The Chainlink

Threatening driver registry

I had something happen today that I've never seen before.

On my way home from work, I was riding in the left lane on Franklin and just before Washington, a guy in a black BMW came up from behind me and almost pinned me between him and a parked taxi. I yelled and he swerved and passed me calling me a pussy- then he stopped about 50 feet ahead at the stoplight.  Here is where things got weird. I passed him on the left just before Randolph and as I passed him, he reached out and tried to grab me. He had to stop at the light again and when he did, he slammed on his breaks and I think he took off his seatbelt and reached into the backseat  and showed me a baseball bat. The whole time continuing to calling me a pussy and hurling gay slurs.

I ride hard, but I'm safe and way more considerate than 90% of people out there. I've also been riding year round since 2003 and have had my share of yelling matches with drivers. As and "older" guy with a family, who has seen a lot,  I've been riding more cautious and safer than ever, but things keep getting weirder out there. This is the first time someone has tried to grab me and the first to threaten me with a baseball bat. 

It's really disheartening, everyone is getting more aggressive and less respectful out there. And more than anything, I kind of feel sorry for a guy who has a baseball bat at the ready in his back seat.

I am assuming that the police can't really do anything. Besides being a giant A-hole and a homophobe, I'm sure the law doesn't really care about his threats like this.  What I am more concerned about is if this guy has a habit of doing this and if he turns those threats into action sometime.  There should be some record of his pattern of threatening behavior.  I am the first to forgive people, and I know that we all make mistakes, but the more I think about this situation, the more concerned I get about this guy actually hurting someone. So is there a place to report this kind of activity?  maybe we should start a threatening driver registry if it doesn't already exist.   in the meantime...watch out for a black BMW SUV with Illinois plates R24 1979 

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dirke on June 2, 2016 at 2:00pm

Q: What's the difference between a Porcupine and a BMW?

A: a porcupine has it's pricks on the outside

Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on June 9, 2016 at 10:44am
Excellent!
Permalink Reply by Dean Bekken on June 2, 2016 at 5:43pm
Easy plate to remember (high school grad year). Another "older" rider, I will point out that a baseball bat can't be swung if one is covered in bicycle. As soon as a driver exits vehicle, first take his picture, with car and plate if possible. This usually makes them scurry right back behind the wheel and flee. If not, see above. Mace is available - and in several delivery forms - through Amazon.
Permalink Reply by Tim on June 3, 2016 at 11:21am

Good points, Dean. I always make sure to put myself in a safe situation if there are any interactions with vehicles. In this case, after he reached out for me and we were both stopped, I was a half car-length in front of him so if he got out of the car, he would have to go around his door to get to me, and if he completely lost his mind and tried to run me down, he would have hit the car in front of him first.  Also, when he pulled out the bat, the sidewalk was crowded and I yelled towards the sidewalk "this guy is threatening me with a bat".

Permalink Reply by Maurice on June 2, 2016 at 9:40pm
A driver threatens an unarmed cyclist with 2 deadly weapons, but the cyclist is the one who is a pussy? Seems like a reasonable assessment of the situation.
Permalink Reply by Tim on June 3, 2016 at 9:19am

That's what I thought too. It's laughable.  I'm sure he makes boatloads more money than I do so if that makes him feel more manly, he wins I guess. But conversely, I can guarantee I spend way less time looking at myself in the mirror, I build things with my hands, I can fix his car and my bike and etc.

Permalink Reply by Michael Mackaplow on June 3, 2016 at 8:31am
In my experience, on average, bikers are much more disrespectful of the laws the drivers. This is from my experience as both a biker and driver in Chicago. Bikers have a higher frequency of blowing through traffc signals and getting angry at drivers that respond angrily to this. Yes, we need to hold Drivers accountable for bad behavior, but we need to also need to hold bikers accountable. If we want to be respected rights on the road, we also have to respect the traffic rules equally.
Permalink Reply by V W on June 3, 2016 at 9:39am
It's a lot more dangerous when a multi thousand pound motorized vehicle doesn't adhere to traffic laws then when a bicycle rider does the same thing (and the cyclist's doing so puts himself at much more risk then when a driver does so).

It's also unreasonable to expect cyclists to not do the Idaho stop. That's just how anyone who regularly bikes is going to ride. The fact we don't have an Idaho stop law in Illinois has more to do with the law disrespecting the reality of cycling than cyclists disrespecting the law.

Also your post insinuates a certain amount of victim blaming against Tim. As if he could've avoided this situation by coming to a complete stop at a stop sign or by giving the driver a friendly wave.
Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on June 3, 2016 at 8:32pm

Agreed. I like Idaho potatoes but I like the Idaho stop even more. I'm trying to cut down on carbs these days.

Permalink Reply by Irvin Steinert on June 9, 2016 at 9:15am

You are talking about morals in this statement the Mr. Macaplow discusses laws. Morals are opinions, laws are rules. We all have opinions about laws and you have expressed yours in a way that bolsters his argument. You don't respect certain specific laws that you don't like based on your own opinions because they affect you directly. You say you can't respect the law because it doesn't respect you. The Mr. Macaplow says cyclists often don't respect the laws; well...you agree and cite your own example and state it as "reality".

Permalink Reply by V W on June 9, 2016 at 9:23am
I might be bolstering his premise but I disagree with his argument that bikers need to be held accountable for every minor infraction, because the societal harm of a bicycle infraction vs a vehicular infraction should not be given equal weight. Anyway, as Yasmeen said, this is all better suited for a separate conversation in a separate thread. So I'll say no more.
Permalink Reply by Irvin Steinert on June 10, 2016 at 11:21am

His argument is only that cyclists should have respect for all and project that to the community at large as a responsibility to their own desires.  That is a struggle that has been waged in many minority communities and perhaps occasionally successful. I understand you disagree but you look at him and see only your own argument; but you are not unique in that regard. IMHO that's essentially what makes this conversation relevant.

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