him roll through the stop sign: he broke the law. Pretty innocent compared to, say, a drunk driver running a red light, but still, depending on his attitude, I could just block his car and call the CHP. Would they have ticketed him?

What I actually did, about 20 minutes later when he pulled into a beach parking lot, was just let him go. I was on vacation; he (she?) and his/her family were on vacation, could anything good come of it? But then I think that enough time had passed, I had cooled down enough that maybe I could have calmly just told him that he almost killed me and to be more careful next time. Maybe he would of apologized; maybe it would help me preserve my faith in humanity if he did. Alone on your motorcycle in a defensive mode, you really start to think people are out to get you. Next thing, you're carrying a gun... And maybe if he didn't apologize, regardless, me confronting him would have made him think about coming to a full stop the next time.

Would you confront the driver in this situation? Can anything good come of confronting drivers?

I think I should have a plan for when this happens (because it's sure to happen again), like having a plan for when you're bike breaks down, or when you go into a turn too fast... but what is that plan? 1) Calm down 2) don't do anything irrational 3) then...

[bluepoof]

I would never confront a driver (though I've certainly flipped some people off!). There are too many crazies out there and it's just not worth it. Plus, I'm 5'1" and weigh 115 lbs, so the worst I could do to someone would be to bite them in the kneecap.

[jamesio]

shoulda punched out his side view mirrow and zoomed off lol

[rusninja]

i would probably just yell (make more full stops moron) in that situation, But when i start riding if someone trys to pull something on purpose depending on what it is i would probably get pretty heated then do something. :S

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by bluepoof

I would never confront a driver (though I've certainly flipped some people off!). There are too many crazies out there and it's just not worth it. Plus, I'm 5'1" and weigh 115 lbs, so the worst I could do to someone would be to bite them in the kneecap.

Ow.

[AlanDog]

Well, when I mean "confront", I don't mean yell and scream--again, in this particular situation, I had 20 minutes or so to cool down. I guess that will be rare unless you follow the driver home, but let's say you did... can you have an interaction that will promote the driver being more careful and considerate (I don't think taking out his mirror would help!)

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by AlanDog

Well, when I mean "confront", I don't mean yell and scream--again, in this particular situation, I had 20 minutes or so to cool down. I guess that will be rare unless you follow the driver home, but let's say you did... can you have an interaction that will promote the driver being more careful and considerate (I don't think taking out his mirror would help!)

Maybe. But he/she might just be an inconsiderate joke, possible a reason for bad driving decisions. I think it would most likely cause more problems (road rage, out of car rage). My personal opinion.

Of course there could be that one person who admits his wrong, and tries to change her or his ways.

[AlanDog]

I guess dropping the incident like a hot plate would also improve my peace of mind, but really, I know of someone who's been in multiple single-vehicle car wrecks who never stops to reflect about the cause of her accidents... like, she drives too fast... what can I learn? I guess the only thing I could have done was have been more visible. The neon green jacket, or something. I had about a millisecond to catch this guys attention though...

[AlanDog]

Nick, in this case I know the person has made a mistake, they probably know it too, you think the typical response of driver would be just to deny it and what, are they going to attack me? I guess I don't get it.

What are the chances the person is an inconsiderate joke? 10%? 80%? It's really a test of your faith in humanity... in this case, given what they did wasn't like they were criminals... I mean it was likely a dad with his three kids or something...

Well, I do get it--it's scary confronting people. And I didn't. And now I think I should have.

[Brittas]

Many years ago a women pulled straight out on my bike. Can't even remember what I was riding. In the red mist that followed I gave it full throttle past her and kicked her mirror off as I went past.
Perhaps that jolt might of made her 'think bike' in the future.
Now all this happened in the U.K.
I might think twice about it in the U.S. The women could have had a gun in her bag lol.
Years a go over here lots of guys had jack handles or similar in their cars for protection.
'Road Rage' was big news for many years.
I remember one story of a women getting her husband killed or killing him herself and making it look like a random road rage attack. Many people seemed to get beaten to with in an inch of their lives for some minor road incident.
It is really not worth confronting a random person.

[TFKninja]

That is what caused my crash , However the guy that pulled infront of me was the first on the scene to assist after the crash I was in shock and pain too much to do or say anything, but was just appreciating the help. I am a muay thai fighter or should I say was now, dont know if I can fight again after this. First thing everyone asks when I tell them about the crash is what did I do to to idiot. they all presume I would have left him barely living, I feel If I were capable at the time I probably would. Yellin abuse is probably not the right thing to do unless u know u can walk the walk. I am proud of my control at this time.

[ninja250]

Don't ever flip anyone off on the ninja unless you know how to ride it lol.

I had yet another jackazz run me out of the carpool lane again tonight because I'm not fast enough for them.

Of course I don't care what anyone says, anyone who does this to me is getting a finger weather I'm gonna die for it or not.

I had to fend myself off hiding from the guy around other cars while he tried to kill me again just like last time after I flipped him off.

Good thing I can weave this sucker.

If I ever die on a bike it will be because I flipped off some asshole on the freeway who deserved it and then he ran me over.

