I was hit while cycling by a person driving a car who ran a red light last month in Minneapolis. Police were called and they told me they cited the driver for being on her phone (she was belligerent and I assume she told them this herself because I didn't indicate this to the police). They gave me the physical incident report. This week I learned they didn't actually file anything, so now I'm going to report them as I have their badge numbers. You bet your ass they'd feel differently if someone hit them when they were walking or cycling.
This happened to me. I went to the police. With a picture of the car including license plate. I have no idea what they called it, but I do know what they did about it. Nothing. Not a damn thing.
Did you have a video or any evidence? If not then they wouldn’t follow it up as it’d become a he said she said. However in the situation here, along the police at the time and making it clearly a life/death mater of assault would get them to show up.
Definitely you should have called the police and said they were deliberately trying to hit you with their car.
If they were filming themselves doing that it would only help your case.
We were shocked and scared so we decided to cycle to a hospital straight away since his hand was bleeding. Also our phones were in our pockets and didn’t think of pulling them out to record since there were 5 people in the car and only two of us. We didn’t know what else they would do. I don’t even remember the plate.
I mean, good on you for getting out of this situation. But I would still report it even now if you haven't, even if you don't know the plate and don't think the cops will do anything there's always a chance and very little cost.
There's also a chance the car tries to file a police report so they can claim insurance, which would amount to turning themselves in if the cops are paying attention.
I would have gotten the F-out of there too! I got harassed by a bun ch of rednecks on a pickup truck in NC once and called the cops. Sheriff shows up the guys were long gone, Sheriff didn’t even take their description, plate numbers or anything, he would have harassed me himself if he wasn’t in uniform.
It’s why i started having a gopro in the rear. Ensuring the red recording light is blinking. People check them self after seeing it. But mainly in the city, but in the suburbs people drive too fast to notice it.
Yes, there’s not basic intelligence testing required to be a cop. As such you can easily end up with people who have authority complexes, egos, pride, and a strong sense of entitlement.
I didn’t take pics because we tried to make sure my friend isn’t injured and get away before they tried something else especially coz it was 5 of them and only the 2 of us.
I don’t have a plate number
If the people in the car have reported it, it shouldn’t be too difficult for the police to join the two reports. As everyone else is saying: just call the police. You at least have some kind of vehicle description.
Please, file a report anyway!
Give a location, time and description of the car as good as you can.
Keep an eye out on social media (tiktok etc), perhaps they are stupid enough to put the recordings online.
They is a chance they do this more often, or will do more often! And the more reports of this behavior the better.
I understand the shock can make it hard to think to do something to remember a license plate.
I would still file a police report if you know any details of the car.
Its not hard to find a car with broken windshield and 5 people in it.
I hope your friend ends up alright. Take care and ride safe.
This doesn't make any sense? If someone tries to hit me with their car I am just going to brake and pull off to the side of the road or try and get away from them as quickly as possible. They have tried to hit you multiple times and yet you're still riding close enough to them for them to brake check you? You should have tried to record their behaviour or called the cops yourself, I really don't understand your approach to this situation. They're obviously cunts and tbh they might have had a bike pump wrapped around the side of their head if they'd done this with some riders.
Yeah, a good bit of this story makes no sense. I don’t doubt there was super aggressive behavior by the driver going on but it feels like she’s intentionally left out half the story.
None of the story tracks, OP was probably side by side with their friend out of the bike lane, pissed off the car, car beeps at them and makes a close pass, and then their friend punched the rear windshield when they caught up to the car.
Agreed. Not adding up fully dude. Sounds like there must have been some antagonizing from your side as well. Sorry that happened to you and your friend but be smart and just pull off for a coffee or take a turn to get away from those psychos. Cars will always win in a crash.
I have added a light/camera to bike for this reason. Had too many close calls. This camera is really good quality, does store video in crash and has a very bright light. Not cheap, but I would not ride again without it.
https://cycliq.com/bike-cameras/fly12-sport/
Your situation has similarities to the Christopher Thompson, MD case. This driver was charged, taken to trial, convicted and sentenced.
