Rage... is it ever justifiable?

[ocnblu]

Horrible episode the other night in town. Stopped at a red light, crotch rocket in front of me first in line, cars behind me.

Moron on said rocket decides to do a burnout to show off for some chicks on the sidewalk. He proceeds to blast the whole front of my vehicle with bits of burnt rubber and engulfs me in tire smoke. I could hear the crap pelting the car. So when the light turned green I gunned it and followed him, raging. I passed him and cut him off immediately before another red light. He pulled up beside me and starts to get testy, so I let him have a verbal barrage of my own. When the light turned green he kicked the side of my car and took off. Next red light was half a block down, and I let him have another verbal attack. Light turned green and he took off like a shot.

Dip$h! pissed me off, he showed no regard for his surroundings. He probably didn't even know he did it.

He didn't dent the car, he only put a light scratch on it that will compound out. He's damn lucky.

[z28luvr01]

I make it a habit of reporting idiots on crotch rockets. Guys like that deserve to have their bikes sold at a police auction for $500 while they're stuck doing community service waiting for the DMV to give them back their license.

[FAPTurbo]

Blast, and lay on your horn. Usually, it's jarring enough to make them stop. That, or just make fun of his penis. Both are super effective.

But you cut him off. As someone who rides, that's a huge no-no. Yeah, he was an asshole but if he gets his kicks from burnouts, he's likely not a very experienced rider. If he lost control, you would have been in deep sh%t. No car will catch up to, and outmaneuver a bike in the city. And you only endangered other motorists, which was exactly what he was doing.

The best thing to do is get a description and license number. He was in a T-Shirt, wasn't he? Sounds like a typical SQUID.

[Satty]

Acting like a child because someone else was acting like a child, yep totally acceptable. In fact, only the most grown up adults do it.

[SAmadei]

Horrible episode the other night in town. Stopped at a red light, crotch rocket in front of me first in line, cars behind me.

Moron on said rocket decides to do a burnout to show off for some chicks on the sidewalk. He proceeds to blast the whole front of my vehicle with bits of burnt rubber and engulfs me in tire smoke. I could hear the crap pelting the car. So when the light turned green I gunned it and followed him, raging. I passed him and cut him off immediately before another red light. He pulled up beside me and starts to get testy, so I let him have a verbal barrage of my own. When the light turned green he kicked the side of my car and took off. Next red light was half a block down, and I let him have another verbal attack. Light turned green and he took off like a shot.

Dip$h! pissed me off, he showed no regard for his surroundings. He probably didn't even know he did it.

He didn't dent the car, he only put a light scratch on it that will compound out. He's damn lucky.

You did better than I. I probably would be shoving his mangled body into the trunk after he kicked the door.

I wish police would accept video evidence of BS like this... I'd have a high resolution video cameras running 360 degrees.

Otherwise, I think I want one of those freight train horns. Or a PA system. I haven't been able to find out the legality of PA systems on cars, though.

During the typical 4th of July holiday traffic, Rt. 30 into AC was nastily backed up. Some Ford SUV decides he wants to change lanes into me... blinks the turn signal a split second and starts running me into the median, as I was mostly alongside of the SUV. I stand my ground and get past him, so now he's behind me, expressing his dissatisfaction by tailgating. Stop and go traffic, a couple of stops and he gets REAL close to rear ending me... I was REAL close to putting the car in park and having a little roadside discussion. I can see his GF/Wife/Mother giving him a bunch of grief in the front seat... I had to laugh... and he decides to get in the other lane (a bad move) and he quickly fades into the background.

Just one small story in the unending debacle of driving around the shore during the holiday.

[ocnblu]

At the time of the pelting, I had no idea if the paint job on my new vehicle was being ruined with gravel spray or who knows what. I was a sitting duck with nowhere to go. And my horn went totally unheard by him while his bike was turning major RPMs and he was in a helmet. At that moment when the first light turned green and the burnout was just over, I did yell out "f*cking ASS*OLE!!!" and the sidewalk chicks laughed as I took off after him. And we were out ahead of the rest of traffic taking off from those lights, the other cars were behind us a good distance.

