Road Rage on the 401, May 21, 2014

[Rob MacLennan]

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I think it's the fight or flight response people inherently have.
Having someone almost kill me might make the risky attempt to knock a mirror off justifiable.

but then again who knows, talking about a situation is very different from being in a situation.

I once caved in someone's passenger side door with a steel shanked stovepipe boot while trying to push away from a car that was about to sideswipe me. THAT is a fight-or-flight reaction. Taking someone's mirror off is a decision.

To the OP: This sort of thing is why I ride with cameras and why so many people are resorting to dashcams in their cars. While slowing to impede someone's progress is a potential charge under HTA 172 (aka "the racing and stunting law") you obviously completed your pass, and so were likely still moving at more than the limit. It's not up to someone else to decide how much you should break the law by, so you have my sympathy. It happens to us too, though:

[video=youtube;04aOukFLNGI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04aOukFLNGI[/video]

 

[kiwi]

[Off Topic Note]
I swear, GTAM is better than having cable sometimes...

 

[gsxr guy]

Sorry you feel that way.... I don't "camp" in the left lane and I was legit passing at a reasonable rate and then getting out of the way. It actually speaks to how fast the biker was going that he was on my tail that quickly. At least now I have a good reason for not using the passenger side mirror.... I will miss it because I really did use it. Yes, I love to brag about my fuel consumption, or lack thereof. When you drive 50-60,000 kms/year and are on a limited income with, as I said, 5 kids, any savings are appreciated.
My wife just made the point when someone is tailgating her, she feels like she is being bullied. I never thought of it that way.

When you use your cage to teach us a lesson, we feel like there is a 3000 pound 357 magnum pointed at us.

 

[slbert]

120km/hr, 1 km.... 29 seconds to pass. Jeez, you guys make it sound like an eternity. Oh, just for the record, I don't give anyone the finger, unless I know them.... and even then it is just joking with them.
Anyway, I can see this is divisive topic, my rant is done..... I am at peace.
But, if anyone sees that biker, smack him upside the head for me.

 

[rafiki911]

Smack him for reacting to your bad driving. Sure

 

[PLau]

120km/hr, 1 km.... 29 seconds to pass. Jeez, you guys make it sound like an eternity. Oh, just for the record, I don't give anyone the finger, unless I know them.... and even then it is just joking with them.
Anyway, I can see this is divisive topic, my rant is done..... I am at peace.
But, if anyone sees that biker, smack him upside the head for me.

The only description you gave us of that biker is "a sportbiker". I think I'll pass on smacking every sportbiker in the head....

 

[kiwi]

The only description you gave us of that biker is "a sportbiker". I think I'll pass on smacking every sportbiker in the head....

next he'll be here complaining about the loud pipe harley guys in front of him and having to overtake them.. or somethign like that.

I wish cops here actually ticketed impeding traffic.. In Aust./NZ you will get ticketed..

 

[Dresden]

OP, better get yourself checked incase it was TAFB.







j/k :lmao:







Seriously though.. better check yo 'self foo

 

[MarkC]

I had to read and re read this. You say he took out the passenger mirror? Did he go between you and the truck? That is pretty dangerous. Or when you relaxed on the throttle did you create the classic box position .....EDIT... I think you had already passed the truck?? The reason I ask is if you were beside the truck why wouldn't he just pass on the shoulder if he was so impatient (that's probably what I would do if I were a rager) I won't hurl abuse at you, nor will I condone his actions, but as others have said it takes two here and I think both have to share the blame for this. For me anyway, on the basis of one side of the story something just isn't adding up here.

If you want a takeaway from this, please don't play games with someone on two wheels, although it didn't happen in this case, it's usually the two wheeler that loses.

Finally, did you do a shoulder check before you entered the fast lane? Maybe that's what precipitated this mess? Or could you have done something to piss him off much before the passing maneuver ? As a rider, we often get cut off and the drivers that did it have no idea it even happened. Everyone on this board can surely appreciate the classic "oh there's my exit" and a car zips across one or more lanes to reach it, never knowing there's a motorcycle in his way ( if I had a Nickel for every time that happened...).

be safe, and be aware...

 

[Primal]

Im ready to bet if we could ask the "sportbiker" he would say he was going down the fast lane passing 2 slower vehicles when some guy pulled right out in front of him with no signal doing 105 and took 2min to pass the truck beside him, Im sorry but if you got your mirror smashed off you obviously put his life in danger somehow.