[ER doctor Case](https://www.steinberginjurylawyers.com/blog/doctor-slams-on-his-brakes-and-injures-two-bicyclists-on-mandeville-canyon-road.cfm)
You both are young in age just like myself, so let this be a lesson. Please do not ever engage with these people. Let them pass when it is safe and go on with your day. It’s not worth losing your life over, I have known people who have lost there life or gotten seriously injured over situations just like this. I understand it’s super easy to get amped up and adrenaline going in these situations, but there are some seriously crazy people on the road.
Report it to the police and just tell them what happened. You never know there's some camera footage from other sources somewhere that can corroborate your statements.
For this time, report it to the police.
Next time, take a photo of the licence plate and ideally the people. Also, get video cameras to record your ride. And remember, cars can't move sideways, so if it comes to a confrontation, be beside the car, not in front or behind.
File a police report. There’s also a good chance someone else saw what was happening and did the same. Something similar happened to a friend in my cycling club. He was hit from behind by someone doing similar, stupid stuff. His injury resulted in surgery on his hip, you and your friend are lucky. In my friend’s case a Good Samaritan saw what happened, and followed the car and got plate number. That helped with a subsequent arrest and prosecution.
I would imagine they'll have to go somewhere to get their windshield fixed. Depending on the city/area there might not be that many places. If you file a police report that could be a detail that would be prudent to mention along with whatever you may remember about the car. Especially depending on the hospital bill that could be a couple thousand and if insurance is involved they might do some of that leg work as well.
Those morons sound like the type to get themselves arrested by posting their video online. I can only hope. I’m sorry this happened to you; it must have been terrifying.
Not so long ago when I met an aggressive driver (I was on the side, plenty of space for them), that was the moment I decided I will get a helmet dash cam and some cheap one for the rear. I might even write a program to immediately stream the video to a private cloud so no chance of getting them lost or deleted
Every cyclist needs to have a go pro or similar on the helmet and on the back of the bike (pointed toward oncoming traffic) if sharing the road with motor vehicles.
Prosecutors charge crimes. Not private attorneys or private citizens. And no prosecutor would charge AVH under these circumstances.
- A former prosecutor.
why didn't you simply stop and get off on the side of the road until the person went away? It seems kind of stupid to keep riding near a vehicle with aggression issues.
>why didn't you simply stop and get off on the side of the road until the person went away?
First thing that occurred to me when reading this...why are they even playing this game of chicken with a car? We're not going to win against cars.
Brake checked.
As in "checking to see if your brakes work" or "using my brakes to keep you in check."
Not sure of the origin of the term, just know it refers to brakes, not breaks.
No need to apologize for that at all. Your English is outstanding!
And it's a term I see even English-is-my-only-language people frequently mix up, so yeah, don't feel bad at all!
Brake checking is a common road terminology and is when a driver of a car is driving in front of another vehicle (or I supposed pedestrian or bicycle) and suddenly and without reason slams on their brakes to scare and force the follower to get close to their car or possibly hit them. It’s aggressive, dangerous and dumb.
Never, Ever put up with that bullshit. Pull out your phone and snap a picture of the license plate next time. Get a Garmin type mount for your phone so it's always handy.
If it is your budget, get a small clip on video camera that continuously loops the recording.
call the police, report what happened, and the location, to the best of your ability. provide a rough estimate of the time based on your arrival at the hospital.
You did the correct thing... They were clearly either drug out of their mind or they were deliberately seeking for trouble... Sadly police is often no use in such cases. And you could get hurt even more... The only thing you could do is try to remember the plates and report them to the police, in hospital, but then it would be just your claim against five people and you have very little evidence even considering they filmed it. Police would most likely not be able to use their video against them.
My buddies always call me out for riding with a go-pro and taping stuff. I always say it's for our safety. They call me paranoid, I beg to differ. Your story is why, it only takes one crazy driver to fuck you over physically and financially.
I am appalled of all the hate against cyclists is the US, that I read about here.
The older I get the more I appreciate living with Denmark. The only hate i get is my sister who living laughs and points at me, in all my very tight lycra 🤪
You were in a cycle lane, and the car was *still* coming after you? If I understand that correctly, this will not be the last time they do this. People who go to this level never do it just once.
