Road Rage... stay away from it!

[vinny]

So there are any number of things that can trigger a road rage incident... the thing is... you never know what will trigger another driver! When you are on a bike, you are at a severe DISADVANTAGE!
You should never escalate a road rage incident in any vehicle, much less while on a bike:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAuTP4ojTUs
Good example here in this video.
Remember... whatever happened or happens, if you are still on the bike and alive... stay that way! Let it go and LIVE!

 

[Mellow]

Both were idiots... and both end up paying for it.

 

[Thunderchief]

The driver of the car has been arrested and is jailed with a very high bond. This car driver is an Illegal Alien who was driving without a license.

 

[ST Gui]

Anybody could be be a road rage suspect or victim. The demographics are pretty wide spread and there're generally no symptoms or warning.

Somebody here once suggested how we conduct ourselves might have an affect on how we're treated and possibly avoid triggering an incident. He was then accused of blaming the victim. Geeze Louise.

Both were idiots... and both end up paying for it.

QED

 

[Upt' North]

It just goes to show, you shouldn't let little green men with long probing fingers drive cars. Aliens indeed.
Sometimes it can be hard to let it go, but it's always better to do so.
Let's hope he got/gets what's coming to him.
Upt'North.

 

[forgitaboutut]

ANY sign of aggression or BS ..I back waaay off...once I chose to just do a QUICK U-turn and disappear!...dude was on his brakes and looking for me....

 

[ST Gui]

Aliens indeed.

Not at all relevant to causation but it might mean he does time and gets deported. That would be my wish. Of course I'd wish any US citizen or legal alien who commits road rage on anybody be banished to the Phantom Zone.

Let's hope he got/gets what's coming to him.

And silver lining let's hope the rider got some sense knocked into him. It didn't seem like it from the video.

'Let it go' should be a mantra. I suspect that if the rider got a mulligan he'd handle it differently. The trick is to do so before an occurrence escalates to incident and becomes a teaching moment.

 

[Oldbikefixr]

Don't forget.......many 'aggressive' drivers are just a****les looking for trouble. These folks simply are not concerned about consequences but some twisted form of instant gratification. Attract their attention and it becomes your problem.

 

[Uncle Phil]

The fact is the car/truck driver always has 'right of weight' against motorcycles ... ;-)

 

[Andrew Shadow]

Whether or not the rider bears some of the responsibility is a debate for how the situation escalated but not for the end result in my opinion. No matter what the rider did the actions taken by the car driver can never be justified- he was in no immediate danger so no extreme actions were called for. Part of the irony of riding a motorcycle is as riders we try as hard as we can to be as visible as we can for as much of the time as possible until we see a confrontation developing- then we try as hard as we can to be as invisible as we can to not attract attention. Competing necessities I guess.

 

[TPadden]

'Let it go' should be a mantra.

I disagree; "Get away" should be the mantra. Just because you let it go doesn't mean the other party will. You have a throttle and brake, use one or the other to get seperation.

Tom

 

[MaxPete]

Yup - we have everything going for us - better brakes, acceleration and in many cases, maneuverability - but we do not have bulk and weight.

To compensate - we have to employ superior brains.

Pete

 

[TPadden]

To compensate - we have to employ superior brains.

Pete

Where do you get them and how much are you paying?

Tom

 

[bdalameda]

Here's a post I made some time ago about a road rage situation I found myself in the middle of. It really shook me up at the time.

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?93064-Ragin-Cager&highlight=

 

[broc11]

So it's ok to be in the US if you're just a regular Alien then? where are they coming from? area 51?

The motorcyclist was acting like a tool but he didn't deserve this, better to defuse the situation and just get the hell out of there, if they stopped and faced each other man to man they'd likely do nothing, in the road rage situation however normal rules don't seem to apply.

 

[Uncle Phil]

So it's ok to be in the US if you're just a regular Alien then? where are they coming from? area 51?.

Been there, done that, but got no T-Shirt ....

http://www.unclephil.us/Highway502017Day11.htm

 

[MaxPete]

Cool story UP - thanks for sharing that one. I am always a little suspicious of loooonnnggg straights - with what appears to be a lone truck on it. You never know what lurks behind that truck - and what sort of twit might be driving what lurks behind that truck.

