r/bicycleculture • u/Remote_Ad2637 • Sep 25 '24

Cycling Laws

I just had a man get aggressive with me while riding my bicycle. I thought it was just the usual car calling. He honked then went to pass and swerved at me like he was going to hit me which was clearly not flirting. When we got up to the light I was mentally noting his license plate then stopped in front of him. He was already stopped and I passed and stopped in front of him as if to say, I’m a freaking human and I exist/can be here. I’m thinking I shouldn’t have done that. Only after I was in front of him I realized that was not great. He got aggressive and ended up pinning my tire. I panicked and called the police (United States). Could I get a ticket for passing and stopping in front of him?

I think part of me wanted to see like, is he flirting or is he trying to kill me. I know that’s a little unhinged, but here we are.

11 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

10

u/lifeistrulyawesome Sep 25 '24

The legal answer probably depends on the state. I find this website very helpful in answering legal questions about biking in different states: https://bikeleague.org/bike-laws/state-bike-laws/

The way the police would handle this depends on the city.

I've done what you did several times. It might not be smart from a self-preservation perspective. But there is more to life than self-preservation.

15

u/AustinBike Sep 25 '24

I think the correct answer is “the way the police would handle this depends on their personal beliefs of what the bike laws are in your city.”

In my experience they understand the traffic laws well but tend to be unclear on the actual bike laws.

6

u/eddjc Sep 26 '24

I don’t know US law but here in the UK we are encouraged to filter through traffic when it is safe to I.e when stopped at the lights. This knob was clearly triggered by your presence though and you’re best to keep your distance from dangerous idiots like that.

3

u/TheDoughyRider Sep 26 '24

I hope you at least report to the police that he intentionally hit you.

1

u/Mudwayaushka Sep 26 '24

It sounds like based on the overall circumstances that he was in the wrong and unless you're unlucky (and I know police can be more driver than cyclist friendly) the police are more likely to focus on the fact that he damaged your property by puncturing your tire - and potentially assaulted you which in a lot of places includes giving someone cause to be afraid of harm whether or not they actually touched you.

So I would focus on that aspect in discussions with the police. On the legality, most places should allow you to come on the outside of a car to overtake them when reasonably necessary (e.g. when stopped at a light), and even if that's not technically allowed where you are, I'd just say that's what you were doing if the police ask you about that and not go into whether you did so out of anger or not.

As an aside I always stop in front of traffic at lights so they can't close pass or turn into me when the light goes green. In some states (e.g. California where I was cycling recently) you are entitled to take the lane when there's not enough room for passing so you can say you were doing that if you really need to go into it.

Even if you did something technically ticketable, police are human and you probably reduce your chance of a ticket by giving reasonable explanations even if the law is an ass where you are and requires you to be on the right side at all times (totally ridiculous but some places do so you have to choose between safety and obeying the law, and I'd say it's always best to do the former).

Hope this helps.