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Road Rage

Badger Johnson

Regular Member
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Jan 12, 2011
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USA
With the advent of cell phones, phone cams, mini-cams and recorders there is EVERY reason to get it on video and to call 911 and report the license plate and no real reason to become counter-aggressive.

The OP was responsible after the fact but totally irresponsible in not getting the license plate or calling it in. Why? Well, think about it. When you're having an aggro response you forget to do the logical thing.

$.02
 

CO-Joe

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Oct 14, 2009
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, ,
With the advent of cell phones, phone cams, mini-cams and recorders there is EVERY reason to get it on video and to call 911 and report the license plate and no real reason to become counter-aggressive.

The OP was responsible after the fact but totally irresponsible in not getting the license plate or calling it in. Why? Well, think about it. When you're having an aggro response you forget to do the logical thing.

$.02

Very true, all of what you said.
 

tx-skydiver

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2010
Messages
48
Location
Dallas, TX
With the advent of cell phones, phone cams, mini-cams and recorders there is EVERY reason to get it on video and to call 911 and report the license plate and no real reason to become counter-aggressive.

The OP was responsible after the fact but totally irresponsible in not getting the license plate or calling it in. Why? Well, think about it. When you're having an aggro response you forget to do the logical thing.

$.02

Remember:

1) that I was on a motorcycle. I cannot exactly operate such devices and operate the machine.

2) If I had stayed long enough to do these things the situation would have certainly escalated into a road-rage incident and there would have been bodily harm.

My intention was to remove myself from the situation since it was an easy thing to do. Flight or flight. I chose flight because I had the ability. Now had he chased me down after that I would be telling a different story.
 

Badger Johnson

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USA
Remember:

1) that I was on a motorcycle. I cannot exactly operate such devices and operate the machine.

I understand but presume your G/F on the back had a cell phone with a cam? In the future, I'd suggest a 'lesson learned' here would be to have her ride 'vid-cam' shotgun. You can call yourself and leave a message and recite the license plate, for example. I ran into some trouble on my road bike and started carrying a video cam on the handlebars and recording every ride. That's a bit impractical - the battery cost was not small, but I felt protected.

2) If I had stayed long enough to do these things the situation would have certainly escalated into a road-rage incident and there would have been bodily harm.

Oh, I think you did the right thing by fleeing the incident. A bike is no match for a car, and you're all tied up holding the bike up if he approaches you. Fighting in traffic is very dangerous. I hope you never have this happen again and are now a bit more prepared.

I must say I think it's a good idea to make a pact with yourself to NEVER pull or brandish your HG on the road as a result of traffic problems. That can only escalate things. Have your HG ready, but otherwise try to practice de-escalation. I can't say I blame you for flipping him off, but IMO it might have been prudent to pull over and let him pass immediately after the first time you noticed him tailgating in such a dangerous fashion. We tend to be have a bit of bravado when riding a MC, don'tcha know and need to be aware of this and be extra-safe and low key, especially with a helpless passenger on the back.

Say safe, man.

Thanks for posting this encounter - it was very interesting.
 

William Fisher

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Jan 21, 2011
Messages
238
Location
Oxford, Ohio
I remember when I was around 12 years old, one fine summer Saturday, Dad and I were working out in the front yard. Some young punks were speeding down the street past my home (speed limit was 20, they were doing at least 30). Dad yelled at them to slow down, and the driver "saluted" him in response. My father was never the calmest person, and I expected him to holler something back at them. Instead, he surprised me by calmly turning back to me and saying "You know what that was? The number of friends he had before his dog died."

That memory will probably stay with me till the day I die. :D

On topic... yeah, as much as I feel the urge to "salute" folks like that Camaro driver, it's best to avoid such a response. It is in no way beneficial, and can easily push a pissy driver over the edge into full-on road rage (found that out the hard way). The best response in such a situation is to disengage and evade the road-rager as quickly and safely as possible, preferably in a place with witnesses in case the road-rager decides to jump out of his car or do something similarly stupid.

A few years back, before Ohio had CC my nephew great nephew and me were going down the raod when a driver started tailgating us. When it turned to two lanes, my nephew started tailgating him. I asked him just what the hell he thought he was doing and what if the guy slammed on his brakes and jumped out the car wanting trouble. My nephew said "I'll deal with it". I then said, "and if he pulls a gun, kills me and your son then turns the gun on himself, leaving you alive to think about how you dealt with it, How will you feel then"? He straightened up after that.

Then there are times that some people get more of a cocky (make my day) attitude when they carry. CCing and OCing should make one less aggressive and more apt to avoid situations. Your dad taught you a great lesson that day by keeping his calm. GOOD for HIM.
 

