I had just jumped on my bike, and was therefore still in our parking lot at work. I was just getting up to the first turn into the drive that leads from Ackerman into our lot, and I was rolling past a row of cars when the big ugly SUV just to my right (and the one I was JUST passing) suddenly starts backing up. I don't remember getting panicked, more angry. The backup lights came on, and it started rolling just as my front wheel was rolling behind it. I lifted my left hand and smacked down hard on its rear windshield with an open palm.
The SUV stopped quickly, and the blond gal at the wheel looks out the window with a look of either "Who the heck did I just hit?" or "Who the heck do you think you are hitting my car?" Either way, I think I got her attention when I yelled back "What the HELL are you doing?" I think she was on her cell phone - she was when I was unlocking my bike and putting the locks away as she walked past me.
Well... I think I did the right thing with smacking the windshield - no damage to the car and it conveyed the message of "Stop before you hit me." Hopefully that girl with the car that was obviously too big for her to handle learned a lesson, too.
The SUV stopped quickly, and the blond gal at the wheel looks out the window with a look of either "Who the heck did I just hit?" or "Who the heck do you think you are hitting my car?" Either way, I think I got her attention when I yelled back "What the HELL are you doing?" I think she was on her cell phone - she was when I was unlocking my bike and putting the locks away as she walked past me.
Well... I think I did the right thing with smacking the windshield - no damage to the car and it conveyed the message of "Stop before you hit me." Hopefully that girl with the car that was obviously too big for her to handle learned a lesson, too.
Try not to take it personally; hardly anyone actually wants to kill you. They just don't see you, think about you or want you in their way. When you actually plan to be hit, you don't get as mad when close calls occur because you expected it. When I can, I tend to give people a look or a calm explanation that says, "You know, you could have killed me."
ReplyDeleteI figure that most of the time it gets taken to heart more readily than confrontation. I think the thought of a lawsuit is more scary than the thought of a fist fight, and they'll more quickly think of that without the anger of confrontation.
And since you asked if it was the correct action, would you have whacked the car if you knew the driver was some big, angry-looking guy with a bumper sticker that read "Guns don't kill people, I kill people"? Well, that may not be a fair question, but you get my point.
I see your point, and I don't take it personally. I know the girl just didn't see me. But in my mind, that's the problem: she wasn't looking at all.
ReplyDeleteI didn't actually know who it was till I was past the car and looked back, and honestly, it wouldn't have mattered to me one iota if it was a nun or Stone Cold Steve Austin. The point is that they weren't looking and nearly took me out. And if I have to whack a car to let someone know I'm there, I'm going to do it.
Hopefully they'll start looking more, and my actions will help some other poor person, whether cyclist, pedestrian, or motorist, not get hit by this same person because that person is a little more careful.