punishment pass

noun

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

Meanings

nounpunishment pass (plural punishment passes)

plural punishment passes

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

    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.

    2017, David Dansky, Clare Morris, “Carsickness: Reconstruing Driving and Cycling”, in Peter Cummins, Harry Procter, David Winter, Nick Reed, editors, Personal Construct Psychology at 60: Papers from the 21st International Congress, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, →ISBN, page 443
    1 more example

    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."

    2015 April 9, Carlton Reid, Roads Were Not Built for Cars, Island Press, →ISBN, page xvii
Cite this entry
APA

punishment pass. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punishment%20pass

MLA

“punishment pass.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punishment%20pass. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “punishment pass,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punishment%20pass.

Source: punishment pass on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.