Now what? After a big scare?

[pete4638]

I never cease to be amazed at the number of people who get into situations like this and fail to call the police during or after the event. Someone who deliberately tries to force you off the road or wreck you can be charged with a number of criminal offense, including attempted murder. The world is filled with idiots, the mentally ill, drunks, morons and creeps. Every now and then you will run into one and it isn't always when you are on a motorcycle.

About a month ago I was going west on I40 to Rocky Mount, NC. I was running about 5 mph over the speed limit when this guy with a female passenger pulled up behind me so close that I could not even see his grill in the rear view mirror. The left lane was completely open, traffic was practically nonexistent - he could have easily passed me. I moved into the left lane and he passed me. A few minutes later I passed him after he dropped his speed to around 15 mph under the speed limit. I then moved into the right lane and continued at 5 mph over the speed limit. About ten minutes later he was back on my bumper again.

I tapped the brake pedal just enough to activate the brake lights. He slammed on his brakes and almost wrecked his Lexus SUV. A few minutes later he passed me in the right lane again. I got a loot a him this time. If you remember Les Nessman from WKRP in Cincinnati, this guy could have been his twin brother. He refused to look at me. This time he took the next exit and that was the last time that I had to deal with him that day.

It was pretty early in the day for anyone be be drinking, but mental health issues are there 24/7.

I live about 35 miles northwest of Charlotte. In the last couple of years I have had more than a few white riders tell me that they have had issues with black men driving cars harassing them. One fellow who rides in Charlotte regularly said that he has had issues with black pedestrians throwing things at him. I have been told by people in the black community that it is common to associate white riders, particularly Harley riders, with being anti-black. I would not think that this would apply as much to BMW riders, but who knows. With race relations in America at a modern-era all time low, you have to at least be conscious that the guy who is threatening you in his car may have a grudge against you that you of which you are totally oblivious.

I carry a gun. When I am on the Blue Ride Parkway, I make sure that I have a gun that can drop a black bear, if needed. Though I suspect that if I ever needed to use a gun, it would be against a human and not an animal. In the situation that you described, a gun would be the very last option that you would want to employ. In most cases, my R1200R is going to be able to outrun most cars on the road. In traffic, you should be able to lane-split or ride the shoulder to a safe place where you could call the police. If you let people get away with doing this sort of thing, threatening your life and safety, without any repercussions, they will just keep doing it.

Unfortunately, there are situations that are so threatening that your only option is to use deadly force to defend yourself. We live in that kind of world.

Pete

Yes, alot of good replies here, from staying away--- I tried to get off the road as soon as possible, and there he was again--- yes I should have ignored him, yes, I should have called 911 from my headset. Yes, we are lucky no one got physically hurt. I F'd up this time--- actually the this was first time in some thirty years of being riding.

Thanks

 

[Hollow Road Rider]

First of all, this guy was going so fast that I don't even know what state the car was registered in. Second, the rest of the time I was so freaked, I didn't look at a plate or, he was behind me trying to chase me down. I was then focussed on getting the hell away from him as fast as possible and was heading to the cop shop in one of the wealthiest and non-integrated communities in the US. That is when he gave up and turned away and that may have been because he was uncomfortable in that neighborhood and his female passenger was screaming at him so loudly she could be heard over the sound of the traffic. Pushing the call button on my headset to dial 911 never crossed my mind until much later.

As for the firearm remark I made to him, again, I don't know where that came from in me except that at the time, I felt that the world would be a safer place without this jerk in it. I still feel that way, but I am not a vigilante, my guns are used for sport and hunting, and I don't even believe in the death penalty. Yes, I would use a firearm, or any available lethal means, to protect loved ones.

Thank you again, for all of the thoughtful comments posted here. I have learned from the experience and feel that I am a better rider now, and obviously glad that we came out unharmed. Nancy is back in the saddle with me and looking forward to tomorrow's day trip on Wisconsin backroads to the Potosi Brewery for lunch and a root beer.

Over & Out

 

[Cal]

If you would have kept your mouth unengaged you would not have endangered your wife and yourself. Did you have a gun ? No, so why provoke him? You are lucky he did not have one either.


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[akbeemer]

If you would have kept your mouth unengaged you would not have endangered your wife and yourself. Did you have a gun ? No, so why provoke him? You are lucky he did not have one either.


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The OP pretty much figured that out before he made his first post. I think he was trying to convey a cautionary tale about how fear and anger can cause the best of us to behave in a manner that is against our own best interests. He did a good job of that.

 

[pete4638]

While most riders are somewhat practiced at making emergency stops and crash avoidance, they usually have not give much thought as to what they would do if they found themselves in a situation with a threatening driver. The same applies to riders who ride in urban area where there are pockets of dangerous people who are fully capable of trying to drag you off of your motorcycle for fun and profit.