A responsible rider knows what's going on around him because he is in much more danger at all times than four wheelers are. And he showed no respect for fellow motorists. He just as easily could have pelted a Lancaster City Police car for all he knew, being oblivious. Young and stupid on a bike = dead soon.

[Satty]

Just think of how much more paint damage your car would've suffered if you'd had a motorcycle and its rider flailing about on your hood/windshield/roof. Do you want to be the one with a corpse on your conscience? Because the paint on an inanimate object that can be easily replaced got a scratch?

[Camino LS6]

Rage happens.

Justified, or not.

[Croc]

Blah blah blah...

Blah blah blah...I passed him and cut him off immediately...blah blah blah...I let him have a verbal barrage...blah blah blah...I let him have another verbal attack...

Blah blah blah...he showed no regard...

Blah blah blah...He's damn lucky.

Are you f@#king kidding me? You have NO maturity, NO self-control and NO regard for anyone other than yourself. Who the hell do you think you are cutting off someone on a bike?? And then coming on here to post about it and try to garner sympathy?? Disgraceful!!

[ocnblu]

Satty, he would not have been on my hood/windshield/roof because I was past him when I cut him off. He did have to hit his brakes hard though. Please read the first post a little slower, maybe you'll get it.

And Croc, please in the name of all that is holy... what would you have done? Calmly stepped off your horse, unrolled a scroll of Road Rules, and meekly reminded him of his misdeed? You love to second-guess people, always have been a judgmental little SOB, from the time you were 8 years old and first started posting here.

I am not asking for sympathy from you, Croc, or anyone else on this board. And every story has at least two sides. If you read my original post and have the capacity to gather clues, I did say the boy was only thinking of himself at that moment, was trying to impress chicks, and probably didn't realize what he was doing to the cars behind him. My reaction was swift and violent, whether it was right or wrong is open for debate, but any sane person would not have laughed this moron off. Somebody had to tell him he was stupid for doing something so careless. There is such a thing as respect for other people's property.

[Satty]

1) In that scenario, he would've wound up splattered on your back window.

2) Do you really believe there is no circumstance where a motorcyclist in front of you winds up on your hood?

[Robert Hall]

Given the number of armed nutters here, the bikey may have gotten shot had he tried this here in AZ...

[§carlet §wordfish]

No.

[the_yellow_dart]

I probably would have reacted similarly to 'blu. Then, I probably would have felt terrible about it later.

Is raging the correct, rational thing to do? No. It's just how young to middle aged men react when someone threatens their freedom or property.

So, I'm torn in this thread. I somewhat sympathize with 'blu, but I also somewhat sympathize with those telling him he's out of line.

[§carlet §wordfish]

Driving aggressively chasing after him to read him the riot act didn't cause him to have a change of heart or feel any remorse, and probably nothing would. It's just a risky thing to do that nothing positive could possibly result from. It only made the situation a little worse.

I've caused an accident through my own stupidity and inattentiveness. The person I crashed into was rightfully very upset, but in the end he was unjustly generous and simply drove away. Since then, I've considered any vehicular infractions upon me simply a matter of karma, and I've tried to be as forgiving as that man was to me, even if they certainly didn't deserve it. Pitching a bitch about it will only raise my and everyone else's stress level and cause even more irrational words and decisions.

[Croc]

Satty, he would not have been on my hood/windshield/roof because I was past him when I cut him off. He did have to hit his brakes hard though. Please read the first post a little slower, maybe you'll get it.

And Croc, please in the name of all that is holy... what would you have done? Calmly stepped off your horse, unrolled a scroll of Road Rules, and meekly reminded him of his misdeed? You love to second-guess people, always have been a judgmental little SOB, from the time you were 8 years old and first started posting here.

I am not asking for sympathy from you, Croc, or anyone else on this board. And every story has at least two sides. If you read my original post and have the capacity to gather clues, I did say the boy was only thinking of himself at that moment, was trying to impress chicks, and probably didn't realize what he was doing to the cars behind him. My reaction was swift and violent, whether it was right or wrong is open for debate, but any sane person would not have laughed this moron off. Somebody had to tell him he was stupid for doing something so careless. There is such a thing as respect for other people's property.

It's really easy to be judgmental against someone being so reckless and immature. I mean seriously, cutting someone off and cursing at someone DOES NOTHING EXCEPT ESCALATE THE SITUATION and as you found out, he ended up KICKING YOUR CAR AND SCRATCHING IT IN RESPONSE.

So now you're in a pissy mood, have little rubber bits on the front of your car, a SCRATCH on your door, AND you were driving recklessly and endangering someone in a MUCH SMALLER VEHICLE WITH A LOT LESS PROTECTION WHO YOU ADMIT MOST LIKELY HAD NO IDEA THAT HIS PEACOCKING WAS INCONVENIENCING OR IRRITATING YOU IN ANY WAY.

Oh, and by the way, when I was 8 years old if you had internet you were on CompuServe, and C&G wasn't even a figment of Walt's imagination. So shut it. As for what I would have done--I would have kept my distance from him and/or taken an alternate route because I don't like to be anywhere near idiots on the road. I certainly wouldn't have cut him off and started a verbal confrontation because I don't care to test whether or not someone is mentally imbalanced and would retaliate, nor do I care to see if someone may have a concealed weapon. I certainly don't want someone with poor judgment to decide to follow me and intentionally harass me.

[Satty]

Compuserve, now there is a blast from the past.

[Camino LS6]

Meh, we've all felt rage and acted under its influence.

Or, more likely, reacted.

Like it or not, it's part of being human.

[tmp]

The guy on the bike was an ass. Having written that cutting a bike off isn't cool, even if he's an ass. Better to get his license plate # and call him in to the local constabulatory as a dangerous, possibly drunk driver. If there was damage to your ride then a charge of leaving the scene of a property-damage accident will hurt the little bastage a lot more than any invective you could throw at him, since it will hit him in his pocketbook and perhaps land him in jail.

[Intrepidation]

The guy on the bike was an ass. Having written that cutting a bike off isn't cool, even if he's an ass. Better to get his license plate # and call him in to the local constabulatory as a dangerous, possibly drunk driver. If there was damage to your ride then a charge of leaving the scene of a property-damage accident will hurt the little bastage a lot more than any invective you could throw at him, since it will hit him in his pocketbook and perhaps land him in jail.

This.

[SAmadei]

The guy on the bike was an ass. Having written that cutting a bike off isn't cool, even if he's an ass. Better to get his license plate # and call him in to the local constabulatory as a dangerous, possibly drunk driver. If there was damage to your ride then a charge of leaving the scene of a property-damage accident will hurt the little bastage a lot more than any invective you could throw at him, since it will hit him in his pocketbook and perhaps land him in jail.

Wait, are you saying that the motorcyclist spraying burnout on his hood would be considered a traffic accident? Or him kicking the door?

I'd be happy to hold my temper if I can call 911 with his license plate number and actually have the police take it seriously. I doubt that would happen.

[SAmadei]

It's really easy to be judgmental against someone being so reckless and immature. I mean seriously, cutting someone off and cursing at someone DOES NOTHING EXCEPT ESCALATE THE SITUATION and as you found out, he ended up KICKING YOUR CAR AND SCRATCHING IT IN RESPONSE.

I'm still wondering what your Milquetoast reaction is when someone sprays rubber gunk, sand and rocks on your brand new car... then drives off. You call 911? Wait 2 hours for the cops to show up (if they do) and write a report. Now what? Feel better the next weekend while you buff off another mill of paint off your car?

Granted, this is partly why I feel like anyone who drives a nice car in public is borderline nuts... most any vandalism or collisions are forever anonymous unless you witness it. The only people who don't get bent over this damage are people who consider their car a throwaway appliance.

Oh, and by the way, when I was 8 years old if you had internet you were on CompuServe,

Typical CompuServe user. When you were 8 years old, the Internet was the Internet and CompuServe was an overgrown BBS that might have had email connectivity to the Internet.

[Intrepidation]

The guy on the bike was an ass. Having written that cutting a bike off isn't cool, even if he's an ass. Better to get his license plate # and call him in to the local constabulatory as a dangerous, possibly drunk driver. If there was damage to your ride then a charge of leaving the scene of a property-damage accident will hurt the little bastage a lot more than any invective you could throw at him, since it will hit him in his pocketbook and perhaps land him in jail.

Wait, are you saying that the motorcyclist spraying burnout on his hood would be considered a traffic accident? Or him kicking the door?

I'd be happy to hold my temper if I can call 911 with his license plate number and actually have the police take it seriously. I doubt that would happen.

Where I used to live ricers would do burnouts on my street every so often. I'd call the cops and they would come. The best time was when some retarded in a Mazda 626 blew a tire and while he was trying to change it the cop showed up. I laughed pretty hard.

[pow]

The guy on the bike was an ass. Having written that cutting a bike off isn't cool, even if he's an ass. Better to get his license plate # and call him in to the local constabulatory as a dangerous, possibly drunk driver. If there was damage to your ride then a charge of leaving the scene of a property-damage accident will hurt the little bastage a lot more than any invective you could throw at him, since it will hit him in his pocketbook and perhaps land him in jail.

Wait, are you saying that the motorcyclist spraying burnout on his hood would be considered a traffic accident? Or him kicking the door?

I'd be happy to hold my temper if I can call 911 with his license plate number and actually have the police take it seriously. I doubt that would happen.

Where I used to live ricers would do burnouts on my street every so often. I'd call the cops and they would come. The best time was when some retarded in a Mazda 626 blew a tire and while he was trying to change it the cop showed up. I laughed pretty hard.

HAHAHAHA SO FUNNY! OMG LOLZ

[tmp]

Wait, are you saying that the motorcyclist spraying burnout on his hood would be considered a traffic accident? Or him kicking the door?

I'd be happy to hold my temper if I can call 911 with his license plate number and actually have the police take it seriously. I doubt that would happen.

Damaging another persons vehicle during the operation of yours is a property-damage accident. If the gunk hit someone's face and cut them then it becomes a personal injury accident. Especially when doing so by being a dick and showing off.

You would preferably call the non-emergency number, but yes, you can report him as a dangerous driver. I don't know about your cops but in my hood the cops would have him pulled over before he got a mile.

Edited July 5, 2011 by tmp

[balthazar]

>>"Damaging another persons vehicle during the operation of yours is a property-damage accident."<<

^ Not sure how tandem/tri-axle dumps can get away with signage 'not responsible for debris from road' were this to be unilateral.

-- -- --

What's quite amusing in this thread is how the person advising one make a discreet right turn and avoid confrontation were he in the same scenario, reacts to the relating of a story with belittlement & shouted obscenities. A bit oxymoronic...

[Camino LS6]

Noted that.

[Croc]

It's really easy to be judgmental against someone being so reckless and immature. I mean seriously, cutting someone off and cursing at someone DOES NOTHING EXCEPT ESCALATE THE SITUATION and as you found out, he ended up KICKING YOUR CAR AND SCRATCHING IT IN RESPONSE.

I'm still wondering what your Milquetoast reaction is when someone sprays rubber gunk, sand and rocks on your brand new car... then drives off. You call 911? Wait 2 hours for the cops to show up (if they do) and write a report. Now what? Feel better the next weekend while you buff off another mill of paint off your car?

1) That car isn't "brand new"--he's had it for a few months now.

2) Nothing was ever mentioned about sand and/or rocks.

3) The only damage mentioned was the scratch caused by the rage- and invective-provoked kick (which was entirely preventable)

4) If I were so obsessed about keeping my car looking showroom new, I'm sure I'd have waxed it recently so that the "burnt rubber" bits and tire smoke engulfing my ride would have protected the paint from any damage.

Now, if you think my reaction is far too measured and milquetoast for a normal human being, then please educate me on what you do in retaliation to those goddamn birds who &#036;h&#33; on my car, or those motherf@#king bugs who splat themselves all over the front of my car. Should I carry an uzi to take out the birds?

Also, what do I do for a road being repaved? If I'm driving and the DOT is repaving...and I can HEAR those little asphalt pellets in my wheel wells...do I swerve towards the DOT workers in the shoulders to rage at them for daring to thoughtlessly put loose asphalt on the roadway? Do I roll my window down and curse them out?

[Croc]

The guy on the bike was an ass. Having written that cutting a bike off isn't cool, even if he's an ass. Better to get his license plate # and call him in to the local constabulatory as a dangerous, possibly drunk driver. If there was damage to your ride then a charge of leaving the scene of a property-damage accident will hurt the little bastage a lot more than any invective you could throw at him, since it will hit him in his pocketbook and perhaps land him in jail.

Wait, are you saying that the motorcyclist spraying burnout on his hood would be considered a traffic accident? Or him kicking the door?

I'd be happy to hold my temper if I can call 911 with his license plate number and actually have the police take it seriously. I doubt that would happen.

Where I used to live ricers would do burnouts on my street every so often. I'd call the cops and they would come. The best time was when some retarded in a Mazda 626 blew a tire and while he was trying to change it the cop showed up. I laughed pretty hard.

HAHAHAHA SO FUNNY! OMG LOLZ

Dude, I'm pretty sure he has no idea why you find his post so offensive. Which makes this whole thing hilarious to me.

[Turbojett]

>>"Damaging another persons vehicle during the operation of yours is a property-damage accident."<<

^ Not sure how tandem/tri-axle dumps can get away with signage 'not responsible for debris from road' were this to be unilateral.

I think it's probably because it's unintentional, unavoidable, and you're given a big warning painted on the back of a truck to tell you that driving too closely will damage your vehicle. I'm just speculating though, there may be more to it.

we can all look back and tell Blu that he was acting childish and obscene, and, well, he was acting childish and obscene, even dangerous by cutting off a bike. Hindsight is 20/20, and in any case, Blu probably realized he met stupidity with more stupidity whenever the situation had already passed.

But presented with the same situation in reality, how many of us can honestly and rationally say that they wouldn't have gotten angry and possibly done something similar? Anger, rage and aggression are human nature, and no, they aren't rational, nor can you rationalize it. Anger basically impairs your ability to think rationally, and you're basically running off primal instinct. It basically goes like:

Little bitch pissed me off->I got mad and reacted->jeez, I should have thought about this before I did it.

Given my temper, I'm sure I might have done something stupid/dangerous in retaliation as well if I was put in that situation. And after the fact I might have realized it, and the last thing I would want to hear from anybody else is "how could you do something so stupid?"--mainly because 1.) I don't know how I could have done something so stupid; nobody actually thinks when they're angry/threatened 2.) I've probably already been asking myself that repeatedly; is you getting on to me really that necessary?

[Camino LS6]

Yup.

[ocnblu]

Waiting for the smoke to clear so I could take a picture of his license plate was not an option. A pen and paper are NOT at the ready in my glovebox. And I don't know the telephone number for the police in the various jurisdictions I might fatefully wander into. Even if any of the above were a viable option, I was in traffic, I will not hold up traffic in the busy city to write something down or use my phone. Nor will I use my phone while driving.

Comparing bird crap and fresh asphalt to this is downright stupid.

THIS from your Buick moderator at Cheers&Gears, folks.

The 3 1/2 month-old car cleaned up perfectly, and for that I am thankful (been using Blue Coral Car Wash with Teflon, I think it made a difference). The episode is over. I hope to never see this kid again, but I won't know him if I do. He was wearing a helmet with visor. I couldn't even give a description of his motorcycle at this point.

Edited July 5, 2011 by ocnblu

[SAmadei]

Where I used to live ricers would do burnouts on my street every so often. I'd call the cops and they would come. The best time was when some retarded in a Mazda 626 blew a tire and while he was trying to change it the cop showed up. I laughed pretty hard.

I know of two serious accidents (One I was passenger in), in which both cars had thousands of dollar in damages (In one case, the other car was sitting on its side)... and the cops did not bother to show up to 911. Some of the towns in South Jersey are no longer dispatching police to "minor" incidents. You have to fill out the report online.

Calling the police might work in my town, which is fairly small and well funded... but the road rage and idiots aren't (for the most part) here. They are in the towns that have better things to do.

Damaging another persons vehicle during the operation of yours is a property-damage accident. If the gunk hit someone's face and cut them then it becomes a personal injury accident. Especially when doing so by being a dick and showing off.

You would preferably call the non-emergency number, but yes, you can report him as a dangerous driver. I don't know about your cops but in my hood the cops would have him pulled over before he got a mile.

Well, the problem with using the non-emergency number is that I'd need a rolodex in my car for every town I cross into.

As for accidents, I only want to see one distinction... an accident with a police report (and preferably a summons to go with it) so I can get restitution.

1) That car isn't "brand new"--he's had it for a few months now.

2) Nothing was ever mentioned about sand and/or rocks.

3) The only damage mentioned was the scratch caused by the rage- and invective-provoked kick (which was entirely preventable)

4) If I were so obsessed about keeping my car looking showroom new, I'm sure I'd have waxed it recently so that the "burnt rubber" bits and tire smoke engulfing my ride would have protected the paint from any damage.

1) Get the F outta town. Its a brand new car. Had it a few months... Jeez, if he drove it off the lot, you'd say it wasn't brand new since he'd had it for a few seconds now.

2) What do you think the roadway has on it? Do you think he carefully swept all the debris off the road before lighting them up? Some roadway is so weak that a burnout tears the road apart. Whats the road made out of? Sand, asphalt and rocks.

3) He didn't know that until later.

4) So now our pinhead decides he's not getting enough smoke, so he sprays lighting fluid/gasoline/whatever in a big puddle and does a second burnout with rubber bits, lit and unlit fuel spraying on your car? Your cars on fire now as he drive off anonymously.

Now, if you think my reaction is far too measured and milquetoast for a normal human being, then please educate me on what you do in retaliation to those goddamn birds who $h! on my car, or those motherf@#king bugs who splat themselves all over the front of my car. Should I carry an uzi to take out the birds?

Perhaps you should. Where I live, the birds don't $h! on your car... they drop clams on your car... and the street, and your roof. Solution: garage. Bugs? Well, I never hit a bug big enough to actually cause permanent damage... even driving through Florida.

Though I wouldn't mind some wholesale eradication of birds for other reasons.

Also, what do I do for a road being repaved? If I'm driving and the DOT is repaving...and I can HEAR those little asphalt pellets in my wheel wells...do I swerve towards the DOT workers in the shoulders to rage at them for daring to thoughtlessly put loose asphalt on the roadway? Do I roll my window down and curse them out?

No... you don't follow the asphalt truck so closely. Duh.

But in Ocnblu's case, following distance wasn't

[FAPTurbo]

I hope to never see this kid again, but I won't know him if I do. He was wearing a helmet with visor. I couldn't even give a description of his motorcycle at this point.

What I do find odd is how you refused to use your cellphone when driving. That's great... but the alternative (trying to play chicken with a motorcyclist) is far more dangerous. It's not that hard to have snapped his license plate, come the next intersection... And worrying about holding up traffic? I'm sure a lot of fellow motorists wouldn't have minded if you took info. They probably dealt with his &#036;h&#33;, too.

Next time, just record info and report. A lot of hooligans often have outrageous, and recognizable helmets. So if you can't ID the bike, just add his helmet design to the report. I always keep pen and a realtor's notepad in my truck and on my bike because it always comes in handy. I've found cops are quite happy about arresting motorcyclists.

More and more people will gravitate towards bikes as gas prices climb. Get used to more idiots on the road with GSXR's and Ninja's. They used to drive crappy Buicks and Accords. Now, they're on bikes.

[Camino LS6]

More and more people will gravitate towards bikes as gas prices climb. Get used to more idiots on the road with GSXR's and Ninja's. They used to drive crappy Buicks and Accords. Now, they're on bikes.

This is certainly true.

[Croc]

Comparing bird crap and fresh asphalt to this is downright stupid.

THIS from your Buick moderator at Cheers&Gears, folks.

The 3 1/2 month-old car cleaned up perfectly, and for that I am thankful (been using Blue Coral Car Wash with Teflon, I think it made a difference).

Well, considering bird crap and fresh asphalt cause paint damage when not promptly removed and are a bitch to clean off, I'd say it's a pretty valid comparison. Oh wait, except that the burnt rubber bits cleaned up perfectly and so the only damage to blu's car is from the scratch as the result of the kick he provoked.

[ocnblu]

Don't be so dim. Bird crap, sir, is naturally occuring. Fresh blacktop is noted with heavy signage. This is NOTHING like either of those... why do I even have to waste time posting such?

[Croc]

Don't be so dim. Bird crap, sir, is naturally occuring. Fresh blacktop is noted with heavy signage. This is NOTHING like either of those... why do I even have to waste time posting such?

Clearly

I still think it's absolutely hilarious that you got so worked up and behaved dangerously toward the motorcyclist when the only actual damage you received to your car came from a retaliatory kick that you provoked by cutting him off, cursing and screaming at him.

[ocnblu]

You keep laughing then if your boat is floated by this situation. Just know I am mooning the screen as I type this.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Rage is a beautiful thing and a natural human reaction...

Despite what the pussy brigade that is Cheers & Gears tells you.

What everyone is missing here is that you were "mature enough" not to cut the guy off, immediately get out of the car and jerk his sorry ass of the motorcycle in the first place.

[Delta Force79]

Personally I see nothing wrong with what ocn did, the dude on the bike was being an idiot showoff and had a complete disregard for whoever was behind him and even next to him by trying to be "cool". As far as cutting the bike off, f*ck him, my Riviera is 16 years old and if he pelted my car with burnt rubber and rocks and whatever else happened to be on the ground, I'd do exactly what ocn did. If he crashed I'd only care if he hit someone else and would call for help. If he wiped out on his own, I'd pull up to him, smile and drive away. If he kicked my car like he did to ocn's I'd probably call the police and follow him till they showed up, or I'd just follow him to wherever he was going and deal with him face to face. This whole avoid confrontation bs is ridiculous, people who pussy foot around like that through life are the ones who always get stepped on because people learn you're easy to take advantage of. Stand up for yourself and your belongings, anything less and I have no respect for you. obviously there are times when confrontation is a bad idea, such as when you're outnumbered or in the "wrong part of town" etc. But you can't go through life fearing everyone might be a psycho with a gun. Living with fear like that is worse than the reality, which is more than likely nothing will happen. If it does, then I guess it was just your time, everything happens for a reason.

[Satty]

You also can't go through life acting like a psycho with a gun. Especially if you don't have a gun.

[Delta Force79]

Standing up for yourself and your property isn't acting like a psycho, if you're the type of person to tuck your tail between your legs and cower in a corner then that's your choice, not mine.

[Camino LS6]

Way too much fear these days.

Nicely put, Delta.

[Satty]

The next time a shopping cart rolls into my car, I'll have to remember to find the person who let the shopping cart loose and punch them in the face repeatedly. Then I can use your brilliant "I'd be a pussy if I hadn't" defense.

[Delta Force79]

The next time a shopping cart rolls into my car, I'll have to remember to find the person who let the shopping cart loose and punch them in the face repeatedly. Then I can use your brilliant "I'd be a pussy if I hadn't" defense.

I find it amusing that you obviously are the type to tuck your tail between your legs when it comes to real life confrontations, but you try to be witty and belittling on an online forum to appear tough and all the more wiser for avoiding confrontations in real life. Oh the irony. Feel free to reply with another witty comeback, the fact of the matter is I have no qualms about confronting people, I feel what ocn did was justified and if I were in his shoes I would have done the same thing, and that's it, period.

BTW as far as the shopping cart thing goes, I've had that happen to me and did confront the moron who caused it. The guy puts his groceries in his car and pushes the cart away from his rear bumper to back out of the space, letting the cart roll down the slight slope of the parking lot, despite the fact that there was a shopping cart return area 3 parking spaces away. So the cart rolled into my front bumper on my Oldsmobile. Luckily there was no damage as the front bumper is actual steel and not painted plastic, but it's the fact that he was to lazy to return the cart and SAW it rolling away and still continued to get in his car that pissed me off. If the cart had rolled away while he was loading his kids in the car or groceries and he hadn't seen it, I could understand accidents happen. But he blatantly pushed the cart away, allowing it to roll into my car and did not care. So I walked up to him and had some choice words for him and he basically did what I imagine you would do ( said sorry, tucked his tail between his legs) and slowly drove away.

[Satty]

We're talking about a pile of plastic, metal and rubber. One thats insured. Is it really worth putting the lives of innocent, uninvolved people in danger because of a few chunks of rubber? We aren't talking about my wife, or my son, or even my dog being in danger. We're talking superficial blemishes to my car. A machine. An appliance.

[Delta Force79]

To you it's an appliance, to me it's not. My car is just as much a member of my family in my eyes as an actual relative. So I'm putting people's lives in danger by cursing a guy out in a parking lot for his stupidity? I've been known to say some pretty harsh things, but I had no idea my words were dangerous. To be quite honest when i said in my initial post if the biker wiped out and crashed on his own and I would pull up to him and smile and drive away, I think that should be a pretty good insight into my care or lack thereof for his life. Lastly, I'm not married and do not have kids, so I don't have to concern myself with that. Based on your logic, since he's a biker and it's more dangerous, ocn shouldn't have cut him off, correct? Well based on that logic, ocn isn't the one putting innocent people in danger in the first place, it's the biker for driving something clearly more dangerous to control in emergency situations. People in cars are cut off day in and day out, if cutting off a bike is that much more dangerous, what factor is causing that? The bike itself, and therefore it's driver.

Edited July 10, 2011 by Delta Force79

[Croc]

We're talking about a pile of plastic, metal and rubber. One thats insured. Is it really worth putting the lives of innocent, uninvolved people in danger because of a few chunks of rubber? We aren't talking about my wife, or my son, or even my dog being in danger. We're talking superficial blemishes to my car. A machine. An appliance.

No &#036;h&#33;.

[Satty]

I gunned it and followed him, raging. I passed him and cut him off immediately before another red light.

Motorcycle rider was irresponsible, but stationary. 'Blu was irresponsible but in motion with 2700 pounds at his disposal. Unless the motorcycle tires were made from asbestos and angry ferrets, OB was the larger threat of the two parties.