Advocacy & Safety - Buzzed -- who cares?

I was "buzzed" today. Driver passed me a bit too close, but I am wondering. . . What's all the fuss? It's not like a left turn in front of you or the right hook which are both truly dangerous. I know that the buzz decreases the margin of error. But we were both driving the same way down the road, sharing the lane, and I didn't have to change my riding at all. It seems to me that it is a issue with "comfort" or perhaps a matter of "trust." Does it really matter if they pass me with six feet or six inches to spare?

Yeah, because it's discourteous, dangerous, and scary too. Suppose you chose that moment to swerve around a small obstacle?

What aggravates me is most of the buzzers are just cowardly lil' pukes that are too scared to move closer to the center line for fear of oncoming traffic.

You watch... most of the gutter drivers are wimmin and oldsters.

We may not have the most popular opinion on this, cedo, but I agree. I commute to work on the primary collector for my half of the city and then switch to the state highway that runs through town until I get to the downtown area and my worksite. I don't expect people to slow down or move over. They don't have the room or the inclination. I keep to the white line, or over it if I can, and have yet to feel my life endangered by the passing cars, trucks or semis.

Having said that, however, I have to say I have been commuting on these roads for almost six years, every day, year round. I know the drivers and they know me. We respect each other. This may be the case for many other commuters and may not be the case for many others. But, I think this is a big component of commuter safety. Consistency of route and respect in riding contribute more to my safety than my bright yellow jacket, reflective leg bands and orange flag flapping in the wind behind my head.

Neither they nor I see their behavior as "buzzing." We're all just getting to work. In fact, I've seen drivers give a look, or gesture, to another newer driver that doesn't show me respect, even though the newer driver isn't any closer than anyone else. It's all in the attitude. Both mine and theirs.

Getting buzzed like that is dangerous that why we hate it.Like va_cyclist said it only takes you to need to swurve around a object on the road like a pot hole glass etc to get hit. Or if you dont see the glass or pot hole etc and hit it it could much more easly put you in to the path of the car.

I sort of get what you guys are saying. In all my years of riding I've been passed by hundreds, maybe thousands of cars that came within 12", and I'm still here. I tend to ride a pretty straight line, and I think that gives some motorists the feeling that it's OK to cut things close. But given a choice between that and cars that give a little extra room, I'll take the extra room.

What aggravates me is most of the buzzers are just cowardly lil' pukes that are too scared to move closer to the center line for fear of oncoming traffic.

You watch... most of the gutter drivers are NJ drivers.

Fixed. ;)

Seriously, the occasional idiot on the soutbound part of my morning commute is almost always a NJ driver who can't seem to accept that s/he is now driving on an urban street. <sigh>

But on topic... the margin of error is in fact the problem, IMO. For practical purposes, I couldn't care less if the driver who passed me with 6' or 6" of clearance doesn't like me or bikes or thinks my legs are too hairy. However, eventually enough of the 6" drivers will cause an accident which likely wouldn't happen with the 6' drivers. In other words, I fail to see the point of the OP posting at all. :D

When I'm buzzed, I always try to tell myself that everything is A-OK, they didn't hit me after all.
Or I flip them off :rolleyes:

First, there are 2 types of buzzing - accidental and intentional. Buzzing someone - weather it be a car buzzing a cyclist or pedestrian or a cyclist buzzing a slower cyclist or pedestrian or even a motorcycle buzzing a cyclist or pedestrian (I have witnessed all) is just downright unsafe and unnecessary. The buzzer is counting on the buzzed not deviating from their current path. If the buzzed wobbles or changes line, then you have an accident.

If the OP is not concerned with people taking unnecessary risks with his wellbeing, well that just dandy. By riding on the white line the OP is inviting motorists to stuff themselves into an insufficiently wide space and most likely receiving way more buzzings than he would if he switched his lane position about 2' left of the white line.

I have been buzzed by accident, caught up to the buzzer and receive an apology. Folks that buzz me on purpose should hope I don’t get their license plat number as I will call the cops, report them, make a complaint and follow through until the police contact them and/or issue a citation.

Well, first off it is against the law in AZ to pass closer than 3ft.

Of course getting passed closer than 3ft (and sometimes within inches) is quite common.

Rarely do cars pass other cars so closely -especially when traveling at 40-50mph. So why is it acceptable (even if illegal) to pass cyclist closer than other cars.

I've had on several occasions the rear view mirror actually bump me. I had my upper arm bump the rear bed of a flatbed truck. This is too close for comfort and I find it dangerous.

Al

Isn't saying it is OK like saying he shot at me and missed so it is OK?

I've been riding for years, much of it with a club and know of very few accidents. But one of these few was a pickup passing close and catching the cyclist with a mirror. Too close is too close even if you get luck this time.

buzzing is very similar to the stupid joke your friend pulls when you're looking over the edge of a tall building and he\she comes up behind you and shakes you for a second to scare you. for a split second you get scared because you think you're going to die. then you have a laugh about it.

it's the same way with getting buzzed. only it's not your friend doing it and it's not going to be humours afterward. it's disrespectful and when it happens to me it gives me free license to spray them with my water bottle if i can catch up to them at the next light.

