how to handle someone with road rage?

Commuting to work this morning, I turned off of Hubbard and turned onto Green Street and signaled a left turn onto Kinzie and followed all traffic laws in the process. A jerk in his suit and silver Audi came up behind me and got within inches of hitting me while I was waiting on a cement truck to make the left turn. I turned around and told him to "watch it" because his bumper was about an inch from my rear tire. He proceeded to lose his sh*t on me...I mean screaming, cussing, flailing about in the driver seat like he was having a seizure...I thought he was going to floor it and put me under his wheels....I quickly turned left and cut off the cement truck making the turn and a car because I was actually that concerned for my life. What's do you do in these situations?

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on May 10, 2012 at 10:11am

My attorney has advised me not to discuss what I do in these situations...

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Permalink Reply by dan brown on May 10, 2012 at 10:18am

nice one dug.

same here. don't do as we do

notoriousDUG said:

My attorney has advised me not to discuss what I do in these situations...

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Permalink Reply by spencewine on May 10, 2012 at 10:23am

I mean more along the lines of diffusing the situation rather than cracking a window in retaliation. I would think that if the situation could be diffused, perhaps it is a win for bikers because that person might rethink their behavior towards bikers. But, perhaps diffusing it would have been impossible considering how irrational this guys behavior was. Maybe I should install a unicorn on the back of my bicycle...it's hard to freak-out on someone with a unicorn.

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Permalink Reply by daWillinChi on May 10, 2012 at 10:51am

LOL.

That's I'm getting an HD Pro.

notoriousDUG said:

My attorney has advised me not to discuss what I do in these situations...

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy on May 10, 2012 at 10:53am

I've become a big fan of the fake-positivity of a sarcastic thumbs up over everything else. It's not as common as the middle finger and most people don't seem to know how to react to something that's not aggressive or ramping things up. I've flashed it to people and instead of continuing to freak out they freeze.

It won't change anyone's dangerous behavior when it comes to sharing the road, but it might get the point across in a slightly safer manner than cracking a window or taking a risk in traffic to get away from someone.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 10, 2012 at 11:06am

Sometimes a double-thumbs up is even more betterer in these situations -complete with a big, cheesy, full-tooth smile and perhaps even a wink.

It is full of the awesomesauce. I will sometimes accompany it with a few, "kind sir/Ma'am," comments followed by a thanks and/or a much appreciated. A "no worries" or two thrown in doesn't hurt either.

People just don't know what to do when you talk to them like this...

Jeremy said:

I've become a big fan of the fake-positivity of a sarcastic thumbs up over everything else. It's not as common as the middle finger and most people don't seem to know how to react to something that's not aggressive or ramping things up. I've flashed it to people and instead of continuing to freak out they freeze.

It won't change anyone's dangerous behavior when it comes to sharing the road, but it might get the point across in a slightly safer manner than cracking a window or taking a risk in traffic to get away from someone.

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy on May 10, 2012 at 11:30am

I completely agree! There's something so insane about throwing someone two big thumbs up that's so out there it can't help but be fantastic. And winking makes everything better.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 10, 2012 at 11:33am

If a double thumbs-up isn't going big enough, then just pivot right into a Buddy Christ with an extra-big wink and the audible cheek-snap smile.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on May 10, 2012 at 11:47am

+1

Chris C said:

I would have pulled my bike off to the side to get out of his direct path and enjoyed the show.

The marketing department at HD Pro is really missing out. Their ads are tailored to the positive qualities of humanity i.e. cool action/sport/vacation videos with mega-happy faces. They should have a separate ad campaign directed towards cyclists who want to document this kind of bullshit.