_ForceD_

I've had just about enough of over-polite motorists. I'm talking about drivers who will stop, when they have the right of way to let a cyclist (me) turn or cross a road. But when the cyclist (me) waves them on they stand their ground, oblivious to the rest of the traffic conditions and insist you go ahead of them. I often feel like their yield to me would put me in danger. One of my bicycling mantras is "I'm safer when I'm behind the car."

A couple of the situations that are particularly frustrating:

- I'm turning (left or right) from a side street onto a more major 2-lane thoroughfare. There's no stop sign for cars on the main thoroughfare. But, an approaching car that is going the same direction that I'll be going stops to let me make the turn. So I make the turn an then the motorist gets pissed because he can't get around me due to oncoming traffic, etc.

- I'm turning into, or crossing a 4-lane or a 2-lane with a turn lane in the middle. Car stops to let me make my maneuver. But, a second approaching car only sees the car stopped in front of him, and not me on the bike. So he swerves to go around the stopped car and then nearly collides with me on the bike.

I've gotten to where I just put my feet down and shake my head to indicate that I'm not going. These are just a couple of examples of encounters I have just about every time I ride. It could be that the drivers here in Rhode Island are just generally over-polite. I experience the same things from other drivers when I'm driving.

Dan