Advocacy & Safety - Why do senior drivers pass too close?

I notice seniors often pass me too closely compared to others. The good side is they rarely speed and often go below speed limit. But why they choose to pass me so close I do not know? My only reasoning is, " Experience makes an intelligent man wiser but a foolish man dumber " .

Probably for the same reason that they can only park if they're revving the nads off the engine and are in a cloud of clutch smoke. They probably had no idea they passed you, they just happened to be driving that far away from the kerb. If you'd been in a different position they'd probably be wondering what the crashing sound was.

Could consider myself a senior at age 75 . . .
Hey sonny, show some respect for your elders, you *may* eventualy reach that status!

Could consider myself a senior at age 75 . . .
Hey sonny, show some respect for your elders, you *may* eventualy reach that status!

You didn't answer the question Gramps.:)

Believe it or not, many drivers used to operate under the misapprehension that if you were a good driver, you were able to pass as close as possible to a bicycle without having to give any way. Only nervous drivers had to move to the left.

might have something to do with not sensing the dimensions of the car accurately. they also might be more concerned about drifting into the far lane and more inclined to stay within the lines.

+1


Probably for the same reason that they can only park if they're revving the nads off the engine and are in a cloud of clutch smoke. They probably had no idea they passed you, they just happened to be driving that far away from the kerb. If you'd been in a different position they'd probably be wondering what the crashing sound was.

The Oregon Revised Statutes, like most other states, dictate that one must drive on the right hand side of the road. The BTA actually had to go in during the last legislative session and get an explicit exemption to permit motorists to cross over the left hand side of the road in order to safely pass. Ack!

Seriously, that's how hamstrung the vehicular code is in most places. I suspect that older drivers, more set in their ways, are less likely to consider that their behavior, while strictly legal, is actually less safe. You know the really irony of it? Whenever a motorcyclist passes me, it seems like he almost always completely moves over into the next lane, even though his vehicle is narrower and would effectively give me more clearance if he stayed in my lane. You see, he understands that responsible road behavior involves risk management (a Motorcycle Safety Foundation term), and passing me closely creates more risk.

See also my rant (http://lambchop-rides.blogspot.com/2008/04/things-motorists-need-to-understand.html) on this and related issues

You didn't answer the question Gramps.:)

He was too busy passing

they are probably nervous and just "hugging the curb" so they're not in danger of crossing the centerline.

I notice seniors often pass me too closely compared to others. . . . " .

My experience is just the opposite. Older drivers. in general, provide me with extra and even excessive room. Younger female drivers are more apt to cut it close than any other group.

My guess is the last time most of them rode a bike speeds in excess of 10 mph where unheard of.

they dont relize how fast we are.

Older driver have more experience; so do older cyclists.
BTW it's not 'gramps', it's 'great-gramps' who has bicycled over a quarter million miles and driven a car for only 58 years.
If they pass you and not hit you, then it is not 'too close.' Been hit a couple times.
Once by a teen who just got his license and once by an oldster in his 70s; both had the same excuse and both were ticketed: "didn't see you" . . .
Inattention/multi-tasking is the major culprit: cell phones, eating/drinking, changing radio station/discs, puttin' on make-up, yakking with passengers; driving requires driver's full attention.
Now, go show some respect for your elders, sonny!

Older driver have more experience; so do older cyclists.
BTW it's not 'gramps', it's 'great-gramps' who has bicycled over a quarter million miles and driven a car for only 58 years.
If they pass you and not hit you, then it is not 'too close.' Been hit a couple times.
Once by a teen who just got his license and once by an oldster in his 70s; both had the same excuse and both were ticketed: "didn't see you" . . .
Inattention/multi-tasking is the major culprit: cell phones, eating/drinking, changing radio station/discs, puttin' on make-up, yakking with passengers; driving requires driver's full attention.
Now, go show some respect for your elders, sonny!

+10! Don't disrespect the seasoned citizens, learn from them.

Seriously, that's how hamstrung the vehicular code is in most places.


Fortunately, only about 1 out of 100,000 know the vehicular code, so all is not lost.

... Brad

+10! Don't disrespect the seasoned citizens, learn from them.

An 80 year old idiot is still an idiot, they're just had 80 years experience being an idiot.

Personally I find sweeping generalisations besmirching the good nature of large volumes of people far more entertaining than statements that tediously take into account every possible variance. There are likely to be old drivers who aren't crap, the majority are. I'm sticking with my sweeping generalisation and I'll add the following
White van drivers are agressive sun reading idiots.
BMW X5s are driven by blonde women on their phone.
Rover drivers do not use their rear view mirrors and consider indicators to be something which are best turned on at the start of the journey and left until they reach their destination.

How about this possibility:

They are more worried about having a head-on collision with another motor vehicle, than colliding with the bicycle.