[....] But on topic... the margin of error is in fact the problem, IMO. For practical purposes, I couldn't care less if the driver who passed me with 6' or 6" of clearance doesn't like me or bikes or thinks my legs are too hairy. However, eventually enough of the 6" drivers will cause an accident which likely wouldn't happen with the 6' drivers. In other words, I fail to see the point of the OP posting at all. :D
:roflmao: :roflmao:
I guess this is why so many of us shave our legs! A little extra clearance is good. Getting rid of the love handles helps too.

6 inches, as the OP said, is way too close. But on a good road I feel comfortable with 2 feet, as long as I've given myself enough room on the right to swerve if I need to. I'd rather have more room on the right and less room on the left, than the other way around.

Yeah, because it's discourteous, dangerous, and scary too. Suppose you chose that moment to swerve around a small obstacle?
I always swerve to the right, not to the left and into traffic.

buzzing is very similar to the stupid joke your friend pulls when you're looking over the edge of a tall building and he\she comes up behind you and shakes you for a second to scare you. for a split second you get scared because you think you're going to die. then you have a laugh about it.

it's the same way with getting buzzed. only it's not your friend doing it and it's not going to be humours afterward. it's disrespectful and when it happens to me it gives me free license to spray them with my water bottle if i can catch up to them at the next light.


Ballon full of cyan pepper and a pellet gun would work better :)

I was "buzzed" today. Driver passed me a bit too close, but I am wondering. . . What's all the fuss? .... Does it really matter if they pass me with six feet or six inches to spare?

If you want to ride up and lean on me, give me some elbow ... that's fine. However I'm not going to do that with a 2,000lb + vehicle that can end my life in mere seconds.

I take it you've never been _really_ hurt.

John Wilke
Milwaukee

I take it you've never been _really_ hurt.

Yes you are correct, I have been very fortunate. And if my memory serves me, you were recently hurt very badly, although not by someone buzzing you too closely. If I ever get hit by a car, particularly by a side-view mirror or a wide trailer, then I would undoubtedly change my viewpoint about buzzing. I am not advocating that buzzing is OK. At a minimum it's discourteous and annoying and often quite dangerous. But in my experience, there is a lot of trust that goes on between cars and bikes. They trust you not swerve into their path, you trust them not to run you over. Sometimes the system breaks down, as it obviously did in your case.

I think the speed differential and vehicle size are both critical here.

If some guy in a tiny car is slowly crawling by me, he can be real close before I start hassling him, especially in urban areas where close traffic passing is expected.

But if a tractor-trailer is coming with a closing speed of 30mph, then he better stay the hell away, the air blast alone is enough to set me flying.

Generally I reserve the term "buzz" for a deliberate act of attempted intimidation.

The few times I've been buzzed is by local cab drivers. Real fat slobs that take up the whole front seat and also the road as well. Ones that roll through stop signs as though they are allowed to do it.

After decades of riding as close as reasonably possible to the right side regardless of lane width I became accustomed to close passing ("buzzing", if you will), and didn't think much of it. Luckily, I never had to suddenly swerve off of my line of travel to avoid a hazard at just the wrong moment.

But now that I have learned to make subtle lateral adjustments in my lane position, along with judicious use of my rear-view mirror and the slow/stop left arm signal, to discourage buzzing, it happens much less often, and I'm more sensitive to it when it does. Perhaps not unlike how ex-smokers tend to be especially sensitive to cigarette smoke.

After decades of riding as close as reasonably possible to the right side regardless of lane width I became accustomed to close passing ("buzzing", if you will), and didn't think much of it. Luckily, I never had to suddenly swerve off of my line of travel to avoid a hazard at just the wrong moment.

But now that I have learned to make subtle lateral adjustments in my lane position, along with judicious use of my rear-view mirror and the slow/stop left arm signal, to discourage buzzing, it happens much less often, and I'm more sensitive to it when it does. Perhaps not unlike how ex-smokers tend to be especially sensitive to cigarette smoke.

If I'm ever in San Diego, or if you're ever here in Sydney we should go for a ride together. I think it would be an interesting (educational) experience. :)

After decades of riding as close as reasonably possible to the right side regardless of lane width I became accustomed to close passing ("buzzing", if you will), and didn't think much of it. Luckily, I never had to suddenly swerve off of my line of travel to avoid a hazard at just the wrong moment.

But now that I have learned to make subtle lateral adjustments in my lane position, along with judicious use of my rear-view mirror and the slow/stop left arm signal, to discourage buzzing, it happens much less often, and I'm more sensitive to it when it does. Perhaps not unlike how ex-smokers tend to be especially sensitive to cigarette smoke.
A bit off topic, but that would be me. I know I'm too close to a cager when I can smell his cigarette and I want to gag! Sometimes this happens at stop lights, but also on side streets, especiall at night when it's calm.

