Commuting - Level headed responses

Tuesday night as I was headed home (it had just gotten dark,) a young man stood in his driveway holding a "Firewood" sign. As I passed (not too closely,) he shouted, "Hey!!!" just as I was next to him. I circled around and came back.

"Please don't do that," I told him. "It can be dangerous to yell at cyclists."

"Alright, man," he nodded. "Sorry."

Recently a pickup truck towing a large trailer passed me with what seemed like inches to spare. I pulled up next to him at the light and got his attention.

"Three feet," I said, holding up 3 fingers. He looked at me. "Three feet," I repeated, holding up my hands as if to measure three feet, while I looked him in the eye and nodded respectfully.

He suddenly understood and nodded back. We waved at each other. No problem.

I know it doesn't always work to try to talk with people like this,
but sometimes the response is positive. Not everyone is a paranoid driver.

:thumbup: Yes good job Pete this is the way to teach the drivers what they need to learn.But be careful doing this.HAPPY T DAY.

I also ride a motorbike, and know all about the 'lifesaver' (the check over your shoulder just before you pull away). A moped recently forgot his, so I shouted 'Lifesaver!' at him. He stopped and started swinging his chain at me.

So discretion, or plain keeping your mouth shut (something I find rather hard) sometimes might be preferable...

Normally people are civil, but it seems like the closer we get to xmas the more they lose their common sense, and holiday spirit :(

Level headed? You mean like this? http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/2084/hermie.jpg :D

Originally posted by Pete Clark
I know it doesn't always work to try to talk with people like this,
but sometimes the response is positive. Not everyone is a paranoid driver.

Perhaps not, but I still feel safer as a paranoid cyclist.

Originally posted by Chris L
Perhaps not, but I still feel safer as a paranoid cyclist.
It's not paranoia if they are really out to getcha. :eek:

I know that I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?

It is good to be reminded that level-headedness can acheive what anger can't. I don't always remember this. Another thing I try to remember is to give the courtesy wave to drivers who watch out for us cyclists. Gotta balance the evil with the good.

Happy cycling!!

Originally posted by OsoGuevara
Another thing I try to remember is to give the courtesy wave to drivers who watch out for us cyclists.
I try to do the same. I'm also thankful for those motorists who give me a wave as I approach the intersection as if to say, "It's OK, I've seen you, you go right ahead."

Normal traffic, a guy in a sort-of SUV (everything is starting to look like an SUV, nowadays) shwooshes by me closely at a very nice clip.

I (full of cycling-induced hormones) pedal up to the driver's side at the red light. "Hello!" I smile and wave. He rolls down the window. "Could you leave me about 3 feet, next time?" I asked, very politely, still smiling.

"Uh...well--that other guy was...just about to...run me down!" he explained. I pictured this, and realized he was fibbing just a little.

"Thank you," I told him, and rode off.

Someone suggested this approach to alert motorists that they have nearly creamed you. You put on a big grin and wave and say, "Hi Pat!" His theory is that they will realize that they almost hit you, and further that it could have been someone they know (the androgenous "Pat" works for male or female drivers). I confess I've never tried it, I'm usually to crabby when I've had my life flash before my eyes...

i had a very interesting experience the other night. i was riding home on my daily commute on a well-traveled but wide boulevard. as i was about to pass a no-stop intersection, a car started to simultaneously pass me and turn right, effectively pinching me off. we've all been there, right? so i yelled out, "whoooaaa, whooaaa....!!" to alert him that he was about to potentially crash into me. amazingly enough, he stopped, and i started to proceed on.

it was what happened next that truly amazed me. he rolled down his window and let loose a long, loud tirade about how he was going to kick my a$$, what a dumb #$!@#% i was, and a long string of profanities. i stopped and stared, and even considered for an instant inviting him to "bring it on." but if there's one thing i learned it doesn't pay to play into the hands of a lunatic, and i simply rode off, shaking my head.

Originally posted by Bandit
...it was what happened next that truly amazed me. he rolled down his window and let loose a long, loud tirade about how he was going to kick my a$$, what a dumb #$!@#% i was, and a long string of profanities.
I hope he didn't get out of breath!

Originally posted by Bandit
it was what happened next that truly amazed me. he rolled down his window and let loose a long, loud tirade about how he was going to kick my a$$, what a dumb #$!@#% i was, and a long string of profanities. i stopped and stared, and even considered for an instant inviting him to "bring it on." but if there's one thing i learned it doesn't pay to play into the hands of a lunatic, and i simply rode off, shaking my head.

Just take down a # and pay a visit to the cops. I had someone try to kill me earlier in the week. I didn't even bother to speak to this person. I just wrote down their # and let the cops speak to them for me. I don't think people are going to fire a long list of profanities at a police officer.

Originally posted by Chris L


Just take down a # and pay a visit to the cops. I had someone try to kill me earlier in the week.
Send 'em to Jail.

I would like to, but the laws in this country mean that you can't actually press charges if there's no accident. Meaning that if I'm able to avoid a collision as I was on this occasion, the best the police can do is "speak to them in regard to the manner of their driving". At least it's better than nothing, and they are more likely to listen if they hear it from a cop than a cyclist.

Reciprocity is forthcoming to those who live long enough.

nice thoughts regarding the police, but in california anyway, they are a joke. some cases in point:

1) my wife was once actually RAMMED in her car by an impatient driver, whereupon she pulled off the road, physically shaken. so shaken that she did not get a license number. she reported it to the police, offering up the basic description of the car, along with the vicinity in which it was headed (a closed neighborhood). but the coppers declined to even try to investigate.

2) one fine holiday night some youngsters made a stop on my street, about two houses from my residence, and fired a volly of 9-millimeter semiautomatic rounds into the air to celebrate the season. i thought it was firecrackers but it sounded different. the next morning, sure enough there were about 10 shell casings in the gutter. i gathered them up and called the police, in the hopes they could use the casings as evidence in an investigation. it is my understanding that the pin that fires a weapon leaves a distinct "fingerprint" on each casing. i waited 48 hours before i got a call back from the coppers stating that it was not worth investigating because it had been too long. so i threw the casings away and scratched my head wondering what exactly it takes to get police attention.

the take-home lesson: here in the san francisco bay area, you get zero consideration unless you are a) run down by a car b) shot or c) some combination of these two.

If I ever got a "we won't investigate it" response from the cops I'd be by-passing the immediate ones and going to a higher level (the Queensland chief commissioner of Police or whatever the equivalent is over there). I would also be dropping a few names along the way if you see what I mean.

Edit: Why does my typing suck today?