rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (04/19/84)
Rabbit!jj's encounter with the chip-on-shoulder motorist is altogether
common. First, let me caution you with an experience of mine--I got cut
off (nearly lost it) by a right-turning pickup. I hollered and waved
(using not very many fingers :-). The guy slammed on his brakes and backed
up to try to hit me. It wasn't out on some isolated country road, either;
it was downtown on a weekday at noontime. It's pretty clear that he was in
a blind rage at being challenged; he certainly wasn't worried about
consequences.
I suggest that you consider VERY CAREFULLY the effects of challenging a
motorist who is being openly hostile. That includes things like how many
of them vs how many of you, are there other people in the vicinity who may
help you, etc. Don't challenge if you can't deal with the result - and you
have to get this sort of response built in to your head so that it becomes
automatic. Trying to win the confrontation comes a distant second to
surviving it.
Look at it this way: There are people around here, and I'm sure in your
area as well, who get their jollies by piling into a pickup on Saturday
night and roaring around, getting drunk and tossing beer bottles in the
street. Think about that. Are you going to try to reason, let alone
argue, with someone whose biggest challenge is how hard the accelerator
pedal can be pressed, and who is endlessly entertained by the fact that a
glass bottle breaks when it hits pavement???
But there's another side to it...IF you get out of the incident OK, and IF
you can find a cooperative witness, you just may be able to file a criminal
charge against the motorist who goes after you. Yes, I said "criminal".
(Traffic violations are not crimes, with few exceptions.) According to
general practice, "assault" means a direct threat of [physical] violence.
Note the word "threat"--that means that you don't have to wait for someone
to succeed in running you down before you've got a valid complaint. If you
have the opportunity to press charges, the resultant publicity can help all
cyclists.
Of course, we've got responsibilities--try to cooperate with motorists.
Make it easy for them to get around you when it's safe to do so. If you
create traffic problems, you're adding a bit of anger to motorists'
attitudes toward bicyclists--anger which is liable to materialize in
aggressive behavior.
--
...Are you making this up as you go along? Dick Dunn
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303) 444-5710 x3086