Advocacy & Safety - anything i can do when a driver does THIS?

last night's ride.. familiar route.. i was coming upto a sharpish left turn (i'm British so i'm on the inside of the road), i was doing about 20 mph as there was a gentle downhill leading into the turn. i knew there was a car behind me and i could hear it getting closer and closer as i approached the curve.

i thought it was going to overtake me beforehand but it never did. and instead of backing off and allowing me some room, it came within 50cm of my rear wheel, and stuck with me through the whole turn.. it wasn't directly behind my but coming up alongside me as well! so i had NO room to work with, on a sharp, fast bend. any slight error that would've sent me a few inches into the road would've caused a collision.

(i had my front and back lights on at the time)

this angers me, and there's nothing i can do, i made it through fine.. but the next rider might not be so lucky.

I would - and have - slow/ed waaaaaaay down in this situation to create safety for myself.

Whether this would have further enraged this driver & caused their passive aggression to become pure aggression is unknown, however.

i would if i knew what was going to happen, but it happened so fast. by the time i noticed the car was next to me it was almost more dangerous to brake as it could change my course, even slightly, sending me into the car's path

Good point.

Sometimes we're just vulnerable out there, and things like this make us hyper-aware of that state.

Deep breath & remind yourself of karmic inevitability time.

You put out your arm in a wide low manner with your palm facing the vehicle to indicate stop/back off.

As you do this, you also move wider in the street to command your position in the street.

If that does little, yell loudly "Stop" in a sharp bark.

You put out your arm in a wide low manner with your palm facing the vehicle to indicate stop/back off.

As you do this, you also move wider in the street to command your position in the street.

If that does little, yell loudly "Stop" in a sharp bark.

I get mixed results with this maneuver. Half the drivers understand it was you intended. The other half just seem to get more aggressive. Maybe they think I'm trying to tell them what to do?

lots of them hate cyclists, it's pretty scary!

I would - and have - slow/ed waaaaaaay down in this situation to create safety for myself.

Whether this would have further enraged this driver & caused their passive aggression to become pure aggression is unknown, however.

Slowing down on a turn with an irresponsibly driven car that close would be a serious mistake. The driver may well have been drunk. In these circumstances you need to behave with maximum predictability. Plus the OP seems to have had no grip left to allow to maneuver.

I would have taken the drivers number and reported him for dangerous driving - possibly under the influence. He'd at least have got a visit from the police, and possibly a next day alcohol test.



20mph... it wasn't directly behind my but coming up alongside me as well! so i had NO room to work with, on a sharp, fast bend. any slight error that would've sent me a few inches into the road would've caused a collision.


The best action would have been to brake and let him past. You could have done this with adequate handling skills, assuming a non-duff bike. Most people have no idea how to brake hard properly - the key is to use the front brake solely or mainly and to have practiced braking, including in turns. See eg

www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

Grip at the front increases during braking, grip at the back decreases. If you'd braked "normally" in this situation then you might well have gone into a rear wheel skid - so congratulations on keeping your head.

Slowing down on a turn with an irresponsibly driven car that close would be a serious mistake.


The best action would have been to brake and let him past.

So which of the two are you in favor of?

-Kurt

You put out your arm in a wide low manner with your palm facing the vehicle to indicate stop/back off.

Probably not a good idea to take a hand off the bars if the rider is going downhill and executing a turn. Especially in the dark and in a situation where a slight wobble could create disaster.

I would - and have - slow/ed waaaaaaay down in this situation to create safety for myself.

Whether this would have further enraged this driver & caused their passive aggression to become pure aggression is unknown, however.

Slowing down on a turn with an irresponsibly driven car that close would be a serious mistake.





The best action would have been to brake and let him past. [If the rider had more advanced braking skills]



So which of the two do you propose?

t

I'm sorry - I was relying on an intelligent reading of context.

Case 1 - rider as is; proposal to slow down in front of the car to force him to slow down; reliant on driver's cooperation.

Case 2 - rider with improved skills; proposal to use space by the side of the car to evade; not reliant on driver's cooperation.

Bail left if safe. If not, ride smoothly. In any case, report the driver.

I'd think slowing or braking would only increase the danger. The driver has already proven dangerous and should not be trusted to hold line.

Don't you get it yet? Bicycles are illegitimate and REALLY annoying, so if a car decides it doesn't want you around, you should probably just vaporize into thin air that moment.


Really though I am not sure how to deal with this kind of thing, which I occasionally encounter myself. Half of me wants to bail and pull over for safety, half of me wants to simply do what I was going to do and not give in to impatient unsafe behavior, possibly validating them for next time.

Probably not a good idea to take a hand off the bars if the rider is going downhill and executing a turn. Especially in the dark and in a situation where a slight wobble could create disaster.

Oh I missed that it was dark...

Yeah in that case a hand signal would likely be missed.

I can think of no other recourse other than being prepared to make an evasive move... and yes, the situation really sucks.

At that point, hold your line and ride it out, sounds like he was definitely having a go with you. Straight and predictable is all you can do til he decides it's time to stop messing with you. There's no way you could have gone one hand to signal. You did right. As above the only other possible recourse is to head off the road.

I had same thing happen to me but in criterium racing and it were other riders. Anyway if it's already in progress best thing is to not over react hold your line and hope for the best. Next time if you are chugging a long at a nice clip and there is a technical turn take the lane before getting in to the turn, so you are not squized against the side of the road.

UD

thanks for the replies.. if there's a next time i'll try and take the lane beforehand. if not.. hold my line and hope the driver isn't drunk.