Ok well im heading back home on my 15 mile loop i do every day for the most part. Im going strait on wooster road so am in the left turn/strait only lane (note the left turn strait only part). I look over my shoulder see a older guy mid 60s ina green suv with right blinker on. I pay him no mind as hes going to be turning right I just decide to make his lane change a bit easyer and hammer it a bit to give him some room to get over in the lane. Instead of moving over to the right turn only lane this guy passes me useign the oncoming lane then turns right in front of me at the light. The light was bright green so there was medium trafic on the road more coming towards me than going with me. He nearly plows in to a oncoming car and cut me off hard and fast. I did not colide with him but came very very close. I was able to smacked the side of his suv with the side of my closed fist and not strain to reach.
Just incase any one else sees this dork his lic plate is dlp 6044 It may also be djp or dip not 100% sure of the middle letter. It is a green suv not sure make the driver is a 65 to 68 year old african american and wheres one of those old timey hats. I did report his plate to the cops but not much they can do.
Simply put there was no reason what so ever for his idotic move. The road in question is well kept no glass there were no cars in the right turn lane etc. Far as i can tell he did this purely out of spite to show how tuff he was and how much he disliked bikes.
This was on wooster road heading towards 31st street on the 3rd of this month.
Carefull out here folks some people dont have no respect for us or the law and will do any thing to hassel us.
genec
06-06-07, 07:12 AM
I've had the same thing happen to me when I was clearly positioned well left in the lane to go straight through.
Bone headed drivers. or JAM. (Jack ***** Motorist) They think they own the road and bikes don't belong... and they just have to prove it.
I don't know of anyway to prevent such displays of power and stupidity...
At least by reporting it perhaps his plate is in the computer somewhere so when he does injure a cyclist, and comes back with "he swerved in front of me... " the police may question his statement.
SSP
06-06-07, 07:32 AM
I've had that happen. When it does, I make the right turn and follow the JAM. If I can catch up to them, they get "the lecture" (I can be very persuasive when I'm p*ssed off and my life has been threatened!).
FWIW, many elderly drivers are more clueless than anything else - they don't realize how fast bikes can go, and misjudge the time they have to pass on the left and make their right. I explain the dangers that they expose me to, and recommend that they just back off and "turn behind the bike".
nova
06-06-07, 11:22 AM
I've had that happen. When it does, I make the right turn and follow the JAM. If I can catch up to them, they get "the lecture" (I can be very persuasive when I'm p*ssed off and my life has been threatened!).
FWIW, many elderly drivers are more clueless than anything else - they don't realize how fast bikes can go, and misjudge the time they have to pass on the left and make their right. I explain the dangers that they expose me to, and recommend that they just back off and "turn behind the bike".
Thats what i did with this one.Wel trust me this guy knew exactly what he was doing. I see no reason for him to drive like that other than to play harrrass the cyclist.
Itsjustb
06-06-07, 11:37 AM
....a 65 to 68 year old african american and wears one of those old timey hats.....
George Carlin said there's two people you never want do drive behind (or, in the case of a cyclist, ride near): Any person you can't see over the seat behind them and an old man wearing a hat. :rolleyes:
chipcom
06-06-07, 11:38 AM
George Carlin said there's two people you never want do drive behind (or, in the case of a cyclist, ride near): Any person you can't see over the seat behind them and an old man wearing a hat. :rolleyes:
and you just can't beat... A STATION WAGON FULL OF NUNS! :D
SSP
06-06-07, 11:39 AM
Thats what i did with this one.Wel trust me this guy knew exactly what he was doing. I see no reason for him to drive like that other than to play harrrass the cyclist.
In those situations, I start off being nice - my goal is to be assertive and "informative", to clue them into how they endangered me. I've found this to be pretty effective with most drivers. Some apologize, most at least recognize that they should have turned "behind the bike".
But, if I get lip from the driver, and they don't pass my "attitude test", then it's on. If I feel like my attempt to be informative is not getting through and the guy's just an *sshole, I'm not above calling him a MoFo to his face. That's also the time to whip out the camera and take a photo of the JAM and his license plate.
Boss Moniker
06-06-07, 01:45 PM
A lot of people have this instinct to pass a cyclist whenever they see one. This is probably due largely to the numerous slow bicyclists out there and the widely held belief that bikes belong on the sidewalk. I even find myself itching to pass cyclists, and once when the cyclist was going over the speed limit, so I would have had to really speed up.
However, using the oncoming traffic lane to pass right before turning right at an intersection is just plain inexcusable. Maybe if it were legal to pass and the road were empty would the guy even have a case, but honestly... I would have tried to catch up with him as well.
Blue Order
06-06-07, 02:23 PM
wheres one of those old timey hatsIn an old timey thrift shop? ;)
zaphodbeeblebro
06-11-07, 09:29 AM
A lot of people have this instinct to pass a cyclist whenever they see one. This is probably due largely to the numerous slow bicyclists out there and the widely held belief that bikes belong on the sidewalk. I even find myself itching to pass cyclists, and once when the cyclist was going over the speed limit, so I would have had to really speed up.
However, using the oncoming traffic lane to pass right before turning right at an intersection is just plain inexcusable. Maybe if it were legal to pass and the road were empty would the guy even have a case, but honestly... I would have tried to catch up with him as well.
I have noticed this istinct in drivers as well. This weekend I was riding on a 35 mph street...long downhill so i was going about 36-37mph. An entire line of cars passed me (all gave me lots of room, good for them) 5 of them, one of them even remarked after I caught up to them at the light "wow man, you were going at least 35 back there, that's pretty cool"