Why are Motorists so Idiotic & RUDE

[pardes]

It STILL baffles me why a motorist will pull as close as possible to your rear wheel and then lay on the horn....especially when I'm not even blocking their path. It seems that just the mere presence of me on a bicycle on the road inflames them.

Despite several really rude drivers, I had a lovely relaxed errand run to the LBS for a few bike adjustments, a lovely sandwich on fresh baked bread at PureBread Cafe, a sunset ride through herds of Canada Geese, a bit of shopping, and then a briskly-cold invigorating ride home in the dark.

I'm beginning to think that the rage that is always just below the surface of motorists has to be a reaction they don't want to admit that more and more people are biking for health and economy and environmental issues and it's the motorists who at some level of consciousness are realizing the degree of excess and waste they are inflicting on the nation and ultimately the world.

Even a decade ago, it was mostly the hardcore roadies that were on the roads in less than "perfect" weather but now, people of all shapes and sizes and wearing anything they like are biking and biking seriously in their own way.

That's a wonderful thing and if enough of us continue to do it and entice others to do it with us, things will change.

That's what I was was trying to think about after the GREAT HORN BLAST behind me when what I really wanted to think about was a dozens forms of painful torture I wanted to inflict on the driver.

But now I am home with my hot chocolate topped with a mountain of whipped cream purchased three miles from here and lovingly carried home in my beautiful panneirs on my beautiful bike. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Here's to getting whipped cream on your nose when drinking deep from Double Dutch Hot Chocolate.

[KathiCville]

I'm amazed, too, at the hostility that I occasionally encounter from drivers. Just today, as I was starting out on a ride on a quiet backroad outside of town, two guys blew past me in a pickup truck on a curvy uphill, a little closer than they needed to be. The guy in the passenger seat screamed something at me as the truck roared past. Couldn't catch what he said, but I'm guessing it wasn't rated PG-13. I wasn't doing anything wrong--well to the side of the road, minding my own business, in high-viz gear, tail-light flashing.

What a contrast to a ride a couple of days earlier on the same road, same curvy hill. I heard what I knew had to be a really big rig coming up the incline behind me. The sound surprised me because it's a narrow country road, not a stretch where you'd expect to encounter a big truck. I kept pedalin'---no choice, no place to pull over. Instead of blasting his horn, or crowding me, the fellow eased by me as gently as he could, taking care that his WIDE LOAD trailer (stacked with huge drain pipes!) stayed well to the left of me until he had cleared me. Then, to top it off, he waved when he could see me in his rear view mirror. What a prince! :)

[Blueberry]

We have some great ones - and some terrible ones 'round here too. Folks in retain say people are grumpier than ever this year - I expect they are driving too:(

What I really want to know is - HOW did you get hot chocolate home in your pannier in one piece? That's quite a feat!

[pardes]

[QUOTE=CA_in_NC;382413What I really want to know is - HOW did you get hot chocolate home in your pannier in one piece? That's quite a feat![/QUOTE]

No, I brought the whipped cream home in a can and made the hot chocolate at home. With the temperature outside, hot chocolate would have been ice cream by the time I got home.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I had a giant cup of hot chocolate this evening too, after my home made vegetable soup for dinner.
I tend to be a mini marshmallow girl myself. (and lots of them)
It was brutally cold today.

I don't know if it's our area here, or if I just ride in such a way as to not annoy motorists, but whatever the reason- I just never seem to run into aggressive nastiness from motorists at all. Maybe a couple of clueless people who have poor distance/speed judgment, but never any intentional aggression.
Well only once actually-- when I was on a group ride (which I don't do nowadays) some guy in a beat up car drove by and screamed at all of us out his window to "GET OFF THE F***ING ROAD!!!!!"....we not even blocking any traffic. But he had a bright red face, bulging neck veins and bloodshot eyes as he screamed it at us and drove off....he was apparently either drunk or about to explode at any second. (or both) :eek: :eek: :eek: It was so absurd as to be almost laughable.

[buddha_bellies]

My co-worker and I have experienced some really rude drivers/passengers in the past too. I had coin threw at me and he actually had a glass bottle threw at him. Luckily the aim was really bad or it could've been scary.

My commute is about 40 mins by bike or 30 mins driving during rush hours. So I keep telling myself when I bike that this is way less stress and takes just a little bit more time. I giggle everytime I pass by cars that are waiting to get on the bridge when I zoom right pass by them on the bike path :D

Most of the time, the drivers here are really good about cyclists; Probably because the City is trying to build more bike paths and new drivers that take the road tests are asked about cyclists' rights on the road.

Now if only all cyclists also respect the law too...

[lph]

somewhere, sometime, in a galaxy far far away... I read a really interesting article about road rage. The main point was that a lot of drivers feel that their car and the road immediately around them is an extension of their personal space, with all the psychological effects that brings with it. So they'll feel all the irritation and antsiness that comes with someone encroaching on your personal space or being in the way, while still feeling safe inside their enclosed space. I think cyclists feel much more that they use the road rather than "own" it.

[beccaB]

In my observations people around here give kids on bikes a lot of room. And kids are all over the place. Motorists only hate adults on bikes I assume.

[Biciclista]

I tend to be really lucky, but I've been inched off the road and yelled at too. I do my best to difuse anger by smiling and waving (unless the SOB is aggressive and scares me so bad I can't let go of my handlebars - THEN I use that adrenalin to try and catch up to them and give them a piece of my mind.)

