Commuting - Just who's the jerk

I was riding to catch the bus today after work in downtown Seattle. I was riding behind a car when we came to an intersection where a left turn was our only option. Well this clown stops and tries to reverse and there is no where for him to go he would have to reverse an entire block to get out of turning left. Well I missed the light and my bus so I wasn't a very happy camper. This clown still seems to be intent on reversing down the street so I pedal around him as I pass his window (which is open) I said "you don't plan on reversing the whole block do you?" He responded "Shut up a$$hole I am trying to read the street sign maybe you should just get off the street" I said "Maybe you should learn how to drive before you get into one of those things again" Then biked away. Two blocks away I could still here this clown yelling at me. What really gets me is this idiot was being totally unsafe, broke a couple of laws, and was blocking traffic, yet I'm the a$$hole, I just don't get it.

What really gets me is this idiot was being totally unsafe, broke a couple of laws, and was blocking traffic, yet I'm the a$$hole, I just don't get it.

Well, given his actions up to that point, he's already living in his own black hole of stupidity so I would suggest you not expect much reasonableness, logic or intelligence. Expecting him to recognise this himself is totally beyond possibility.

Well, given his actions up to that point, he's already living in his own black hole of stupidity so I would suggest you not expect much reasonableness, logic or intelligence. Expecting him to recognise this himself is totally beyond possibility.

I agree totally. I wouldn't have bothered trying to reason with this guy at all. I would have either ignored him completely, or done something to deliberately provoke him (blowing him a kiss would have worked). If his behaviour bothered me at any point, I would have just called the cops. The idea of "reasoning with morons" is just a contradiction in terms.

This clown still seems to be intent on reversing down the street so I pedal around him as I pass his window (which is open) I said "you don't plan on reversing the whole block do you?" He responded "Shut up a$$hole I am trying to read the street sign maybe you should just get off the street" What really gets me is this idiot was being totally unsafe, broke a couple of laws, and was blocking traffic, yet I'm the a$$hole, I just don't get it.

Aww come on man can't you see that this schmuck owns that street. What he was trying to accomplish was far more important than you or anyone else.

Many are stupid, many are rude .... too many are BOTH. Write it off to nothing but that.

I'd love to be politically incorrect and say we should all carry keys and use them to beautify some idiot's paint jobs. But I can't, I'm PC. :o

I'd look at the license plate # and then say, "Charlie Alpha Gamma Beta One Three Four, do you realize that you are illegally going the wrong way down a street and I can subject you to police action?"

I just shake my head and ride on.

I had a moron pull out in front of me on my commute home last night. I'm cranking about 23MPH in the center of the lane and he pulls out from the tire shop. No biggy as he had plenty of room to get up to speed. (25MPH speed zone) Instead of getting up to speed, he only gets up to 20MPH. He then decides to brake hard and hang a right so he can get a pack of smokes from the convenience store! ( I could hear them talking). No turn signal either. This is the same street that I was hit back in March.

So, I just shook my head and rode on! :rolleyes:

he's already living in his own black hole of stupidity Yeah, I think they call it a "car" :) .

I'd look at the license plate # and then say, "Charlie Alpha Gamma Beta One Three Four, do you realize that you are illegally going the wrong way down a street and I can subject you to police action?" Or better yet, say that into what appears to be (or actually is, if you have one) a phone. (Well, actually, say "Charlie Alpha etcetera, reckless driving, eleven hundred block Humboldt Avenue,....")

So, I just shook my head and rode on! :rolleyes:

after my comment thats pretty much what I did. Funny though I was waiting at a light about a block away and you could still here him ranting at me :rolleyes:

I never let things like that spoil a perfectly good bike ride though :D

Yesterday afternoon on my way home I had a similar incident, if not quite so dramatic.

On Riverside, between Broadway and Land Park, there's a long stretch where it's a lane in each direction with a nice wide bike lane. It's such a nice wide bike lane that occasionally impatient drivers try to pull around to the right and use it as a second car lane. So I'm just rolling along and I see a white Mustang pull half way into the bike lane. He's about 50m ahead and I can hear him revving his engine. I don't know but I think he saw me in the rearview and pulled back left into the proper car lane. I pull up next to him and say nothing but give him a hardish stare and shake my head.

