Jerk in a truck

[Turon]

The other day while riding along in a development (wide roads), a truck came flying through and cut right next to me running me off the road and into a mailbox. I rolled into it and my leg somewhat wrapped around the post of the mailbox and I heard a not so nice "pop" sound. I went home and iced it immediately and the swelling has gone down dramatically. My knee is getting better, but I am still frustrated with the fact that the person in the truck fealt the need to run me off the road. I was riding against traffic and he made it a point to cross over to the other side of the street. I took his tags down.

[xlok1x]

its a shame some people get a kick out of doing things like that
since you got his tags definitely notify the police

or make a friend at the DMV and find out where he lives and slash his tires

[wakesavage]

its a shame some people get a kick out of doing things like that
since you got his tags definitely notify the police

or make a friend at the DMV and find out where he lives and slash his tires

I think he should just do both

[mangels]

You can call the police, but without other witnesses they prolly won't do much. My daughter's car got vandalized by a neighbor. It's a long story but there was a reason why she knew who did it. Anyway, she called the police, and they said without an actual witness or security camera evidence, theres not much they can do. They filled out a report, and mailed a copy of it to the guy saying that he had been named as a suspect in the incident. Eventually the landlord kicked him out because he was causing trouble for everyone. But like I said, there wasn't much help from the police.

[Alpha06]

Get a lawyer to write up a nice letter to the guy claiming injury and ask for a settlement instead of a lawsuit.

[xabermanx]

some people... seriously.

[southshorelocal]

Get a lawyer to write up a nice letter to the guy claiming injury and ask for a settlement instead of a lawsuit.

you could only do this if someone else saw it happen otherwise it is word against word and a truck driver is over a boarder (sadly).

[mc99david]

that is actualy attempted vehicular homocide... call the cops and get a letter from an attorney.. there is a lot you can do here

[Ogre]

You also need to show damages, if you didn't seek medical help or get documentation of injury, the judge will most likely send you on your way!

[Alpha06]

My point is you can frighten the guy without taking it to court. You dont need court for a legal letter. Another issue is finding who he is based on his license plate.

[Turon]

I'm kinda pissed about it, but through experience I am also aware of how effed the judicial system can be. I'm just gonna let it ride.

[longboardorific]

its a jerk in a truck, a jerk in a truck.
sorry, way to be the better person and let it ride (or not?)

[mooseboy]

dude, thats ####ed! call the police.

[HailingFromCork]

You can call the police, but without other witnesses they prolly won't do much. My daughter's car got vandalized by a neighbor. It's a long story but there was a reason why she knew who did it. Anyway, she called the police, and they said without an actual witness or security camera evidence, theres not much they can do. They filled out a report, and mailed a copy of it to the guy saying that he had been named as a suspect in the incident. Eventually the landlord kicked him out because he was causing trouble for everyone. But like I said, there wasn't much help from the police.

It is a little different than with your daughter though because your daughter didn't even see them. This kid was obviously there (hard to get wrapped around a mailbox without being there) You can act as your own witness if you saw it happen.

I suggest doing something about it but that is just my two cents

[Bruncase]

to be honest I agree with Alpha06. If you manage to kinda scare him you might be able to get this all done outta court or whatever.

[.secrets]

im with you on this, if there wasn't any permanent damage done to yourself then just chill. sure you could get some money out of him or whatever but i think some people jump to lawsuits and settlements too fast. karmas a bitch, he'll have it coming!

[pavedwave]

that is actualy attempted vehicular homocide... call the cops and get a letter from an attorney.. there is a lot you can do here

i typically loathe the litigiousness of american society. in japan, i got hit by a taxi and we settled right on the spot, in cash, exchanging addresses, numbers, license info and his promise to pay any extra medical bills. no lawyers, no cops, no waste of time. done.

however -- in this case, i agree. "reckless endangerment" at the very least, and "attempted vehicular homicide" - even better. the problem in this case is i doubt you could ever prove motive. the guy would claim he didn't see you, your choice of clothing / attempts to make yourself visible would come into question, not to mention the legality of where you were riding at the time...street laws wildly differ for skateboarding from state/city.

but similar stuff happens too much to me, almost weekly, and I'm pretty conservative about how i ride. "california stops" across crosswalks being the most common. what really gets me is how drivers simply don't think about the consequences of their stupidity. the root of the problem is that america is a car-dominant society. i've biked all over japan and a little bit of china, where bikes are everywhere, and drivers are actually AWARE of them, even on a dark, rainy day in drab clothing. over there, you don't have to wear all the screaming neon that american bikers do, just to draw attention.

courts and lawsuits take a lot of time, money, and energy. i've let a ton of this stuff slide in the past and gone with the 'karma' thing, they'll get theirs, yadda yadda. but this is one area i would love to see a skateboarder invest the time to nail someone, and set some legal precedent. i don't wish it upon anybody, but it might take a more serious injury case to make it stick.

anyway Turon, glad you're not hurt to the point of a hospital visit.