united-states california traffic
What can I do about angry drivers as a bicyclist?
<p>I live in Berkeley, CA, and I often bike to the nearest grocery store along a <em>designated <a href="https://www.cityofberkeley.info/bicycleboulevards/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;bicycle boulevard&quot;</a></em>. The street is mostly residential. I try to keep as near to the sidewalk as is safe without risking getting hit by an unexpected car door opening, and I try to bike as quickly as I can. Furthermore, the road is not very busy.</p>
<p>Still, I have had all manner of threats and obscenities shouted at me by drivers and front-seat passengers of cars, including:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You piece of s***! I should knock you off your f***ing bike!</p>
<p>Hey, a*****e, why don't you do us all a favor and go kill yourself?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sometimes it's racial slurs (that don't match my race):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You fata** n*****! The road is for cars!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Other drivers have seen fit to drive as close to me as possible, revving their engines or exaggeratedly going around me at ~10mph above the speed limit (in a school zone no less!). One chose to follow me most of the way home, screaming obscenities out the window the whole way.</p>
<p>Are any of these people breaking any laws? Could it be that <em>I</em> am in the wrong? The frequency of these behaviors have made the simple 5-minute bike ride to the grocery store highly stressful. Can I work with the local police / government somehow to make this street safer?</p>

<p>In the US, obscenities, insults, racial slurs and so on are legal, owing to the First Amendment. An actual, believable threat to maim you would not be legal, under <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=422.&amp;lawCode=PEN" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Cal. Penal 422</a>, but "I oughta punch you" would not be a criminal threat.</p>

<p>Some forms of aggressive driving constitute <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&amp;sectionNum=23103." rel="nofollow noreferrer">reckless driving</a>, if they are driving "in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property". It is also against the law to <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&amp;sectionNum=21703" rel="nofollow noreferrer">follow too close</a> (you must follow reasonably and prudently). Exceeding the speed limit is a violation of <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&amp;sectionNum=22352" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Veh. Code 22352</a>, even if it's to pass a guy on a bike. Of course, we can't tell if you are obeying the law, but even if you were doing something illegal in your biking such as blowing away a stop sign, "the other guy was bad" is not a defense against a citation for illegal driving. </p>
