Drama on Beach Drive with cyclist and driver

[DismalScientist]

I don’t see the driver’s position here. If you were driving rather than cycling and someone behind you was honking to pass you, what would you do? The driver should have waited until it was safe to pass and done so safely. The bicyclist is under no obligation to exit the road. The driver may have thought he was doing nothing wrong, but hopefully he received his just deserts by taking his unreasonable position to the police. I doubt if he will get a ticket for buzzing the cyclist unless he is stupid enough to admit guilt. Otherwise, it is one person’s word against the other.

[DismalScientist]

I don’t see the driver’s position here. If you were driving rather than cycling and someone behind you was honking to pass you, what would you do? The driver should have waited until it was safe to pass and done so safely. The bicyclist is under no obligation to exit the road. The driver may have thought he was doing nothing wrong, but hopefully he received his just deserts by taking his unreasonable position to the police. I doubt if he will get a ticket for buzzing the cyclist unless he is stupid enough to admit guilt. Otherwise, it is one person’s word against the other.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

DS’s response is right. If cops don’t see it for themselves, it’s cyclist’s word against driver’s word. No tickets. Flagging down an officer after the fact doesn’t do any good unless there’s damage or injury.

A similar scenario was discussed at WashCycle recently. Bike vs. cab, no contact or injuries, cyclist flagged down nearby officer, officer refused to do anything. An MPD officer weighed in on the conversation and explained the officer in the event was correct: essentially no harm no foul, one word against another’s.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

DS’s response is right. If cops don’t see it for themselves, it’s cyclist’s word against driver’s word. No tickets. Flagging down an officer after the fact doesn’t do any good unless there’s damage or injury.

A similar scenario was discussed at WashCycle recently. Bike vs. cab, no contact or injuries, cyclist flagged down nearby officer, officer refused to do anything. An MPD officer weighed in on the conversation and explained the officer in the event was correct: essentially no harm no foul, one word against another’s.

[creadinger]

Isn’t it possible to report a license plate of a car where a driver may have been using it in a threatening or stupid manner even without causing any harm or an incident? If there is some sort of incident in the future then the police would have a record of past behavior on file. It may not be necessary in this case but I thought that was something you could do if you felt threatened.

Seems like ancient history now but last weekend I was out on a hundred miler heading west on River Road toward Poolesville where it crosses Seneca Creek. Some idiot pulled out of a side road to the left and completely cut me off. There’s no shoulder there and I had to stop really quickly so I wouldn’t get run off the road onto some really rough gravel/asphalt chunks. He saw me coming but decided to pull out into my path anyway! I was so dumbfounded and shocked at the time, all I could do was yell some profanities and give him a couple of birds once I was stopped. The only thing I remember was that it was a silver VW with a “I VT” sticker on the back.

[FFX_Hinterlands]

@creadinger it’s entirely possible that the driver just didn’t see you. They scanned for cars, didn’t see any and pulled out. Or they may have automatically dismissed you as a slow bicycle even though you were likely going along at a good clip. There’s not much we can do as cyclists except ride in the middle of the lane (instead of near to the curb) and try to be more visible by using a front flasher, etc.

I’m not trying to make excuses for the driver but trying to get across the idea that it may have been unintentional, not punitive. And no, I don’t drive a VW and I don’t love Vermont.

[Dirt]

I know this is kinda off topic, but….

I report every aggressive driver I see. I call the local police and give them a report, with license plate, description of behavior, location, etc. I have, on a few occasions, taken some lovely candid portraits of the driver for fun. (That tends to be a bit inflammatory… so be careful of you decide to do that. I often take photos of license plates, since my head is like a sieve.) Does it do anything? Depends on your location. In DC, probably not. Haven’t had much response in Arlington. Fairfax has been pretty good. I had a few instances where they sent a squad to the house to take a statement, then went and “talked to” the person.

[CCrew]

@Dirt 4578 wrote:

Fairfax has been pretty good. I had a few instances where they sent a squad to the house to take a statement, then went and “talked to” the person.

Agreed – Fairfax is very good. Have a co-worker that actually filmed a road rage incident and they used it to charge the woman.

[bArlington]

Word against word gets you no where. That’s why you see a number of bikers with those sports cameras mounted on their helmets – getting video coverage of what is happening (and then the cops arrest you for video taping everything – go figure)

Even when there is harm, there is no foul. Two years ago I entered a cross walk as the fifth bike in a pack, with three lanes of stopped cars, with dayglo on and strobing headlights — one block away the light turns green so the car in the center lane decides she can go – and she hit me. No tickets were issued.

I took pictures of everything after the fact. Spokes game me a written estimate of damage. Her insurance company was very easy to work with.

My solution – I ride 95% on bike path. I have seen too many bikers hit; I have had too many near misses – and drivers in this town are getting worse. If my bike commute was mainly on the road, I probably wouldnt do it.

[Bill Hole]

@bArlington – don’t be complacent about riding on the bike path. In the most recent incident involving someone I know, he was hit while crossing Little Falls Pkwy on the CCT. He is now recovering from a broken pelvis. And one day last week I broke my usual rule of staying on the road and rode on the Sligo Creek Trail instead of the parkway, and was rewarded with a right hook as a nimrod turned right into a parking lot across the trail. He just missed me.

Bottom line, they’ll get you no matter where you ride – assume the worst and always have an out.

[DismalScientist]

I feel much more safe on the road rather than the multi-use trails. Cars are more predictable than pedestrians. Of course, I always try to make eye contact with drivers that are turning. The laws of physics are less likely to be violated than traffic laws.

[Greenbelt]

Yesterday, my wife reported an aggressive driver who purposefully buzzed her at high speed and sped off. She got the license plate and a picture since she found the car parked less than a mile further up the road. (Must have been in an extreme hurry, yeah…).

[Jsnyd]

@Greenbelt 4660 wrote:

Yesterday, my wife reported an aggressive driver who purposefully buzzed her at high speed and sped off. She got the license plate and a picture since she found the car parked less than a mile further up the road. (Must have been in an extreme hurry, yeah…).

Good for her, I found it odd that people would be so disrespectful towards bicyclists. I DO understand that driving through traffic is frustrating, Im sure we’ve all been there, but taking it out on someone else not even in a car is immature. Pick on someone your own size!

[scorch]

i do find that reporting to the police does nothing.

Last year i got in an actual fight with a taxi cab driver. The guy punched me in the face, and then i hit him. A boatload of tourists saw all of this and called the police.The cab driver sped off. And waited around.. When they came they did nothing even thou they had the license plate and cab number. They said since we started exchanging punches we would be both locked up.

[Author]

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