[ms pepperpot]

I had a particularly unpleasant experience the other day. I was on my way to work, and waiting to turn right (remember i'm in the UK) into a main road from a side road. The traffic I needed to pull into was at a standstill so I went between a car and a van to the other side of the road. When the traffic started moving again the van I had crossed infront ofme overtook me the passenger leaned out the window and started shouting abuse "you stupid f****** b****" and so on.

I was shocked, but less shaken than i have been with other unpleasantries by drivers. the level of rage seemed so over the top it just made him look like a complete idiot. All i'd done was cycle relatively assertively. They were stationary and could clearly see what I was about to do.

On a slightly odder note, yesterday I had a more bizarre anti-cyclist incident (presumably by a motorist). My bike was locked up in central london while I went to an exhibition. When I went to collect it someone had built a little cage around it out of orange plastic panels usually placed around roadworks. There were 4 walls and one on top. then written in chalk on the pavement was:

"not paid road tax, tut tut",

with an arrow pointing towardsd my bike. Just really quite odd.

[Ana]

Those inconsiderate motorists are most likely not the conscientious, kind, let's-work-together-to-make-the-world-a-better-place people... :( Which stirs in me even more indignation that they are actively present in our world. It is unfortunate that there are so many egocentrically minded people negatively affecting the lives of others. :mad:

[Blueberry]

On a slightly odder note, yesterday I had a more bizarre anti-cyclist incident (presumably by a motorist). My bike was locked up in central london while I went to an exhibition. When I went to collect it someone had built a little cage around it out of orange plastic panels usually placed around roadworks. There were 4 walls and one on top. then written in chalk on the pavement was:

"not paid road tax, tut tut",

with an arrow pointing towardsd my bike. Just really quite odd.

How bizarre. Too bad you didn't have a camera! Here, road tax is partially paid by auto registrations. I have 2 (plus DH's) - so, that argument doesn't hold water for me personally. But even so, from what I understand, our road upkeep $$ predominately comes from other places (and bikes certainly don't put the same load on the road as other vehicles).

So...did you get your Surly??

CA

[Eden]

On a slightly odder note, yesterday I had a more bizarre anti-cyclist incident (presumably by a motorist). My bike was locked up in central london while I went to an exhibition. When I went to collect it someone had built a little cage around it out of orange plastic panels usually placed around roadworks. There were 4 walls and one on top. then written in chalk on the pavement was:

"not paid road tax, tut tut",

with an arrow pointing towardsd my bike. Just really quite odd.

While I've never heard of anyone making an exhibition of it.... around here we get a lot of people calling for bike registration and rider licensing. They think that we should pay a vehicle tax just like the cars as we are not paying our fair share for the roads...(and thus should stay off of them...) They conveniently ignore the fact that vehicle taxes don't really pay for roads, that's mostly done with property taxes, which cyclists pay their fair share of already, that we don't damage roads the way cars do and that many if not most of us do actually own cars and do pay tab taxes anyway even though we destroy the roads much less, by driving less....

[lauraelmore1033]

Lately, I've encountered several angry young men on the roads who yell at me for being a "fat b1t*h!", as if it were a crime to be fat and on the roads. I have since discovered there is a lovely rap song of that name...

When I complained about this to my sons, who are both runners, they both said, "well, they have to call you SOMETHING". Apparently, both have encountered angry motorists while out running, and usually endure verbal abuse regarding judgements about apparent sexual orientation. This rage is encountered in spite of the fact that they are not hurting anyone or getting in anybody's way or even freeloaders taking up an unreasonable portion of the tax payers roads. Some people are just a$$ holes on the road and the condition is apparently contageous

[Grog]

Maybe we should all have eyes at the back of our helmets?

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2008/11/24/how-not-to-get-eaten-by-a-mountain-lion/

[SouthernBelle]

Maybe we should all have eyes at the back of our helmets?

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2008/11/24/how-not-to-get-eaten-by-a-mountain-lion/

I want glow-in-the-dark ones.

[lph]

I want glow-in-the-dark ones.

Me too! Should be able to cobble some together out of some ankle reflector thingies where the velcro's shot... hmm...

[Aggie_Ama]

I used to endure quite a bit of yelling running on the sidewalk of a busy college town. Now I hear quite a bit cycling, although not every ride. Yesterday we got "Hi people on bikes!" from a wooded field. We both smiled knowing it was some mischievious little boys we saw last week. They don't harrass us just do silly things like launch water balloons at goats. :rolleyes:

I tend to think the people who yell and cuss are projecting the anger they have at themselves for not being active. They know no matter what we look like we are enjoying ourselves and they are too weak (mentally) to challenge themselves. At least that is what I tell myself, difuses my own anger and just makes me feel like bit sorry they are not out there.

[Tri Girl]

Maybe we should all have eyes at the back of our helmets?

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2008/11/24/how-not-to-get-eaten-by-a-mountain-lion/

Awesome! I'm putting those on the back of my helmet. If it keeps cougars/mountain lions away- fine. I'm more interested in drivers and other riders. I mean, how can you not laugh and smile when seeing that on the back of someone's helmet. Maybe they'll laugh and not run me over (or maybe they'll laugh so hard they'll run into me... hmmm...)


Sorry about your crappy driver, Pardes. I don't know why people get so angry sometimes. It's not like my taking 10-20 seconds out of their day ruined all their time restrictions. I think AggieAma has it right- they're just mad because me cycling makes them feel bad about themselves and the bully in them feels better to take it out on me.

[ms pepperpot]

[QUOTE

So...did you get your Surly??

CA[/QUOTE]

I did, and it's lovely. There's a rather poor quality picture of it on the original thread in New Riders now.