Guy Tries to Run Me Over on My Bike

[Jeff Higgins]

This is going to be pretty similar to Chrisf's thread, with the main difference being I was on my Ducati.

I was out on one of my evening rides down the Snoqualmie Valley the other night, right at dusk. I was on the West Valley Road, admittedly doing a good bit more than the posted 35 mph limit, when I caught up to an old Econoline van. He was clipping along pretty good himself, at a good 45-50 mph, so I just fell in behind him and waited for the next passing zone.

When we got to the next one, there was no oncoming traffic and a good half mile of visiblity. My bike is absolutely louder than hell at full melt, so being always cognizant of that, I try not to pass folks with it wide open. So I gently roll on the gas, not even down shifting, and ease around the van on the left. When I get even with the rear tire, the guy suddenly jerks it into the oncoming lane, clearly trying to hit me. Thank God the van must weight 5,000 lbs and wallows like a pig, and the Ducati stops like a dog hitting the end of his chain - I darn near did a 60 mph stoppie avoiding the collision.

So, now I'm back behind him, thinking WTF?!? and madder than a wet hen. And for some odd reason, he stays in the left lane. With any considerations about the noise of my bike startling him now out the window, I snick it down two gears and hammer it past him on the right. He snapped it back over (as quick as an old Econoline can "snap", anyway) and missed my rear tire by a couple of feet.

I was pissed, to say the least. I was also armed. There was a light controled intersection coming up in a couple of miles, and of course I had no trouble just running away from the van at that point. For a fleeting moment, I thought of parking the bike around the corner at that intersection, and waiting for this van, gun drawn and leveled at the windshield. For a fleeting moment... Then I thought better of it. It no doubt would have gotten very ugly very fast, and I really didn't need that. So I just kept riding.

It does bother me to think, however, that whoever did that is still out there somewhere. Hopefully he was having a very bad day or something, and has come to the cold realization of what he tried to do. I dunno. Maybe not. Maybe he will do it again, or keep practicing until he gets some one...

[charleskieffner]

call da cops.

[masraum]

I've heard of bikers carrying pockets full of pennies or bbs for that sort of thing. A handfull thrown over the shoulder is probably very irritating. Still, yeah, it's scary that that guy is still out there. Who knows what the deal was.

Makes Euthanasia seem like more of a plausible option, doesn't it.

[charleskieffner]

roofing nails about a 1/2 mile ahead.

[mudman]

Oh yeah, roofing nails are good for the van, and even better for the guy you don't know about on a bike a few miles behind the van...



I did carry 3/8 nuts with me when I used to ride. Pretty funny when you drop just a few at a time for a tailgater.

[stevepaa]

no, then you will get other cars or bikes.

call the cops

[trekkor]

I'm glad you are OK.


KT

[chrisf]

sorry about it Jeff. I hate the shakes that come after it happens. Makes me feel the only way to get them (the shakes that is) to stop is to do something about it, if you know what I mean.

~Chris

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by trekkor

I'm glad you are OK.


KT

Ditto. I quit riding a motorcycle a long, long, long time ago after having a woman deliberately run a red light (from a standing stop) and aim for me as I was almost halfway through an intersection. I'm absolutely convinced it was intentional and I hate to think of how I would've fared if I hadn't dumped the bike before we crossed paths.

[Superman]

My first few vehicles were motorcycles, though I have not ridden much in the last twenty years. I rode those bikes all over the West, as a younger guy. I had nearly every experience a rider can have. Some motorists do 'have it in' for bikers. A guy tried to run me down. Sure, a bike can maneuver better than a car and they have comparable top speeds but, at least at that time, a car's top speed was typically higher. American V8's. Anyhoo, just "losing" this guy was accomplished but not easy. He was indeed trying to run me over. We were in triple-digit speeds at times.

[Jeff Higgins]

Yeah, in retrospect, I should have called the cops. I actually could have waited out of sight at that intersection and gotten a license number for them. Oh well, "coulda woulda shoulda"... I should have thought of that.