 

[slbert]

I had to read and re read this. You say he took out the passenger mirror? Did he go between you and the truck? That is pretty dangerous. Or when you relaxed on the throttle did you create the classic box position .....EDIT... I think you had already passed the truck?? The reason I ask is if you were beside the truck why wouldn't he just pass on the shoulder if he was so impatient (that's probably what I would do if I were a rager) I won't hurl abuse at you, nor will I condone his actions, but as others have said it takes two here and I think both have to share the blame for this. For me anyway, on the basis of one side of the story something just isn't adding up here.

If you want a takeaway from this, please don't play games with someone on two wheels, although it didn't happen in this case, it's usually the two wheeler that loses.

Finally, did you do a shoulder check before you entered the fast lane? Maybe that's what precipitated this mess? Or could you have done something to piss him off much before the passing maneuver ? As a rider, we often get cut off and the drivers that did it have no idea it even happened. Everyone on this board can surely appreciate the classic "oh there's my exit" and a car zips across one or more lanes to reach it, never knowing there's a motorcycle in his way ( if I had a Nickel for every time that happened...).

be safe, and be aware...

I saw him coming in my mirror, but he was a long way back, did my over shoulder check going into passing lane. He might have been under the impression I cut him off and I might have, at the speed he was going..... but he was way back when I checked. He smacked my mirror after passing the truck. I was about to go into the center lane in front of the truck, blinker on, but he pre-empted me, sort of like the truck video above. I would have estimated his speed at 140-150 after he passed me, don't know what speed he was doing to catch up to me so fast in the first place.
I don't mean smack every sport biker..... just this dude when he starts to brag about it.

 

[dasiffy]

I once caved in someone's passenger side door with a steel shanked stovepipe boot while trying to push away from a car that was about to sideswipe me. THAT is a fight-or-flight reaction. Taking someone's mirror off is a decision.

i'm going to have to disagree with you there. Fight or flight is a decision. what you described was a reaction.

Think cave man times - If your in a field picking berries and a tiger comes charging at you

Do you pick up a rock or stick and get ready for a fight?

Or

Do you run and look for a tree to climb?

 

[Rob MacLennan]

i'm going to have to disagree with you there. Fight or flight is a decision. what you described was a reaction.

Think cave man times - If your in a field picking berries and a tiger comes charging at you

Do you pick up a rock or stick and get ready for a fight?

Or

Do you run and look for a tree to climb?

Fight or flight reaction is a hardwired biological reaction that constricts the pupils, fired the adrenal gland, and increases the heart rate in preparation to doing one of the two listed things. Lifting your hand (or more effectively your foot) and taking off someone's mirror takes a conscious decision. It's not an instinctive reaction.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/fear2.htm

 

[CafeRay]

I had a cabbie throw french fries at me 2 days ago. No idea why. I wasn't tailgating him or riding aggressively.

maybe you looked hungry.

 

[CafeRay]

I guess one question is why you didn't get the plate number.

The biker was being an idiot, and was putting himself at stupid risk, over what?

 

[dasiffy]

Fight or flight reaction is a hardwired biological reaction that constricts the pupils, fired the adrenal gland, and increases the heart rate in preparation to doing one of the two listed things. Lifting your hand (or more effectively your foot) and taking off someone's mirror takes a conscious decision. It's not an instinctive reaction.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/fear2.htm

All of these physical responses are intended to help you survive a dangerous situation by preparing you to either run for your life or fight for your life

I was talking about the psycology

An evolutionary psychology explanation is that early animals had to react to threatening stimuli quickly and did not have time to psychologically and physically prepare themselves. The fight or flight response provided them with the mechanisms to rapidly respond to threats against survival

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight-or-flight_response


But maybe you're right. The decision to aggressively respond, is the fight or flight, but the choice to hit the mirror wasn't.

 

[RockerGuy]

Nah just landed on the road in front of me. Maybe it was just coincidence that I was behind him and he just didn't want that handful of fries?

Did he ask you if you wanted fries with that?

 

[Roomie]

Holy ****, $600-$800? What car do you drive????

OEM Honda Accord replacement heated mirror was $250.

Drive anything German. ...Also paint is usually involved and install time if you don't know how to do it yourself. Different example: guy at work had a bird hit his headlight and cracked the lens on a new dodge ram. Dealer cost on the replacement light is 700+ bucks. Some of those items aren't as cheap as people think.

 

[unL33T]

Drive anything German. ...Also paint is usually involved and install time if you don't know how to do it yourself. Different example: guy at work had a bird hit his headlight and cracked the lens on a new dodge ram. Dealer cost on the replacement light is 700+ bucks. Some of those items aren't as cheap as people think.

$700 is cheap for a headlight. I have a friend with a BMW and another with a Lexus. Both were quoted $1500 for a new headlight assembly.

 

[Schneller]

But, if anyone sees that biker, smack him upside the head for me.

Keep an eye open for a VW with a duct taped passenger mirror.

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