When a confrontation escalates
A motorist in the UK chased a cyclist on foot after a heated confrontation, and then took a serious fall onto the pavement. Some people would call this instant justice, but the cyclist should have shown more restraint.
After a very close call on a narrow street the cyclist apparently first chased down the driver and called him out. The motorist wanted no part of that conversation, and the whole situation went quickly downhill with some ugly language and physical interaction. Caution, video contains NSFW language.
Too often we hear about these aggressive and dangerous confrontations between motorists and cyclists. These days we often see footage from bike-mounted cameras, but we can't always be sure that a clip shared contains the complete story of the altercation. We only see the video (or portion thereof) that the person who uploaded it is willing to share.
Many onlookers during such confrontations are likely to be sympathetic to the motorist, so a cyclist yelling obscenities at the driver is not doing her/himself any favors. And the cyclist in this case certainly antagonized the motorist.
The angry motorist in this story took a very hard fall and I would guess he probably regrets his actions, but I also believe that the cyclist is not completely happy with how the situation unfolded.
Another thing to consider is that motorists are inside a heavy, fast moving vehicle, and could easily use this advantage to strike the cyclist if angered or cornered. That is a very frightening and very real scenario, and one that has occurred too many times already.
As is true in most situations, restraint is usually the best option. But if you are confronted with a dangerous or inconsiderate driver, write down the tag number of the offending vehicle and notify the police, but do not try to engage the motorist. It is not helpful, could prove dangerous, and makes things more difficult for fellow cyclists.
Please stay calm and collected even if it is not easy in the heat of the moment.
