FLBandit

It can be dangerous even if they don't actually hit you. I had a Semi pass me within inches at 55 mph. The $#$%# didn't even move a bit. Anyway even though he didn't hit me the wind he created knocked me completely off the road and into the weeds. Luckily I got stopped without crashing. Unfortunately I was to busy trying not to crash to get any info on him. I definately would have called his company.

timmhaan

yeah, those semis can be freaking dangerous. my friend got passed by a speeding rig, lost control in the crosswind, and ended up in the ditch with many broken bones...she was in a car. a cyclist would be like a rag doll compared to that.

nycm'er

There is no reason for anyone to buzz you, so why let it happen, and/or let someone get away with it?

FLBandit

There's not much you can do to stop it. If someone is going to do it on purpose, they are going to do it.

filtersweep

Yeah.... right into the curb- then down and in front of the vehicle... dead man.

Seriously- buzzing is an aggressive and cowardly act. Let's play, let's see how close we can drive to tbe cyclist without hitting him.

John Wilke

It would be very interesting to start this tread on rec.autos.driving or similar forum. I bet we'd have to start taking high blood pressure medicine after reading some folk's viewpoint. Any takers? I could do it.

Sometimes if I'm climbing a hill and I hear traffic behind, I'll get out of the saddle and _really_ throw the bike from side to side. That usually buys an extra couple of feet of clearance.

John Wilke
Milwaukee

ps I FINALLY got my foley catheter taken out of my bladder yesterday (recall I got mowed down from behind by an SUV on Aug 7th) ... so for the first time in 70 days, I can pee normally instead of through a tube ! It burns a little yet, but I'll take it. Now if only I can get my 1 mile walking time down under 40 minutes ....

noisebeam

I think it is special that some of you don't get buzzed. I am happy for you and your belief it has to do with your riding style and not the environment you are in.

I often get buzzed when riding down the very center of the right most lane of this road: https://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/i1/IMG_8531w.jpg

I was buzzed last Sunday afternoon, I was riding in center of a rightmost lane 3 same direction lanes. I saw the vehicle behind me in the left most lane. The driver crossed the center lane, crossed the dividing line of the centrer lane into my lane and passed me within a foot while honking and yelling. After buzzing me they swerved just as rapidly back to the left most lane. The only buzzed me because they saw me.

And finally I've been buzzed while signalling assertively that I am changing lanes from a lane that is ending with driver swerving toward me (out of their lane) and into my extended arm - again because they saw me and wanted to put me in my place for wanting to merge, or so it seemed.

So please tell me again how I need to change my riding style so as not to get buzzed - are you suggesting I get on the sidewalk?

Al

timmhaan

no amount of VC will protect you when someone just plain hates you for being there.

timmhaan

i do remember that thread. glad to see progress. any update on if they found the person who did it?

noisebeam

edit: remvoed as I misread HH and Roodys comments above as they never get buzzed. sorry for the confustion.

I think it is fair to say riding VC will reduce buzzing on average to a notable degree, but I also think it incite a certain type of cyclist hater to buzz the VC cyclist vs. ignoring a gutter rider because they don't need to be put in their place.

Al

timmhaan

yeah, i agree with that. i do think on average you're better off.

genec

Just a side note... one HH will deny, no doubt. But I have also found that some motorists in certain areas of town may tend to more aggressively "defend" their "turf" by maliciously buzzing those they feel do not belong in "their" area. Much like surfers defending their home waters from "Freds."

And of course teen males do it just for fun and games...

I do agree with you that in 99 out of 100 cases, you can simply direct the motorists what to do.

It can be quite amazing to see the responses of a simple open hand. My co-workers recently commended me after seeing me ride at lunch... I had no idea it was them in the car coming up behind me as I needed to move over. I had glanced over my shoulder, but did not recognize the faces inside, at that distance.

Right after signaling, I saw who they were... later they told me they were quite impressed with the way I "told" them "where to be."

chipcom 

It is what it is. We know full well the risks when we ride, so what point is there in getting overly worked up when the expected happens? Buzzing is a good reason NOT to hug the curb, give yourself the space to escape if needed. If you are paying attention, that cage coming up behind you should not be a surprise and you should already be scoping out all your options - planning for Murphy. I have also found that the act of moving deliberately to the right from a more centered position in the lane also communicates to the driver that you know they are there and are courteous enough to yield to the right, as far as you safely can, for them. A wave as you do so helps too. Folks just never know when someone else on the road could be somebody they know, especially during a normal commute and on residential streets. You just might be their neighbor!

