EXCLUSIVE: Biker Involved Reacts To Viral Road Rage Video
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DALLAS (CBSDFW) - Garrett Westhoff had his helmet cam rolling,when he saw a jeep trying to squeeze by a procession of motorcycles.
"We don't need a vehicle flying past our convoy like that. Myself, and there were a couple other individuals that you can see in the video, merged over to the right lane and that was to slow him down to stop him," said Westhoff.
Nearly half a minute later, the car jumped the curb and sped around them.
"I was flabbergasted," he said.
The encounter happened in the midst of a motorcycle ride for Project 22, a movement to draw awareness to the high number of veteran suicides.
Posted online, the video has now been viewed more than three million times.
Some people find the jeep's driver reckless.
Others have jumped to his defense.
"The bikers are wrong. They don't own the road," read one Facebook comment.
The video also shows what many believed to be a police officer pulling the driver over.
North Texas Motorcade - a company often hired to do funeral processions – confirmed it was one of its employees on the motorcycle flashing blue and yellow lights.
Over the phone, it admitted it had no authority to stop him or tell him what to do, but claimed its employees were simply requesting he stop for the safety of others.
Watching the video, attorney Pete Schulte immediately noticed the company also appeared to sound sirens, which only emergency vehicles are allowed to use under state law.
"Both parties made mistakes," he said. "The motorcyclists were in the wrong by trying to control the driver because both of them had the right of way."
But, Westhoff says, drivers should have taken a moment to honor the cause.
"They may have been upset that they didn't' make their hair appointment on time, but we were doing this ride to bring awareness to the veterans," he said.
In Dallas, a local ordinance does give motorcades the right-of-way, if they are escorting a funeral procession. Several other North Texas cities require a police officer be present for a procession to impede traffic.
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