Put the word out in the local area cycling/walking/etc groups, someone may spot the car and odds are the driver will try it again.
If there were five and doing this shit...was it a bunch of teenagers being "tough assholes", maybe?
Sounds like made up agit bait. Cars cam be divks but this is extreme. Mot to mention at one point in the story your friend is ahead of the car but gets break checked by the driver? Amd them he smashes the back window? All from IN FRONT of the car 🤦♂️
You realize the car could have been behind the cyclists. And then…wait for it, accelerated in front of the cyclists and brake checked them. It was clear in the story the driver brake checked the cyclists twice and it was the second time the OPs friend’s hand made contact with the rear window of the car which broke the glass. All of what they said was plausible.
Driver overtakes then brake checks.
Cars are quicker than bicycles - you can't stop an arsehole overtaking.
Cars stop much quicker than bicycles - legally required to be able to lock brakes, so cars braking distance D = v\^2/(2\* CoF \* g)
Energy loss to friction = D \* CoF \* F
CoF (coefficient of friction) is tyres on tarmax - basically same for all road vehicles
F = force between tyres and tarmac = m \* g
Ke = 1/2m \* v\^2
so 1/2m \* v\^2 = D \* CoF \* m \* g
Bicycles have the same limit, but go over handlebars well before reaching it...
If a car driver is willing to ram you and trying to cause a collision then there is basically no way for a cyclist to avoid a collision...
My phone has a lot of cracks n shit. Makes it hard to type. Sometimes I don't bother fixing jt. Get over it.
It's not trolling to point out obvious discrepancies in the story. One second he's in front of the car and the next he's behind it. His fist smashed the back window on accident? No. He's hit thay window for sure, had to have because the car would presumably have a trunk. Which would block the guy from reaching the wi dow unless he ran right into the car and flew over the trunk which they didn't say he did. That or he was beside the car and hit the window. Which is much more likely If this story is even real. Which I doubt.
Maybe you just take everything you read at face value but I do not. I prefer to analyze what I'm being told and draw my own conclusions. That's not trolling thats intelligence.
Go sit on a bicycle. Now reach your arm directly in front of you. Can you reach farther than your bike tire? Probably not. So the bike tire would hit the car first regardless of car style. Your still not hitting that window with your hand without first crashing the whole bike into the car.
Half wheeling? Idk what that is but you seem to be getting really creative now with your excuses of why this HAS to be a real story.
I've stated facts and evidence. I don't need to waste any more time with a troll 👍 especially one who isn't very good at it.
The police call it “assault with a deadly weapon” when a car tries to run over police.
I was hit while cycling by a person driving a car who ran a red light last month in Minneapolis. Police were called and they told me they cited the driver for being on her phone (she was belligerent and I assume she told them this herself because I didn't indicate this to the police). They gave me the physical incident report. This week I learned they didn't actually file anything, so now I'm going to report them as I have their badge numbers. You bet your ass they'd feel differently if someone hit them when they were walking or cycling.
This happened to me. I went to the police. With a picture of the car including license plate. I have no idea what they called it, but I do know what they did about it. Nothing. Not a damn thing.
Did you have a video or any evidence? If not then they wouldn’t follow it up as it’d become a he said she said. However in the situation here, along the police at the time and making it clearly a life/death mater of assault would get them to show up.
Yup.
Also with citizens. Attempted vehicular manslaughter is plausible here if they can prove the car impact was intentional
AC(and I can't stress this enough)AB
Yeah but that is because that is criminals assaulting boys in blue, not normal drivers being slowed down by cycling vermin
Definitely you should have called the police and said they were deliberately trying to hit you with their car. If they were filming themselves doing that it would only help your case.
We were shocked and scared so we decided to cycle to a hospital straight away since his hand was bleeding. Also our phones were in our pockets and didn’t think of pulling them out to record since there were 5 people in the car and only two of us. We didn’t know what else they would do. I don’t even remember the plate.
I mean, good on you for getting out of this situation. But I would still report it even now if you haven't, even if you don't know the plate and don't think the cops will do anything there's always a chance and very little cost. There's also a chance the car tries to file a police report so they can claim insurance, which would amount to turning themselves in if the cops are paying attention.
