I had other prior arrangements, so I was not able to ride on Sat, so I rode the route yesterday.

Coming back into Forest Grove, I missed the Blooming Hill turn and proceeded straight on 10^th street through Cornelius.

I would then continue straight and pick back up the route on Long. I’m already in a sad mood, just due to the location

I’m ridding north on 10^th, within eye sight of Long, when I get almost clipped by a big truck with extra wide tires, and a snapping dog in the back.

Scared the (insert expletive here) out of me.  Now you who know me, would say (I hope) that I’m a nice guy and usually don’t lash out.

NOT THIS TIME!! I gain my balance, and by this time the truck is about 10 – 20 yards away.  Up comes the one fingered salute.

The truck pulls over! I now realize that the driver was watching to see what I was going to do because he pulled over.

Out comes this due, big chaw in his mouth.  I make my up to him.  The conversation goes like this…

<Man with Chaw> What was the finger for
<Me> You gotta give me more room
<Man with Chaw> Does this look like a bike lane?  I pay taxes to drive my car on this road not for you to ride your bike.
<Me> What makes you think that I don’t pay taxes?
<Ma with Chaw> I pay taxes for bike paths, I’m not about to pull out into oncoming traffic and risk my life for you.
<Me> Then I need you to slow down

The conversation from here gets intermingled and I decide not to push, as he is getting visibly upset and I’m not in the mood to fight, so I let him walk away.

So, be careful out there.  There are still jackasses on the road!

omg....I'm glad you're alright! :(

I love that... "I pay taxes". Why is that everyone's answer to everything? He wanna prize or something? Sheesh.

Glad you're still upright.  Shame he prioritizes utilizing his tax bought rights over human life.  Maybe he'd like to get to know how his tax funded jail dollars are working?  ;)

Good job on maintaining your composure....not sure I could have done the same thing in your situation. Generally speaking, I'd love for one of those idiots to actually stop and get out of their vehicle...however most of them only have enough testosterone to honk their horn and brush me with a 4000 pound vehicle.

In your situation, if you had a cell phone, I would have called the police and introduced him to his (and yours) tax dollars at work and explained to him you were using the tax dollars you pay and putting them to work. If he took off...I would have reported a drunk driver...since most in this situation are.

Martin, I'm glad to hear the situation didn't escalate any further than it did.  I prefer to just wave rather than use the one-fingered salute, because I'm usually non-confrontational.  But in that situation I probably would have used a few choice words myself.   We all pay taxes - why is it some drivers think that cyclists don't belong on the roads?  Be careful out there.

I'm with Ron there - get the plates and report a drunk driver.

Martin, I am sorry to hear that driver deliberately nearly injured you. Ron and Lynne's advice sounds wise. Thank you for the heads up as it helps to be prepared for when those incidents occur.

Hey, let me know when you want to ride as we live in the same area. Maybe its safer with two?

Oh, and the legal term for what that driver did is "menacing".

Not to put a damper on this more than there already is....this winter on a Saturday PV ride we were singlefile paceling and had a driver come around a group of 5 of us on Scotch Church then pull to the right and anchor the brakes...(if this looks familar to  you all I posted back when it occurred)...anyway we all nearly piled up into this guy he saluted us with his middle finger and sped his fat ass off...I got the plate veh descrip and driver descrip (fat white male red neck).  I contacted Washington County SO's offc about this incident....the deputy that I spoke to advised me that he has worked rural Washington County for many years and that it is not a good place for cyclists and that residents out there were getting tired of all the cyclists riding around in the area. I told him that I felt the drivers actions consitiuted Reckless Driving a crime (A Misd) and that I wished him to investigate the incident....he later called me and said that had spoken to both the WCSO traffic Sgt and a DA and told him both felt this was not Reckless Driving....I'm a Beaverton Police Officer, I relayed the incident to my traffic Sgt who agreed with me as to Reckless. The Deputy later called me back after locating and speaking to said fat redneck and fat rednecks wife.  Apparently fat redneck and wife claimed we were taking the whole road he didn't intentionally try to slow in front of us and we flipped him off first....the deputy said that he was going to take no action on this matter...The only good thing to come of this was the deputy gave me the fat rednecks phone number and we chatted about his driving....I think  from what I got from the phone call that he realized he could be held accountable and I think he will leave cyclists alone from now on....fyi Oregon law specifies that if a Law Enforcement Officer witnesses a violation or has Probable Cause to arrest someone they can relay that info to another LE Officer and that person can take action....this WCSO guy made his feelings about cyclists clear and would not take action even with me telling him what I had witnessed....I'm not saying everyone in WCSO feels this way but don't expect a huge warm welcome if you call them regarding this matter.

Also Brion Barnett recently was clipped he did get the plate and went through the process of making the WCSO issue a citation against the driver...you as a citizen can enforce traffic laws its a pain in the butt but is possible.

