trekkie820

One from today goes like this:
I was coming to a light that just turned green, in my little zone on the road side, and I tuck behind a car to go through the intersection (mostly to avoid an accident). The car decides to turn right, so I slow down with it, waiting to pass. The dumbass stops, so I trackstand waiting for him yelling for him to turn, and then he wouldn't. I went to pass him on the right, then he decided to go. I was the *******, according to what he yelled to me as he drove away after nearly hitting me and bulldozing my bike.

rgarza28

Why didn't you pass him on the left or just wait?

vincenzosi

Isn't rule number one to never pass on the right ever?

royalflash

I wouldnt pay much attention to it- it happens - there is something about getting behind a wheel that reduces IQ points. A similar thing happened to me a few months ago. I was in the right hand lane and a guy shot past at speed in the left lane indicating right that he wanted to change into my lane. He then stamped on the brake and skidded to a halt in front of me half in my lane already. Since the guy was driving erratically I didnt want to try driving past him and I slowed down and finally stopped waving for him to pull over.

A careful and considerate approach you would think. Not for Mr Speedy he just started screaming and pounding his steering wheel. I finally had to give up and just cycle past him before he had a heart attack.

The main thing is just to have fun and think of your safety so you get home in one piece.

trekkie820

Passing on the left would have resulted in me moving into oncoming traffic. I waited for at least 30 seconds before going, and the driver motioned for me to pass. I can't even begin to explain why we both decided to go at the same time.

vincenzosi

Then you have to wait and get behind the guy if you can't pass on the left. What happened to you is exactly why it's dangerous to make a move on the right; drivers just don't think about cyclists when driving. If you had to wait even longer, you probably would've been better off...

trekkie820

It happened all so fast. Next time I will keep that in mind. Thanks for the advice

vincenzosi

My usual modus operandi:

I stay next to traffic up until an intersection. If I have to cross that intersection, I make sure I can either:

A: Squeeze between the traffic and parked curs / curb and get to the front of that line so that I"m visible in the lead driver's windshield (a move some might say is dangerous in its own right)

B: Stay in line with the traffic (not next to it) and move through the intersection (or move along side traffic if it appears that no one is turning, although this is dicey also).

Every situation is different, though, and there's usually not a whole lot of time to think about all these options beforehand

genec

But wouldn't it have just been a lot more fun to sit and watch him blow a gasket and THEN slowly ride off...

I donno, guess it is the sadist in me that loves to watch drivers do bone headed stuff to themselves...

blendingnoise

I rarely will let a driver dictate what I should do on the road. I always have the idiots that stop and try to wave me through without realizing what other cars are doing around them. If I were to cross streets and such by listening to some of the drivers I would get plowed by other traffic around them.
The other day I waited for a good minute with a driver at a stop sign waving me through trying to be nice while I sat there pointing at my stop sign.

tippy

[QUOTE=trekkie820]One from today goes like this:
I was coming to a light that just turned green, in my little zone on the road side, and I tuck behind a car to go through the intersection (mostly to avoid an accident). The car decides to turn right, so I slow down with it, waiting to pass. .... QUOTE]

I myself, being new to the roads, had a similar but not as drastic experience on my bike. I was on an extremely residential (10 mph posted if you can believe that) road surrounded by condo buildings. Along came a land yacht with a bunch of realtors. They passed on my left and precede to slow to somewhere between stopped and about 2 mph. I could see the driver pointing around at all the buildings and the passengers all following the tour guide. I slowed down and got directly behind the vehicle and filled his rear view mirror. This had know affect on the operator because he was doing more leading the tour than driving the car. Since it was an empty road I finally decided to overtake them by passing on the left.
I got about 50 yards when the "tour guide" come whizzing by doing about 25 in the 10 mph zone.

I agree, the IQ gland definitely gets amputated when they get behind the wheel.

tippy