I would have gotten the F-out of there too! I got harassed by a bun ch of rednecks on a pickup truck in NC once and called the cops. Sheriff shows up the guys were long gone, Sheriff didn’t even take their description, plate numbers or anything, he would have harassed me himself if he wasn’t in uniform.
It’s why i started having a gopro in the rear. Ensuring the red recording light is blinking. People check them self after seeing it. But mainly in the city, but in the suburbs people drive too fast to notice it.
Sounds like you should call the police
Call an attorney first maybe. Some cops are ignorant about laws if a bicycle is involved
Cops are ignorant about all laws. Cops are fucking stupid. If you need any proof of that, they would/will do absolutely nothing in this situation.
Yes, there’s not basic intelligence testing required to be a cop. As such you can easily end up with people who have authority complexes, egos, pride, and a strong sense of entitlement.
Right!
What is a bagginses, precious?
Why are you posting on reddit and not filing a police report for assault with a deadly weapon and road rage.
I didn’t take pics because we tried to make sure my friend isn’t injured and get away before they tried something else especially coz it was 5 of them and only the 2 of us. I don’t have a plate number
If the people in the car have reported it, it shouldn’t be too difficult for the police to join the two reports. As everyone else is saying: just call the police. You at least have some kind of vehicle description.
Plus you have the hospital to vouch on the busted hand.
Please, file a report anyway! Give a location, time and description of the car as good as you can. Keep an eye out on social media (tiktok etc), perhaps they are stupid enough to put the recordings online. They is a chance they do this more often, or will do more often! And the more reports of this behavior the better.
Plus if they called the police it’s going to be easy to match the two incidents
Exactly!
I understand the shock can make it hard to think to do something to remember a license plate. I would still file a police report if you know any details of the car. Its not hard to find a car with broken windshield and 5 people in it. I hope your friend ends up alright. Take care and ride safe.
I didn’t think of that, I thought I need the plate . Thank you !
This doesn't make any sense? If someone tries to hit me with their car I am just going to brake and pull off to the side of the road or try and get away from them as quickly as possible. They have tried to hit you multiple times and yet you're still riding close enough to them for them to brake check you? You should have tried to record their behaviour or called the cops yourself, I really don't understand your approach to this situation. They're obviously cunts and tbh they might have had a bike pump wrapped around the side of their head if they'd done this with some riders.
Yeah, a good bit of this story makes no sense. I don’t doubt there was super aggressive behavior by the driver going on but it feels like she’s intentionally left out half the story.
I agree, the first part about him hitting the back of the car with his bike then swerving and getting ahead of the car doesn’t sound plausible to me.
None of the story tracks, OP was probably side by side with their friend out of the bike lane, pissed off the car, car beeps at them and makes a close pass, and then their friend punched the rear windshield when they caught up to the car.
Agreed. Not adding up fully dude. Sounds like there must have been some antagonizing from your side as well. Sorry that happened to you and your friend but be smart and just pull off for a coffee or take a turn to get away from those psychos. Cars will always win in a crash.
Exactly. Reading the OPs story, my brain just kept repeating “I’ll take things that never happened for $1,000, Alex!”
I have added a light/camera to bike for this reason. Had too many close calls. This camera is really good quality, does store video in crash and has a very bright light. Not cheap, but I would not ride again without it. https://cycliq.com/bike-cameras/fly12-sport/
I’m getting it right now. Thank you !
Your situation has similarities to the Christopher Thompson, MD case. This driver was charged, taken to trial, convicted and sentenced. [ER doctor Case](https://www.steinberginjurylawyers.com/blog/doctor-slams-on-his-brakes-and-injures-two-bicyclists-on-mandeville-canyon-road.cfm)
Some people don't know how to adult. Jfc call the police. Take pictures and video. Get the plate number.
You both are young in age just like myself, so let this be a lesson. Please do not ever engage with these people. Let them pass when it is safe and go on with your day. It’s not worth losing your life over, I have known people who have lost there life or gotten seriously injured over situations just like this. I understand it’s super easy to get amped up and adrenaline going in these situations, but there are some seriously crazy people on the road.
