Camera footage is what you need. Otherwise, it's her word against yours

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Have you considered going through the MVD? Police is usually not the way to go, as no crime/violation was committed.


https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffdl10

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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.

I'm not surprised, that would be such a big burden to keep records of everyone who ever drove dangerously in someone else's eyes. You know how busy most local law enforcement is with lots of little things to "follow up" on like small property crime and such? If someone is driving reckless enough for you to feel endangered and you want law enforcement to do something about it, you need to call 911. If it doesn't rise to a seriousness sufficient to call 911, then just give the driver space and remember there are dumb people on the road. Can you imagine if every time someone saw someone breaking the law, they waited 8 hours to call the cops?

Yes, I did find that form, but it seems to be for a different purpose and requires information that I don't have, such as the name of the driver.

Yes, I really wish I had camera footage of this driver.

Yes, I could've called 911. Next time I will. But I still think the department should at least keep track of such reports, even if they are reported way after the fact, so that it would be possible for them to identify potentially reckless drivers based on the number of reports they receive from concerned citizens...

You can call 911, but nothing will happen. In my experience, if a cop sees a motorist endangering -- but not -- physically harming a cyclist, they're unlikely to do anything about it.

Colorado has a program where anyone can call *CSP and report the plates of an aggressive driver. This wonderful system will, upon receipt of three unique reports on a license plate, issue a letter to the vehicle registration address. Three more complaints results in another letter, etc. No tickets, fines, or points. I bring this up because CO is better than most in terms of options available to report dangerous drivers.

Fist of all: I do not condone reckless driving and endangerment of cyclists no matter what.
However, keep in mind:
This driving is just for par when it comes to the area, and particular this road.
This road is a major and heavily traveled connector on the SF Peninsula between the Bay Cities and Half Moon Bay.
People feel the need to drive it fast (for work or pleasure), and are almost always in a rush. On the weekend, you get the cafe-racers on top of that.

It is less than optimal for riding (almost no shoulder and sweeping fast guard-railed turns), making it difficult to navigate at speed for cyclists who are unfamiliar with it.
Most local cyclists only descend it and are prepared to have cars around at close quarters even at higher speeds.
I personally, when in the area, NEVER ride this road (even descending) Just not a pleasant experience and with higher risk when compared to other options in the area.

I bet the local police dept. get's quite a few calls about that road, and I bet quite a few are from motorists (about reckless cyclists and those not using pull-outs. I understand that they give you the cold shoulder and consider this normal (secretly hating cyclists that impede flow of traffic on this important road).

In the end, the organizers should have never routed a major ride with participants spanning a wide variety of abilities down this road (on a beach-weekend to boot). I shuddered when I saw the route taking tired riders down there, and I am glad nobody was seriously injured or killed (yes, that happens there).

Not an official/government reporting tool, but somewhat helpful nonetheless... Have a look here http://closecalldatabase.com/

...I should start calling the local PD to report the motorists who refuse to use the pullouts when I catch up to them on 84. I always just...you know...waited.

I totally agree that the organizers should not have put that road on the route--at least not without taking serious precautions, such as having an obvious police presence there. I would not have been on that road if not for the organized tour putting me there.

Still, the driver in this instance stood out as being very reckless and I would not be at all surprised if she kills someone there in the future.

Yes, I will try to add my report here. At least it's something.

Just wish someone had video. Since we now have a 3ft. passing law there would be something to ticket for.

My general rule for 84 is to take the lane on the curves (bikes are faster than cars anyway), and let the cars by on the straights.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

I don't think any police force would issue a ticket for passing within 3 feet based on video evidence. Simply not solid enough - too much variation in camera placement, lens angles, etc to definitively say how close a vehicle is. The only time I can see a video being useful is if there has actually been an accident (or an altercation following a near-miss) and the video can help determine who is at fault. And if nobody's hurt and nothing is damaged the police aren't likely to be bothered anyway unless they saw it with their own eyes.

The police in the UK where I am have commented on this previously and said that for them to consider video evidence the recording would need to include at least 2 minutes both before and after the incident and would have to be completely unedited to ensure there is full context, they've also said that provocative behaviour by the cyclist would likely lead to no action being taken. That seems fair enough to me. Unfortunately, in many of the videos I've seen the cyclists seem to be going out of their way to get a reaction so they can post it to YouTube. Saw a guy doing it at the weekend funnily enough - he pulled up on the outside of a car at a red light, tried to beat him away from the lights, and then when the car accelerated past him he went up and tried to start an argument with the driver while repeatedly pointing to his camera and telling the guy he was being filmed. Quite bizarre behaviour!

This worked really well in stopping a local neighborhood driver and 2 different fixie riders all of whom blew through the stop sign nearly causing multiple accidents repeatedly.

