Almost Offed

[Jezston]

This isn't the first time I've almost been offed on this section of road riding in the shown cyclepath:
http://maps.google.c...,291.65,,0,6.83

Blue saloon starts rolling alongside me, rather close, and starts getting closer ... and closer - I shout out but he doesn't hear - think maybe he's planning on pulling in to park and just hasn't seen me I brake hard but it's too late and I stumble and have to lean on his boot to stop myself from falling over ... and the driver zips off leaving me having to pull a seriously wobbly maneuver into fortunately an empty lane to stay upright.

Of course then the adrenaline and the fight or flight instinct has kicked in and I give chase shouting "STOP!" at the top of my voice pointing at the kerb. Nothing is really running through my head at that point - I don't know what I'm doing, what I hope to achieve by chasing him but I just have to stop him and have a go. Was he just careless? Did he do it on purpose to put the frighteners up a cyclist? Is it even a he? I'm reciting his license plate over and over in my head so if he gets away I can report him - but he almost knocked me off and just drove off!

Quarter mile up the main road he turns a corner, I'm still racing and shouting and he pulls into a cul de sac and stops. I stop a few meters behind him. Wait ... what have I done? What if it's some massive bruiser and his mate and I'm about to get my head kicked in? Door opens. Out steps a little old chinese guy. My heart sinks. I've just been chasing and screaming at an old couple. They were probably terrified. Old man comes over with hims arms out saying I'm sorry I'm sorry. I say you've got to be more careful, look out more, I'm sorry I chased and screamed at you but I was so scared. By this time the guys got his hands on my shoulders and I feel close to tears from a combination of adrenaline comedown, fear and shame. We part ways amicably and I get back on the road, slowly and carefully, my left leg twitching like a b*stard.

I shouldn't feel so bad. The guy almost had me off, put me in a hell of a lot of danger and he just drove off. At least I worked out my agression pushing pedals rather than at him. Maybe he deserved the fright I gave him giving chase, but I'm not an eye for an eye type and I just feel like an arse. Well, at least it was resolved amicably.

So, did I do the right thing? Should I have just let it go? Should I have taken his plate and reported him instead, or got a camera and reported with footage?

 

[Brommie77]

Difficult one that - but if it makes him more aware of cyclists from now on isnt that a good thing? At the end of the day he could have really injured you if he'd been that little bit closer or quicker in his driving.

Thing to do now is calm down and forget it, don't let it ruin your day..

 

[fossyant]

In this case, you are probaby better off slapping the window before they get too close. (if you can slap it they are too close - but before you are forced off the road).

Breathe in, breathe out, and relax....................

 

[Moodyman]

Think you did the right thing Jez.

An elderly person, made a bad judgement in his passing and apologised when he got the opportunity.

 

[BSRU]

I have no sympathy for any metal box driver who intentionally or unintentionally puts my health and well being in danger in order to save a few seconds on their journey. Next time another cyclist may not be so lucky.

I would not have chased after them, you never know what sort of nutter might be driving, if bad enough I would report it to the Police with video evidence.

 

[turnout]

Don't sweat it, your reaction and how you felt afterwards is perfectly natural and shows you're a decent person.

 

[upsidedown]

Try not to dwell on it too much. I'm trying really hard not to react too but it's a pretty natural reaction to have to a very stressful situation.
The thing i've realised is that the person that gets your anger isn't necessarily the one that deserves it, as it's often the last straw in a series of previous bad encounters.

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

I'm really hot headed and I tend to go off instantly when my life is put in danger! I've got to say though I never get a good reaction back (funny enough)!!

However, on the odd occasion when I have calmly knocked on a car window and said something like "you were sooo close to me back then mate!" I've usually received a "sorry" and felt better!

It is hard because I don't know about anyone else on here but I am sh1t scared when a car is about to end my life and find it hard to be calm!!!

