cars vs bikes

[stevelon]

Did you ever wonder why when two drivers meet each other the chances are the greeting will be the middle finger. When two folks on bikes meet the chances are you will get a high five or a nod of the head. What about the car makes an otherwise normal person become agressive?

[Nightshade]

The isolation & anonimity cars give people discourages any
sort of politeness.

[Hiland_hall]

I did a fully-loaded overnight a couple weeks ago. The weather was crap, and I didn't see a single biker along the way. However, someone in a Honda Element passed me, honking and waving support. It really made the next few miles fly by.

[cranky]

When people drive, they're always in a hurry. And so they view everyone and everything around them as "in the way."

When I ride my bike, I'm never in a hurry, and there isn't anything in my way.

[ryanparrish]

why do you think it is called a cage?

[Eli_Damon]

It has always seemed to me that cars have their own (usually anti-social) personalities which preempt the personalities of their drivers. I think of the driver of a car the same way I think of the car's engine, muffler, etc. They do what the car-as-a-whole tells them to. Most of you probably know someone who is extremely gentle and polite, but when stick them behind the wheel, they act just as rude and aggressive as everyone else.

[Roody]

Around here, people on bikes rarely greet each other. One old guy I see does. He pumps his fist in a circle like cranks turning and says, "Faster, faster." Even though I'm going twice as fast as he is. I think that's a cool greeting.

[Chris L]

The isolation & anonimity cars give people discourages any
sort of politeness.

From my observations, most drivers simply ignore each other and go on with their daily business, much like I do. I think that has more to do with the fact that there are so many cars on the road. Can you imagine waving at every car you saw in rush hour? Your hand would never stop. It's a bit different for cyclists because there are so few of us. The number of bicycles isn't large enough to cause an incovenience that would cause the "novelty" of seeing another cyclist to wear off.

That said, I think if the numbers of cyclists on the road ever reached that level, I'm sure that would change in a hurry. In fact, I've already seen my share of "cycle rage" on large organised rides, and I'm not sure I'd enjoy riding in those conditions every day.

[knobster]

I disagree. I think it depends on where you are at in the country/world. Where I grew up in Mississippi, everyone waves at each other and is very polite while driving. Of course it adds another 15 minutes to your trip, but it seems most people aren't angry like in cities that I've lived such as Tampa. Anyone else have this experience?

[recursive]

Around here, people on bikes rarely greet each other. One old guy I see does. He pumps his fist in a circle like cranks turning and says, "Faster, faster." Even though I'm going twice as fast as he is. I think that's a cool greeting.
Maybe he's somehow making fun of you for riding fast.

[aikigreg]

I believe Heinlein said it best. To summarize, if every man, woman, and child was armed, there'd be a lot more politeness in the galaxy.

[Peterpan1]

I agree with Chris. Cylcing is mostly fun because nobody does it. Whenever I get to a place where the bike paths are stuffed, it's a really unpleasant experience, no better than a car. Based on what happened when we had a transit strike, and the numbers of cyclist ballooned, it's easier to share the road (getting splattered aside) with cars.

[stevelon]

Years ago we had a pet snake and raised mice to feed it. The snake would go through periods of high mouse consumption and very low consumption. The mouse population followed this trend with lots of breeding. When mouse population became high they would start to fight eventually leading to murder. Mother mice would occasionally refuse to nurse their young or kill her young but not stop breeding. Males would target each other or band together and go to war one group against another. So maybe we should tell others that our sport sucks and not to bother getting a bike. If our bike population stays low maybe we'll continue to be friendly.

[Roody]

Well I hope it doesn't get to the point where we cyclists have to eat our young. But I'm sure you're right that when an interest becomes more popular it loses some of it's friendliness. (Or cliquishness, depending on how you look at it.)

[BizzaroBike]

When people drive, they're always in a hurry. And so they view everyone and everything around them as "in the way."

When I ride my bike, I'm never in a hurry, and there isn't anything in my way.

Yeah, nothing but the cars pulling out in front of you.

[-=£em in Pa=-]

Did you ever wonder why when two drivers meet each other the chances are the greeting will be the middle finger. When two folks on bikes meet the chances are you will get a high five or a nod of the head. What about the car makes an otherwise normal person become agressive?

but the chances of the other driver offering the middle finger back will
be much higher than the chances of the roadie giving the wave back......

:p J/K......

I think people switch to automatic-aggression just by sticking the key in the ignition.
Driving sucks, they are probably running a few minutes late, someone only going the
speed limit in front of them........Like Titewad sez...The anonimity of the car and ability
to do mean stuff to people and not have to stick around for repercussions makes it the
default place where people are going to vent their pent-up hostilites. Sort of like the internet :eek:

[wheel]

From my observations, most drivers simply ignore each other and go on with their daily business, much like I do. I think that has more to do with the fact that there are so many cars on the road. Can you imagine waving at every car you saw in rush hour? Your hand would never stop. It's a bit different for cyclists because there are so few of us. The number of bicycles isn't large enough to cause an incovenience that would cause the "novelty" of seeing another cyclist to wear off.

That said, I think if the numbers of cyclists on the road ever reached that level, I'm sure that would change in a hurry. In fact, I've already seen my share of "cycle rage" on large organised rides, and I'm not sure I'd enjoy riding in those conditions every day.


+1

[pmseattle]

I believe Heinlein said it best. To summarize, if every man, woman, and child was armed, there'd be a lot more politeness in the galaxy.

There are areas right here on earth where everyone is armed, and they aren't polite to each other. They form gangs and go around blowing each other away and don't do much of anything else.

[XM DUDE]

I drive a big Chevy Tahoe, but I am courteous to bicyclists and give them room.

[Roody]

There are areas right here on earth where everyone is armed, and they aren't polite to each other. They form gangs and go around blowing each other away and don't do much of anything else.
Gosh isn't that right. Heinlein was a right-wing nut job. He made a lot of catchy slogans, but few of them can stand up to reason and reality.

[stevelon]

amen

[Lamplight]

My experience here has shown me that perfectly nice, friendly folks can become completely enraged and impatient when they get in a car. And, judging from the many idiotic moves I've seen in traffic, they instantly lose 30+ i.q. points as well.