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Sometimes you should let it go...

3K views 26 replies 26 participants last post by  kingmt01 
#1 ·
So, there I was riding along on the Phantom, minding my own business when this dude decides to tailgate me for 2, 3 miles to the freeway. As he makes his over the white line nutball pass to merge across the bow of the car I was sliding in front of I think, what a jerk and suddenly as he goes by it turns out my left hand is thinking and communicating the same thing.

Oops.

This gentleman takes offense. Slows to about 35 and plants himself on the dotted line blocking both right hand lanes. I slow and backpedal. He is clearly conflicted on what to do. I’m not going to pass him and he’s not willing to go slower. Think about it. He’s a tailgater. He’s probably tailgating and banzaiing lane because he’s late and in a hurry. (Perhaps to church?) We travel down the road a couple of miles before he settles into the right lane going 45. I’m hanging back a good 100 yards. He starts to pull off on an uphill exit and I make a serious mistake–I don’t realize he’s getting off so he can get back on behind me. I should have pulled over at the bottom of the ramp and waited to see what he was going to do and then decided on my course of action.

Oops.

By the time I’m on the other side of the overpass I realize what’s going on and start to really hustle to get to the next exit which is the only one for 4 miles. I watch the mirrors as this guy tries to muscle around another car coming down the ramp but is blocked. It’s very interesting to watch but I need distance. I get on the ponies. Coming up I bail out on the next off ramp because I have to safe harbors I can get to fairly quickly: the State Police Barracks and the local Harley-Davidson dealership. I figure either provide me some kind of back up. As I’m going up the off ramp I can see the light is green and the two left turn lanes are empty and the right hand turn lane is clear as well. Dude is catching up fast and the light is very, very, stale. Taking a page from my 18 year old truck driving days. I slide to the left, and start banging away on my horn as the light goes yellow and stays yellow a very long time. The time for watching the light is over and still banging on the horn I scratch a hard left across the front of three lanes of traffic.

Oops.

Looking in my mirrors I see a flash of white as this muttonhead shoots straight across through the intersection and back down the ramp to rejoin the freeway. I don’t see the entire car just doors and door handles, I believe he was trying to hit me. I placed him in a position where to truly get me he would have to wreck himself and self-preservation took over. Barely. I haven’t been involved with a road rage incident in a long, long time and I’m still surprised by how technical the entire event was. I wasn’t scared-my heart was beating faster-but I was thinking and when I made the first really big tactical error (letting him get behind me) I recognized it immediately. Thinking about it now I realize that flipping this fool off wasn’t the first mistake–not pulling over and letting he around me before I got to the freeway was.

If you’re in the Boise Idaho area and see a POS mid 00s white Chevy Malibu filling up your mirrors–find an excuse to make that right turn and let him go by.
 
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#5 ·
Read some wise words here a while back. In a nutshell, they're in a cage, your on a bike, you lose, don't do it. Not sure I'd have flipped the guy off even though it would have crossed my mind, I'm sure. Just seems like an invitation to trouble. I'm glad you're ok and able to tell us about it. Sounds as if things could have gone WAY south.
 
#6 ·
I don't know if your state does this but here you can call the police and report him then let the police do their job, always best to have a witness otherwise it becomes a loosing battle, his word against yours. Glad you made it though OK!
That happened to me and my wife when we were in a car and the other guy a truck on a very untraved road at night in Nevada when we lived in Vargas, I pulled off the road and he pulled off in front of me so I hit the gas and took off after he got out of his can and coming toward me. By the time he caught up we were in a light area with a few homes and he finally backed off. Scarry, that was before cell phones.
 
#7 ·
When a cage tailgates me, or otherwise tries to ruin my ride, I just get out of the way as soon as I can and allow them to go on their merry way. It's simply the safe thing to do. As for flipping them off...what good can come of it? I just let them go so I can get back to being on the lookout for the next one. There WILL be a next one.
As I have said before; A**holes are like potholes, not your job to fix 'em, just swerve around them and ride on down the road.
 
#10 ·
There are a lot of angry people out there, just waiting for an excuse....even something small can quickly escalate out of control. Better to just keep a low profile, let idiots be idiots, and keep a .45 at hand in case that doesn't work.
 
#12 ·
Lots of crazy out there. Glad you made out alright.

Last month I had a woman try to force me off the road 3 times in two weeks. Each time at around 7:20am. I let here go by each time, noting the license plate number.
The last time was it, she tried to force me into a parked car. In front of a school in a 15mph zone. I called the police and reported the incident along with her cars description, license plate and the address where she currently was parked. I had some words with her at a light she got stuck at. She tells me get the f out of her way or I'll run you over, I'm late for work. The entire time she is talking on her phone. Well, I see her pull up in front of a home around the block from where I get coffee. That's when I called the police.

Long story short, she tells the cop I drive to slow. He come back to me and tells me to just stay away from her and we should both learn to get along. This coming from the an officer in the highest paid police department in the country, Suffolk County. Then he goes on to tell me that she said I was stalking her, really. I said don't take either of our words for it, go check the security camera footage in front of the school. The officer tells me he has no time for that. So I said, OK remember that when you respond to a motorcycle accident where a bike hits a parked car. Oh, and thanks for your help officer...

I have since changed my route to work and hope that they install one of the new speed cameras in front of this school. She will be there best customer.
Sorry for the rant....still has me pissed.

Ride safe everyone.
 
#13 ·
Probably depends where you're riding, but this kind of event is not all that uncommon for me, and the biggest reason I don't want to ride a slow bike anymore.

My state passed a new law that motorists MUST stay a minimum of three feet from bicyclists.
 
#21 ·
A long time ago I used to ride a Harley FLH and got annoyed with cagers following too close on the highway and mentioned it to a veteran hog rider. He suggested keeping a handful of small stones on the little 'shelf' between the handlebars and the windshield and scattering a few on the road when someone was tailgating. It worked well and who's to say the stones weren't kicked up by the wheels. Not saying it's a good idea in today's road-rage culture but it worked back then.
 
#25 ·
Flipping them off was probably not the best move. For angry people, it just makes them madder yet, only now their anger is focused on YOU.

Had an idiot in a big pickup the other day, weaving into my lane, multiple times. He gets caught at a couple lights, and I pass him, but he's still weaving all over the place, so as his lane speeds up, and he's passing me, with all windows up, I yell at him to 'get off the phone!'. What does he do? Slow down, roll down the passenger window and yell something unintelligible at me, and take off, only to deliberately swerve into my lane, and back into his own again. My response? Well, I'm wearing my CMA patch, so don't really think it would be good for me to 'flip him off', and instead I give him the sign of the cross, and say a prayer that he won't injure anyone else along the way. I thought it was also ironic that at the next light, I ended up passing him anyway, though I could almost 'feel' the daggers his gaze was sending me. I didn't care though, and when the light turned green, I took off, and didn't see him again, so I guess he cooled off.
 
#26 ·
You mentioned your first tactical error but in fact your first tactical error was flipping him off. I understand your desire to do it but it ain't worth getting killed.
 
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