My assumption is that anyone that is driving recklessly must be impaired. I would call 911 and report them as a possible DUI. Let the police do their due diligence. You may be saving someone else's life down the road.

I agree it's really hard to see from the cameras if you were buzzed by a car, but should be easy to see if a cyclist ahead or behind you was (i.e. the cyclist filming the incident as a third party). It could also support the assertion that the driver was acting erratically.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

take matters into your own hands
police, by design, can't and won't do anything until an actual crime has been committed, until after you or one of your friends has been killed
it's just the way our system works
i might try to find out where that person lives and then have a talk with her at her house

Unless she actually hits someone the reality is that the police have nothing they can really do with the authority they're given. Video won't do much, if anything.

The ones I especially love are the drivers that make a point of speeding past me on the flat part at the very top of 84 so they won't be held up by a cyclist, then end up impeding me the whole way down because they can't take the curves anywhere near as quickly. I am SO tempted to pass them sometimes...but I don't want to add to the problem. :-)

I actually find the most dangerous part of be at the bottom, where Portola Rd comes in from the sharp right, especially on weekends. I usually take the right to avoid being taken out by an impatient or inattentive left-turning vehicle.

Ian

Take video.

Post online.

Send link to local news.

Crime has not been committed (reckless driving is a thing only if a cop witnesses it), so shaming in public is pretty much the only avenue available to change this driver's behavior.

OTOH depending on their personality type, they could then double down and go after cyclists on purpose. You never know.

This is really what it all boils down to. In any one day here in Atlanta, I could keep a notepad in my car & document at least two dozen "crimes" in my eyes. People driving slow in the fast lane. People not stopping at the white line & rolling into a crosswalk. People not giving me 3 feet when on my bike. People speeding (dear god do they speed!). And at the end of the day, I can call all the different police departments to report my citizen watchdog roll call of crimes. Are they supposed to track down each of these drivers or keep some kind of tally of citizen complaints on the car?

Which leads to the second point. Who's to say that any of these crimes were actually committed? Maybe I want to phone in someone I don't like. Maybe I want to write up someone who I think cut me off. Maybe I want to call out someone who was driving legally, but pissed me off because I was speeding & they were in my way.

What happened sucks for the OP, but in the end, citizen justice is never going to be taken seriously unless the police catch the person red handed.

Great timing. I had a similar incident last Friday on my bike commute home. 6:40pm & back roads to minimize my interaction with commuters.
Going into a blind corner I could see a truck approaching from behind (still well back) so I moved into the lane to "control" it.
Still, truck moved into oncoming lane with blind corner coming and went around me. At the apex of the corner I was even with his door and he was coming over on me. I could see he was on his phone so he was obviously an important business man.
He came over so close I was sure he was going to hit me so I smacked his truck with my hand. When we came out of the corner, we were BOTH in my lane.

I got it on video and have been wondering if the police even care. Great shot of the driver, vehicle and tags. Got the camera for accident liability not to be a video vigilante. I figure I have only so many times I can call and report bad drivers.
Indiana has the 3' law. And I don't have 3' long arms.

Yeah, being able to descend the switchbacks on 84 on a bike faster than a car is not a big accomplishment.
The problem is only that your brakes and protection are way inferior to those of a car. You will always lose the "race" from 45 to 25 mph (or even 45 to 0).

So considering this is not a closed course, you are taking your life into your own hands and make me driving in front of you quite uncomfortable (as I care about your well-being).
If I have to just touch the brakes in my car you will be in my trunk, over the guardrail or in a head-on.
Having driven and ridden that road (as well as Kings Mountain) I can understand drivers who want to get away from kamikaze weekend warriors descending on that road as fast as possible.
See plenty of Subaru's / Trucks with racked road-bikes partaking in dangerous driving over there.
Pendulum swings both ways.

And FYI:
The CVC specific pull-out law is five or more vehicles behind the "offender".

This, as well as patienceand consideration would be useful to know/have if you lived there.

Here in New Zealand, the cops have a page on their website for reporting bad drivers. 3 reports within 2 years and they get a ticket. I know this because my daughters ex-BF got such a ticket. I have got one driver a ticket doing that. He passed me dangerously (in the middle of a double chicane at the beach) on my daily cycle commute. See if the cops in your area have a similar reporting system.

I also ride with a GoPro at all times. The cops have got several video's and 2 people have got tickets thanks to my video's. Does anyone you know from the ride have video of it?

Cops are like lots of people. Trying to get through the work day with as little hassle as possible. There are lots of good cops out there, but the bad ones (like the woman you ran across on the phone) give them all a bad name.

All I can recommend is getting several people to make the same or similar report. Weight of numbers can't hurt.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"