Commuting - One in a hundred....

Why, when hundreds of car drivers have no problem sharing the road with me does one ignorant, intolerant moron feel the need to throw abuse?

I'm minding my own business on a pretty quiet stretch of road, a bunch of cars have passed me seconds before without issue. Then I hear another car approaching from behind and at 20 ft behind he blasts the horn 2 or 3 times before swinging past, shouting obscenities. Luckily I was able to offer hand signals and a verbal warning that were definately heard (this seemed to make this gentleman of the road even more agitated). As there was no other traffic at the time he had no need to slow and suffer the inconvenience of abusing a cyclist. Sometimes, just sometimes, it would be great to have a magic button I could press to make engines seize ;)

Generally here in the UK it seems we are lucky with driver attitudes to cyclists. Especially when I compare with some of the examples of abuse that are posted here from riders in the US. Once in a while though...

Cheers,

Ed

Carry a beer bottle on a string on your handle bars. Then when this happens, you can grab it quick, take aim, and "wing'er....:)

That should get his attention...

Why, when hundreds of car drivers have no problem sharing the road with me does one ignorant, intolerant moron feel the need to throw abuse?

I'm minding my own business on a pretty quiet stretch of road, a bunch of cars have passed me seconds before without issue. Then I hear another car approaching from behind and at 20 ft behind he blasts the horn 2 or 3 times before swinging past, shouting obscenities.

Obviously a coward having a cowardly moment. The positive side of it is, the grass is much greener on your side of the fence, Ed!

:beer:

I think it's much more difficult when there is snow on the ground making the road narrower. I'm always afraid these guys in their cars will find me and run me over so I ignore them and often give em the road. I know, I know, I'm a scardy cat.

I swear folks, blowing 'em a kiss will do more than any gesture or hollering will. It instantly makes you feel better and you can feel smug about not descending to the miscreants' level. Being cool and sassy sticks in their craws the worst. They'll feel they haven't 'taught' you anything.

I swear folks, blowing 'em a kiss will do more than any gesture or hollering will. It instantly makes you feel better and you can feel smug about not descending to the miscreants' level. Being cool and sassy sticks in their craws the worst. They'll feel they haven't 'taught' you anything.

I agree wholeheartedly. This is what I also do. A kiss and a cheesy grin. Arrogance is a wonderful thing.

Thanks for the responses folks.

Yes! I have tried the kiss & smile method before and it works a treat. As it was dark on this occasion I'm not sure he would have had a chance to appreciate my affections. Also did not have a lot of time to dream up a sarcastic response - Next time though.

Funny thing about the beer bottle idea N7CZ- I got confused and thought it was a response to another post about, erm, whether one takes "comfort stops" during the ride. Combine these two ideas and I think we have a useful weapon ;)

Actually I don't advocate causing criminal damage. In fact, after all the aggressive gestures made by the driver, he passed giving plenty of room. Got to wonder what, if anything goes though their minds? Perhaps he was just jealous that he didn't get a chance to ride his bike and had to drive instead.

Cheers,

Ed

I generally ignore people who come up behind me with their horn blaring. I do sometimes move further into the lane and slow down though. :evilgrin That really gets their blood boiling. I had one guy a few weeks ago that I was sure was gonna burst a blood vessel on the spot. The really stupid thing was that I was riding at the same speed as the cars in front of me, so even if he did pass me he wasn't going to be getting anywhere any faster.

I agree wholeheartedly. This is what I also do. A kiss and a cheesy grin. Arrogance is a wonderful thing.
I keep a special hand signal for drivers of that inclination, a masterbating hand movement on the top of my helmet , this should tell them they're a w@nker as well as a dick head :eek:

I keep a special hand signal for drivers of that inclination, a masterbating hand movement on the top of my helmet , this should tell them they're a w@nker as well as a dick head :eek:

Reminds me of a stunt I pulled in the closing stages of a long ride a few months back. Some jerk (well, a group of four of them) deliberately passed too close and yelled something incoherent out the window. Normally I'd just ignore this crap, but I made the masterbating hand movement you mentioned -- only this time right in front of my mouth.

Well, about 150 metres or so up the road the car pulled to a screaching halt, just as the four dickheads (between them) managed to figure out they'd been insulted. Now I had a dilemma -- one of me vs four of them, and I've just ridden 212km, perhaps the odds aren't so good.

On the other hand, I can run and hide. My knowledge of Palm Beach backstreets vs their total combined intelligence -- now I like the odds better this time. I took off, outwitted them, and laughed all the way home!

I have been lucky, in the past 4 years of commuting I have only had a few insults, occasional "brush-bys" and horn blasts, but no thrown objects. The only time I've had anything thrown at me from a vehicle was while I was running someone threw a partially full beer bottle at me that passed over my shoulder, nicking my ear on the way. On foot there was even less I could do, and I couldn't be sure which of the 3 cars passing me it had come from. I had to change my running route because I got furious again every time I passed that spot. I hope my luck continues to hold; as a female, one option for retaliation isn't available to me.

I don't think most of these drivers are anti-bicycle. I think they are just jerks. These are the same maniacs who tailgate and cut in front of other cars.

Of course, we're a lot more vulnerable on a bicycle. As satisfying as it is to attack back, I try (emphasize the word "try") to remember that cars are big, I am small.

I'll repeat a description of an editorial cartoon I posted in another thread. It shows two teams on a basketball court, one human, one alien. The human team is one guy short. An alien is pointing a weapon above a pile of dust.

The caption is a human saying, "OK, OK! We'll compromise. We'll quit throwing elbows if you guys promise to cool it with the vaporizers."