Intimidating Motorists?

[Lance Dopestrong]

Real men lift the aggressors car onto its side.

[Cyril Haearn]

I have a situation with some parallels, new neighbour parked her car + trailer on the wrong side of the road, crooked halfway up the pavement, too close to a junction, worth three tickets at least
Thinking of warning her that traffic/parking warders frequently visit our leafy suburb, is that worth a try? It would be a blatant and implausible lie, mind

[The utility cyclist]

A guy in a volvo SUV bombed past me literally 100m from home this afty, he wasn't mega close but it was the speed unnecessarily applied especially since he was turning left into his neighbouring street not 30m further on. I throw up my arm in disgust and usually they keep on driving. This time he stops, I pull up and tell him there's no need to drive like that, 'I'm nowhere near you", close enough and at a speed well in excess of the limit for me to be aggrieved, would you do that near your own kids I retort back. Anyway I'm just about to go on and just as he's turning shouts something, so I spin around and he's about to reverse in, I said did you just make a threat, he gets out and starts giving it the big I am calling me a penis.

I thought if he even flinches in my direction with his hand I won't be playing pattycake, "get back in your car and learn something about driving safely you fat knacker" I sez, he just laughs and gets back in his car, stupid twonk.
Drivers are mostly the same, think they're hard as #### when they are in their tin box, outside the box they either soil their pants or back down like little babies.
Sometimes I think just let one of them have the balls to take a swing, I love a bit of self defence oh and 6' 8" 25 stone lorry drivers are not the ones to worry about, they tire easily and will generally flake out of a heart attack after two circuits of the trailer.

[thirdcrank]

I sincerely hope you come to no harm.

[The utility cyclist]

Real men lift the aggressors car onto its side.

I once put a fist sized dent into a Golf when the assaultee deliberately drove it into my bike (I was stood behind it), he's already knocked into the back of me whilst I was letting another motorists turn right across into the opposing lane. I rang the police as the driver was trying to drive off (hence why I was behind my bike blocking his essape). Copper started banging on about me being the one with the raised voice, I just laughed and said wouldn't you be more than a bit angry after someone had assaulted you and had tried to drive off after an RTC? I told him I punched his bonnet as a way to get him to stop ramming me with his weapon .
Plod are useless but he stated it was knock for knock after he'd had a word with the driver, my crank had some of his paintwork and the dent in his bonnet would be a reminder that not everyone they'll try to intimidate will back away meekly.

[The utility cyclist]

I sincerely hope you come to no harm.

Thanks, I was more likely to walk away from stuff in my younger days, probably knowing that if I lost my temper it could spill badly, I haven't fully lost my temper since I was 15, so that's a good thing
Maybe it's part of the environment/where I lived, way you think about people who do wrong and how letting them get the upper hand just doesn't sit well, it wouldn't be tolerated BITD so why should it now?
Life has all sorts of risks, I was half a ton up last Saturday, officially an old man , things will be what they'll be, I can't see me changing now just because I'm old and frail, I'll guess I'll have to take my ires out in my next masters rugby league match

[TrevA]

I did once confront a female motorist about her driving after she close passed my wife on a ride (actually a commute). We spent 20 minutes arguing the toss, which ended with each of us threatening to report the other to the police, though neither of us carried out the threat (at least I never heard anything).

The incident put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day, and just made me 20 minutes late for work (not really a problem as I worked flexitime). Didn’t really achieve anything and I’ve decided that I wouldn’t bother again unless my life really was put in danger.

[thirdcrank]

I imagine many of us have experienced the moment when the fear of serious injury turns to anger. It's certainly happened to me several times. Easy advice to give and not so easy to follow is to keep calm. Rightly or wrongly, the other person may be angry too and may be bigger than you and with a propensity for violence and if you lose your temper, you lose your credibility with it.

[BrightonRock]

I saw what I thought at the time quite a humourous intervention. Group of roadies out for their Saturday morning training when coming up to a set of reds the driver overtakes to get in front and clips one of the guys with his near side mirror.

Obviously they come to halt at a red, the guy who has been clipped calmy rides in front of the car and lays his bike down in the road..

20 cyclists start pounding the roof and the doors demanding he come out of the car. Meekly, and in some state of panic he does so. Then a 5 minutes ding dong between them. He thinks it's all over, and gets back in, gestures out the window and says something along the lines of 'you bunch of merchant bankers'.

Not realising that some wag has let one of his rear tyres down. He didn't get far, before round two began. The cops came about 10mins later, to find a car with four flat tyres, a few new dents on it, and the cyclists well away. We reap what we sow!

[thirdcrank]

... We reap what we sow! ...

Indeed, we do.

[Cyril Haearn]

Intimidating is maybe the wrong word, I think a PoF may certainly require, indeed order, a PoB or motron to obey the law, likewise a PoB may order a driver to obey the law, but not the other way round
For example at a junction where a motor crawls forward over the line before one is past
Then I raise my hand, do not make eye contact, and shout 'stop! apply handbrake!'

But one should never trust a driver, often I wait even when I legally have priority

[Cyril Haearn]

Does The House approve of the action taken by cyclists described by Brighton Rock?
Reminds me a bit of bird behaviour, a little bird alone is easy prey but a group of them see off a predator
Saw gulls chase away a heron just like that, the heron ignored a single bird harassing it but flew gracefully away when several gathered

[gbnz]

Does The House approve of the action taken by cyclists described by Brighton Rock?

No, it's clearly unacceptable behaviour by the cyclists (Hoodlums) involved. I'd be reporting it to the police or assisting the motorist

[David9694]

How about “next time could you leave a bit more space?” and “that was actually really close back there”? I think it’s important to try to get them to be better for the next person.

Timing wise, it's like dog training - it’s no good rewarding or telling off Fido more than 10 seconds after a good or bad deed.

I find there’s something about the last 400 yards of a motorist’s journey - they especially have to barge past you (as the car has done for the past 70 years) to save precious nanoseconds and then you pass them as they get out of the car - a perfect opportunity to re-balance the fact that the car enables you to escape all your misdemeanours.

I suspect the defence mechanism will be engaged more often than not however factual and assertive you try to be and you will indeed end up shaking your head and walking away. Interestingly, and this wasn’t cycling some months ago a young bloke in a car park took exception to me using this gesture towards him and started having a go at me.

[Oldjohnw]

New dents? Flat tyres? Substitute 'some wag' for 'some idiot'.

Sounds like vandalism. Nothing remotely funny here. No wonder many motorists have a low opinion of cyclists. Thanks for nothing.