Advocacy & Safety - Absolutely clueless

One of my peeves is when a car overpasses you only to make a right turn in front of you. This happened to me this morning, thanks to a middle aged man in an SUV. I could hear him coming and see him passing me, then he was right in front of my wheel. No turn signal. I yelled out to him as he swerved out to the right.

Happens all the time, I guess, so a looked behind me and went farther into the lane to get around him. Well, it seems he was pulling a U turn and I was going right into him. He realized what happened when I was parallel to his side window, again yelling out.

Almost hit twice by the same guy. What's the deal? He saw me when he overtook me, and heard me when I yelled the first time, but proceeded with his U turn. Did he think I disappeared?

Absolute clueless tosser!

How about a short little blow gun with a dart in it....you could shoot out a tire and the guy would never know it was you!

Originally posted by KleinMp99
How about a short little blow gun with a dart in it....you could shoot out a tire and the guy would never know it was you!

There is a lovely book called The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill in which New York City pushcart vendors wage war against the city's big trucks in this manner. If it worked for pushcarts, why not cyclists?

I once had a huge pickup truck pulling a 40ft. horse trailer right hook me as it pulled into a stadium driveway. I saw the whole thing comming as it came up into view in my mirror, and was prepared.
When I told the driver what he did, he honestly couldn't understand and just looked at me as if I was the problem.

It pays to ride defensively.

Louis

I read The Pushcart War in grammar school and loved the book. I haven't given that book a thought in years...

...Maybe if I ever finish Dr. Zhivago .

Thanks for posting, Oscar. On my way to work yesterday morning, I got right-hooked twice in a one-mile stretch, by people turning into their office driveways. I thought they might have underestimated my speed because it was dark and because I had a new slow-pulse blinkie on my bike (plus a faster one on my backpack). I can usually fend off right-hooks at intersections by staying away from the curb, but my office fronts on a 45mph 5-lane (including center left turn facility) major arterial with otherwise decent Class II bike lanes, making lane-taking suicidal. I think I want one of those new pressurized airhorns.

Originally posted by Oscar

Almost hit twice by the same guy. What's the deal? He saw me when he overtook me, and heard me when I yelled the first time, but proceeded with his U turn. Did he think I disappeared?

Absolute clueless tosser!


A right hook followed by a quick left hook might have been a knock-out!!!

Motor vehicle drivers are absolutely clueless!!! The ones that scare me are like Louis's above, with the horse trailer. After you inform the primate that he darned near killed you, they just look at you like you're from Mars......what? Me?

I have a friend who got that from a fat plumber. The plumber found himself with a fat lip and a bloody nose. I don't agree with my buddy’s methods, but I think the fat guy got the message. Sometimes people don't fully realize cyclists are humans and are fragile. Very fragile.

People get in their cars and speed through residential areas where children are playing. One got hit and drug under a car for 20'. The child was under the car screaming and badly hurt. The women driving the car was hysterical! She should of thought past her hood at what "SHE" could do with that car "BEFORE" she finally did it and slow down! Many people drive like this women did......"It will never happen to me......"

Maybe thinking ahead, and thinking about what one's actions might cause is part of my USAF weapons training, I don't know, but it seems pretty simple to me......Murphy is alive and well and he still has a law that he enforces on a regular basis.

Originally posted by Gus Riley
Motor vehicle drivers are absolutely clueless!!!

Right on Gus! I've received the left hook (the same as the right hook for those in the US) a few times. One such occasion promted me to state that motoring primates are somewhere between rocks and turds on the evolutionary scale (I said this on the old bicycleforum site).

There are times I try to think of what goes through their tiny little brains, then I think of what I'd like to see go through their tiny little brains. :D


Originally posted by Gus Riley

People get in their cars and speed through residential areas where children are playing.

