Meaning of punishment pass | Babel Free

Definitions

The act of passing a cyclist in a motor vehicle as close as possible in order to intimidate them.

Examples

“In May 2014, Keith Maddox of Piedmont, Alabama, filmed himself ranting at cyclists he passed in his powerful SUV. […] After passing one cyclist, Maddox videoed himself on his smartphone, saying "I'm going to hurt one of them one of these days, I can't help it." He later gave two cyclists a "punishment pass", then pulled in front of them and proudly shouted: "That scare ya, boys ? Get your pedalin' butts off the road."”

“A driver may believe that s/he is a kind, benevolent person who cares and looks out for people and yet, on almost injuring a cyclist, may react with rage or anger towards that rider, even compounding the near miss with a "punishment pass" by swerving into the rider to teach them a lesson.”

CEFR level