Back on topic-- Like you, but 2400 miles away, I almost never get buzzed. In narrow lanes, I invite cagers to go into the next lane to pass me. I do this mainly by riding in the center of the lane and looking at them (if possible) so they know that I know that they are there. If there's a lot of traffic I pretty much ignore them, since I know they can see me good and they really don't want to hit me.

In wider lanes, I invite them to hold back a second or two until I find a safe way to make room for them to pass. Again I do this by riding to the left some, and often by holding them back with either a look or by holding my hand out. If there is no oncoming traffic, they will go into the next lane to pass me, just like they would for a slower car. Sometimes I even point at the reason I'm holding them up, which is usually either debris, bad pavement or a parked car to my right.

Sometimes the timid cager does not want to pass me, usually on a narrow street. If I want them to pass me quick because I see an obstruction ahead, I will actually wave them past me with my left hand. They often wave to thank me as they ride by. I think a lot of cagers around here don't know how to handle cyclists, so they are relieved when I tell them what to do.

Since the cager and I both want to avoid messy accidents and/or fistfights, we have little trouble coming to an accomodation. This probably takes a half second or less to arrange, and it almost always goes smoothly for both of us.

Usually if I get buzzed it's my own damn fault because I fail to communicate clearly and/or I'm riding sloppy. Usually I end up yelling at them anyway, but that isn't very fair if me! A couple times I have been buzzed maliciously. One time was kind of funny. I was held up at a train crossing for more than 20 minutes. After the train passed, I rode ahead in the narrow lane. The car behind me couldn't pass because of all the traffic bottled up by the train. He started honking and yelling "Sidewalk!" I thought it was hilarious that a train held him up for 20 minutes and he got mad at me for holding him up 5 more seconds! :D

If I'm ever in San Diego, or if you're ever here in Sydney we should go for a ride together. I think it would be an interesting (educational) experience. :)
Doubt I'll make it to Sidney any time soon, but Adelaide is on the list, hopefully within the next 5 years. But if you (or anyone else on this forum) makes it to SD, yeah, I'd love to go for a ride. Of course!

I do this mainly by riding in the center of the lane and looking at them (if possible) so they know that I know that they are there.
I've alluded to this communication skill, but you've hit it on the head: the importance of letting motorists know that you know they are there. Looking at them is an obvious way to do it, but there are other ways too, including issueing the slow/stop signal with the left arm, making other types of communication gestures, like standing up, or increasing cadence, or even just a lateral "don't even think about it" assertive/territorial move within the lane.

I'm adding this point to my notes - notes I'm collecting for my book! Thanks!



In wider lanes, I invite them to hold back a second or two until I find a safe way to make room for them to pass. Again I do this by riding to the left some, and often by holding them back with either a look or by holding my hand out. If there is no oncoming traffic, they will go into the next lane to pass me, just like they would for a slower car. Sometimes I even point at the reason I'm holding them up, which is usually either debris, bad pavement or a parked car to my right.

Sometimes the timid cager does not want to pass me, usually on a narrow street. If I want them to pass me quick because I see an obstruction ahead, I will actually wave them past me with my left hand. They often wave to thank me as they ride by. I think a lot of cagers around here don't know how to handle cyclists, so they are relieved when I tell them what to do.

Since the cager and I both want to avoid messy accidents and/or fistfights, we have little trouble coming to an accomodation. This probably takes a half second or less to arrange, and it almost always goes smoothly for both of us.

Usually if I get buzzed it's my own damn fault because I fail to communicate clearly and/or I'm riding sloppy. Usually I end up yelling at them anyway, but that isn't very fair if me! A couple times I have been buzzed maliciously. One time was kind of funny. I was held up at a train crossing for more than 20 minutes. After the train passed, I rode ahead in the narrow lane. The car behind me couldn't pass because of all the traffic bottled up by the train. He started honking and yelling "Sidewalk!" I thought it was hilarious that a train held him up for 20 minutes and he got mad at me for holding him up 5 more seconds!
Damn. Maybe you should be the one writing the book. This is good stuff, Roody. Very good.

Yesterday, I got passed too closely by a kid in a car. Not a great big deal, I was avoiding the door zone, he was passing me with plenty of room, and then for some reason moved laterally towards me. I think maybe there was something happening on the other side of the road that he was avoiding. The passenger had his window down, and I involuntarily yelled "watch it." The driver said "sorry..."

It was kind of funny, actually.

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.

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.

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

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.

I always swerve to the right, not to the left and into traffic.

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.

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 ! :p 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 ....

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: http://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

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

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 ! :p 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 ....

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

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

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

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

Usually if I get buzzed it's my own damn fault because I fail to communicate clearly and/or I'm riding sloppy. Usually I end up yelling at them anyway, but that isn't very fair if me! A couple times I have been buzzed maliciously.

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."

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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...

I always swerve to the right, not to the left and into traffic.
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.

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.
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

...

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."

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.

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.

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. :eek:

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. 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.

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

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

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


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. ;)

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.