In many parts of Australia, the immediate area outside a school has a lower speed limit than than the surrounding areas. This reminds me of the outcry when that first came in. People didn't want to slow down for 30 seconds to reduce the risk to a child's life. It seems society abhors all forms of child abuse except those perpetrated with a motor vehicle. :(

Originally posted by Oscar
One of my peeves is when a car overpasses you only to make a right turn in front of you.
I have a few more peeves, Oscar, but your's is pretty high up on the list.

:crash:

Originally posted by Chris L
In many parts of Australia, the immediate area outside a school has a lower speed limit than than the surrounding areas. This reminds me of the outcry when that first came in. People didn't want to slow down for 30 seconds to reduce the risk to a child's life. It seems society abhors all forms of child abuse except those perpetrated with a motor vehicle. :(

I remember a George Carlin rant along the same lines; "The conservatives are all about protecting the un-born. Protect the un-born. But once you're born, you're on your own. Pre-birth, you're fine; pre-school, you're f***ed."

The problem with speed limits is that they need to be enforced; how many times have you seen a traffic jam because everybody is going out of their way to drive at the speed limit around a cop, only to slam on that accelerator when The Fuzz pulls off the road? People don't take driving seriously; and I doubt that the news-media glossing over the tens of thousands of auto accidents in order to report on J. Random Cyclist getting killed by a drunk driver (but it's not the driver's fault) is helping all that much.

The only ways to fix this are improved driver training, mandatory license re-testing every year, and stricter citations on things that do matter. Stop pulling people over for doing an extra five kicks on the freeway (where it's actually pretty safe to speed, as long as you are paying attention), and start issuing severe penalties for people who make illegal turns and can't figure out what those two blinkie-things on the sides of the car are for.

On the same note, cyclists who can't follow traffic laws need to be ticketed as well (although less severly, as the danger a cyclist poses is almost completely to themselves). Motorists would respect cyclists more if cyclists actually bothered signalling, making eye-contact, and stopping at intersections.

Ok, I'm done. :D

Originally posted by Matadon
The problem with speed limits is that they need to be enforced; how many times have you seen a traffic jam because everybody is going out of their way to drive at the speed limit around a cop, only to slam on that accelerator when The Fuzz pulls off the road.

I actually think speed limits could quite easily be enforced. The trouble is, governments tend to use them as a revenue raiser rather than a road safety device. I know of people who actually budget to cop a couple of speeding fines per annum. Let's face it, $A200/year is hardly going to change Joe Sixpack's lifestyle drastically.

I say, up the fines dramatically. Make it at least $1,000 every time you get caught. Spend every cent generated in revenue on greater enforcement of this area. That would fix the problem in five minutes. The trouble is, governments are quite happy for people to speed if it makes them some money.


Originally posted by Matadon

The only ways to fix this are improved driver training, mandatory license re-testing every year, and stricter citations on things that do matter. Stop pulling people over for doing an extra five kicks on the freeway (where it's actually pretty safe to speed, as long as you are paying attention), and start issuing severe penalties for people who make illegal turns and can't figure out what those two blinkie-things on the sides of the car are for.


If speeding doesn't matter, why have speed limits at all? Unfortunately, nobody can enforce a law about "paying attention", therefore they can't make exceptions here. I don't know about the US, but here in Australia, there are actually small penalties for making illegal turns. Unfortunately, they suffer the same fate as the speeding laws described above.


Originally posted by Matadon

On the same note, cyclists who can't follow traffic laws need to be ticketed as well (although less severly, as the danger a cyclist poses is almost completely to themselves). Motorists would respect cyclists more if cyclists actually bothered signalling, making eye-contact, and stopping at intersections.


I do all of these things, but let's face it, there are many people out there who will resent you for the mere act of riding a bike. My hand signals are, more often than not, misinterpreted. Eye-contact doesn't matter to a psycho, and stopping at red lights is likely to get me honked (mind you, I still do it anyway :p ).

