Reading warrior1's post made me thing of something that happened to me last fall. I was driving (sorry) my wife's Honda Civic to work one morning and came upon a Michigan gravel train taking off very slow from a traffic light. Knowing how long it takes for these guys to get up to speed, I decided to pass him. He, on the other hand, decided that I wasn't going to pass and veered into the lane I was in forcing me to take to the shoulder to get around him. To which I extended my arm out the window and saluted him. Unfortunately for me there was another traffic light down the road which I got caught at behind a half dozen other cars. Meanwhile the truck driver, who apparently didn't care for my gesture, decided to give me a scare by flying by me in the oncoming traffic lane as close and fast as he could and pass the entire line of cars waiting at the light. However he misjudged the width of his rig and caught my left front wheelwell with his lug nuts, lifting my car right off the ground and destroying the fender and driver's mirror in the process. He never did stop and I ended up chasing him down the road in my little Civic like a rabbit chasing a hippo. In the meantime I was on the cell phone calling 911 who dispatched a local police officer and a Sheriff deputy to where I had finally caught him because the fur was beginning to fly between us. All along I felt I was going to have the last word because this 'professional' driver had actually hit my car while trying to be a smart a$$. I just knew he was going to be in big trouble now. Believe it or not, the deputy proceeded to inform me that the entire incident was all my fault, calling it road rage which started when I flipped the truck off. It didn't matter what the other guy did following that, it was still my fault because I was the instigator. As a result, if I wanted to pursue it further, it would be me receiving the ticket and/or going to jail, not the truck driver. I almost fell over, but decided to drop it there as this deputy was obviously misinformed and take it up with the Sheriff himself the next day, who told me the same thing. I only recite this entire event because, as we cyclists claim as much right to the roads as cars and trucks, we're probably subject to the same road rage laws as they. So the next time you're inclined to shout or otherwise gesture at someone who just cut you off or almost caused an accident, don't!! You could be starting something that doesn't turn out the way you expect it to. Under the road rage laws, anything and everything that happens after your action will be entirely your fault, even if the driver turns around and runs you right off the road (or worse). Even blowing your horn at someone else is considered road rage. Following the advice of the Sheriff, don't do anything to antagonize the idiot, I mean driver. Take down a license number and call the police. Let them handle it. Otherwise you could find yourself in more trouble than the other guy.
Believe It or Not!, Patrick
