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I was biking home from a short commute today and was in the middle lane of the road, which was the outer left turn lane on a one-direction road (I was turning left). A car sped up behind me (there was no traffic around) and hurriedly cut right in front of me and slammed on her brakes. I have no doubt that she was trying to cut me off, but all I can come up with is that being on my bike was an irritant to her.
So frustrating! And so hard not to get mad...
I had this yesterday! coming into a "Form One Lane" where two lanes join together to form one, coming in on the centre line of the lane I was in to make sure everyone could see me - the lady in the lane next to me, obviously saw me but decided she couldn't wait for 5 seconds to turn a corner
Nearly ran me off the road trying to get around me in, what is by this time, a single lane.. AND I'm in the centre of it.. then slammed on her brakes, came to a complete halt -and turned a corner into a shopping centre carpark
I waved and smiled at her - don't care if she saw me or not
It is hard not to get mad - but the way I tried to look at it was - maybe there was an emergency. Maybe they do need to save that extra 2 seconds it takes to wait for you to pull to the side.
Or in my case - There very well could have been an emergency clean up in aisle 5 that ONLY she could fix.
I don't know that she didn't have any kind of emergency
I'm just glad I got home safe, and that I don't have any emergencies in aisle 5... and that I'm on my bike - which is quite obviously a more calming experience than driving
There are some real jerks out there. There's not a lot you can do when someone is deliberately trying to cut you off, other than knowing how to brake quickly with a turn of your wheel to avoid a collision. You did great, and it's okay to get mad. What that driver did is illegal. You could make a police report if you got the license plate.
Ugh.
I really think some people just don't know, either. Don't know how fast bikes can go, don't know how to react with them on the road. Get flustered and do stupid things.
We had an article in the paper here, likely a hit-and-run involving an injured cyclist, and in the midst of all of the bicycle-bashing comments one woman writes in to ask "So if there's a bike in the bike lane, and I need to turn right, what am I supposed to do? Speed up, get in the lane in front of him, and turn? Get ahead of him and turn from my lane?" I wasn't registered to comment, but I wanted to ask what was the matter with slowing down to wait for the cyclist to pass and then turning behind him. She wasn't being snotty, she just honestly had no idea - and it hadn't crossed her mind that slowing down was an option.
I think a lot of the attitude starts out as just not knowing what to do, and then getting angry at the source of confusion, more than the "I shoudln't have to slow down for three seconds!"
But... lots of them sincerely believe we should keep our little toys on the sidewalk. I gave the boy who pulled his big pickup out in front of me on our city street a horn blast, and he stopped and rolled down his window to inform me that he had seen me... and "You had plenty of time!" Of course, I had the right of way -- having time to stop without hitting him wasn't the question... but he went on to inform me (while driving, now) that I should be in the bike lanes -- that aren't there. Then we *got* to bike lanes and he pointed to them and told me that's where I should be riding...
I have violent fantasies. I imagine middle age women vigilantes shooting out tires of careless and reckless motorists.
I used to walk to work. Over the years I had a few near misses with cars. Most of the time it was cars pulling up to an intersection, the driver would look left before making a right turn. They did not think to look right to see if a pedestrian might be crossing in front of them. I was almost hit a couple of times by these kind of drivers. I'd imagine a baseball bat connecting with the hood of their car. :)
The worst was once when I was crossing a quiet avenue while walking parallel to a busy state. A car on the busy street cut in front of me while I was crossing the avenue. He yelled at me to get out of the way. I was pumped and yelled a variety of obscenities back. In retrospect, a dangerous behavior on my part. But yet satisfying. :)
*A lot* of drivers have no clue what the laws actually are. I was crossing the street (on foot) just last weekend at an intersection and was screamed at to cross in a crosswalk, by someone who did not want to stop - they nearly ran me down..... In this state *any* place where two roads come together is a crosswalk - painted with white lines or not and cars have to yield.....
It really cheezes me off is that person was willing to actually threaten me with their vehicle (by not slowing down while I was practically right in front of them). Even *if* I had been jaywalking, they still have no right to run me down.
A friend of mine who doesn't bike, but has a friend who does tells a story that I will never forget. Apparently the cyclist had a car from a perpendicular street run a stop...the cyclist somehow had the coordination/skill to unclip and run over the driver's hood...leaving DEEP and long gouges in the paint from her cleats. Of course the driver couldn't say anything, since he/she was totally at fault and knew it.Quote:
Originally Posted by goldfinch
I fantasize about having the ability to react like that.
I don't know about any of you but the most terrifying drivers who drive: 1) BMW (they own the road,don't they) 2) Mercedes (same thing but to a lesser extent) 3) High rise pickup trucks (male size issues) I apologize in advance to those who may own these types of cars, but all too often it seems if I slam on the brakes to avoid an accident, these are the models most frequently noted in my mind when my life flashes in front of my eyes.