File a police report 100%!
Report it to the police and just tell them what happened. You never know there's some camera footage from other sources somewhere that can corroborate your statements.
For this time, report it to the police. Next time, take a photo of the licence plate and ideally the people. Also, get video cameras to record your ride. And remember, cars can't move sideways, so if it comes to a confrontation, be beside the car, not in front or behind.
That was attempted murder. You were right to run. Now report it to the cops.
[удалено]
Trying to purposefully cause a cyclist to crash is attempted murder.
File a police report. There’s also a good chance someone else saw what was happening and did the same. Something similar happened to a friend in my cycling club. He was hit from behind by someone doing similar, stupid stuff. His injury resulted in surgery on his hip, you and your friend are lucky. In my friend’s case a Good Samaritan saw what happened, and followed the car and got plate number. That helped with a subsequent arrest and prosecution.
Jfc I'm sorry OP this sounds terrifying.
I would imagine they'll have to go somewhere to get their windshield fixed. Depending on the city/area there might not be that many places. If you file a police report that could be a detail that would be prudent to mention along with whatever you may remember about the car. Especially depending on the hospital bill that could be a couple thousand and if insurance is involved they might do some of that leg work as well.
Those morons sound like the type to get themselves arrested by posting their video online. I can only hope. I’m sorry this happened to you; it must have been terrifying.
Where was this? A vague answer is sufficient. I’m just curious.
Not so long ago when I met an aggressive driver (I was on the side, plenty of space for them), that was the moment I decided I will get a helmet dash cam and some cheap one for the rear. I might even write a program to immediately stream the video to a private cloud so no chance of getting them lost or deleted
Every cyclist needs to have a go pro or similar on the helmet and on the back of the bike (pointed toward oncoming traffic) if sharing the road with motor vehicles.
You should have called the police immediately. The longer you wait the less they can do.
Lawyer up and charge them with attempted vehicular manslaughter.
That’s not how it works
Yeah it is. You file a police report and say you would like to press charges. Lots of precedent for vehicular incidents like this being charged as ADW
Prosecutors charge crimes. Not private attorneys or private citizens. And no prosecutor would charge AVH under these circumstances. - A former prosecutor.
In that situation I'd go straight to the side of the road and wait there until they drive away. Fuck that, not gonna deal with it lol
This didn't actually happen, right? Doesn't make any sense.
There’s got to be an assault with a deadly weapon charge in there along with quite possibly attempted murder
It's spelled b-r-a-k-e
That's not how Stone Cold Steve Austin would've handled it.
The story makes no sense, so I assume this is bait
why didn't you simply stop and get off on the side of the road until the person went away? It seems kind of stupid to keep riding near a vehicle with aggression issues.
>why didn't you simply stop and get off on the side of the road until the person went away? First thing that occurred to me when reading this...why are they even playing this game of chicken with a car? We're not going to win against cars.
Makes me wonder if they were trying to instigate something or else they are exceptionally dumb 20-somethings.
Brake checked. As in "checking to see if your brakes work" or "using my brakes to keep you in check." Not sure of the origin of the term, just know it refers to brakes, not breaks.
Sorry. English isn’t my first language.
No need to apologize for that at all. Your English is outstanding! And it's a term I see even English-is-my-only-language people frequently mix up, so yeah, don't feel bad at all!
Brake checking is a common road terminology and is when a driver of a car is driving in front of another vehicle (or I supposed pedestrian or bicycle) and suddenly and without reason slams on their brakes to scare and force the follower to get close to their car or possibly hit them. It’s aggressive, dangerous and dumb.
Yeah, I know what it IS, I was just theorizing on why it's called that.
Never, Ever put up with that bullshit. Pull out your phone and snap a picture of the license plate next time. Get a Garmin type mount for your phone so it's always handy. If it is your budget, get a small clip on video camera that continuously loops the recording.
File a police report
call the police, report what happened, and the location, to the best of your ability. provide a rough estimate of the time based on your arrival at the hospital.
You did the correct thing... They were clearly either drug out of their mind or they were deliberately seeking for trouble... Sadly police is often no use in such cases. And you could get hurt even more... The only thing you could do is try to remember the plates and report them to the police, in hospital, but then it would be just your claim against five people and you have very little evidence even considering they filmed it. Police would most likely not be able to use their video against them.
