Advocacy & Safety - I was flipped off by a motorist for doing the right thing today.

On my commute home today, not even a mile and a half from my office I was almost hit head on. This was on Harbour Dr. A busy 2 lane roadway, 30 mph. I usually do not have any problems with any of the traffic on this roadway, despite the fact it is busy.

In the city limits road users are not to pass one another on 2 lane roadways.

Less then a mile & a half from my office there was a car oncoming to me, no big deal. Then a jackass in an SUV in the same lane as this car starts to pass the car. I see this, slow down, start sounding my airzound & waving my hands to get his attention that I am in the oncoming lane. I also get ready to take the ditch & prepare for what ever injuries may come from doing so, this road has no shoulder. He finally sees me, guns his engine, instead of slowing down to drop back behind the car, passes & flips me off as he does.

This is what I do not get. I was not in the wrong, I was trying to get his attention because he was putting me at risk with his stupid behavior because he was in a big ass hurry. I wish I had my camera with me. I would have taken a good pic of him, his vehicle & his plate to turn over to the police.

I guess my question is not why he wanted to pass that car, but why flip me off when he was the one in the wrong?

Because in his simple mind, he was in the right.
That's just how it is with some people man, don't take it to heart.
Get a case of brew, rent a porn, and enjoy your night :)

For a number of reasons, many motorists believe cyclists have an obligation to stay out of the way of motorists. You were in his way, therefore you were doing something wrong from his perspective.

It's very possible that he thinks he's doing you a favor by emphasizing how dangerous it is for you to be out there.

By the way, where in the lane were you positioned laterally prior to the point where the guy in the SUV pulled out into your lane to pass? As far right as practicable? Near the right tire track? In the center by the oil slick? On the left tire track?

Because he can.

For a number of reasons, many motorists believe cyclists have an obligation to stay out of the way of motorists. You were in his way, therefore you were doing something wrong from his perspective.

It's very possible that he thinks he's doing you a favor by emphasizing how dangerous it is for you to be out there.

By the way, where in the lane were you positioned laterally prior to the point where the guy in the SUV pulled out into your lane to pass? As far right as practicable? Near the right tire track? In the center by the oil slick? On the left tire track?

On this roadway I ride in the right tire track, exactly where I should, which for this road is as far to the right as practicable.

There's a "Harbour Drive" in Sioux City?

Wild.

Sorry, sometimes there is no logic to this behaviour.

Of course, some individuals resort to aggressive behaviour when they know they are in the wrong

Ed

N_C, This guy was just an ARSEFARDLE!

A lot of people get defensive when they are in the wrong. In my car, I've honked at people to try to get them to turn left on an arrow and been flipped off and cussed out.

Just be glad you didn't have to bail or get hit. The whole sticks and stones thing.

A waterbottle to his windshield as he passed. Yep. My favorite maneuver when an opportunity like that arrises.

This is easy to understand, SUV = large penis, bicycle=small penis. Those of us with little dicks need to stay out of the way of the real men.

For some reason your story reminds me of the time I’m stopped wanting to making a left turn at an intersection when this guy in a SUV passes me on the wrong side of the double yellow stripe and yells at me to “Get off the F**** off the road!” and just keeps rolling right out into traffic. Well there was a lot of breaks squealing and horn honking and this jerk’s car is now pined in a traffic jam with a owner of an even bigger SUV who matched the size of his vehicle coming out and screaming at this jerk “Who the F’n taught you how to drive?” my sentiments exactly. Since no vehicles actually came in contact with each other and the intersection is now free of any moving traffic I proceeded on my way to leave these two to discuss the proper way to drive a car.

Around here motorists breaking the law sometimes ANTICIPATE the honk and start flipping the bird AHEAD OF TIME.

Yesterday an SUV ran a red in front of me, and flipped off me, and a bunch of motorists beside me, for quietly slowing down and not hitting him. I think he was expecting us to do something else.

This sort of thing is why when cyclists start chastising each other "making all riders look bad" by flipping motorists, I start rolling my eyes.

I guess my question is not why he wanted to pass that car, but why flip me off when he was the one in the wrong?I'm guessing you were taking the lane and he thought you could have and should have made some room for him to pass.

There's a "Harbour Drive" in Sioux City?

Wild.

Actually it's Harbor Dr, sorry for the misspell.

I think many of the people who have replied here (and elsewhere to similar issues) have one point very wrong. He is most likely an @ss, agreed. But it is very likely he DID NOT think you were in the wrong. Instead you did the one unforgivable thing, you forced him to see that he was in the wrong, and for that he truely hated you.

I think many of the people who have replied here (and elsewhere to similar issues) have one point very wrong. He is most likely an @ss, agreed. But it is very likely he DID NOT think you were in the wrong. Instead you did the one unforgivable thing, you forced him to see that he was in the wrong, and for that he truely hated you.I disagree. The OP has already stated that:


I...start sounding my airzound & waving my hands to get his attention that I am in the oncoming lane.And he hasn't denied that he was taking the lane. Therefore, in my opinion, the SUV driver who was passing was annoyed because he felt, rightly or wrongly, that the OP could have and should have given him some room to pass, instead of sounding his airhorn and waving his arms while continuing to take the lane

As I mentioned in the thread about pickup trucks, I have not had nearly the number if incidents with guys in Chevy and Ford pickups, as I have had with young males in pricey SUV's.