Honestly, I was so pissed I never even thought of calling the cops, and I did have my cell with me. That, and I've never been one to "retaliate" or "get even" somewhat anonymously, like throwing something from the bike and skedaddling. I prefer my confrontations pretty much nose to nose, so there is no ambiguity about who has the problem and just what that problem may be. So, for me anyways, it was either stop and deal with him myself or just leave. Wanting to ride, rather than deal with this guy (perhaps violently) I chose to ride. Now I feel bad about leaving him on the loose.

Funny, when I really think about it, I'm not sure I can remeber ever calling the cops for anything. I guess I'm kind of a "do it yor self"-er in that regard. I'm never afraid of confrontation when I feel some one really needs it. This guy probably needed it. That said, I have no idea how many were in the van, whether he was armed, whether anyone else in there would have been armed as well, etc. I guess discretion was the better part of finishing my ride.

[livi]

Wow, Jeff! What an awful combination of scare, frustration and anger. Glad you did not come to any physical harm.

Despite being a doc and with all that Hippocrates stuff in mind, I swear, I find my self thinking that some/many people do not deserve walking this earth. Alas, that thought hits me more often for every year that goes by. Maybe I am just turning into an old fart.

[911boost]

I had that happen to me once when I was on my BMW GS. I was wearing Sidi dual sport boots, you know the ones with the metal over the toe section.

Those boots really mess up a car door....

[Jim Richards]

Jeff, road rage confrontations are not the smart play. Let the cops have the asshat...they'll appreciate your help in getting these people off the streets.

[speeder]

Glad to hear that it did not end tragically, (for you), but you always have to think of the danger someone like that poses to others on the road. It's not like he knows you personally and had it in for you. He would do that to anyone on a bike. He was trying to kill you. IMO, you have an obligation to report that kind of thing and a responsibility to see it out. Not a huge responsibility, mind you, but one none-the-less. Also not saying that you handled it all wrong, it's stressful as hell to encounter someone like that and at least you prevented yourself from becoming road-kill.

That kind of behavior towards MCs, (or bicycles/pedestrians/etc.), is homicidal, plain and simple. You would have been entirely within your rights to shoot him, depending on the exact circumstances. If someone is using a car as a weapon, it's a deadly weapon and cops can shoot to kill with very few questions asked. A guy I knew was killed on his bike in a road-rage incident many years ago by someone intentionally running him down. A person on a bike is no match for ton or two of rolling steel. What he should have done was get ahead of the threat and then pull-over in front of a large tree or other barrier, but he simply pulled-over to fight and the guy ran him down. Scary schyt...

[NICKG]

Originally Posted by masraum

I've heard of bikers carrying pockets full of pennies or bbs for that sort of thing. A handfull thrown over the shoulder is probably very irritating. Still, yeah, it's scary that that guy is still out there. Who knows what the deal was.

Makes Euthanasia seem like more of a plausible option, doesn't it.

yup..them and roofing nails..of course you can always wait fro him to go by and at the next intersection punch his tail light out (thats why they put them studs on the glove right?)
you almost have to ride like everyone is out to kill you these days

[NICKG]

Originally Posted by charleskieffner

roofing nails about a 1/2 mile ahead.

beat me to it...

[genrex]

It seems like every week in Seattle, there's a motorcyclist killed... by excessive speed, by an inattentive driver... and sometimes by a driver who kills cyclists deliberately. Jeff could've very easily been a statistic! A few weeks ago, a man was found dead on a straight stretch of road, laying near his bike. No obvious cause, no witnesses.

Road rage - and passive aggression - is very common these days. There are so many crazy people who can snap at any time. It really takes the fun out of it..

[Porsche-O-Phile]

There are plenty of jerks out there. I've had similar run-ins on my motorcycle also. Glad you're okay.

I don't know about WA's laws, but is it possible you'd have had legal basis to hold the guy at gunpoint (legal citizen's arrest) until P.D. got there? Not saying that would be the right course of action, but it sounds like you may have been in your legal rights to do it. Just curious.

Ride safely. Glad to hear nobody got hurt.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Pity it didn't end with you kicking his ass. Of course, considering that you were armed and faced with someone trying to kill you, perhaps it is best that you kept riding. There are some really fudged up people out there.