Pete

 

[vinny]

in the road rage situation however normal rules don't seem to apply.
If you are a victim of road rage... you are just the object of the other party's rage. Normal rules don't apply because the dynamics are so different. The person with the rage usually has other emotional issues festering inside him/her. When they climb in their vehicle, they feel safe with a steel cage around them... it's their space and they're in charge. The other issues I mentioned most likely have been brewing for quite some time, months or even years. Emotional stress due to relationship issues they cannot seem to get worked out or don't know how to work out. You may live with someone like that or even work next to someone like that... and not even know it.
The long and short of it... Road Rage is a deep seething anger that will be released on a "neutral" party with just the slightest trigger, and that could be just about anything. It is "nothing to mess with". Because of the longevity and source of this anger, the one suffering will vent it when they feel safe in their vehicle which becomes the tool for releasing and lashing out. Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with you... you just happen to be in the wrong place and the right time. Something about you or your actions triggered this individual and now you are going to get dumped on. It can be very serious and very dangerous. The person may have just lost a job, their house, going through a divorce, or who knows what and may be at their wits end. They might be out to end their own life and are too cowardly to do it alone and use you as an excuse. Really, this person may have "Nothing" to lose....! You on the other hand have "Everything" to lose. Let it go!
A couple more things about road rage... There are some ways to diffuse it. 1) Do not challenge the person. They will only counter and raise the stakes! 2) Let them think they have "won". This allows them to think they are still in control... You can do this by raising an open palm and mouth the word "Sorry". This is an important part of gaining actual control and not allowing it to escalate. Remember, this person may try to kill you. If the open palm doesn't work, then work on getting out of their path. 3) Get out of their path. Separate by as many lanes as possible and "do not" try to pass them... passing them is a "Challenge". 4) Try your best not to make eye contact. Eye contact is treated as a challenge. 5) If any or all of the preceding do not diffuse the aggression, then get out of their sight by exiting the hwy, taking a turn , go another way (remember... stay behind them so you can make these escape maneuvers) if you pass them they will only follow you.
All of this is much easier than waking up in the hospital or not waking up at all.

 

[BakerBoy]

Yes, best advice is to get away from it when you can. I see forms of it every day.

I witnessed a 'good' example of escalating road rage earlier this week, 6:30am on my commute to work in my car on a 2 lane freeway ...

A couple white males, each alone in their SUV, got all ragey with each other immediately in font of me. The slower one of the two (doing ~65mph) pulled in front of the faster one (doing ~70 mph) to pass a slow semi, and then the incident started, first escalated by the ~70 mph driver that had to slow down. There were no offramps, so the incident escalated for over the next couple miles they got close to yell and finger salute, then crowding the other in the same lane, then swerving at each other, and then turning it into a daring game of accelerating and swerving in front of each other while braking hard. I and others kept slowing down, giving them space, trapped behind them. After exchanging many such aggressive, spontaneous maneuvers, one pulled over and braked at full power onto the shoulder as if inviting a physical confrontation. The other driver braked hard and stopped beside the first car (stopping in a travel lane). A moment later the one stopped in the travel lane took off and sped down the freeway at high speed (which was then empty for 1+ miles ahead) while the other thankfully stayed on the shoulder.

I thought I was going to witness an impact or a rollover, and when they stopped beside each other I thought I'd witness a fistfight or perhaps gunfire. It was apparent very quickly they were oblivious to the other vehicles on the road--there were insanely focused solely on each other.

I was not thinking about taking their license plate numbers and was more concerned about staying safe from them and other traffic behind me.

Later I started wondering ... what if I were on my motorcycle?? Obviously more maneuverable, with more acceleration and better braking ... those would be my friends in dire situations. But better yet is to actively avoid them: don't be the cause, don't escalate them (be submissive and given them space), and actively flee them when possible.

 

[Dale_I]

We just had an incident in Seattle where a road rage cage pinched a female sport bike into the center lane barrier. He climbed out and as he tried to get to her, yelling and obviously intent on harm, she pulled a gun and shot him. He died and a couple weeks ago a court decided it was a justified shooting. Probably still cost her a bunch in legal fees.

Just say no...