Dealing With Aggressive Drivers

Last week, an 81 year old man was arrested for allegedly running down a cyclist. The cyclist fled the road in attempt to escape on to a golf course but the driver followed and struck him. As far as we know, the cyclist did absolutely nothing wrong.

Terrifying.

The driver then fled the scene. While the victim had a general description, he was unable to get the license plate number of the hit-and-run vehicle that struck him.

The story has an upside, a lesson.

As it turns out, this road rager has a history of harassing cyclists. In October 2011, a woman reported the same driver to police. Although the police did not find evidence of a crime in 2011, her report and description helped identify him.



So how can we deal with aggressive drivers?

1. Ride in groups, the adage "safety in numbers" applies to cycling.
2. Be a good ambassador for cycling. What we do on the roads shapes public opinion towards all cyclists.  Try to deescalate, rather than escalate altercations. 
3. Alert the police to possible drunk drivers and report aggressive drivers.