Posted: 2/26/2012 1:41:44 PM EDT
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Hypothetically speaking.. when does one have the right to defend oneself (using lethal force?) when an automobile tries to run a motorcycle off the road repeatedly?
"Hypothetical" situation that may or may not have happened yesterday to my roommate and I while we were out riding: A man in a black Ford Focus with Mississippi tags was weaving dangerously on FM78 in Schertz, TX. He had 3 young girls in the car, all under 10 years old (one young enough to require a booster/child seat). He was cutting off every single car as he changed lanes. I'm talking a couple feet off the back and front bumpers of every single car. We were unfortunate enough to get behind him at a light, where he continued his ass-hattery by stepping on the gas while holding the brake, then turned super hard out of the intersection, etc. Long story short, I was going with traffic, and managed to start to pass him (he was in the right lane), when he cut me off, nearly hitting my front wheel. I had already had the front brake covered, so I mashed on the brake and hit the horn. The guy obviously knew I was there. His driving started to get MORE crazy. He whipped into the other lane, pulled his e-brake up for a couple seconds at 45 locking up his back wheel. He then whipped into a parking lot, flipped a bitch, and thats when my roommate told me to pull of because "he was coming up from behind real fast". I managed to get on to the hard shoulder right before this guy freaking buzzed me and my roommate. He kept driving and weaving all over, trying to cut us off and run us of the road again, and then pulled into an apartment complex right next to my buddy's place of business (our destination). My friend always has his Glock with him, so I ran into the store and told him that there was some lunatic driver that might come in and be pretty confrontational. Either way, we called the police and reported him, but he was long gone apparently. So, what would you have done (for example if you were CCW)? What's legal to do? Help me out. It's 24 hours later and I'm still completely unsettled about this. Isn't trying to hit someone intentionally with a car Assault with a deadly weapon? |
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Ask yourself this question:
"Can I convince a district attorney and/or a jury that my actions were reasonable?" Proceed accordingly. 
(In this case, I'm thinking the best solution would have been to pull over and call 911 from your cel to report the dangerous driver). |
The absolute WORST part of this is that I usually ride with a GoProHD2 on the nose of my bike, so I could have caught this all on video, bu this was one of those impromptu "hey lets run a quick errand" requests from my roomie. I would have youtubed that shit and linked it here. We were most certainly never in the wrong. 
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| Well, you're almost always going to lose the Motorcyle VS Vehicle war, so I would say be a defensive driver and do whatever it takes to get away from the guy. I think I would have got his tag information and called it in as soon as I thought he was intentionally trying to hit me with his vehicle. You are never going to come out on top firing into a vehicle with children onbaord. The first question that is going to be asked is why didn't you just pull over and get away from him. |
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Use your cell phone and call the police with his tags, location, and activities.
By your description, "I suspect he's driving drunk, and there are children in his vehicle" would've had their attention. Just be sure before you do such a thing. Remember that you're inviting LE into your life then. |
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Quoted:
So, what would you have done (for example if you were CCW)? What's legal to do? Help me out. It's 24 hours later and I'm still completely unsettled about this. Isn't trying to hit someone intentionally with a car Assault with a deadly weapon? Pull over & dial 911, report the driver. Follow the driver until he is pulled over by LE. Provide a statement to be used in issuing tickets, and show up at any court proceedings where needed to testify Unless the driver confronts you personally, what else would you expect to need to do.. |
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I did not have time to react with any force. I was 14 and got rammed off the road by? I was riding a moped and was plowed at nite. I got lucky and bounced off the hood and windsheild. i landed next to my Puch. Some lady stopped and asked if I was OK. I gave thumb up and asked her to get the MFer's plate #. She took off and my friends tossed my moped into the trunk. I was in mild shock and sore, but still ambulatory.
Funny thing, I still remeber the car (a Ford Torino Elite, white). I decided MX and later Enduro was a safer option. Surv |
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When faced with someone acting that erratically, stop, pull over. 99% of the time, that solves the problem. Separation from asshat and you is the name of the game. It's win/win. If asshat really is trying to kill you, he'll stop too, and aggressive behavior from there does justify your self-defense. If he stops, you're on a bike you can be in motion and a mile from him before he can fart. This is an easy fix, but most of the time people just keep right on putting themselves in the asshat's crosshairs. |
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Quoted: Quoted: On a motorcycle, armed, and choosing to interact unnecessarily with a dangerous jackass in a car. Yeah, that's pretty much a trifecta of fail. Actually the fail is on you for reading my post. I was NOT armed. Sorry, thought your roommate was the guy with the glock. Please proceed with only a double-dose of fail. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
On a motorcycle, armed, and choosing to interact unnecessarily with a dangerous jackass in a car. Yeah, that's pretty much a trifecta of fail. Is it a "double fail" to be on a motorcycle and armed? You know, most of the motorcyclists I know are gun owners and have CHL's. But yeah, once the douchbag was in front of you, you should have let him stay there. |
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Someone is driving erratically cutting cars off and you decide you should pass him on a motorcycle? Do you see how that is very dumb now? Here is what you should have done. Used the speed of your bike to get up close enough to read his plate, then pull over, call 911, and explain the situation to the operator. Then either turn around, go the other direction, and get home safe. Or from a very safe distance follow the car while occassionally stopping to talk to 911 to give them updates on his location. Cellphones have GPS's in them now and it is possible for 911 to use it to track you. You can ask and see if they have that capability then stick it in your pocket while you follow him. |
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Quoted:
Hypothetically speaking.. when does one have the right to defend oneself (using lethal force?) when an automobile tries to run a motorcycle off the road repeatedly? "Hypothetical" situation that may or may not have happened yesterday to my roommate and I while we were out riding: A man in a black Ford Focus with Mississippi tags was weaving dangerously on FM78 in Schertz, TX. He had 3 young girls in the car, all under 10 years old (one young enough to require a booster/child seat). He was cutting off every single car as he changed lanes. I'm talking a couple feet off the back and front bumpers of every single car. We were unfortunate enough to get behind him at a light, where he continued his ass-hattery by stepping on the gas while holding the brake, then turned super hard out of the intersection, etc. Long story short, I was going with traffic, and managed to start to pass him I wouldn't have tried to pass a guy I knew was a nutcase. I'd have backed off and let his problems be his problems. And no, I wouldn't use his kids as an excuse to puff out my chest, either. Call 911 if it's that big of a deal. If you go out looking for problems and drama and excitement, they'll find you. Usually when it isn't convenient, though. |
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Quoted: Quoted: On a motorcycle, armed, and choosing to interact unnecessarily with a dangerous jackass in a car. Yeah, that's pretty much a trifecta of fail. Is it a "double fail" to be on a motorcycle and armed? Not at all. The avoidable confrontation is the secret ingredient that turns the whole thing into fail soup. |
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Quoted:
Cellphones have GPS's in them now and it is possible for 911 to use it to track you. You can ask and see if they have that capability then stick it in your pocket while you follow him. The delay in actually accessing that data makes simply telling the dispatcher where you are the better option. |