A few years ago, I was 'slow-buzzed' by an old man(yes, I said it like that!) -- who happened to live across the street from me! It was January, a Sunday morning, and he creeped past me (I had nowhere to go due to parked cars) A WHOLE 3 INCHES FROM MY LEFT HAND! He didn't even look over at me; doesn't even drive now, walks with a cane.

I have another alternative thought as to why, in one word: glaucoma.

I was buzzed on a Sunday night on my way home from work last fall. Due to the leaves in the gutter, I was a little further out from the curb than I normally would have been. It was a wide residential street with no traffic. When I asked the driver (est. age: in his 70s) at the next stop why so close, he stated he shouldn't be expected to cross into the other lane to pass me. I replied that it wasn't a double yellow line, and he should give my safety a higher value. I don't think he understood, but maybe between he and his wife, who was in the car at the time, were able to get it eventually.

The Oregon Revised Statutes, like most other states, dictate that one must drive on the right hand side of the road. The BTA actually had to go in during the last legislative session and get an explicit exemption to permit motorists to cross over the left hand side of the road in order to safely pass. Ack!

Seriously, that's how hamstrung the vehicular code is in most places. I suspect that older drivers, more set in their ways, are less likely to consider that their behavior, while strictly legal, is actually less safe. You know the really irony of it? Whenever a motorcyclist passes me, it seems like he almost always completely moves over into the next lane, even though his vehicle is narrower and would effectively give me more clearance if he stayed in my lane. You see, he understands that responsible road behavior involves risk management (a Motorcycle Safety Foundation term), and passing me closely creates more risk.

See also my rant (http://lambchop-rides.blogspot.com/2008/04/things-motorists-need-to-understand.html) on this and related issues

Well, I'm a nearly 55 yo cyclist and driver, and I don't understand why drivers think I need an entire fricking lane of clearanceor really any more than a few feet! I appreciate a driver who can see that lanes have adequate space for a bike and a car in most cases, and will simply pass me without any intimidation or fanfare.

How close is too close? How can you tell?

Until we cyclists can provide decent answers to such questions, how can we communicate to drivers (and most of us are drivers as well as cyclists) what a proper clearance from a subjective point of view is?

+10! Don't disrespect the seasoned citizens, learn from them.

-10. Screw old drivers and snow birds specifically. I can't wait for their generation to slowly pass away and take their mile long Buick/Cadillacs off the road with them.

3 ft seems to be the "standard" - we have a 3 ft rule here as do many jurisdictions.

-10. Screw old drivers and snow birds specifically. I can't wait for their generation to slowly pass away and take their mile long Buick/Cadillacs off the road with them.

Screw wet nosed kids with cocky know it all attitudes. Usually they don't pass away slowly, but very suddenly.

I ride with a Take a Look mirror, and (for the most part) don't permit anyone to give me a "close shave".

If I see an overtaking driver is not moving over enough for my liking, I drift the bike to the left...this forces the overtaking driver to respond by moving left also. As they get close, I move back to the right, resulting in maximum separation.

If I'm on a narrow road and there's oncoming traffic, I'll often take it one step further - I'll move to the center of the road, and indicate with my left palm facing down and back that they should not attempt to pass. When the oncoming traffic clears, I move back to the right and wave them around.

I've found that these more assertive techniques work very well...especially with senior citizens who are often unsure as to how to properly pass a bicycle on the road. They often wave back at me as they pass...with all 5 fingers. :)


With the mirror and assertive lane positioning, I'm hardly ever buzzed, and never surprised by it.

-10. Screw old drivers and snow birds specifically. I can't wait for their generation to slowly pass away and take their mile long Buick/Cadillacs off the road with them.

Wait what? I hope that was sarcasm. You DO realize that all of us age continuously and unless you intend to implement mandatory suicides for anyone over X years old there will always be an old generation of frail senile slow folks driving out of date cars. You'll become one of them eventually...

If it wasn't sarcasm... How dumb must you be to make a statement like that??? :confused:

-10. Screw old drivers and snow birds specifically. I can't wait for their generation to slowly pass away and take their mile long Buick/Cadillacs off the road with them.

There is hope. Mental illness can be treated. Seek help without delay.

An 80 year old idiot is still an idiot, they're just had 80 years experience being an idiot.

I LOLed.

MV called it - - 3 feet seems to be the dominant standard. Personally, I'd rather see 4 feet, or half a lane, maybe. Bigger then that, I'd like to see the dropping of this "as far to the right as practicable", which 99.99999% of drivers read as "as far to the right as humanly possible". I'd rather see "the right 1/3 of the right-hand lane, except when turning or encountering a right-turn-only lane."

Another factor is that as people age some start to develop tunnel vision. It could be that the person who skimmed by the OP could not see him any more even before he passed. It is an argument for mandatory testing for seniors after the age of X.

Must be nice to live in a perfect world. He (she) didn't hit you...right ??? Get over it.