Close Encounter of the Second Kind

[Mr. Bloom]

Well, tonight was a first for me - I had a Close Encounter of the Second Kind with a moving vehicle possessing an ignorant driver on a rural road frequented by cyclists. Fortunately, Silver taught me well helping me to avert a Close Encounter of the Third Kind (that is, actual physical contact).

I'm on a rural road that is usually crawling with cyclists and a woman is backing out of her gravel driveway in her SUV - fast and without looking. Seeing what's about to happen, I managed to slow down from 27mph without hitting the gravel or the car.

So, what did the woman do? She laughed and didn't seem to have a bit of concern.

So, what did her husband who was standing in the driveway do? He laughed too without saying a word!

So, what did I do? Take a guess and choose one of the following:

a) I yelled at her and told her she was wreckless and needed to stay off the road!, or
b) I looked at her laughing husband and sarcastically said "I'm glad someone thinks this is funny you !@!#%^&(^%!", or
c) I kept my cool and let my silence say it all.

Choose one of the above.

What would you have done??????

[mimitabby]

Dear Mr Silver
I am glad she was wreckless, because if she was wreckful, the wreck would have been you.

I would have yelled, sure, but it would have surely been unintelligible.

[Offthegrid]

d) yelled WWF Smackdown, jumped off the bike and got busy.


Heh.

I'm a passive type. I probably would have cursed under my breath and went the opposite direction that she was headed.

[silver]

[SheFly]

Sorry to hear it Mr. Silver. Had a similar experience on my ride on Saturday. Headed back home and at the top of one of the last significant climbs, a woman backs out of her driveway, completely across the road, and STOPS ! Her window were up, but I did let loose with some expletives that ended with me calling her a moron - made me feel better .

SheFly

p.s.
I wouldn't likely have sworn, but this was the second such encounter on my ride that day...

[Blueberry]

Probably A and B for me. But, I've been not very tolerant of idiotic people recently (too much stress, not enough biking).

CA

[ehirsch83]

So, what did I do? Take a guess and choose one of the following:

a) I yelled at her and told her she was wreckless and needed to stay off the road!, or
b) I looked at her laughing husband and sarcastically said "I'm glad someone thinks this is funny you !@!#%^&(^%!", or
c) I kept my cool and let my silence say it all.

Choose one of the above.

What would you have done??????

I would of done A and B. I yell at people all the time, i feel like I age about 10 years every ride b/c of those encounters(actually none today)

Congrats on not having a strange encounter of the 3rd kind! good job,very impressed :-)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm on a rural road that is usually crawling with cyclists and a woman is backing out of her gravel driveway in her SUV - fast and without looking. Seeing what's about to happen, I managed to slow down from 27mph without hitting the gravel or the car.
......What would you have done??????[/COLOR]

What would I have done? Truthfully?...I would have been EXPECTING someone to back out of their driveway fast without looking.
Not trying to be facetious here, Mr. S, but if you are going 27mph down a street with driveways, you have to EXPECT cars to be coming out of them, and you have to EXPECT that some of those cars won't see you coming.
This is the ony way you are going to stay alive on your bike...always assume a car will be coming out of a side street or a hidden drive, and never go faster than you would be able to safely stop when one does pullout in front of you. And they WILL pull out right in front of you, regularly.
Be one step ahead of them. Assume cars will be coming out blind and assume they don't see you and bike accordingly. Don't depend on dumb & blind drivers to do the right thing and keep you safe. Ultimately, your safety is up to YOU.
I for one want you to be around for a long time to come.
Slow down, anticipate, and always try to be one step ahead of the morons. They are everywhere, and they won't go away.

[mimitabby]

oooooooooooooooooo good answer Lisa!

[FreshNewbie]

I agree with Lisa 150%, ALWAYS ASSUME that the drivers will do something stupid like that. To me it's a rule when riding in NY areas where drivers could be very $%^&**&^. The fact that you managed to stop going at 27mph says that you have good riding skills, however there are times when hit/fall is just unavoidable because one is riding that fast. Be safe, stay ALIVE, I am sure many people would appreciate it (Silver for sure)

P.S. congruts on all your achievements this year!!!

[silver]

What would I have done? Truthfully?...I would have been EXPECTING someone to back out of their driveway fast without looking.
Not trying to be facetious here, Mr. S, but if you are going 27mph down a street with driveways, you have to EXPECT cars to be coming out of them, and you have to EXPECT that some of those cars won't see you coming.
This is the ony way you are going to stay alive on your bike...always assume a car will be coming out of a side street or a hidden drive, and never go faster than you would be able to safely stop when one does pullout in front of you. And they WILL pull out right in front of you, regularly.
Be one step ahead of them. Assume cars will be coming out blind and assume they don't see you and bike accordingly. Don't depend on dumb & blind drivers to do the right thing and keep you safe. Ultimately, your safety is up to YOU.
I for one want you to be around for a long time to come.
Slow down, anticipate, and always try to be one step ahead of the morons. They are everywhere, and they won't go away.

Thank you, Lisa! This goes back to the ride where Mr. was so offended with me because I told him that I wouldn't ride with him if he rode like he was riding. I tried to explain that some rides were more suited for leisure and some for speed. neighborhoods - leisure, empty rural roads - speed.

[Aint Doody]

I wonder--what if you'd been in a car? Would she have just plowed out into you? I think I'd have actually stopped and spoken to the husband and let him know that if you'd been a few seconds ahead of where you were, that she could have killed you. The laughter would have infuriated me, and I would not have been able to ignore the incident.

[Deanna]

You forgot option D: Falling to the ground dramatically, getting up holding an "injured" body part, and telling them they better have good insurance as you call your lawyer.

[Python]

When I was learning to drive many moons ago, my late father had this piece of advice for me:

"Always stay two jumps ahead of the traffic", in other words, anticipate what might happen.

Wise words and good advice from a driver of 40 years who never had an accident.

[Blueberry]

You forgot option D: Falling to the ground dramatically, getting up holding an "injured" body part, and telling them they better have good insurance as you call your lawyer.

LOL! I almost used this one recently (well, I guess I'd be calling myself...) A stock person in the local Whole Foods clobbered me with a door (I wasn't standing in front of it - he swung it way past "open" and seriously did knock me down). As I picked myself up off the floor, he said "you shouldn't have been standing there - didn't you see the sign, you idiot." Yes, the manager did get a call explaining the situation and suggesting that perhaps that employee needed a little more training in the personal skills department.

CA