Fifty Plus (50+) - Inconsiderate Motorists

I have to apologize for this but I was miffed

[/rant] Last night on an evening ride I was crossing a bridge choked with communter traffic, this is a notorious stretch of road which can tie commuters up for long waits. The road has a nice bike lane, so I am tooling along passing cars on the left doing about 20 while the cars were doing about 5. I am spotted by a jerk in a minivan who sees me coming up and moves over and blocks the bike lane. So I am down to 5mph. Then the car opens a gap to the car in front of him - coming almost to a complete stop - I can only guess to make me dab out of my pedals. Luckily the car behind me has also given me a gap. I accelerate and pass on his left facing the oncoming traffic (not too smart but I had an opening) and off I go. About a mile up the road - after the choke point the same van passes me almost taking me out with his side mirror. From time to time I run across these jerks. Most drivers I find go out of thier way for bikers, some need a lobotomy - maybe they had one already. [/rant]

Ah - I feel better now!

It's your ride, don't let any one else control it... You can smile at their silliness, or hurt yourself trying to bother them

Inconsiderate motorists exist and there is not a great deal you can do to change them. Had one on my ride yesterday and he just pulled a bit too far over for me to pass him in traffic. Squeezed past him and a bit further along the road he passed me again in the traffic and pulled over more. He is now a driver that can't see out of his mirror that is pointing up in the Air. He didn't pass me again.

same problem here, in heavy,peak traffic left turning traffic (we ride/drive on the left side of the road), start to form an extra lane ,taking up the marked cycle lane ,once one moron starts it off all the rest follow like sheep ,even saw a cop car in the illegal impromtue turning lane last week on my commute home last week ! wtf does that say ?

Lots of frustrated drivers. Best to stay out of conflict. If someone is being a plick blow it off as a very unhappy person.
On the other hand there are some very inconsiderate cyclists like a group that was riding in a peleton 4 wide on a 2 lane road causing some drivers some consternation needlessly. Courtesy is so easy.

Lots of frustrated drivers. Best to stay out of conflict. If someone is being a plick blow it off as a very unhappy person.
On the other hand there are some very inconsiderate cyclists like a group that was riding in a peleton 4 wide on a 2 lane road causing some drivers some consternation needlessly. Courtesy is so easy.
My typical MO is to leave them alone no matter what they do, in this case I did not flick the driver off or even give him an evil look - I simply passed where there was space, on his left where he should have been rather than in the bike lane were he was.

I watched a cyclist go through the back window of a car because he flipped the driver off - the cyclist was charged with the accident. It's burned in my mind - I try to leave cars alone and remember to smile and wave at the considerate ones. Road rage knows no bounds and we didn't bring the right weapons for that fight.

I'm reminded of a cartoon I saw in a motorcycle mag donkey's years ago. It shows our hero, kicking a side mirror off a car with the comment "If you're not using it, you won't be missing it." :D

Idiot drivers - they're not as bad as idiot cyclists, just more common.

Richard

My typical MO is to leave them alone no matter what they do, in this case I did not flick the driver off or even give him an evil look - I simply passed where there was space, on his left where he should have been rather than in the bike lane were he was.

I watched a cyclist go through the back window of a car because he flipped the driver off - the cyclist was charged with the accident. It's burned in my mind - I try to leave cars alone and remember to smile and wave at the considerate ones. Road rage knows no bounds and we didn't bring the right weapons for that fight.If you're looking for "the right weapon for that fight", you might consider this (http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=11601&langId=-1&productId=14765&tabselected=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=24802). ;) Fits in a jersey pocket, and the hammerless design makes for a snag-free draw. At just 12 oz unloaded, it might be the ultimate weight weenie carry gun. :D

No apology needed. Glad your mini-rant helped.

If you're looking for "the right weapon for that fight", you might consider this (http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=11601&langId=-1&productId=14765&tabselected=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=24802). ;) :D


Let's get a new bumper sticker made for the forum members, or maybe something we can pin to the backs of our jerseys, that says

I'm changing lanes. Cover me!

It's unfortunate there are so many morons driving these days. Granted, some on bikes, more in cars. This is why I'm spending less and less time on the road. As soon as my mtb gets here, even less.

Pull up behind him, take out your cell phone and make sure he sees that you are taking a picture of his license plate. usually once they see that they calm down a bit

If you're looking for "the right weapon for that fight", you might consider this (http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=11601&langId=-1&productId=14765&tabselected=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=24802). ;) Fits in a jersey pocket, and the hammerless design makes for a snag-free draw. At just 12 oz unloaded, it might be the ultimate weight weenie carry gun. :D

I don't mean to disagree but things like this go a long way to helping the jerk motorists justify the attitude that they have about cyclists.

Unless someone really means to kill (and I'd bet big money that when push comes to shove it will not happen) then this is a waste of time and a bad precident. There is a very fine line that separates the rightous from the very same idiots we are always complaining about.

Some are inconsiderate, or just not paying attention. It's the outright hostile ones you have to be careful of. There are more of them out there than most people think. bk