Had my first close call today

[jessmarimba]

I was flying (for me) through an intersection with a green light - going ~20 mph, and I was the last "vehicle" in the go-straight lane. This is a slightly weird intersection just because I have a designated bike lane on the side I was exiting, but it crosses county lines and becomes a no-bike-lane but dedicated-bike-route (unfortunately no sharrows either) on the other side. Anyway, I see one guy turn left in front of me, and he made it with plenty of time but I can guess that the car behind him won't see me until he turns so I'm riding my brakes. She doesn't see me - she's not even looking at the road - and she makes no effort to slow down. I SLAM on the brakes and am still afraid I will run into the side of her. Someone leans on their horn (her? someone trying to warn her of a cyclist?) and I hear - rather than some sort of apology or oops sound - "STUPID B-----!" from her passenger and something I couldn't make out (but along the same lines) from the driver.

I yell something - I don't even think it was a word, just a primal AGAHAHAHAG - because at this point the adrenaline is pumping.

They stop their car. In the intersection. To scream at me. They'd driven far enough through the intersection for me to ride around behind them, but I hear G-D you M-F C--! and some other unmentionable phrases as I continue (now with fight-or-flight on my side) hauling down the road.

I've had a few interactions with oblivious drivers before, but I just could not believe the absolute RAGE coming from this woman. My bike and I clearly had absolutely no right to exist on the same planet as her. And now I'm worried, because she lives somewhere in my neighborhood - if she sees me again (or ANY other cyclist, for that matter), what are the odds that she's going to try to run me over deliberately? And on top of that, her passenger looked like a teenage girl - she's screaming and acting like this in front of her daughter, who has clearly learned enough to chime in - how do people live like that?

[bmccasland]

Glad you're OK. Did you get her vehicle description and license number? Would your local PD support you if you made a complaint?

And yes, some people are idiots, and unfortunately they breed.

[indysteel]

Jess, I'm so glad you're okay. I don't understand people like that. They apparently have an overgrown and dangerous sense of entitlement. They're, in a word, crazy.

[jessmarimba]

PD might? Not sure. But all I could tell them was that she was driving an enormous black SUV. I was too busy trying to get away to care. Hopefully she didn't notice any more about me than I did about her

Though at least - from the horror on some of the other driver's faces - I would have had help if she'd either come after me or run over me.

I'm not going to lose any weight biking to work if I have to come home and eat half of a chocolate Easter bunny to recover!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Were you in the middle of the lane right behind the other cars that were going straight through the intersection? That's where I would be. I always take the lane and 'become another car' at an intersection if i'm going straight. bikes on the side tend to be invisible to drivers at intersections.

[jessmarimba]

There is a right turn lane there, so I had to take the lane. I wasn't directly behind any vehicles as I didn't have to stop and wait for the light and can't quite keep up with cars, so there was a break in the go-straight traffic (barely long enough for the first guy to turn left). I think 30-35 mph is beyond the limits of my bike on a flat road

The news is doing a story about cyclists who ride with helmet cameras for protection as I type this. I don't have that kind of money, but I wish I had that kind of evidence!

[OakLeaf]

Wow. Glad you're okay!

[redrhodie]

That sounds absolutely horrible! (((jess)))

I once had similar left hook, and the woman was drinking coffee, and it evidently spilled all over her when she hit the brakes. So here's hoping your idiots get their divine justice. You can't be that angry with out it affecting everything in your life.

[Tri Girl]

holy cow, Jess! Glad you didn't get hurt, but what a nutcase! Seriously- why all the rage from her (that's a rhetorical question).
SO glad you're fine. I'd be watching out for a ginormous black SUV in the future and just hope you don't see her again. WTH is wrong with people...

[ladyicon]

Glad you are ok Jess. I have had similar situations happen to me, and it does mess up your day. Some people are just like that, they think they are always right and you are wrong, no matter what you did. Don't let it affect your day. It probably was not a personal thing, she would have done that to ANY cyclist.
Mmmmm chocolate Easter bunny
Glad to hear you are ok though.

[emily_in_nc]

One of the closest calls we ever had was back in 2004, I'd guess (since that was the year I rode the most miles) with a similar psycho driver, who got so angry that we were on the road and impeding her progress that she turned into a driveway after she passed us, and backed out quickly right as we went by. I was a bit behind my husband, but she literally tried to run him down with her car. Fortunately, he's an excellent bike handler and was able to swerve just as I started yelling that she was backing right into him! Her window was down and both she and my DH started shouting and cursing at each other at the same time. I got upset at my DH for getting verbal b/c you never know when some nut job has a gun, not to mention the lethal weapon she was driving. We were SO shaken up by this incident it totally ruined our ride.

So sorry you encountered another psycho, Jess. Glad you're okay!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

There is a right turn lane there, so I had to take the lane. I wasn't directly behind any vehicles as I didn't have to stop and wait for the light and can't quite keep up with cars, so there was a break in the go-straight traffic (barely long enough for the first guy to turn left). I think 30-35 mph is beyond the limits of my bike on a flat road

Well it sounds like you were doing the right thing and this woman was completely manic. Maybe she was yelling because she had such a scare- though that's no excuse.
Glad you are ok!