~Gregg

Gregg Magnus:

Not to put a damper on this more than there already is....this winter on a Saturday PV ride we were singlefile paceling and had a driver come around a group of 5 of us on Scotch Church then pull to the right and anchor the brakes...(if this looks familar to  you all I posted back when it occurred)...anyway we all nearly piled up into this guy he saluted us with his middle finger and sped his fat ass off...I got the plate veh descrip and driver descrip (fat white male red neck).  I contacted Washington County SO's offc about this incident....the deputy that I spoke to advised me that he has worked rural Washington County for many years and that it is not a good place for cyclists and that residents out there were getting tired of all the cyclists riding around in the area. I told him that I felt the drivers actions consitiuted Reckless Driving a crime (A Misd) and that I wished him to investigate the incident....he later called me and said that had spoken to both the WCSO traffic Sgt and a DA and told him both felt this was not Reckless Driving....I'm a Beaverton Police Officer, I relayed the incident to my traffic Sgt who agreed with me as to Reckless. The Deputy later called me back after locating and speaking to said fat redneck and fat rednecks wife.  Apparently fat redneck and wife claimed we were taking the whole road he didn't intentionally try to slow in front of us and we flipped him off first....the deputy said that he was going to take no action on this matter...The only good thing to come of this was the deputy gave me the fat rednecks phone number and we chatted about his driving....I think  from what I got from the phone call that he realized he could be held accountable and I think he will leave cyclists alone from now on....fyi Oregon law specifies that if a Law Enforcement Officer witnesses a violation or has Probable Cause to arrest someone they can relay that info to another LE Officer and that person can take action....this WCSO guy made his feelings about cyclists clear and would not take action even with me telling him what I had witnessed....I'm not saying everyone in WCSO feels this way but don't expect a huge warm welcome if you call them regarding this matter.

Also Brion Barnett recently was clipped he did get the plate and went through the process of making the WCSO issue a citation against the driver...you as a citizen can enforce traffic laws its a pain in the butt but is possible.

~Gregg

Another thing to remember everybody....It's election time and the Sheriff is an elected position. If he is unwilling to do his job, we can elect somebody else that is more than willing to do the job.

In this election, given the lack of response given to several cycling incidents that have happened...I don't plan on voting for any incumbents this time around. Maybe getting their butts thrown out of office will change their minds about what they should and should not enforce in this county!

Do we know that the position of the other candidate for sheriff is on drivers deciding to menace cyclists?

 Is Sheriff Rob Gordon aware of these incidents?

Lynne Fitzsimmons:

Do we know that the position of the other candidate for sheriff is on drivers deciding to menace cyclists?

 Is Sheriff Rob Gordon aware of these incidents?

I've e-mailed him before about issues cycling related (Tim O'Donnels death being the most relevant) and he seems to be ambivalent toward cyclists and won't go after any harsher penalties than he has to...or is made to. For the most part it seems like he would rather just not deal with cyclists in general.

Also, remember he is responsible for a large portion of the training the other Sheriff's office employees go through and what they enforce. If the officers are not going after cycling related incidents once reported then he's training them or advising them not to.

He's either part of the problem or part of the solution....and in this case it would appear he's part of the problem.

Now that's not to say that if somebody else is elected they would do a better job, but we as a group could show through numbers that it's important they listen to the desires of cyclists...especially in this day and age of higher gas prices and more people on bicycles for transportation. At a minimum we would at least get a new start in the process.

I will say it is profoundly irritating to me when our law enforcement officials decide which laws they are going to enforce, especially when someone's safety or life is on the line. 

You know (you in general, not specific), we pay the very same taxes that pay their salaries.  In this case it isn't even a discussion point that "we don't pay taxes".

We expect EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW, and we aren't getting it.

Ron, I appreciate that you could call and have that conversation with Mr. Redneck.  Not an option available to most of us, unfortunately.

I strongly recommend that if you come across someone who is willing to take the time to harrass you, and then willing to stop and "discuss" it, you should take the time to call 911, as this is a true case of road rage.  Allow the law enforcement folks to respond at the time of the incident.  If the other person chooses to leave, at least your call should inform the police of the vehicle description, plate number (and state), and a description of the driver.

This does several things: 1) Notify the police of problems in this area, 2) document the location and individuals involved, 3) force an investigation because the incident is on record, etc.   The value of doing this, in part, is so that if an individual is doing this repeatedly, then this will eventually become clear and action will be easier to take.

Here is some specific information about the laws involved in the original discussion. 

From http://landru.leg.state.or.us/ors/811.html 

811.140 Reckless driving; penalty. (1) A person commits the offense of reckless driving if the person recklessly drives a vehicle upon a highway or other premises described in this section in a manner that endangers the safety of persons or property.(2) The use of the term “recklessly” in this section is as defined in ORS 161.085. 161.085 Definitions with respect to culpability. “Recklessly,” when used with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, means that a person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.

FYI -

I successfully prosecuted the jerk who clipped me with his mirror a few months back, and I'm writing a summary of my account of the incident and how I used the "Citizen Initiated Violation Proceedings" process so that other cyclists (and probably just as importantly other law enforcement agencies who aren't familiar with and/or are in denial that a process exists) have a roadmap and know how the  process works.

A local bike attornery, Ray Thomas, will be distributing this along with other accounts.  Something else that may come in handy (and I can probably get us free copies) is a small jersey pocket sized card summarizing "Cyclists Legal Rights."

Here's a couple of links that can come in pretty handy:

http://www.stc-law.com , and http://www.oregonpedestrianrights.com/

Brion