fuji_owner

I was returning home this morning after a short ride, when I noticed that the bike lane on Ray Rd at the intersection of Ray & McClintock was obstructed due to some repairs to the sidewalk. This was totally unexpected, so when the green light came on, I slowly moved up to the barricade and then looked behind me to watch for cars in the next lane over. The first car sped away, and I wasn't expecting the rest of them to do any different. But then the big Fedex delivery truck wasn't moving, it was still at the intersection. I realized the driver was waiting for me to go ahead and get back into the bike lane, after which he went on. This simple act of kind consideration has made my day. I gave him a thumbs up, but I think I'm going to go to a Fedex center and try to leave a personal thank you note. Perhaps the driver is a cycling enthusiast himself, or he's just an intelligent motorist who can learn and adapt to other types of vehicles than cars.

When the majority of motor traffic is callous, inconsiderate and even actively hostile to bikes, we need as many sympathizers as we can get. Moreover, positive feedback is always helpful to create a positive and friendly image of cyclists. Usually people see cyclists as lycra-clad snobbish weirdos, themselves inconsiderate and unwilling to follow traffic laws.

BikeAnon

This is not true at all.

The majority of the motoring public is completely indifferent to cyclists.

fuji_owner

Well, it don't need to be physical injury all the time. Even honking or verbal assaults count toward bringing your morale down a little bit and making you just a little insecure.

What I'm probably trying to get at is the fact that the overwhelming majority of drivers aren't AWARE of how to coexist with bike traffic. They whiz past you like you were another car. Most of the time, this is fine if you're experienced enough or have strong nerves not to be jolted by that, and most of the time this doesn't cause any incident.

Of course, this above good experience doesn't really nullify a bad experience I had only a few weeks ago when a car turned on to the main road and didn't stop even when I was a mere 5 feet away. I had to yell at the top of my lungs for them to finally see me and avoid a collision. But instead of a "Sorry!" I get the middle finger.

BobbyG

Whether biking or driving. when I experience an unusually considerate move by a driver in a vehicle with company or contact info, I like to call and praise their thoughtfulness to the company.

spivonious

Me too. While most drivers adequately coexist, it's good to praise the ones who go above and beyond, like the FedEx driver in the OP.

bruce19

Drivers who are intentionally hostile to cyclists are rare around here. Distracted or incompetent drivers are another matter. Generally, drivers around here are fairly considerate and occasionally friendly. Once when I was cycling solo in my town I came to a flashing light at a 4-way intersection at the same time as a local police officer. He flipped on his lights, stopped traffic and waived me on. I waived my thanks back to him and proceeded. When I was through the intersection he pulled up next to me and said, "Wanna race?" I said, "If there's a beer for the winner, you're toast." He smiled and went on.

jhazel

Around here I experience a lot of drivers who will wave me through an intersection where we are both stopped. I see a normal amount of inattention and drivers who have no idea how fast I'm going, but I see a lot of very considerate drivers, changing lanes to pass, waiting until it is safe. We are very fortunate in Fort Worth.

FBinNY 

+1,000,000

Tha vast majority of drivers are fine, and go about their day without causing me any kind of problem. There'a also a sizable minority of drivers who are better than fine, and display courtesy and respect above and beyond what's simply necessary.

Poor, inconsiderate, and especially bike hating drivers are the extreme exception, even here in Metro NYC.

That said, I'll go a bit farther and say that professional drivers, Bus, truck, Fedex and UPS, are above and beyond the average. In my ideal road plan, I wouldn't be sharing bike lanes with cyclists but sharing truck/bus lanes with the pros.

CB HI

Would have been cool if you got the license plate #, so the specific driver could get credit.

CB HI

I wish that were true for tourist bus and school bus drivers on Oahu.

zeppinger

Rather than leaving him a personal message at the FedEx office, I would suggest calling or leaving a message for his supervisor to praise him. This will get him in good standing with his boss and also raise the issue of safe driving around cyclist with the manager and all the employees under them. By raising the issue this way, you show that it is important to you and hopefully someone up the chain will start taking this seriously.

genec

What percent of all drivers do you think are poor, inconsiderate, and especially bike hating drivers? And while you consider that number... bear in mind that under the category of "poor drivers" are those who are distracted by something like a cell phone...

FBinNY 

I don't have a hard number of any kind, and good/bad, attentive/distracted driving aren't black/white things. They're part of a continuum so it becomes a question of definition and where to draw the line.

Even the cell phone/texting issue is mostly a cause de jour. Yes, drivers can be distracted when using a cell phone, and especially when texting, but they're also distracted by children in the back seat, advertizing along the road, what's happening around them, and even by bicyclists who require some more attention than is needed in the laminar flow of traffic moving at the same speed.

I'm not endorsing cell phone use on the road, but a cell phone on a 2 lane road, is probably less distracting than driving down any avenue in NYC.

I don't deny that there are rude, aggressive, or bicyclist hating drivers, but I really don't find that many here in Metro NY. The numbers might be different elsewhere where bicycles on the road are rare, and a fairly new thing. However, I'll venture that if cyclists in or near major cities in the northeast, and cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle and San Francisco are honest with themselves, they'll agree that decent drivers are the rule and problem drivers the exception.

Worknomore

I run into more drivers who go out of their way to be considerate while riding than I do drivers who go out of their way to inconsiderate. And my urban-sprawly area is not what I would consider particularly bike friendly.

genec

Overall I think MOST drivers tend to treat us with the same indifference they treat other traffic, we are there and they are there and we all have similar goals to get somewhere else using the roads and our chosen means of transportation... and generally things work as they should.

I think the exceptions are the rare extreme... the really considerate motorists and the down right rude and dangerous motorists. I honestly can say that when commuting daily I tended to only have encounters of one kind or another no more than a couple of times a year... my most memorable considerate motorist was driving a Rolls Royce, and rolled down his window to complement my bicycle "driving."

One of the more annoying motorist encounters was when I had signaled for a left and moved into place in a similar proper manner and a motorist pulled up and berated me for the move and told me I should hug the curb like the other cyclists... and had no suggestion as to how to make a left turn if I stuck to the right curb.

Overall I think a few things I would like motorists to keep in mind... is that we ALL share the roads and cyclists and peds tend to be a bit more vulnerable than folks surrounded by padding in metal cages. And to that end I would really like motorists to keep their heads on the task at hand... of properly piloting a heavy powered vehicle in a safe manner.

MikeM21

This is my experience too. The vast majority of drivers I interact with are more than considerate. Of course it only takes one of the OTHER type to ruin your day.

FBinNY 

I don't rank tourist bus drivers and most school b us drivers as pros. I don't know about Hawaii, but around here there are very low standards for these. The turnover in these jobs is much higher than with the serious pros for whom driving is a career with good pay, and benefits worth the care needed to keep the job.

BTW- I find it ironic that parents and school boards trust children to drivers who often couldn't get and keep a job driving cargo around.