What we really need is some accountability for motorists. Every reckless or DUI vehicular manslaughter conviction should include permanent revocation of driving privilege, in addition to jail and fines. Every negligent vehicular manslaughter conviction should include a license suspension of several years. We need to get incompetent and aggressive motorists off the road.

Originally posted by John E
What we really need is some accountability for motorists. Every reckless or DUI vehicular manslaughter conviction should include permanent revocation of driving privilege, in addition to jail and fines. Every negligent vehicular manslaughter conviction should include a license suspension of several years. We need to get incompetent and aggressive motorists off the road.

I second that motion.

Originally posted by John E
We need to get incompetent and aggressive motorists off the road.
:eek:

I like that idea.

I always wanted to ride my bike on a deserted street!

:D

Originally posted by John E
....We need to get incompetent and aggressive motorists off the road.

Nice thought, but I fear we're dreaming. Anyone know how many lawyers (Beemer drivers) and judges are aggresive drivers? Just a thought.

:(

That's a big part of the problem, Gus. I found it very frustrating that I and another cyclist were "excused" from a vehicular manslaughter jury panel during voir dire. The motorist got a jury of his peers: 12 non-cycling motorists!

We have to keep pushing, taking some encouragement from the successes of M.A.D.D. We have to remind responsible motorists that incompetent, distracted, aggressive drivers threaten them, as well as us.

Originally posted by John E
We have to keep pushing, taking some encouragement from the successes of M.A.D.D. We have to remind responsible motorists that incompetent, distracted, aggressive drivers threaten them, as well as us.

Unfortunately, I tend to think responsible motorists are in ever dwindling numbers. You know what really annoys me? In the Northern Territory, an imporverished aboriginal kid gets sent to prison under Mandatory Sentencing for stealing a loaf of bread. Meanwhile a driver in Canberra uses his car as a weapon to assault a cyclist (he admitted as much at the time) and gets "community service".

It makes me seriously wonder about the country in which I live.

Same all over Chris. The other night on the way home an artic (semi to our American cousins) pulled onto a roundabout in front of me and forced me to take to the inside. This put me in real danger as I then had to battle to the outside to leave the roundabout.

I caught up with the truck at the next holdup and took his number and the "How's my driving" number, which I phoned when I got home.
I could tell from the voice on the other end of the phone that it's just a marketing "aren't we a caring lot" ploy.

My most recent encounter was yesterday morning:

There was me coming down Canterbury's steepest hill in the pouring rain, probably doing around 25-30 mph, and a coach driver decided that this cyclist coming down the hill couldn't possibly be going that fast so he might as well pull out across the road and turn right up the hill...

Who said V-brakes don't work well in the wet, I stopped about three metres from him :eek:

Richard

Originally posted by Richard D
My most recent encounter was yesterday morning:

There was me coming down Canterbury's steepest hill in the pouring rain, probably doing around 25-30 mph, ...
Richard

Yes it's me - Latakiahaze - slow moving commuter

Not all that slow it would seem.

Originally posted by Allister


Not all that slow it would seem.

I'm alright going downhill where my weight is an advantage, uphill's another matter :D

Richard raises a fundamental issue -- motorists often underestimate our speed, leading to overtaking right-hooks (left-hooks in left-drive countries) and path-crossing left (right) turns from the opposite direction of travel. One partial defence is to use a low gear and to maintain a high pedal cadence at all times, except when slowing to a stop, to help provide a visual illusion of speed.

Originally posted by chewa
Same all over Chris. The other night on the way home an artic (semi to our American cousins) pulled onto a roundabout in front of me and forced me to take to the inside. This put me in real danger as I then had to battle to the outside to leave the roundabout.

I caught up with the truck at the next holdup and took his number and the "How's my driving" number, which I phoned when I got home.
I could tell from the voice on the other end of the phone that it's just a marketing "aren't we a caring lot" ploy.
Never reveal you are a cyclist. Don't be ashamed to say you were driving your new Mercedes.

It's the principle of the thing, isn't it? :)