Do you think its time for me to quit workin in the city?

[AF_Bill]

Background info: I work part time at a comedy club in downtown Baltimore. I ride my bike as much as I can down there due to the extreme lack of parking. There have been a few times where I've had near missed with cabs but they all drive like a$$holes.

So this past friday night, its around 1am as I'm leaving the club. I'm sitting at a red light with a car in front of me, and another beside me. A van full of people come up behind me a few sec later. The light is still red and they honk the horn at me. I ignore it because there's no where for me to go. The driver then proceedes to gun his engine a few times which causes me to turn around and look at him, letting him know I see, hear, and ain't moving. When the lights turns green, the car in front of me doesn't move due to the cab stopped in the middle of the intersection. The driver of the van decides this ins't acceptable to him, so he honks the horn again and starts moving towards me. At this point, I turn around again and notice that the lane to my right is open and clear for a block. I grap the bars and swing into the right lane to avoid the idiot and (against my better judgement and MD laws) proceded to slowly ride between lanes to get away.
Made it a few blocks away and pulled over infront of a bar I usually stop at on my nights off, and light up a cigarette. It freaked me out because this is the only time I've ever had someone deliberatly try and hit me. So you think I need to quit my job or start bringing my gun with me?

 

[duper850]

Bring the gun!

Bring the gun!

You did the right thing and I need a cigerette now!
This could of happened in a car as well, so I'd blow it off.
I was traveling in Cananda and stopped to stay in a small hotel and got bad vibes from the people around me so I packed up and left. Humans are always trying to reason things. If the hairs on your neck are standing on end there is a good reason. Can you imagine a deer become alert only to think ahh it's probably other deer goofin around.
Sure they could have been pranksters or maybe one bad apple in the van but your defenses were saying more. It's always the gut that knows.
It's to bad there wasn't an easy button that would call 10 other GS'ers to dismantle the van into a few hundred pieces right at the stop light.

I'd keep riding to work and dodging cabs!

 

[bobthebiker88]

if you're going to work in the city, park the motorcycle and buy an M35A2 to drive. when they start acting like daft wankers, lock the hubs and reverse.

bringing a gun may offer protection in the event of an attempted carjack, BUT where you were, were it me, I would have stood my ground, and let him hit. then the clowns would get to experience the law and be at fault for hitting you,which you could easily determine was intentional likely bumping it up from an accident to attempted vehicular homicide.

pulling a gun however will get you in a LOT more legal trouble. not a wise move.

 

[AF_Bill]

Very true. I told my buddies this story saturday night at a party and they asked if I had my knife on me. I told them yes as I never ride without it. They then said I should have put the kickstand down, walked over and popped the front tire on the van, then scooted into traffic.

 

[ddaniels]

You would have needed time to go get back on your bike, during which time they all could have gotten out of the van and beat you senseless. You did the right thing.

 

[kinnet]

I think you need to carry a brick in your tank bag. You don't need to get off the bike to throw it at a windshield.

 

[81GS750]

I hate cities and love guns. So, my answer would be quit working in the city and start carrying a gun. But, given the situation you did the right thing. I've been known to carry steel ball bearings in my pocket for use on tailgaters. Wrecks havoc on a windshield.

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

new a kid bit of a bonehead. he was fetching a small tin of paint I think hal pint to work.

had it in his unzippable jacket hand warmer pocket.

damaged and partially repainted a car but only by accident.

oh and though the pro-active approaches mentioned here are fine to talk about many are illegal and would only inflame rather than extinguish dangerous situations,

 

[bobthebiker88]

they would also further harm the motorcycle community as a whole by furthering our negative stereotype that many seem to have already of us.

 

[crazypaint]

flame thrower kit for the exhaust lol frie there a** then book it outa there ha ha ha ha.

 

[tkent02]

Something like my old 40mm spudguns mounted on either side of the seat, shooting backwards might work well.
It was great at moving slowpokes out of the passing lane.

 

[frempath]

If you have to ask if you should carry the firearm, the answer is no.
If you have to ask if you have had enough of large urban life, the answer is yes.

frempath

 

[almarconi]

I live in Baltimore City and used to commute to work on my bike. After getting hit once and numerous near misses, I don't ride the bike much any more. If I do, its for pleasure on the back roads or on the interstate (I feel more comfortable driving on the highway than dealing with city traffic).

Unless you have a concealed carry permit I would not even think about carrying a gun. The consequences of using it or getting caught with it are simply not worth it. Don't put yourself in that situation in the first place.

 

[SqDancerLynn1]

You need Jay Leno's jet bike !!!