 

[HLaB]

It wouldn't have been my choice to chase after them, Jez but hey ho, its done now and with the reaction you got you were right in this occasion and made them think about their actions. I'd try and forget about it now :-)

 

[Panter]

It's not right to chase them, for your own safety. Easy to say of course, and in the heat of the moment I'd have done exactly as you did.

Sounds like a satisfactory outcome though, a careless driver got a harsh warning and you vented your anger on your pedals.

As above, try and relax now.

Glad you're Ok though, any incident involving a cyclist & a car obviously has the potential to end in tragedy.

 

[asterix]

Must admit I was annoyed at my reaction for the opposite reason couple of weeks or so ago!

There's a car park with a cycle/pedestrian track on the perimeter at York Race course. I was approaching it on a service road intending to turn right off the road onto the track.

There was an event on and the car park was well filled. Over the tops of the cars I could see a car heading rather fast along the cycle/pedestrian track towards me, obviously taking a short cut to join the road I was on.

So, instead of taking a position to the right, I stuck to the left and watched the car come shooting onto the road then do an emergency stop when he at last saw me coming. Had I not slowed and gone left he would have hit me. Had there been vans or 4x4s in the park I would not have seen him and been able to take a defensive postion.

I'm rather annoyed I didn't do what jezston did and tell the guy what I thought, not least because it was exactly at that spot a few years ago that a young cyclist called Ruby was killed. The memorials are still there to be seen.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Don't think you should bad, per se, about your reaction. It was just that, an adrenaline fight or flight response and your amygdala went with 'fight'. Then your rational brain kicked in and you responded appropriately. But you are right to think that your 'inner chimp' could have got you into trouble; if the chinaman had been a gorilla for instance the outcome could have been different.

I suspect that many of us who cycle commute have attenuated stress responses, the little niggles/close shaves/near misses/general twattery on our roads builds up over time. I'm sure similar things happen to car drivers. Then an event acts as a triggers this build up and we step over the edge of normal socialised 'civilised' behaviour. The difference I guess is that our stress is driven by actual real danger whereas car drivers' seems to be driven by responses to less tangible 'threats' or status perceptions like someone simply getting in front of them.

I struggle, and sometimes, maybe even often, fail, to contain my inner chimp. I try to tell myself that "a miss is as good as a mile" and so long as I'm still on the bike and we are both intact then no real harm has been done and I should keep my head down and keep pedalling. I'm not keen on the "what if I'd been a ....." argument as a justification for behaviour, though I have stooped to use it from time-to-time.

But only yesterday I punched out and let loose a stream of obscenity laden, bird flicking, shouty invective at the rapidly dimishing rear of the 4WD whose door mirror had just missed my shoulder by scant millimetres as her badly judged overtake went badly pear shaped. Rural commute. Very little chance of catching up, and this is probably a good thing for me.

Today I got the train in. Tomorrow I will take a different route. Over the weekend I'll go for a nice long 'unwind' social ride with mates or with the club and by Monday I'll be fine again.

In a few weeks the mornings will be light early enough for me to ride to work early and miss the worst of the traffic and then it is happy days until October.

 

[Firestorm]

If you had been in a car and did that to someone who cut you up, it would be seen as road rage ,

Parity with other road users works both ways

 

[Mad at urage]

Cycle-commuting (at any speed) involves heavy exercise, it also involves exposure to frighteningly disparate risks of damage. Both of these promote adrenaline production, adrenaline is a stress hormone involved in what is correctly known as 'flight or fight' response.

For a car-driver to reacted to a close pass with a flight or fight response, it would be disproportionate. For a cyclist who has just experienced a potentially life-ending event such a response is entirely proportionate.

So no, parity with other road users is not the question here.

 

[subaqua]

hard to say if it was right or wrong. the adrenaline kicked in and the red mist fell.

nobody was hurt and as you say the driver might be a little more aware of cyclists now.

the mondeo that i banged on the roof of today will likely learn not to drift into the cycle lane i am in.