Aknazer

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2011
Messages
1,760
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California
As a biker myself I know what you mean. He could have easily taken you out. I, and the wife, would have flipped him the bird. Now I would not have turned around and sped off. My reason being that if he had balls enough to stop and approach you, let alone ride your tail, he could have turned also and run you off the road and killed you both. If he slowed and stopped I would have gone around him. If I couldn't, I would hold my ground and I'm not a big guy. I'm really surprised he approached a biker.
If he kept riding my butt, they make ball bearings or spare change that 'fall' out of my pouches at bad times. ;) My HD bud carried a ball peen hammer mounted to his saddle bag. Uses it when cars come into his lane. I have seen him use it on car mirrors before and they seem to notice you after that.

my dad has told me to use glass marbles as they shatter when they hit the car window and thus don't leave any evidence (and generally don't break the window either). Also those long tassiles that you see on the handlebars of some bikes are used to whip cars when they get too close on the side.

And shame on that guy giving us camaro drivers a bad name!



.......--Moderator Comment--

We do not promte illegal acts, even said in jest.
WE ADVOCATE FOR THE 'LAW-ABIDING' ONLY:
Posts advocating illegal acts of any kind are NOT welcome here.

EDIT: I was simply giving alternatives told to me that wouldn't damage the car (or would do considerably less damage) compared to "dropping" spare change/ball bearings or using a ball peen hammer on mirrors as told by the person I quoted. The point isn't to promote an illegal act, but to help save a motorcycle rider from a car that will potentially hit them due to merging into their lane, tailgating, and other reckless driving.
 
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Badger Johnson

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Jan 12, 2011
Messages
1,213
Location
USA
Agree, people advocating (beyond a broad joke) doing some kind of 'dirty trick' in retaliation are not doing themselves any favor. In fact, you are breaking the law yourself and putting your permit in jeopardy, perhaps.

Just not worth it. We might "imagine" getting back at our tormentors, but it's better to de-escalate in your own mind (as well as in reality).

In almost EVERY situation of 'near-road-rage' we have the power to defuse it, turn off, pull over, call 911 (cell phones, anyone?). Don't be like the numbnuts who brandishes a rager and both go to jail when someone calls it in, the brandisher losing a lot more freedom.

$.02
 

hogeaterf6

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Jun 21, 2010
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Cant use my helmet for defence. We dont wear any! lol I guess I could whip him with my bandana! 'If' we did have a helmet it wouldnt do any good since its a novey one. Probally break on one swing!
 

matt2636

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Mar 26, 2011
Messages
201
Location
cedar rapids
The fickle finger salute has been recognized as a 1st Amendment right, but it could also be perceived as contributing to the problem. Don't want to be in the position of having the judge deciding that my reaction to a threat was anything less than honorable and legal.

reguardless it doesnt give someone the right to do harm to others.
 

MKEgal

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Jan 8, 2010
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Location
in front of my computer, WI
tx-skydiver said:
I'm curious to know how you would have handled it.
Most of the time, I've had good results from using my left hand, palm back, sort of by my hip, to wave them back. (Like the hand signal for "slow", only 'pushing' back.)
When they give more distance, I give a thumb's-up & a big nod.
Most of the time that works.
Sometimes I flash the brake lights, slow down a little or speed up a little, or pull over.

Then there was the guy in VA, who was behind us in traffic, tried to hit my then-BF (who managed to get out of the way), then tried to hit me (going into the grassy median to come at me from the side... failed), & when we followed him to get the license plate he led us to the police station!!!

We (BF & I) were both honking all the way, hoping to attract the attention of a LEO or five. We weren't close enough to the car that he could have harmed us by stopping quickly.

The officers standing out back of the station when we all pulled up managed to separate him from us, get the story, and ended up charging him. Then we had to wait several months for them to find him again before we could go back to VA (from WI) & go to court.

He had probably 20 different counts against him that day, & I was absolutely infuriated when the "judge" gave him time served (60 days, IIRC) for every last one of them.
He could have killed both of us, and AFAI'm concerned he tried to kill us. :mad: :cuss:

4angrybadgers said:
The best response in such a situation is to disengage and evade the road-rager as quickly and safely as possible, preferably in a place with witnesses in case the road-rager decides to jump out of his car or do something similarly stupid.
+ 1000

D94R said:
No cell phone on you?
I've learned to just call the police when someone is making it a point to blatantly tail gate...
On a motorcycle, it's next to impossible to use a phone*. And if you pull over, you risk the car also pulling over & escalating to an in-person attack.
ETA - not sure that's really 'escalating'... you can get dead a lot faster being hit by a car than by a person.

