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Downtown-bound bicyclists merge onto the Burnside Bridge in Portland.

(The Oregonian 2010)

Out of Seattle, one more reason why it’s hardly ever a good idea for a bicyclist to slap (or, in this case, kick) a vehicle to get a motorist’s attention in traffic.

KOMO-TV out of Seattle reports that “a minor traffic dispute” last week escalated into a pregnant woman pulling a stun gun from her bra and attacking a *bike messenger.

Here’s how the Tarantino-esque scene unfolded,

:

After the screaming woman pulled a stun gun out of her bra, the messenger tried to get away, police said. She gave chase, caught up with him and reportedly "hit him twice in the face," police said.

A man driving the car apparently also pulled out his own stun gun and swung it at the bike messenger, KOMO reports.

After beating the bicyclist, the pair ran back to their car and sped away, police said.

Now, I’m not blaming the bike messenger for the beating he took. (Fortunately, he wasn't seriously injured.) But,

, bicyclists should almost always refrain from *smacking cars.

Honestly, there have been bike-commuting days when I've experienced the urge on downtown Portland's chaotic stretch of Broadway. But the trigger was more than a honk. And I've never acted on it.

Bottom line: It’s road rage. And, in Oregon, that could get you in trouble with the law.

Let’s go to the

:

Ironically, the cop who lamented slapping cars in that column

for, among other things, getting

.

Also, carrying around and pulling stun guns like the zombie apocalypse has begun: Who does that? Nuts who have drivers licenses, that's who.

But it was just a honk. Why let your ego go ballistic? Why not just keep riding?

Road rage all around.

*

Update:

Thanks to Timo Forsberg for pointing me to the Seattle Bike Blog's comments section, where the bike messenger who was attacked commented on the incident. Still, it doesn't change the point of this post: Bicyclists and pedestrians

*

Update 2:

Bike Portland just posted this: "Slapping of car leads to road rage incident in North Portland."

Apparently, the driver in this case had a gun gun. The Bicyclist, Don Joling, has not filed a report, Portland police said. The last incident report with that name dates back to a "traffic incident" in 1993, they said.

-- Joseph Rose