Happens all the time on the ninja because I can't get away from the people before the next exit. I won't stop flipping people off who deserve it either, for trying to run me over while I'm doing 75 in the first place for no reason in the carpool lane. Try and slow down, so do they, try and speed up, their car faster than the ninja. All you can do is weave between other cars to avoid being mowed on purpose.
I'll just have to get a faster bike.

I got news for you idiots, THATS NOT THE FAST LANE AND I"M NOT MOVING UNTIL I FLIP YOU OFF AND YOU HAVE TO CHASE ME DOWN!
Good luck because I'm not easy to catch EVEN WHEN I'm limit to 85mph on my stunt gearing!
PRICKS! I"M CARRYING ROCKS FROM NOW ON. F****** BIG ONES!

UGH
/Rant

PS Nothing good comes from it! Be ready to fight and fend off a car who is faster than you if you lift the finger! The ninja is not fast enough to finger people! Just went through this an hour ago and am totally steamed! This is the second time someone tried to purposely kill me for flipping them off because I was doing 75 in the carpool lane while they were two feet from my back tire, flashing brights for me to get out of the way. Note, I did not flip off until they got 2 feet away from my bike at 75mph.

I don't feel like ever taking my ninja on the freeway again! I might get murdered for trying to protect and defend myself. I'm replacing this thing as a freeway bike FOR SURE. The only way to ditch that loser would have been to smoke him.. and he definitely deserved every single bit of finger he got from me. (about 600 times during the ordeal)

[Clearlynotstefan]

I don't recommend it, but I've done in. Once a guy blew a red light and nearly killed me, then made the turn so he was in front of me. We ended up in the same lot. I got off the bike and started cursing him out. Turns out he was deaf. No joke. He says all deaf like "I'm deaf, I can't hear you"... I'm like "You cant drive either asshole".

[ninja250]

Rocks.
I'm carrying them from now on.
Some of these people seriously deserve it.
and from now on, I'm gonna wait to flip you off and just rip off your mirror instead at the last second before an exit so you get boxed on the freeway.
I forgot to "break in" my new titanium gloves tonight.
Next jerk won't be so lucky.ARGGGGGGG step away from the keyboard..

If you plan to flip people off better get some CC's to back it up that's all I can say.

[kyrider]

Remember your training. The knees are always vulnerable. The force of your palm violently coming up to hit the bottom bridge of his nose.

[ManyCavies]

Always remember that THEY NEVER REALLY SEE US!! They may make you believe they see you, but will run you over in a heartbeat and swear you came out of no where at triple digit speeds. Been there, done that

[ninja250]

These jerks will definitely run you over, before you even get to getting P.O.'d enought o do anything about it yet.

sheesh I need to cool down that guy really lit me up.
It's pretty tough to get me going like that but it seems this forceful carpool lane thing is a repeating occurrence.

People will push you right out of the carpool lane if you aren't going a speed they are happy with, regardless of if you are already moving 10-15mph above the limit. That makes me very angry.

Now that I think about it the guy didn't even have anyone in the car with him.. what was he doing in the carpool lane? It was one of those big ol newer-ish Monte Carlo's.

I'm sure I'll get heat for this but I don't care. People that do that deserve to know they messed up somehow, even if I have to defend my life for it.

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by AlanDog

It's really a test of your faith in humanity...

I expect the worst.

[ManyCavies]

KC, You are so worth being alive and THAT jerk will never know it.
It is like we don't exist, so you can't be angry at someone that is so oblivious to ANYONE around them, just be aware
does this make sense

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by ManyCavies

KC, You are so worth being alive and THAT jerk will never know it.
It is like we don't exist, so you can't be angry at someone that is so oblivious to ANYONE around them, just be aware
does this make sense

Plenty

[rusninja]

We all need motards and start riding over cars. :P

[alex.s]

shoot 'em with yer guns

[EsrTek]

Frak if it helps them.. it helps me...
I go off and let them know how stupid they are, and it further helps with the blood spilling from their nose, if they are even dumber than originally thought, and say something stupid while I tell em off.

[Toly]

Once I nearly ran a biker off the road, because I simply didn't see him. If he didn't ride next to me afterwards screaming obscenities I would have not been aware of it at all. It pissed me off at the moment but made me a little more aware in the long run.

It pays to let drivers know they almost ran someone over... They need to be made aware that their riding is wrong and dangerous. Now, if they do it on purpose, then it's a GoPro video filed with the police report

[Lil_Green_Demon]

I almost got ran over by a man in a Ford Explorer a few months back. I hassled him for several blocks, flipping him off, screaming obscenities, etc.
Then he pulled over, I did the same, and I hopped off my bike thinking it's time to whoop some ass. The guy rolled his window down and I realized he was old enough to be my great-grandpa!
He began apologizing, said he has bad eyesight, etc. I was still mad, so I just yelled at him, "You shouldn't be fucking driving then!"
He seemed scared, so I left it alone after that.

[blink]

Well you have reinforced gloves...making window punching a breeze!
Here if you flip someone off you can get a 130$ ticket...dumb.