* Next to - I know of a guy (who teaches motorcycle cops to be better riders) who has done it to report a dangerous driver, by shoving the phone in his helmet. And of course, the passenger (pillion or sidecar) could call. I've done that. Surprised the dispatcher when I described our vehicle. :lol: It was great seeing the cruiser light up & the dangerous driver pull over.

hogeater f6 said:
He could have easily taken you out.
... ball bearings or spare change that 'fall' out of my pouches at bad times.
A friend of mine who is a motorcycle cop says he keeps the dead D-cell batteries from their work flashlights for just such an occasion.

CO-Joe said:
...feral spark plugs with unusually high delta-v...
LOL!!!

road rage is also another in a long line of good reasons to wear a helmet.
hogeater f6 said:
Cant use my helmet for defence. We dont wear any! lol I guess I could whip him with my bandana! 'If' we did have a helmet it wouldnt do any good since its a novey one. Probally break on one swing!
And what would it do when it hit the pavement? :eek:
And what will your head do when it hits the pavement? :cry:
If you're over 18, it's your choice what to do with your body, but I think you're making a bad choice.
I know a couple people with brain injuries, & have met more (including people who had crashed while riding w/o a helmet), & I never want to be like them. Heck, the one real crash I've had, I was wearing a helmet & still got a concussion.
 
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LV XD9

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Joined
May 4, 2010
Messages
145
Location
Henderson, Nevada, USA
All this talk about not wearing helmets reminded me of this classic Seinfeld bit...

[video=youtube;P6fejWutXCk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6fejWutXCk[/video]
 

hogeaterf6

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And what would it do when it hit the pavement? :eek:
And what will your head do when it hits the pavement? :cry:
If you're over 18, it's your choice what to do with your body, but I think you're making a bad choice.
I know a couple people with brain injuries, & have met more (including people who had crashed while riding w/o a helmet), & I never want to be like them. Heck, the one real crash I've had, I was wearing a helmet & still got a concussion.

Not sure what it would do, only wore it twice cause it was storming out. :D
I understand the risks more then anyone. I'm a medic. I've had more mc deaths related to blunt force trauma to the chest then head injuries. Actually more of my deaths had helmets on. Cant think of a death without one on. Getting t boned by a Dodge 3/4 ton really dont matter whats on your head. My best friend hit a blazer at 50 mph,helmetless, and never left the bike. Broke his wrist.
I use to wear one during most of my rides till I met the current wife. She is anti helmet. Now we only wear one, the noveys, in the rain or in helmet States, which we avoid if all possible. Being stuck in Sturgis going 2 blocks every half hour in 100 deg heat with a lid on would make me pass out. Our thing is that we love riding and we would rather go out doing what we love then any other way. Rather not walk away if we are not able to ride again. We'll take death by riding then setting in a wheel chair wishing I could ride again.
Riding is our life. Even got married in Sturgis last year. We cannot imagine not being in the wind.
If its your time to go, nothing will stop that.
 

Trekker

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Mar 17, 2010
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Location
, Utah, USA
I'm not saying I condone this... I knew bikers that would carry chain lube within reach. When some idiot would start tailgating them, out comes the chain lube and they would spray it over their shoulder. As soon as the driver hits the wipers, well it makes a mess, forcing them to slow down.
 

tcmech

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Aug 2, 2009
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I'm not saying I condone this... I knew bikers that would carry chain lube within reach. When some idiot would start tailgating them, out comes the chain lube and they would spray it over their shoulder. As soon as the driver hits the wipers, well it makes a mess, forcing them to slow down.

harleys are belt drive
 

eye95

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Jan 6, 2010
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Fairborn, Ohio, USA
I'm not saying I condone this... I knew bikers that would carry chain lube within reach. When some idiot would start tailgating them, out comes the chain lube and they would spray it over their shoulder. As soon as the driver hits the wipers, well it makes a mess, forcing them to slow down.

Or cause an accident killing people.

No.
 

OldCurlyWolf

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Sep 8, 2010
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Oklahoma
MY wife works in a hospital and has for over 25 years.

She calls those on crotch rockets and idiots on any type of MC, with or without helmets, "Quads in Waiting". Bad wrecks on MC's seem to cause a lot of high cervical breaks leaving a lot of quadriplegics and paraplegics who can barely even breath without assistance.

What is really bad is that you do not have to be one of the idiots to end up that way.
 

Grapeshot

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May 21, 2006
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Valhalla
I do not jump out of perfectly good airplanes or off bridges.

I do not kiss vipers or wrestle with grizzlies.

I do not ride motorcycles - did once and loved it. That's why I quit.

I do not walk on water.

Most of those are life choices. ymmv
 
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