chipcom 

Come on, I can't believe that you would be in that much of a panic that you wouldn't know the curb is there and jump it. If you are hugging the darn thing, it's harder to do, which is why you want space to your right...it gives you options, and room to take advantage of the manueverability of the bike and the skills of the rider. Besides, why would anyone want to hug the curb anyway. I'd bet that if we polled riders we would find a direct relationship between hugging the curb and the frequency of flat tires.

chipcom 

That is an interesting perspective. I'd think it would be the opposite. Bullies tend to pick on folks they perceive to be weak and afraid - riding the gutter tends to make one look weak and afraid.

genec

Yeah, but some ahole motorists think any "sissy" riding a bike in those "gay tights" is "weak and afraid."

Or most likely... those motorists feel that they just have to show how "superior" they can be.

I mean lets face it, the world is not full of wonderful people... there might be oh perhaps 10% out there that just don't fit in...

va_cyclist

You can't be serious. Always? What if an obstruction extends all the way to the shoulder or curb? What if there's a storm drain on the right? What if you're already as far to the right as you can be?

I'm not saying I swerve in front of cars, but on the shoulderless, bike-lane-less roads that I ride, I'm frequently forced to ride in, or swerve into, the traffic lane.

noisebeam

Actually I was thinking/experiencing the situation where you are in the way of the driver behind you and there is no place to move to the right. That driver can get stuck behind me for 15-20s, the car behind them stuck to, eventually the first car passes, then the second, repeat from the line of cars that build up behind me - with aggrivation and stress building. Keep in mind this is a multilane road, drivers are blocked not because they can't go over a double yellow, but because traffic is dense and they can't get a gap to fit in to merge around me.
I find in this case I suffer quite a lot of abuse from following/passing drivers. They seem to despise me for riding in their lane at 20-25mph when they could be going 50mph. They really don't see me as beloning in the lane as every other cyclist along this road rides on the sidewalk.

As to bunnyhopping the parallel curb to get out of the way in an emergency. I simply do not have the skill on my primary commuter to do this. I can get up a perpendicular 8" ledge on some of my bikes, but not a parallel one.

Al

dalmore

Speaking as one who is quite experienced at driving around cyclists, this really does help. I'm a newbie cyclist and I had no idea what kind of issues cyclists were facing. After all as a motorist you guys are all going so slow, you can just stop immediately. And the pavement is mighty smooth in my car, why would you be concerned about those little dimples? Gravel? Who cares about gravel ... You'd be surprised what some motorists don't know.

genec

Yeah, had a conversation once with a guy that thought I was not far enough to the right... he had no idea that there were any "hazards" out there for us. He just thought we were the hazards.

Roody

I would swerve into "the traffic lane" (I am traffic!) but I would not swerve into traffic. If an obstruction is blocking the road all the way to the edge, and I don not have time to look back to check traffic, I will stop before I will swerve into traffic. If you're riding too fast to stop for an obstruction, you're riding too fast.

chipcom 

I'm part of the 10% that don't wear tights!

chipcom 

Yeah, in jammed traffic everyone gets testy, and not just to cyclists. Try figuring out how to get yoru truck to the hotel, that you can plainly see, but can't figure out how to turn into, near the Newark airport during rush hour...them folks won't tolerate anyone travelling under 90!

As far as jumping that parallel curb, I am often amazed at the things I can't do that get done when I am scared and the adrenaline is a pumpin.

DanDaMan

On my commute to school I am never sure exactly where to ride. If I go to the far right edge of the lane there's plenty of space for cars to pass, but then I have to swerve back into traffic to avoid parked cars.

The thing that sets my nerves on edge the most is buses that I can hear coming from about 200m back and then push me to the side a bit with the force of the wind they create. Especially when I'm going slower up hill and it's harder to keep a perfectly straight line. Often they come really close and then cut in front because they have a stop to make up ahead and I end up playing leap frog with them as they pass me then stop and pass me and stop.

One time on a busier street I was riding along the side of a 4 lane road, 2 lanes each direction, lines of parked cars on each side which always make me worry about opening doors. Anyways, I'm basically pushed up within a foot of the parked cars and some guy tries to squeeze past me really close. He clips the edge of my handlebars which makes my bike fall over into the side of his car and I got spilling onto the pavement as he passes. Luckily there was no car behind to run me over and I just got some scrapes, and the same for my bike (and his paint job). The guy was really worried and gave me $40 to fix the bike (an old 10spd that cost $40 in all). I didn't make too much of it all I've got a nice round scar on the side of my elbow.