This...and there is an Audi in my 'hood that will NEVER give me room when I'm running. I always end up forced into the ditch (relatively narrow road without even a gravel shoulder, just a foot or so of tall grass and a ditch), even if there is no one oncoming--they will not move into the other lane by so much as an inch.Quote:
Originally Posted by deeannef
My worst experiences have usually been with drivers of Jaguars, Hondas and the Toyota Prius. *shrug* I don't think bad/rude/inconsiderate drivers are necessarily drawn to particular brands of cars. It seems to be a pretty diverse group.
I'd guess it has more to do with the predominate make/model of car on the road in your area..... out here you could probably say most incidents are caused by green or silver subaru wagons - just because there are so darn many of them...
Thanks, I drive a BMW.
Don't make assumptions. I find it's more a certain kind of person who does clueless driving stuff around cyclists. And these people come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and religions. And it all comes down to 3 things: One, drivers don't realize we have the same rights they do; two) they don't realize how fast we can go; and 3) they can't wait 3 seconds.
Thanks, Crankin :) I drive a full size SUV, I especially LOVE slowing down for bicyclist when there is another big vehicle behind and obviously impatient. It is so sweet when that big vehicle cannot go around me, cannot intimidate me with their big vehicle and s/he just has to wait and be nice.
When I drove my small sedan, some of the big vehicle drivers would try to come up close behind me and try to get me to move faster or something. It made me nervouos sometimes, but I wouldn't give in. After driving the Tank (it's what I call our SUV) no more. Of course if the person's behavior was looking dangerous, a different approach.
Big SUVs can be a good thing too...besides having to haul loads from Costco:D
dt
around here in texas it is almost invariably a Ford F150 pickup, usually white, more often than not, jacked up and more often than not driven by a young stud. The gas prices seem to have cut down the SUVs and Hummers but not the pickups.
ah well. I have twice been bumped from behind by cars who were planning to run the yellow light instead of stopping.
The joke around here is that "red is the other color of light you can run."
marni
I get this all the time in my car. I guess a Civic coupe with a bike rack on the trunk makes me look "weak" to certain drivers of larger vehicles, so I get tail-gated often. Just yesterday I was driving down a windy back road on my way to the farm with a 2-year-old and a 5-week-old in the back seat (going the speed-limit), and this big truck with a tiny little man in the front seat sat on my bumper until I pulled over to let him pass. Then when I pulled over, he leaned on his horn and waved his hand angrily at me as he zoomed by, as if I was the one being unreasonable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Desert Tortoise
Fine, threaten to rear-end me if you want to make a point, but if you injure those children in the backseat I wil make the rest of your life hell.
I drive an Accord, so I get this a lot, especially if I leave the rack on the trunk. It's not always the big vehicles, though. Some crazy lady in a Cobalt tailgated me most of the way up a windy road (I was doing the speed limit) then crossed a double yellow line to pass me. :rolleyes:
Strange, the number of people who seem to think that the speed limit is a lower limit.
The people here who are most unsafe to bicycles...are people who are not legally supposed to be driving. Some of them are not able take drivers ed or qualify for a license to begin with and learn laws pertaining to cyclists. Some have had licenses revoked for not following the rules of the road.
So it's almost impossible to tell by what they're driving. But unfortunately, if any of that population hits you...they aren't likely to have insurance, either.
I would add women with children in the car to that list. I swear, I have seen more aggressive driving towards me on a bike by mothers than any other type of driver. I've even been cursed at by these drivers, while her kids are in the back seat!Quote:
Originally Posted by deeannef
They're probably late for soccer practice.
I laughed.Quote:
Originally Posted by channlluv
I get rude mothers behind me all the time. I remind myself that if I had two or three kids that were not well behaved in the backseat, I might be a little prone to irritation also.
I drive a 1994 Jeep Cherokee, it was my first car and at this point, 17 years later, I just want to see how long she goes before replacing her. BUT - lots of newer cars have no patience being behind an OLD CAR, even if I am 5mph over the limit. They get in front of me... and I wind up having to pass them later. It's hilarious.
Out here, the dangerous cars to watch for while on your bike are the highly jacked up pickup trucks and Ford mustangs - both driven by high school jocks with something to prove. The trucks scare me more, especially when they decide to jerk the wheel suddenly to avoid us or to cut back in the lane after passing - you know they are easily rolled. I swallow a gasp every time that happens.
I am very new to cycling!! Only 3 weeks actually. My son has been riding since he was 14 and now my husband and I intend to make it a serious hobby. Yesterday I was riding along a famous bike strip down here in Aus. I was riding in the left lane, close to the kerb when a TRUCK came far to close to me in my lane. He could have easily merged completly into the right or even a little as there were no cars anywhere. He made the decision to not deviate his truck at all. :mad:I couldn't believe it.....I gave him the finger and hoped he'd have a bad day!! What a tossa, gambling with my life!!
NB: In Australia we drive on the left side of the road.:mad:
When drivers do this to me I slow down to a snail's pace. It really pisses them off but they do back off my tail.Quote:
Originally Posted by Desert Tortoise