Advocacy & Safety - Courteous Drivers

The drivers where I live are amazing! Of all the places I've cycled, I've never come across such friendly, courteous, and good drivers. :)

They give me ample room as they go by. They slow down as they pass so that they do not kick up any dust, dirt, or snow on me. If I'm waiting to walk my bicycle across the road they will stop for me, even if it is not an official pedestrian crossing. Sometimes if I'm making a left turn across traffic, the whole flow of oncoming traffic will stop for me, even when it is not my turn!! And many will wave, smile, and give friendly little honks as they pass. :)

If I had to rate the drivers here, I'd say that about 99% of them are excellent.



So, in your area, what percentage of the drivers are actually very good ... be honest now!!

70/30 to the good side.

I'd go to very close to 100% for my SoCal commute.

90% go by without you even noticing.

9.9% do something that obviously indicates that thay are aware of you and are helping you out.

0.1%...well...

I'd say that 75% are acceptable in their driving habits in relation to my cycling, 15% go out of their way to be particularly safe or courteous, 9% are somewhat hazardous due to inattention, distracted driving, etc., and 1% are flat out dangerous or hostile.

I'd say about 80% don't bother us . . . 10% get a little peeved but aren't too bad. Maybe only 10% yell at us or do something really stupid. Pretty lucky.

80% are very good, more than 19% are good enough, and less than 1% are dangerous. I think how you ride and how visible you are makes a big difference in how drivers react to you.


I'd say about 80% don't bother us . . . 10% get a little peeved but aren't too bad. Maybe only 10% yell at us or do something really stupid. Pretty lucky.

Wow, one out of every ten drivers "yell or do something really stupid"? :eek: If that happened to me I think I'd find somewhere else to ride, or just quit.

I would say 99 percent in here in the rural redneck area of South Carolina are very considerate drivers. The worse menace around here are logging trucks but even most of them always give plenty of room.

When I lived in Baltimore, they seemed to be much more not paying attention and more in a hurry. Also cross-traffic was a much bigger problem there, people pulling out of driveways and strip shopping centers.

95% considerate.
One guy even gave me a ride home in a nasty storm. He had a rack on the back.
Of course, 2 or 3% bad can be a pita.

I'd say 90-99% are pretty decent. Not bad until you consider that in steady urban traffic we will be passed or pass 100 cars every few minutes, which means 1 nut every few minutes- and all it takes is one crazy to turn your life around.

Not too bad where I live. I commute every day, year round, and except for a few "too close for comfort" swipes, havent had much of a problem. Occasionally I'll get "buzzed", but outside of that 95% of the drivers give me plenty of room. I'm thankful really, because I know it could be worse.

99/100 drivers exhibit fine if not often courteous behaviour to me. 1/1000 are outwardly/intentionally agressive/harrasing to me. But on a typicial one way commute I get passed by over 500 of them, so the bad drivers stand out on a per daily commute basis.

Al

Hehe in southern Wisconsin I'd say 99 percent are courteous.

Hah where i live there have been many deaths already, damn those cell phones

Some of the most considerate drivers I've ever come across are in Northampton, MA. There are lots of bike-lanes, and some great bike trails around the area. The community is very "bike-aware" and when I did some riding there back in the fall, I was surprised to find motorists giving way to cyclists even when it was the motorists' right-of-way. The local community has got their act together as far as cyclists are concerned; a very pretty area, and a haven for cyclists.

- Wil

95% courteous, with most of the harassment coming from outside my county.

Some of the most considerate drivers I've ever come across are in Northampton, MA. There are lots of bike-lanes, and some great bike trails around the area. The community is very "bike-aware" and when I did some riding there back in the fall, I was surprised to find motorists giving way to cyclists even when it was the motorists' right-of-way. The local community has got their act together as far as cyclists are concerned; a very pretty area, and a haven for cyclists.

- Wil

Yes indeed, Northhampton is known as a bicylists' haven, almost in the same league as Davis, CA. I have not been there for some years, but I'm hearing mostly good stuff.

The Good drivers are out there, but there are many days when their numbers seemed eclipsed by the morons.

Isn't Northhampton the only area where they have paved up some sections of the long anticipated Mass Central Rail Trail?

Ibet there were lots of nice drivers today. If there are any cars out.

I would say that 99% of their INTENTIONAL actions are courteous. It is their UNINTENTIONAL actions that I worry about. The unintentional actions such as drifting to the side while (a) cell phones, (b) yelling at kids in back seat, (c) DWI and (d) etc/etc/etc. I rarely encounter a driver that intentionally gives me any grief.
As a cyclist, I often judge myself on my CAGER driving when I find myself edgeing to one side for any reason and I think to myself...what if there had been a cyclist in that spot when I did that. My biggest fear is when I am behind another car who creates a blind spot for an upcoming cyclist and then moves over at the last minute and leaves me little distance to make the same avoidance manuevuer.

Depends what street I am on.

Most people take me as a vehicle when I take the lane 95%. However if I let them buzz me they will and well it would be like 30% (3ft law here). I also wear a reflective vest all times (including everything else) and taken more seriously by them. So when in other ridding traffic patterns people are very accepting and accomadate my needs 99%.

Berkeley, CA. here.

The drivers here are fantastic. They always give me well more than 3', slow down to let me merge every time I am about to make a lane change, and will also typically stop and let me make a left turn even when I don't have the right of way. I've even had drivers from both directions of a busy road stop to let me cross even when I'm just sitting and waiting for an opening.

At last 90% are fine everywhere I ride. However that last 10% can vary a lot depending. East part of the San Fernando Valley has some sections where there are some real jerks. Still those are only 1-2%.

Honestly I have 5-10 times as many drivers who become problems because they are trying to be too nice as I do with those actively being jerks.