"Just the sight of a bicycle makes me angry!"

[marinerider]

I think a lot of it is ignorance.

I love how I come to a stop sign and actually stop and cars are paralyzed as to what to do. Normally they blow through stop signs with a tap of the brakes. But a cyclist? Holy crap we all have to stop and stare at the anomaly that might... follow the rules of the road? I have no idea.

But I do chuckle at people who pass me at full blast in a very aggravated manner and then I see them at the next stop light and wait with them until it turns green. Just shows you don't really get anywhere faster!

I for one love the fact of how many drivers have no idea of the laws and how they pertain to a cyclist being on the road. I love the funny looks I get when I pull into a turning lane with the vehicles to keep from being hit. Here in the Detroit Metro area, if you don't ride like that, they act like they don't see you.

[happyscientist]

I for one love the fact of how many drivers have no idea of the laws and how they pertain to a cyclist being on the road. I love the funny looks I get when I pull into a turning lane with the vehicles to keep from being hit. Here in the Detroit Metro area, if you don't ride like that, they act like they don't see you.

I used to be afraid to claim my lane and would let cars crowd me out of a turning lane, then I remembered something my Dad taught way back when he was teaching me to ride a motorcycle. He said that if you don't claim ownership of a lane by riding in the middle, cars will try to crowd you out of it. Since I started claiming the turning lane, cars have given me a lot more room, and I think they recognize me as a vehicle instead of something that should be on a sidewalk.

As far as the d-bags, I have a friend who is good at memorizing license plate numbers. He reports them as drunk drivers to the police. He said the cops will ignore a complaint about a dangerous or aggressive driver, but they have protocols requiring them to investigate drunk drivers.