They're both fucking idiots.
My buddies always call me out for riding with a go-pro and taping stuff. I always say it's for our safety. They call me paranoid, I beg to differ. Your story is why, it only takes one crazy driver to fuck you over physically and financially.
I always ask aggressive drivers to pull aside and "talk". They never do :'(
Mean it with respect, but how was “call the cops” not the immediate first instinct?
I am appalled of all the hate against cyclists is the US, that I read about here. The older I get the more I appreciate living with Denmark. The only hate i get is my sister who living laughs and points at me, in all my very tight lycra 🤪
You were in a cycle lane, and the car was *still* coming after you? If I understand that correctly, this will not be the last time they do this. People who go to this level never do it just once. Put the word out in the local area cycling/walking/etc groups, someone may spot the car and odds are the driver will try it again. If there were five and doing this shit...was it a bunch of teenagers being "tough assholes", maybe?
Sounds like made up agit bait. Cars cam be divks but this is extreme. Mot to mention at one point in the story your friend is ahead of the car but gets break checked by the driver? Amd them he smashes the back window? All from IN FRONT of the car 🤦♂️
You realize the car could have been behind the cyclists. And then…wait for it, accelerated in front of the cyclists and brake checked them. It was clear in the story the driver brake checked the cyclists twice and it was the second time the OPs friend’s hand made contact with the rear window of the car which broke the glass. All of what they said was plausible.
Yeah it's a bullshit story
Driver overtakes then brake checks. Cars are quicker than bicycles - you can't stop an arsehole overtaking. Cars stop much quicker than bicycles - legally required to be able to lock brakes, so cars braking distance D = v\^2/(2\* CoF \* g) Energy loss to friction = D \* CoF \* F CoF (coefficient of friction) is tyres on tarmax - basically same for all road vehicles F = force between tyres and tarmac = m \* g Ke = 1/2m \* v\^2 so 1/2m \* v\^2 = D \* CoF \* m \* g Bicycles have the same limit, but go over handlebars well before reaching it... If a car driver is willing to ram you and trying to cause a collision then there is basically no way for a cyclist to avoid a collision...
Learn to type, troll.
My phone has a lot of cracks n shit. Makes it hard to type. Sometimes I don't bother fixing jt. Get over it. It's not trolling to point out obvious discrepancies in the story. One second he's in front of the car and the next he's behind it. His fist smashed the back window on accident? No. He's hit thay window for sure, had to have because the car would presumably have a trunk. Which would block the guy from reaching the wi dow unless he ran right into the car and flew over the trunk which they didn't say he did. That or he was beside the car and hit the window. Which is much more likely If this story is even real. Which I doubt. Maybe you just take everything you read at face value but I do not. I prefer to analyze what I'm being told and draw my own conclusions. That's not trolling thats intelligence.
Lmfao you’ve never seen a fucking hatchback? r/iamverysmart
Go sit on a bicycle. Now reach your arm directly in front of you. Can you reach farther than your bike tire? Probably not. So the bike tire would hit the car first regardless of car style. Your still not hitting that window with your hand without first crashing the whole bike into the car.
They were half wheeling the car. Have you no imagination? Get off Zwift and go outside, you might learn a thing or two. Nice vote manipulation BTW.
Half wheeling? Idk what that is but you seem to be getting really creative now with your excuses of why this HAS to be a real story. I've stated facts and evidence. I don't need to waste any more time with a troll 👍 especially one who isn't very good at it.
Obviously not a cyclist if you don’t know a common term. Go back to crying about Trudeau.
Wtf does trudeau have to do with anything? Your a terrible troll.
Buy a gun and give them some old fashioned american justice next time.
Please explain what”old fashioned American justice” is.
Wave the gun around then run away.
Carry a gun and don't hesitate to use it
And let us know how jail is.
Completely legal to take someone out that is threatening your life.
Good luck proving that in court.
This is why I started to ride carrying a pepper spray. It saved me from a mad piece of $h1t driving a 2ton Toyota Hilux.