In article t, "Robert
Haston" wrote:

After seriously getting into it with a driver who decided to yell at me to
get on the sidewalk and reinforce his opinion with a close pass, I figured
I thought of an alternative to shouting at each other. I would just hand
them a notice:

Ah, if only they weren't driving something that can go faster than me...

So you think you're doing society a favor by harassing a cyclist:

1. You are wrong: According to Florida state statutes, cyclists have the
right to use all roads except interstate highways or similar access roads.
This is because forcing cyclists to use adjacent paths is often more
dangerous due to crossing traffic and poor visibility problems.

Of course, I'd change that to "New York," but...

2. It is illegal. Playing vigilante (especially when you are wrong) and
starting or escalating an altercation can result in assault charges.
Menacing a person with your car can get you convicted of assault with a
deadly weapon.

Whether or not it's ever happened with a cyclist as victim, I say there's
a first time for everything. Right on!

If you feel like being a vigilante, I might suggest you focus your intention
on drivers, who kill several thousand pedestrians and cyclists each year,
not cyclists who pose no real threat to anyone else.

I wouldn't go that far--at least I wouldn't say NO cyclists pose a threat
to anyone else. Some do--the ones who don't follow the rules and ride
recklessly. However, I would point out that it's wrong to focus one's
anger on a cyclist who is doing no wrong, but merely inconveniencing one
by forcing one to share the road, which is not all thine.

As to the popular myth that cyclists don't pay for roads: All local roads
(along with police, fire rescue, runoff control, crossing guards, and other
services) are paid for by property taxes. This combined with other
subsidies such as "free" parking, oil defense, and other subsidies are
several times greater than the few hundred dollars drivers pay in gasoline
taxes and license fees.

I'm curious: what about other taxes? I don't own property myself. Then
again, I do pay rent, which can be construed as helping my landlord
indirectly to pay his property tax.

The interesting ending to the story was the guy and I were going the same
way for about a mile after the altercation - a mile of roads with zero
sidewalks - a mile of me staying right behind him on the 25 MPH streets.
Boy, I was sure impeding his progress.

What a dork. Typical, though. These kinds of guys don't even want to share
the road with other motor vehicles--so when they see a bicycle, they
really fly off the handle. They think the most they can do to get back at
a fellow motorist is criticize the driving, but when they see a cyclist,
they think "Get off the !@$#!@! road!" is an appropriate response.

Unfortunately, I fear Rick is correct, in that engaging with these jerks
one-on-one is usually a losing proposition. Kind of like trying to teach a
pig to sing--all it does is prove futile and annoy the pig. What he's
saying is that when it's a cyclist vs. a motorist, the pig in question is
a boar with big tusks--and usually, it's the boar with the big tusks who
has the advantage in that fight.
--
Trudi

"Boy, there sure is a lot of tension around here tonight. It's like a Joan Crawford movie."