[blink]

Originally Posted by Clearlynotstefan

I don't recommend it, but I've done in. Once a guy blew a red light and nearly killed me, then made the turn so he was in front of me. We ended up in the same lot. I got off the bike and started cursing him out. Turns out he was deaf. No joke. He says all deaf like "I'm deaf, I can't hear you"... I'm like "You cant drive either asshole".

usually deaf people can't talk...

[Linuss]

Originally Posted by blink

usually deaf people can't talk...

They're deaf, not mute. They can still speak.




I have no issues with flipping someone off or cussing them out at a stop light, or just giving them the stare of death for minutes on end every time I'm next to them at a stop light.

If I wasn't afraid of being arrested and losing my job, I'd do a lot more. Hey, if they aren't willing to use their mirror, why even have it on their car? Just makes it less aerodynamic!



I honestly have thought about carrying a rock or brick or something on my bike for such an occasion, but like I said, arrest scares me.

[Kurgan]

Originally Posted by ninja250

I"M CARRYING ROCKS FROM NOW ON. F****** BIG ONES!

Marbles, easier to handle than rocks, and easier to explain away to the cops if they should search you, just say your little cousin/sister/brother was playing racer in your jacket before the ride and they like marbles.

Just pull in front of the offending cager, grab a marble out of the left jacket pocket, and thumb-flick it straight up over your shoulder. The air stream will take it straight into their car hood or windshield and get them to wake up and pay attention.

[eddiekay]

So....about 40 years ago this guy cuts me off.
I get so mad I hock up the biggest , slimiest ball of spit in my mouth that I could.
In heavy traffic...I come up next to him.
His window is open.
I roll right up to him
Face to face and spit the whole slime ball right at him.
Would've been nice...'cept i was so pissed i foregot I had a bubble shield.
Yeah...it dripped down on me.

[sikuss]

Some idiot that lives in our building almost hit my girlfriend as we were leaving the garage and he was backing out of his space, did not even check behind him before pulling out. He stopped outside the garage as did we to put our gloves on before the ride.

I made an extra special effort to stay calm and walked up to his window. I said "can you just please take an extra look next time when backing out? You almost hit my girlfriend"

He said "WHO!? I didn't see anyone" and I said "I know you didn't, that's why I'm talking to you; please just take an extra second next time" and he says he doesn't want to argue, so i started to walk away.

As I'm walking away he must have decided he needed to be big man on campus and shouts at me "well maybe you should tell her to watch how she's riding next time".

At this point it was clear tha nice was not going to get the message across. I walked up to his car and shouted "how would you know how she was riding if you claim you never saw her? So did you not bother to look before pulling out, or did you see her and do it anyway?". He had no answer and I yelled "don't be an asshole and watch where you're going next time" and walked away.

Cliffnotes: Chances are pretty good that if the idiot wasn't paying enough attention to see you, they probably have no idea why you are getting into it with them and even if you tell them why, they'll probably still be belligerent and defensive about what they did.

I can't lie, it does feel great to tell some of these wastes of life off every once in awhile though!!!!

[Linuss]

Originally Posted by Kurgan

Marbles, easier to handle than rocks, and easier to explain away to the cops if they should search you, just say your little cousin/sister/brother was playing racer in your jacket before the ride and they like marbles.

Actually, tiny rocks are best. If they say a marble hit their car, and you have marbles, you're caught, but if they say rocks, you can say it was probably just road debris.

[AlanDog]

After reading this thread, I've lost my faith in humanity.

If I almost get taken out by a motorcyclist, I'm kicking his ass for sure!

[rockNroll]

After I survive the near miss, I always try to get the driver to look at me. Toot the horn, pull up along side, etc. and then give them a palm up and then I tap my helmet with my index finger "think." It works. I did it to someone while on my way to work one morning. Turns out they were customers at work 30 minutes later. We talked.

If I can make them think about their last few moments driving, they may realize that they "did it wrong" and so it might be on their mind to be more careful. It might keep them from pulling out in front of you later on that day

["A"]

I keep my camera cell phone in my tankbag or within reach while riding.
I usually whip out my camera cell phone and take a picture of the license plate of the vehicle before I confront an disgruntled driver.
Make sure the driver sees you snapping pictures.

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by jamesio

shoulda punched out his side view mirrow and zoomed off lol

Exactly what I would do

[Kurgan]

Originally Posted by Linuss

Actually, tiny rocks are best. If they say a marble hit their car, and you have marbles, you're caught, but if they say rocks, you can say it was probably just road debris.

Clear marbles, available at any craft store.

They won't see it coming at 60+mph, and even if they do they won't be able to identify it that fast, and they'll never find it to use against you.

Odds are, they'll think it was a rock kicked up by your bike, or maybe the car in front of you, but they'll definitely back off.

[akima]

Is this marble/rocks thing, something that some bikers actually do?

Sounds pretty sketchy.

[Kevin2109]

Dude, so using rocks, we should make a undertail deployment system activated by a button! (No I'm not kidding)

[akima]

Originally Posted by Kevin2109

Dude, so using rocks, we should make a undertail deployment system activated by a button! (No I'm not kidding)

Defendor would sooo rig his Ninjette up with an undertail marble deployment system!

Link to original page on YouTube.