In most cases you can avoid the latter by simply planning your ride to avoid known dangerous parts of urban areas. In my case, passing through Charlotte, NC on an interstate is fairly benign - riding in south central Charlotte, especially at night is risky. But you never know when you will cross paths with some lunatic in a car or truck. They can pop up anywhere. The county just north of where I live had a case where witnesses saw a guy in a car chase down and run over a guy on a Harley. I don't think that they ever caught the guy in the car and the fellow on the Harley died.

Riding a motorcycle makes you vulnerable in a lot of way. Some of the worst bruising that I ever had in my life happened when I was caught in a hail-storm in 2008. Thank God for full face helmets and armored jackets. I have had multiple close calls with black bears, including a momma bear with cubs and a bear in a tunnel in the mountains. I had a bull that had gotten out of his pasture charge at me and have dodged more than a few: dogs, possums, raccoons, squirrels and deer. The Blue Ridge Parkway is literally infested with 10#+ wild turkeys that for some strange reason like to fly along side cars and motorcycles. Hit one of them and it is all over.

In the 90K+ that I have ridden since 2008, thankfully, I have not had any issues with a threatening drivers. Sure, there are plenty of idiot drivers that I have had to dodge, but no one who was out to deliberately harm me. My plan if I ever have to deal with a threatening driver is to simply outrun and outmaneuver him. If he is persistent, then I'd get to someplace where I could safely get off the bike and if he wants to follow me and continue his threat, I would have the advantage of being on my own two feet and not on a motorcycle. If the threat were such that I could not get away from him, then I could resort to the use of deadly force, pursuant to NC statues, where the actions of the driver threatened me with death or serious bodily injury.

No one should go out looking for trouble or even riding in areas where human threats are statistically highly likely, but you will have be prepared for the unexpected, especially when the outcome of you not being prepared could be catastrophic.

Pete

Pete, we're not allowed to have logical, security minded, threat assessment while riding our BMW motorcycles, conversation here; strictly verboten. In the immortal words of the Madagascar penguins, we have to keep the conversation, "Cute and cuddly boys... Cute and cuddly."

 

[jconway607]

If you would have kept your mouth unengaged you would not have endangered your wife and yourself. Did you have a gun ? No, so why provoke him? You are lucky he did not have one either.


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That seems a tad unfair, to me. We are all sitting at our computers. He and his wife were out on the open road, and could easily have been seriously injured or killed had the car driver gotten just a tad closer. I really didn't get the feeling that he "provoked" the guy in the first place. He agrees that his emotions got the better of him, and it was a mistake. As a passenger, my wife has to trust me completely, her life is in my hands on that bike. She is also the mother of our children. If someone tries to kill us both, yes, I can understand how my temper might momentarily usurp my better judgement.

Of course you are absolutely correct about the gun situation. With 300 million guns in the U.S. at last count, I now assume everyone is "Packin' heat." They sure are here in Ohio! We can't own enough guns.

And if someone can relate a time when they called the number on the sign to report an aggressive driver, then were later contacted by the police who tell them that they are going to press charges due to their call, etc, I will greatly appreciate it. It will restore my faith in the legal system. I can't wait to be proven wrong, once again.

 

[AKsuited]

Then there's this guy...

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/naked-man-flees-huge-crash-499798083716

All I can say is, check your six, use your mirrors, pay attention, and good luck...all types of total idiots out there.

Harry

 

[pete4638]

The reason that there are so few cases where a road-rage incident makes it way through the legal system, to a successful prosecution is that most people never contact law enforcement when the find themselves targeted by a threatening driver. Those who do often are not able to provide sufficient information to accurately describe the vehicle or the driver. It is not as if someone was threatening you with a shotgun from the front porch of his home. Without a tag number, it can be very difficult to locate the perp. Most of the people who do have a tag number with a description of the car and driver, and who do contact law enforcement, fade away when it come time to try the case in court.

Some people don't have the time for depositions or to testify in court. Others are afraid of the perp and a lot of people just don't want to get involved. If the victim is willing to follow through with law enforcement, drivers who threaten them with motor vehicles can be successfully prosecuted.

By not reporting theses threats, you are guaranteeing that the thug that was trying to run you off the road will receive no negative consequences for his actions and will be even more likely to do the same thing to someone else.

Pete

That seems a tad unfair, to me. We are all sitting at our computers. He and his wife were out on the open road, and could easily have been seriously injured or killed had the car driver gotten just a tad closer. I really didn't get the feeling that he "provoked" the guy in the first place. He agrees that his emotions got the better of him, and it was a mistake. As a passenger, my wife has to trust me completely, her life is in my hands on that bike. She is also the mother of our children. If someone tries to kill us both, yes, I can understand how my temper might momentarily usurp my better judgement.

Of course you are absolutely correct about the gun situation. With 300 million guns in the U.S. at last count, I now assume everyone is "Packin' heat." They sure are here in Ohio! We can't own enough guns.

And if someone can relate a time when they called the number on the sign to report an aggressive driver, then were later contacted by the police who tell them that they are going to press charges due to their call, etc, I will greatly appreciate it. It will restore my faith in the legal system. I can't wait to be proven wrong, once again.