Police: Traffic Dispute Becomes Too Raucous

When two bicycle riders objected to the way a Darien man drove in front of them into a driveway, the driver got out and confronted them, which led to charges against him, police said.

Darien police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the incident:

What the bicycle riders said

At some point on Friday before 2:10 p.m., Robert Loud, 50, drove a BMW east, past a man an a woman riding bicycles on the Post Road, honked at them and very quickly turned onto Quaker Road.

The male bike rider then shouted at the driver, "You gotta be kidding!"

Loud then stopped his car, backed up, got out of the car and walked over to the bike rider. They got into a heated discussion in which Loud pushed the man hard enough that the man bit his tongue. Then Loud left.

The bicycle riders took down the license plate number of the vehicle and contacted police.

What Loud said

When police spoke with Loud, he said he honked his horn at the bike riders so they would know he would be traveling in front of them.

He said they then yelled at him, and he got out of his car to explain to them that honking his horn was a courtesy, and when the man lunged toward him, he pushed him back.

What police did

Police issued a misdemeanor summons to Loud, a resident of Delafield Island Road, charging him with breach of peace. Loud is scheduled to appear Monday, Aug. 12, in state Superior Court in Stamford.