The father of a young rider who was rammed from behind by a driver who had previously tried to block him from legally lane filtering says road rage against riders is on the rise.
Daniel Lee of Brisbane says his 23-year-old son, Lucas, was “rammed up the butt” by the driver who had “earlier and deliberately tried to block my son from filtering”.
“My son told him that it was legal but was met with a tirade of expletives,” Daniel says.
“This driver drove up my son’s back twice.
“My son walked away with just a scratch. His bike (BMW S 1000 RR) was totalled.
“The driver was charged for malicious driving and got three months’ suspended licence.”
Rage on the rise
ACT police are seeking to charge this driver with road rage on legally filtering riders Daniel says road rage against motorcyclists is on the rise.
“Me and my two sons commute almost daily on our bikes through city traffic where you will tend to encounter frustrated drivers,” he says.
Daniel claims he was recently chased by a “clown in a ute because I lane filtered to the front”.
“I got off the line but he tried to keep abreast of me to intimidate,” he says.
“I moved off to allow him to overtake. At the next set of lights he kept watching and waiting for me to start filtering up to his side but my spidey sense told me he was up to something and I deliberately slowed down and about to filter when he suddenly closed the gap real tight by turning into the median.
“I flicked off to the left side and entered a bicycle green box. When the light turned he tried chasing me but failed.
“Instead he tailgated me as I deliberately kept abreast with a car to my left.
“Eventually I had to move ahead so as not to hold up traffic. He sped up to the lights and as I took the right lane and he on the left, he wound down his window and spat at me.”
Daniel and riding friendsGood Samaritan
Not all drivers are intimidating toward riders, Daniel says.
“Another ute came and wedged himself between me and him to protect me from the wanker trying to run me off the road when the lights turned green,” he says.
“The Good Samaritan told the wanker to stop his cursing and grow up.
“Wanker took a left and I went straight. Samaritan gave me a wave and a thumbs up for which I am really grateful.”
Daniel says some drivers become road ragers because they have a negative attitude towards bikers.
“No amount of reasoning and explanation would ever convince them to be patient and be more accommodating,” he says.
“Half a second after the lights turn green and a bike can easily get ahead and not hold drivers up, but ragers will push their cars to intimidate. Nothing will stop them from getting even.”
Road rage strategies
Daniel asks what is the best strategy for dealing with road ragers. Click here for our recommendations.
“I prefer to slip between traffic and move off as I once had a rager actually try to run me over,” he says.
“A camera is a great option to record the misdemeanour for the police to intervene.”