The driver launches into a stream of profanity but I bite my tongue and ride on.

Clearly, that guy's the jerk.

I'd love to be politically incorrect and say we should all carry keys and use them to beautify some idiot's paint jobs. But I can't, I'm PC. :o
Get some bumper stickers that say IDIOT on them and carry them around :)

Get some bumper stickers that say IDIOT on them and carry them around :)


:roflmao: :roflmao: Good one!

"Hey....move it, i'm trying to drive down the street...."


yeah, I know...you seem to be lost, this is NORTHBOUND.....here's your sign....

after my comment thats pretty much what I did. Funny though I was waiting at a light about a block away and you could still here him ranting at me :rolleyes:

I never let things like that spoil a perfectly good bike ride though :D

so true, just staying calm and humble and simply ignore the JERK or JERKS ;)

after my comment thats pretty much what I did. Funny though I was waiting at a light about a block away and you could still here him ranting at me :rolleyes:

I never let things like that spoil a perfectly good bike ride though :D

Yeah, it seems cyclists have a mental edge over the cagers. Adapting to conditions is simply part of being out there. Most people could learn much from "us."

I'm glad that the only thing I have had yelled at me is, "Go Lance!" :eek:
(Quote from 2 teenagers in a rather large Ford F350 4x4 with naked lady mud flaps)

[QUOTE=N7CZinMTI'm glad that the only thing I have had yelled at me is, "Go Lance!" :eek:
(Quote from 2 teenagers in a rather large Ford F350 4x4 with naked lady mud flaps)[/QUOTE]

There is a remarkable resemblance you know :D

I'd love to be politically incorrect and say we should all carry keys and use them to beautify some idiot's paint jobs. But I can't, I'm PC. :o

Why would you want to do that, when it's so much more fun (and more offensive) to simply laugh in their faces, then drop them like a stone in the gridlock?

Everyone seems to be shaking their own head. I have a great idea. We starts shaking the motorists heads. It's easy, you just grab them by the throat in a choking fashion, and shake their head untill you feel better. And there is no harm done. Tee hee.

Why would you want to do that, when it's so much more fun (and more offensive) to simply laugh in their faces, then drop them like a stone in the gridlock?

There is no gridlock 'round these parts. But then again, probably because there is no gridlock 'round here, I have very few incidents with cage drivers. Older drivers are sometimes a concern to be aware of, and an occasional grain truck. But 'round these parts, cage drivers usually give me a whole lane when they pass me.

Now when I lived and commuted on the east coast...that was a whole different story, and grid lock was present, and I did approach a couple of different drivers who didn't expect a bicycle to be able to catch them. It was certainly weird that many of these guys were plumbers...fat, cigarette choking plumbers, who drove their plumber vans with their driver side windows down. Always a surprise to them and great entertainment to me when I could pull up beside them and let them know how I felt about their passenger side mirror nearly hitting me in the back of the head and how stupid it was of them to do so with their boss's phone number plastered all over the side of the van they were driving. And not a one of them threatened to climb out of his secure cocoon to kick my saddle spot! Too bad. Other problem drivers tended to be city bus operators, again pretty stupid because they were easily traceable by route, bus number, and time of day. But, then again, that was some exciting riding, with never a dull day, and I was able to rack up some serious yearly mileage.

I have learned to watch for the double right turn move. I'm in right lane and the driver changes from the left lane into my lane right in front of me, then signals, and slams on their brake. Usually there isn't much pause between any of this, basically they get in front of you and slam on their brake. That is the number one cause of vehicle-bike collisions as far as i know. Watch for it.

There is a remarkable resemblance you know :D

Um, yeah. Only if there were two of him on my bike. :rolleyes:

And not a one of them threatened to climb out of his secure cocoon to kick my saddle spot! Too bad.

It's amazing how some drivers like to behave in such a situation. Something I do when a driver passes me and shouts their usual abuse is to pull up behind them at the next set of traffic lights and just sit at the rear of the vehicle and watch them squirm. It works every time! I'm not a big guy by any means (62kg or so), but apparently it's enough to frighten the crap out of them. I never fail to get a good laugh out of that one!

Sometimes, you just have to let foolishness find it's own course, while you find yours.

:rolleyes: