Gun pulled on us today

[Keith A]

So this is a first for me.

Our group was riding in a rural area this morning and had just finished the final sprint. Truck buzzes one of the riders, rider flips off the driver, driver slams on his brakes, rider smacks his outside mirror, driver rolls down his window and points a loaded gun at the driver, rider immediately goes off the road over a ditch, driver goes off-road after him and then gets out of his truck (without the gun). Lots of yelling and cursing, so I call 911. Three sheriff deputies show up and take statements, then they cuff the driver and put him in the back of the patrol car and came to talk to the rider. They said he could press charges and he would most likely go to jail with a felony charge. Rider decides not to press charges and the deputy said he was going to chew the driver a new one before letting him go and confiscate his gun (which he can get back at some point). Hopefully they are going to pursue getting the guys carry permit revoked.

Crazy, crazy. Both people could have prevented this from happening, but the take away for me from this is incident is that nothing good comes from escalating a confrontation with driver.

P.S. Please don't turn this discussion into one on gun rights.

[weisan]

Keith pal, I am glad this didn't turn out any worse. There's a potential for multiple people involved and become fatal.
To the rest, listen. I don't care if you are Bruce Lee or Steven Seagal, keep your frcuking finger to yourself....unless you want to stop riding your bike...forever.

[Cicli]

that could have ended bad.

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by Tihsepa

that could have ended bad.

Yep, one slip or pull of the trigger and there would have been a dead cyclist today.

[tigoat]

I hate to run into an inconsiderate driver but I hate it even more to ride with an a**hole cyclist. There seems to be no end to such conflict anywhere in the country.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by weisan

To the rest, listen. I don't care if you are Bruce Lee or Steven Seagal, keep your frcuking finger to yourself....unless you want to stop riding your bike...forever.

He's the only one being chastised here, so apparently all this is the cyclist's fault for giving the rider the finger?

Interesting.

[weisan]

Originally Posted by Louis

He's the only one being chastised here, so apparently all this is the cyclist's fault for giving the rider the finger?

Interesting.

You want to debate or assign blame with a dead man?

[bikinchris]

My wife was riding with a friend and a guy hung out the passenger window brandishing a machete.
Years ago a group ride had a road rage situation where a guy felt he was being held up (on a service road to a major highway no less) and he passed the group as close as he could, then slammed on his brakes. They were lucky HE didn't have a gun.
People are crazy. When drivers act like an ass, just let them go. Don't shoot the bird, scream, slam the bars etc.
1. That's the reaction they want. Don't give them the satisfaction of seeing you pissed off. If you want revenge, call the police.
2. You don't know how crazy they are. You could be literally dodging a bullet by holding your temper.

Your guy is lucky he wasn't shot before a word was said.

[christian]

Originally Posted by Keith A

P.S. Please don't turn this discussion into one on gun rights.

No, no, by all means.

[Tickdoc]

Big whew there, very scary, though.

Glad you were able to call authorities in time

Been hit by cans, brushed by cars, yelled at, laughed at, called names, etc over the years.

I got flipped off a few weeks ago on a solo ride, out in the country, country boy in his pickup. I just assume every one is carrying these days, and just smile and wave.

[dbnm]

I would have pressed charges.

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

...
People are crazy. When drivers act like an ass, just let them go. Don't shoot the bird, scream, slam the bars etc.
1. That's the reaction they want. Don't give them the satisfaction of seeing you pissed off. If you want revenge, call the police.
2. You don't know how crazy they are. You could be literally dodging a bullet by holding your temper.

Your guy is lucky he wasn't shot before a word was said.

Exactly!!! May years ago, I used to be more aggressive with drivers who treated me badly or were aggressive. No more, there are too many people out there who are looking for an excuse to go off on someone...and I don't want to make my wife a widow or leave my children fatherless, just because I wanted to show the driver who was right.

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by dbnm

I would have pressed charges.

The rider really struggled with this decision and we talked about it for a while, but in the end he decided to show the guy some mercy. I'm not going to fault him for this as I don't know what I would have done...still don't.

[rnhood]

You're exactly right, just let them go and get the plate number of possible. This is how road rage can end someone's life. Its the same. Flipping the bird only exacerbates the situation.

[FlashUNC]

I'm sorry, you decide to go John McClane on me and whip out a piece, then I'm getting the book thrown at you if I live through it.

How do you not press charges in this situation with someone who's so cavalier about potentially killing another person?