 

[bobthebiker88]

Unless you have a concealed carry permit I would not even think about carrying a gun. The consequences of using it or getting caught with it are simply not worth it. Don't put yourself in that situation in the first place.

In FL, posession of a concealed weapon without the CCW permit, is actually a felony. absolutely agreed the risk is NOT worth the potential to fend off a potential violent crime.

however, folding pocketknives are perfectly legal as they are a functional tool more than a weapon, and JUST as efficient at close range.

 

[AF_Bill]

The ball bearing idea is great but only if I'm moving. Again, I was stopped at a red light. Hell, I even had the reflective orange patch sticking out the back of my jacket. Anyway, I was thinking about taking an idea from Batman. Carry a small pouch full of spike balls or something. You can use your imagination.

 

[tkent02]

When I dump my bike after hitting a bunch of used spike balls I will know who to blame.

 

[MikeJ]

Background info: I work part time at a comedy club in downtown Baltimore.

I'm in Columbia, 20 minutes away. Be happy to ride with ya some Sunday, Bill.

So this past friday night, its around 1am as I'm leaving the club. I'm sitting at a red light with a car in front of me, and another beside me. A van full of people come up behind me a few sec later. The light is still red and they honk the horn at me. I ignore it because there's no where for me to go. The driver then proceedes to gun his engine a few times

They were acting like jerkwads but I've seen that kind of showing off lots of times before, not only in cities, and not only against bikers. Don't you think teens cruising the strip in some small Midwestern town on Friday night with 3 or 4 of 'em in a vehicle (and trying to prove their manhood to each other) would pull the same kind of idiot stunt when they ease up behind somebody at a stoplight? You did the right thing not to confront them and escalate the situation from one of them engaging in harmless posing (to compensate for the size of their genitalia most likely - but we won't go there) into possibly coming to blows (or worse) with or without them still armored inside their 2-ton deadly weapon. And, they outnumbered you, and you had no idea what kind of offensive weapons they were carrying (besides the blunt instrument they were driving).

which causes me to turn around and look at him, letting him know I see, hear, and ain't moving. When the lights turns green, the car in front of me doesn't move due to the cab stopped in the middle of the intersection. The driver of the van decides this ins't acceptable to him, so he honks the horn again and starts moving towards me.

Scary? Yes, because on a bike you're so vulnerable to collisions with cagers even at low speeds. But I still think they were just being bully jerks and playing with you, not intending to really run into you. What good would that do them? Too many forms to fill out afterwards. Not that they seemed like the type who would think that far ahead...

At this point, I turn around again and notice that the lane to my right is open and clear for a block. I grap the bars and swing into the right lane to avoid the idiot and (against my better judgement and MD laws) proceded to slowly ride between lanes to get away.

Smart move. I doubt a cop would ticket you for lane splitting if you explained the situation after he stopped you, if you even ever got stopped for doing that. It's not like you were doing it for blocks on end, right? You just were getting past the blocked intersection with the gridlocked cab stuck in it, huh?

Made it a few blocks away and pulled over infront of a bar I usually stop at on my nights off, and light up a cigarette. It freaked me out because this is the only time I've ever had someone deliberatly try and hit me.

As I said before, I don't think they were deliberately trying to run into you. But they were getting too close for your comfort zone, and _were_ deliberately trying to annoy you, which is a different thing, common to your garden variety schoolyard bully as well. The best way to frustrate them is not to agree to play their game.

So you think I need to quit my job or start bringing my gun with me?

Oh, don't do either of those things. Just keep your head on full swivel when on your bike, assume _all_ cagers are out to kill you even if they are innocent old ladies, don't engage the aggressive ones to challenge them into even more aggressive behavior, and use the maneuverability and speed of your bike to get away from them as soon as possible.

 

[raistian77]

You did the right thing.
Dropping the kickstand and getting off might have been a real bad idea.
The driver was behind the wheel and in a better position to attack.

You never know
how many were in the vehicle
the mental state of the driver
he might have caught his S.O. cheating
he might have been drunk or high
he might have been just fired
or he might be plain old crazy.

Or getting off the bike might have been mistaken as a act of aggression and running you down as an act of self defense.

Anytime you can escape a situation or defuse it safely, you should. I have been known to stop in parking lots to let idiot agresive drivers get on down the road.

 

[earlfor]

I probably would not commute regularly on a motorcycle in Baltimore traffic in the first place. For that, my choice of vehicle would be an old F-150 with six foot lengths of thick wall, 8" diameter steel pipe welded to each bumper.

In answer to your question. Yes.

Earl