Almost went over someone's trunk!

[XMcShiftersonX]

Let's get back to the point of the story. This story wasn't about the rules of the road, because I actually was behaving legally (sorry I was incorrectly informed by the second post, but after looking up the laws, which by the way are very vague, I realized I did nothing wrong.). I was traveling in the shoulder as my own lane and obeying the rules of the road. I also made the judgment call and behaved safely, when I made it a point to get in front of the driver, on the shoulder, so that I was visible. She clearly saw me, but she also clearly tried to intimidate and hurt me with her vehicle. That's not acceptable. And that was the point of the story. This is what happens to cyclists everyday. This is the type of behavior that gets people killed or injured, it's called road rage. A lot of people think they own the roads with their cars. This wasn't a situation where I was being careless and in someones blind spot and almost went over their trunk. No. Someone intentionally tried to make me crash. I'm quite frankly a little disappointed that so many people on this thread have the mindset that cyclists don't quite have the right to be on the road, that we should tiptoe around people in cars. Furthermore, in saying some of the things that have been said, there seems to be some blame placed on the cyclists for the actions of irrational drivers. This is the problem with the cycling community. I feel like we should support each other when there has been wrong doing. I'm not saying it's okay for us to be weaving in and out of traffic and riding erratically, and act like we own the road, this was hardly a situation like that (but there are certainly people who ride like that). But we do share the road, and motorists have a responsibility too. I drive, and I would never behave the way this lady did. I consider it my responsibility to look out for cyclists (as well as pedestrians, etc.), especially in the area I was in that has tons of cyclists. Riding on the road is dangerous no matter what, and we constantly have to make judgment calls about how to safely ride our bikes on them. But, this does not excuse the drivers that intentionally try to intimidate and hurt us everyday.

-Jessica

[Eden]

I completely agree. We did get a bit off topic at times with debating legality etc. Whether or not I think going to the front of the line at a stop is a good idea, the fact remains that the driver did not do something that would have been out of negligence, but rather did something quite intentional. As I said in my first post - I don't actually care what you did or did not do. You could have been doing something totally outrageous or illegal and it still does not excuse the driver for assaulting you. And yes, I do believe that trying to make a cyclist crash by using your car as a weapon is assault as much as taking a shot at them with a gun or swinging a baseball bat at them would be.

[Biciclista]

I completely agree. We did get a bit off topic at times with debating legality etc. Whether or not I think going to the front of the line at a stop is a good idea, the fact remains that the driver did not do something that would have been out of negligence, but rather did something quite intentional. As I said in my first post - I don't actually care what you did or did not do. You could have been doing something totally outrageous or illegal and it still does not excuse the driver for assaulting you. And yes, I do believe that trying to make a cyclist crash by using your car as a weapon is assault as much as taking a shot at them with a gun or swinging a baseball bat at them would be.

+++++ yes ++++

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I am looking at the two things separately.

What that woman did to you was a crime and put your life in danger- she should be arrested. No way do I condone what she did in any way.

The other part, about riding defensively, was about my concern for your safety in situations where you are riding along in blind spots, passing cars on their right, when you plan to go straight or left up ahead at the intersection. Intersections are perilous places. Cars are very unpredictable and the drivers so often do not see us when they go to make their turns. Yes, they should be more responsible about watching for bikes, but they often just aren't. Again though- nothing to do with that lady's road rage which was clearly wrong.

[OakLeaf]

Well said Lisa.

This kind of stuff comes up all the time in two-wheeler forums, and it's always difficult to advocate safe, defensive riding without seeming like we're defending the cagers or blaming the victims.

The way I put it is an amalgam of a couple of popular sayings. You've got to ride like the 1% of cagers who see you at all, are aiming for you on purpose.

I still maintain that the OP did nothing that contributed to the situation she described, and that filtering on the right on a bici is sometimes, but not always, appropriate, safe and legal. (On a moto, it's sometimes, but not always, appropriate and safe. )

[KnottedYet]

+2 to what Lisa said.

You'll note I never blamed the OP for the situation, either. But she can go right ahead and heap blame on me for diverting the thread.