A motorcyclist who was knocked off his bike moments after he "flipped the bird" to a tailgating driver has erected signs on Memorial Drive in the hope of finding witnesses to the crash.
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Veteran rider Stephen Wilson, 62, of Austinmer admits he made a "silly" decision to extend his middle digit as he travelled south on Memorial Drive between Fairy Meadow and Wollongong, about 9.30am on Friday.
But he says the offended driver's reaction was out of all proportion, with the ute then crossing more than a metre into his lane and knocking him over at speed.
"I've got a really vivid memory of my head hitting the road as my [helmet] visor ripped off, and looking straight at the spinning wheel of the utility," Mr Wilson told the Mercury. "I reckon my head was less than a foot away from the rear wheel".
"What a filthy act it was. It was just homicidally bloody dangerous."
Mr Wilson landed on the roadway with his bike partly on top of him, covered in cuts and bruises but - wearing the right gear - not seriously hurt.
He said he had lane-filtered at the Towradgi Road lights moments earlier, only to find himself caught in traffic in the right lane as he continued southward towards Wollongong.
He said he noticed the ute "seriously tailgating" and that he flashed his brake lights - without actually braking - only for the driver to move even closer.
"I thought, 'I'm not playing any more, I'm totally trapped here'," he said.
"I found a slight gap in the left-hand lane ... and as he went by I flipped him the bird. Immediately, he's just swerved across and went, wham!"
Mr Wilson said the driver had been "screaming about his dashcam" footage in the aftermath, but he had since learnt the man had told police the camera was not working.
He said he regretted his decision to take himself straight to the police station, meaning the estimated six drivers who stopped to help then dispersed, without necessarily speaking to police.
Contact Wollongong Police Station on (02) 4226 7899 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 to provide any information or dashcam footage that could assist with the investigation.
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