Last week I was headed to the store in my 4Runner. I pulled up to a stop sign and a woman turning left cut the corner and almost hit me. She knew she was in the wrong, threw up an “oops” hand and mouthed “sorry.” Ok, I thought, at least she acknowledged her mistake. I made a left turn and headed down the road. As I approached another stop sign, a black Tesla did the same thing, cutting the corner, almost hitting me. I gave a limp “you’re number one” middle finger with my left hand thinking that was the end of it. Nope. The guy in the Tesla did a rapid U-turn and pulled in behind me. Apparently, he was going to road rage at me. I was still at the stop sign. Instead of calling 911 and driving I threw my 4Runner into park jumped out of my car to confront Tesla Man.
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That was monumentally stupid.
I am not in my 20s, or 30s or 40s. Nor was I armed or dangerous. I immediately realized how stupid it was and thought – “good lord, what if this guy has a gun, or gets out of the car…will I kick the door to gain an advantage?” Anyway Tesla dude stayed in his car with both hands on the steering wheel. He probably was thinking I was a nut. I was certainly “crazy” for getting out of my car. I confronted him, and his response was, “I’m having a bad day.” A woman had pulled in behind the Tesla. Her eyes were the size of saucers.
That confrontation could have ended very badly. For me. I won’t do that again. Ever.
In California, cyclists think that the rules of the road don’t apply to them. They run red lights, they run stop signs. They ride three abreast and take up the right lane, and the bike lane. The bike lane isn’t enough, apparently. They seem to invite “road rage.” Anyone who has a driver’s license knows what I am talking about. I am not a fan of guys wearing spandex, riding their bikes like they own the road. Yeah, that’s right – GET OFF MY LAWN!
I might be pre-prejudiced because my jerk neighbor dons his spandex on most weekends. I’m waiting for him to put up a Harris/Walz sign.
When I saw the video below, I thought of my own road rage event and, of course, my jerk of a neighbor. And, I was very impressed with how well the young driver handled being harassed by this “Peacock” cyclist. I capitalized it because in a “you can’t make this up” irony – the guy’s name is Peacock. Gary Peacock.
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In Utah, there is a vehicle code that requires drivers to give bicyclists three feet of space.
Seventy-two-year-old Gary Peacock was riding his bike in Park City, Utah, and he was passed by Pierce Kempton, 22. Kempton was headed to meet a friend at a skate park. Kempton parked. Peacock saw Kempton park – and saw his chance to rage. Peacock kept yelling at Kempton and would not let him out of his car. Peacock dialed 911 – telling the dispatcher that “he almost hit me” and Kempton was “trying to leave.” Kempton said, “I want to escape.”
“This is why people hate cyclists.” Agreed.
Kempton to his credit was calm – asking Peacock, “Why are you so cranky?” It made the local paper:
“I lost my temper,” Peacock admitted, expressing regret. “I didn’t go there with the intention of hitting them or doing anything but just telling him, ‘Hey, you came way too close to me. And I’m upset about it. I’m angry about it.’ And then his reaction just set me off.”
Both were cited after the Po-Po arrived. Because the cop didn’t see what happened, he had to take the word of both men. Peacock paid his “disorderly conduct” ticket. Kempton was cited for what Peacock claimed, that being “driving too close” to the cyclist. Kempton’s dashcam shows that he in fact moved left and slowed to 22 MPH to give Peacock space. It could have ended very badly – for the peacock cyclist.
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Peacock admitted that he was wrong:
“This guy, unfortunately, was the subject of my wrath, because of all these other incidents.”
Gary Peacock, the spandex-wearing cyclist, was lucky he raged at someone as reasonable as Kempton.
What is today’s lesson?
Don’t be a spandex-wearing road-raging peacock on a bike. Or Jim, with a Tesla on his tail. It could end very badly.