People who like to yell at cyclists

[Tater]

I too, have had my share of being yelled at, cussed at and have had things thrown at me even though I live in a pretty bike tolerable town. It still happens and it seems to be mostly teenagers, or guys in jacked up pickups. Just last week I had a car load of female teenagers pass me and one leans out the passenger window to just scream. Too bad for them I caught up to them at the red light. Suddenly the window went up and no one had anything to say when I pounded on the door. I don't think they realize how dangerous their actions really are, either. I saw the car approach in my mirror, so I was anticipating the pass, but I did not expect to be screamed at. Luckily I didn't swerve, but someone else may have.

I also carry pepper spray and will use it on those from the shallower end of the gene pool. As for the yelling and such, I am learning to just let it roll off my back and keep riding. Stay strong out there, ladies!

[mimitabby]

Good for you Idaho girl ! (Tator)

I think the same thing that works for dogs works for people in cars.
they see you on the road and they forget you are human. You get in their face
(catch up to their car at a light or get off your bike and walk towards the dog)
and they remember that you are a person.

They HATE that. they'd rather you continued being an object so they could
act out their hostile fantasies.

every time i catch up with someone (happened to me 2x now) I feel like I really scored; because I get to educate them and they find out that gee, they are not the only righteous person in the universe.

[Tater]

Good for you Idaho girl ! (Tator)

I think the same thing that works for dogs works for people in cars.
they see you on the road and they forget you are human. You get in their face
(catch up to their car at a light or get off your bike and walk towards the dog)
and they remember that you are a person.

They HATE that. they'd rather you continued being an object so they could
act out their hostile fantasies.

every time i catch up with someone (happened to me 2x now) I feel like I really scored; because I get to educate them and they find out that gee, they are not the only righteous person in the universe.

You know, I can only hope that by educating some doofus that their actions are not just rude, but dangerous, helps in some way. Maybe that one person won't be so inclined to holler at the next cyclist he/she sees.

I think a lot of it has to do with the 'i'm in a car, therefore I am superior' attitude. Well, excuse the p!ss out of me, I'm on a bike and much more fit and healthy because of it!

[donnambr]

Have to ask, kaian, which suburb? I was born in Wyandotte, and spend most of my childhood in Woodhaven and Trenton. My parents are still in Trenton, eagerly awaiting their retirement in the Upper Peninsula, where they plan to ride their bikes to their heart's content.

I was harasssed a lot in various places in Michigan, but my last nasty episode was about a month ago here in Portland. It was a couple of weeks after the Portland radio DJ fracas. On the way home from work, I was waiting for the last light on my ride to change with a car behind me. He was acting very well-behaved, not doing a thing. Then this young woman on a bike rides up and just blows the red, which I think is kind of suicidal in this intersection that people in Portland call the "Seven Corners". It really has 7 corners - the traffic light is your friend here, really. After she does her thing, the motorist behind me makes a Jekyll-and-Hyde style change and starts to rev his engine fast, creep up way to close to my tire, yell that I am the anatomical area below the waist that is unique to females using the Anglo-Saxon term, and then slam on the horn the second the light turns green.

There was absolutely no excuse for the driver's behavior, but I can't help but feel what that cyclist did set the jerk off.

[Bad JuJu]

Here's an idea: if we're really aimed toward education, let's start writing to our local newspapers. I'm not just talking about letters to the editor--most local newspapers have a sort of guest-editorial feature, where you can write a somewhat longer piece than a letter--a kind of citizen's editorial. They're not terribly long--usually 300-600 words--that's around 2 typed, double-spaced pages, but they give you more space than a letter, and they're usually featured more prominently than the letters. You could write about the dangers of all the things being discussed in this thread, or any other dangerous thing you've seen motorists do around cyclists.

Now admittedly, for this to do any good, people have to read it, and a certain percentage of the likely offenders are probably not newspaper readers anyway, but a lot of them are, and in the case of teens, maybe their parents are. And it doesn't cost you anything more than a couple of hours of ranting on paper.

Let us know if you intend to try it and whether it gets printed or not. If your local paper is quite small, it can be surprisingly easy to get this kind of writing printed. Good luck!

[kaian]

Donnambr- I ride around the Royal Oak area, but also ride on Hines Drive in Dearborn Heights which is a very popular place for cyclists to ride because there are HUGE shoulders on the road for us and there are parks all along the road. On Saturdays, they close down 7 miles of it for runners, roller bladers, etc. I've gotten yelled at in Ferndale 2-3 times and on Hines I had a woman make a left turn almost into the side of me and have had people in cars yell.

[SalsaMTB]

Hey kaian...I ride in metro detroit also and find people here are just rude. When I commute to work (Livonia to Farmington Hills) I always get yelled and honked at. You're right, motor city just isn't bike friendly and many of the yells come from teenagers. I haven't really had names yelled at me, just things like "get on the sidewalk" I just try to shrug it off and think to myself that I'll live a longer and healthier life than them.

I'm surprised you have problems on Hines Drive. I find most drivers to be pretty polite on that road. I ride there all the time and have found it a rare ride to get honked or yelled at. I have had a strange truck drive slowly behind my sister and I before. Talk about creepy! He would follow, go ahead and pull over, wait for us to pass, then follow again. After a couple miles, he took off.

I will admit though, to ride any road other than Hines Drive, takes getting used to. You really need confidence to ride in Detroit!

If you ever want to go for a ride, send me a PM! I live in Livonia and like I said, ride Hines Drive pretty frequently.