This guy not only votes with his right foot, but apparently with his middle finger as well.

If I had to I would have ridden into the ditch, which would not have been a pleasent thing to do. I probably would have had minor injuries & slight damage to the bike, but I would have lived through it. The only problem with the ditch is it is about 3 to 4 feet deep with fairly tall grass, can not see what is in the bottom. there could be debris, a hidden culvert or utility box to hit. It still would have been better then getting hit head on though.

I was not doing anything illegal. I was in the right tire track, on Harbor Dr. this is the proper place for a cyclist to ride. even if I was in the left tire track or in the middle of the lane this motorist in the SUV was still in the wrong. He was passing another moving vehicle doing the what appeared to be the proper speed limit illegally on a 2 lane city street.

The only time a motorist can legally do that is if the vehicle they are passing is stopped, if they are slowing down to stop due to a mechanical problem, if they are a bicycle or a slow moving vehicle with a slow moving vehicle sign displayed. The car that was passed did not appear or sound like it had any kind of mechanical problem where the driver was slowing down to pull over & stop.

In this case the SUV driver was in a big hurry, was impatient, did not want to wait & illegally passed.

Even if it was legal to pass the driver would have had to make sure the oncoming lane, the lane I was in, was clear. With me there, it was not.

I was not doing anything illegal.You're missing the point.

Some folks are just jerks (AHs, etc. ;) ) And since most folks drive you are going to encounter some jerks on the road. Fortunately most drivers are considerate.
Al

Because he can.

this is it. he doesn't have to be right, wrong, or anything. he's in a car which allows him almost complete protection against you and most everyone else. he can truely act in the moment because there are little consequences.

anyway, life is full of examples of people doing illogical things. take, for example, the guy who squeezed past me this morning on the escalator only to stand still right in front of me. what is the point of that? there is no point.

Its actually common behavior of people to act out to draw attention away from their behavior. If you look at a lot of people who cheat on their significant others, you will find people who often instigate arguments in order to draw attention away from why they are getting home so late. If the other person feels under attack enough, they may not strike back and ask the tough questions. I like to call it cheating husband syndrome. Women do it as well, but its much more common for men, as its socially acceptable for men to be aggressive and they therefore rely on said behavior more often. The point is, with people like that it often becomes a habit. Whenever they feel challenged, they will go into a rage and act in an unreasonable manner, no matter how wrong they are, and they will even convince themselves that the other individual was at fault, even if it is blatantly obvious that they werent. The likelihood is that they will recount this story to friends and family, in a highly edited version, and even if the others think they are wrong, they will likely say nothing so that they dont get yelled at, slapped or kicked in the grille.

He who is constantly looking for trouble seems to find it often...

There's a "Harbour Drive" in Sioux City?

Wild.

There's a little thing called the Missouri River nearby.

Is that the Missouri River in the U.K., or the Missouri River in the U.S.?

A waterbottle to his windshield as he passed. Yep. My favorite maneuver when an opportunity like that arrises.

In that scenario...+1!

... I was not doing anything illegal. I was in the right tire track, on Harbor Dr. this is the proper place for a cyclist to ride. even if I was in the left tire track or in the middle of the lane this motorist in the SUV was still in the wrong. ... HH would tell you that you invited the problem by riding too far to the right in your lane.

This is easy to understand, SUV = large penis, bicycle=small penis. Those of us with little dicks need to stay out of the way of the real men.

Actually I believe it is the other way around... those with uh, "size" problems tend to over compensate and buy large vehicles. On the other hand, cyclists have balls, man!

Bonn Scott would disagree, I'm sure........

Why is it always the SUV drivers? I've been cut off in traffic, cut off in parking lots, had them pull out of driveways in front of me, etc... and it always seems to be someone in an enormous SUV.
I'm going to take this and flip it around by stating that by driving like that, they're giving the rest of us a bad name. On the rare occaissions that I drive, I am in my lifted, big-tired, CB-antennaed, muddy, redneck lookin' Jeep Cherokee. Yes... an SUV (if you want to call it that.) I don't feel the urge to cut anyone off (cars or bikes) or yell things at passing cyclists if I happen to be stuck in traffic. I'll take the nature vs. nurture route with this, and venture to guess that everyone starts out (nature) with no bias against cyclists, but through rigorous training (nurture; watching parents treat cyclists poorly while they drive) a person acquires a bad attitude toward cyclists. Whether you're doing "the right thing" or not, it's become an ingrained response with some people to act like a jack@ss to people riding bikes.

I was not in the wrong
Like that ever matters.

Why is it always the SUV drivers?

a) Because that's what most people drive.
b) Because you can't see a damn thing out the window of those tanks. They are too high, the side-view mirror is too big and it's so hard to see out the back that people will run over their own children.

...

And he hasn't denied that he was taking the lane. Therefore, in my opinion, the SUV driver who was passing was annoyed because he felt, rightly or wrongly, that the OP could have and should have given him some room to pass, instead of sounding his airhorn and waving his arms while continuing to take the lane

You're beeing too hard on N_C. I've been in that situation before: no shoulder and some oncoming a$$ tries to pass another car and nearly collides head on with you. What can you do? You wave, shout, sound whatever noisemaker you've got, and you prepare to ditch if the guy miscalculates.

N_C, I usually put up the "what the ****!!!?" hand and shout the same. Oh, yea, and prepare to ditch. What else can you do?