I was coming home from myrtle beach bike rally with wife on the back of the bike. Almost home, on a one lane road a car pulls out behind us and drives about a foot from my back wheel. I slowed down and motion for him to back off. He continued to tailgate and rev his motor and keep serving into other lane as if to pass, except there was always traffic coming the other way. This was in a subdivision blvd with a 35 mph speed limit.

Kept it up. When I got to a rotary, where there was no way out for him I stopped the bike and went back to the car. Wife was freaking out, begging me to get back on the bike. The guy could have been anything from 16 to 25 years old - hard to tell but he looked young to afford the souped up toyota race car he was driving. I told him to back off and that if I had to stop again I would beat the **** out of him. He responded by saying "i'll call the police".

That set me off and I punched him in the face. He again said he's going to call the police and started to roll up his window. Now I was pissed and I punched the window too. So he rolled it down again and said, "alright, alright, i'm cool, whatever." I again told him to back off and got back on my bike. Get to the stoplight to my neighborhood and he followed us.
Wife is freaked and said, "don't turn on our street, keep going". Good idea, I didn't want him knowing where I live so he can come back for revenge on my property.

I round a corner and let wife off to walk home through the woods. Well he was following, of course, because he had called the police. Police kept us seperated and interviewed us individually. I admitted hitting him. Police started out very angry at me but it seemed like they ended up more on my side by the end of it. I asked the officer that was talking to me if I am automatically screwed because I hit the guy.

He said if he presses charges they would have to take me in and charge me with simple assault. I then asked it that happened,could they follow me to my house so I could drop my bike off. He spoke with the officer in charge (the one who was originally pretty pissed at me). They both came back and asked "why did you hit him? were you sensitive to the fact of the 2 different rally accidents - 3 deaths?" I said well sure, but I'm always aware of tailgating. He said he is too and he specifically watches when he sees bikes and pulls over tailgaters.

Anyway, they said the other guy is willing to let bygones be bygones but wants no future contact. I agreed to that and pointed out why I didn't go straight home. I don't know if the police persuaded him or if he figured out if he pressed charges, I would have his name and address. Then when the guy left the head cop kind of joked and said "before you go let's wait for that fart can exhaust to disappear, and he sent one of the other cops to follow him andmake sure he left".

Now that it's behind me I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I can be a fairly hot headed guy and have been known to get in fight now & then at bars and such, but this was a bit different. On one hand I feel like the guy is lucky all he got was a punch in the face instead of being charged with hitting someone with his car and killing them. On the other hand I feel VERY guilty about hitting him. I would try to make it up to him if I could but I do not want to try to reach out to him. My skin is crawling to make thing right. I guess I decided the best I could do is to do some good for someone else so I have signed up to volunteer time for meals on wheels.

If you stuck through this to end...thanks for reading.

 

No better lesson to learn from than tough love if ya ask me....when some mouthy punk *** like that knowingly and persistantly endangers my or my riders life, all bets are off.

 

Don't sweat it, man. Me and a buddy were just having lunch today and discussing how we hate tailgaters, especially when we're riding. Think of what you did as teaching him a good lesson. Sounds like a young punk that needed someone to set him straight. If you had been in the wrong, the cops would have charged you (these SCHPs can be pretty harsh if they want to be). You never know, you may have just saved his life.

 

Hell don't feel guilty.He put both you and your wife in danger,you tried to get him to back off,he didn't.The only thing I might have done different was pull over when he followed you,and waited for the cops.

 

Thanks guys. The cops did end by telling me how stupid I was to hit him but that they bet he will never tailgate another bike.

 

Don't waste your time reaching out, he was obviously an a-hole, you need to go make things right with your OL and make sure she knows you learned your lesson. It could have turned out worse for you too if the jerkoff was armed. Not that I blame you a bit and likely would have done the same or worse, but the after effect on the people who count on you is way more important than venting or teaching some d-head a lesson.

 

Don't feel too guilty about whacking the guy in the face. Of course you should try harder to control your anger, but occasionally, one slips a little. I remember many years ago getting paid a visit from the local LEO after I belted a young punk in the face. I had called in sick to work and was sitting in the living room when my daughter left to catch the school bus. When my daughter went out to the bus stop in front of the house, I looked out and saw some kid with his arm around her body clutching her ***** and his other hand between her legs. She was struggling to get away from him. As I ran up to him, he said - "I didn't do anything". That's when I lost all control and nailed him with a left hook. My daughter was a little embarrassed because the kid had a huge black eye all week in school. When the police officer came to my house that evening and threatened to arrest me, I explained what had happenen. He left, talked to the kid's parrents and a few wittnesses. He came back and suggested I not do that in the future. I could be arrested if the kid's parrents wanted to press charges. I said I'd do my best, but if I ever saw that kid again attacking my daughter, I might have to shoot him. A few weeks later, the kid came to my house and appologized for his behavior.

 

Plus one !!!

 

You should consider yourself lucky on a couple different fronts. Lucky he didn't press charges. Road Ragers are usually made an example of and not left off so lightly. Lucky he didn't shoot you. What if he had a CCW in the car with him and decided at the moment you punched him in the face his life was in danger and fired a shot into your gut? Might as well stay home and play Russian Roulette.

Not saying what he did was right. I hate tailgaters as much as the next person. But you know what I hate more than tailgaters? Going to jail or getting shot.

 

Well I'm mixed on this one. I mean I get pissed off too when some one rides my *** or cuts me off and I yell or rev up that them, show them there #1, but I don't hit them. Sounds to me like you are a hot head and got lucky that you are not locked up. I would leave the kid alone and it's cool that you are doing good for others, but maybe next time a simple yell will work, or you call the police and give them the guys plate # and tell them he's drivng crazy and almost killed you. Make yourself the good guy since he was in the wrong in the first place.