Advocacy & Safety - Good driver. Bad driver.

Last night on the way home I was turning from East bound Taylor St onto North bound Morena, just North of Old Town in San Diego. Morena starts here and starts with two lanes but merges into one in less than 100 feet after Taylor. It then merges with a freeway clover leaf off ramp immediately. I took the lane for the first merge, but there were no cars so no issue. A car coming off the freeway ramp stopped, yielding right of way to me, just as he is supposed to even though that is fairly unusual in that situation. I was pleased and surprised. The idiot behind this good driver started leaning on his horn, because the driver in front of him was obeying the rules of the road. I wanted to flip off the bad driver but didn't want the good driver to think I meant it for him, so I just gave a friendly wave to the good driver. Sigh.

Good decision.

On point. And you know, the good driver was probably thinking the same thing you were about the other driver.

Well done, very well handled

Just think, the aggro-driver probably shaved an hour off of their pathetically small life with that single outburst.

Did the second car see you or were you hidden by the first car?

I wasn't hidden at all. It was a merging point and the driver that stopped was actually a bit ahead but stopped to make sure that I would be able to continue without stopping. If he had punched it, we wouldn't have had a conflict really, though I probably would have had a conflict with the car behind him. His actions made such conflict irrelevant. Before I realized he was stopping and waiting, I was thinking about how I was probably going to have to stop and wait in spite of the fact that I had right of way because most drivers won't yield to a bicycle there -- though they do yield to cars there.

Last night on the way home I was turning from East bound Taylor St onto North bound Morena, just North of Old Town in San Diego. Morena starts here and starts with two lanes but merges into one in less than 100 feet after Taylor. It then merges with a freeway clover leaf off ramp immediately. I took the lane for the first merge, but there were no cars so no issue. A car coming off the freeway ramp stopped, yielding right of way to me, just as he is supposed to even though that is fairly unusual in that situation. I was pleased and surprised. The idiot behind this good driver started leaning on his horn, because the driver in front of him was obeying the rules of the road. I wanted to flip off the bad driver but didn't want the good driver to think I meant it for him, so I just gave a friendly wave to the good driver. Sigh.

Good decision. Because, Even though you would have intended it for the motorist leaning on their car horn, the good driver might have misinterpreted it.

If there was enough time and visibility between you and Driver #1, you could have added to the wave by twirling a finger by your ear and pointing behind him. May have gotten a laugh. I have about 3 of those interactions with drivers a year.

There's one part of my weekly ride that I follow the crosswalk signals because the lights are on a different timing and just make it slower, and one time I was riding across while the crosswalk was green and the traffic lights were red, and this one guy in a Corvette ignored the "yield to pedestrians" sign and blew right between some lady who was walking and me. As soon as it was clear, the pickup truck behind the Corvette caught up to it and forced it into a turning lane so the driver had to go a longer route. Even though that was totally illegal and dangerous, I wanted to give that guy a high-five so bad.

Did the second car see you or were you hidden by the first car?

Does it matter? The first car could have been stopped for any traffic hazard or conflict... yet the second motorist had no idea and chose to lay on the horn anyway. It could have been kittens in the road... second driver couldn't have seen that, yet went straight to azzhole mode.

Reminds me of the time I was heading west on Clairmont Mesa Blvd (same town as billsd) it was early on a Saturday and a motorist stopped and asked me for directions... the roads in the area have similar names -- Ruffin and Ruffner, and he was trying to figure out what was where. We were at the side of the road at the intersection of Clairmont and Ruffin roads when another motorist comes up behind and starts honking at the first motorist. No one else around... roads are wide open. I am obviously talking to the first motorist... as I am on the driver side and waving my arms about to show where to turn... and yet "bad driver" comes right up and lays on the horn... idiots abound!

Does it matter? The first car could have been stopped for any traffic hazard or conflict... yet the second motorist had no idea and chose to lay on the horn anyway. It could have been kittens in the road... second driver couldn't have seen that, yet went straight to azzhole mode.

Reminds me of the time I was heading west on Clairmont Mesa Blvd (same town as billsd) it was early on a Saturday and a motorist stopped and asked me for directions... the roads in the area have similar names -- Ruffin and Ruffner, and he was trying to figure out what was where. We were at the side of the road at the intersection of Clairmont and Ruffin roads when another motorist comes up behind and starts honking at the first motorist. No one else around... roads are wide open. I am obviously talking to the first motorist... as I am on the driver side and waving my arms about to show where to turn... and yet "bad driver" comes right up and lays on the horn... idiots abound!
I blew my horn at some idiot in a lifted truck because he stopped in the middle of the road for no reason. Then I saw the ducks crossing the street.

You did the right thing OP because I think any gesture could have been misinterpreted.

I was stopped the other day waiting to cross a street. A pedestrian who had enough time to cross went ahead and crossed. A truck zooming down the road began putting up the middle finger and gesturing; all bent out of shape. The pedestrian who already crossed could not see this maniac because his back was to him. I just don't get it sometimes how people can be so angry.

I blew my horn at some idiot in a lifted truck because he stopped in the middle of the road for no reason. Then I saw the ducks crossing the street.

I can't imagine the streets being iced-up down there, but you said so...

http://www.sportsnewscaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/cajl105111301copyer2.jpg

If there was enough time and visibility between you and Driver #1, you could have added to the wave by twirling a finger by your ear and pointing behind him. May have gotten a laugh. I have about 3 of those interactions with drivers a year.

I'd like to get a repeat on a similar situation, but instead I had rolled up to mister nicecar, thanked him for his courtesy and then chatted for a minute or so while mister aggro became even more agitated. It was so full of awesome for both me and mister nicecar.

a motorist stopped and asked me for directions... the roads in the area have similar names -- Ruffin and Ruffner, and he was trying to figure out what was where.Nevermind Ruffin and Ruffner. Clairemont Mesa Blvd intersects Clairemont Drive....twice...and they are both significant roads. Very confusing for people not familiar with the area.

I blew my horn at some idiot in a lifted truck because he stopped in the middle of the road for no reason. Then I saw the ducks crossing the street.So as you realized, there WAS a reason. I hate it when people say "X did Y for no reason". Even when there's a really bad reason, there's a reason. Ducks are a good reason. A bicyclist is a good reason.

I forgot to mention, I had a Magicshine on my helmet, and it was at maximum power because the lighting is very mixed on my commute home. People see me from a long way away. I make an effort to give a quick flash at merging traffic. It gets a lot of drivers to stop.

My experience is that some people give the horn much too quickly, and others take offense to it much too quickly.

I blew my horn at some idiot in a lifted truck because he stopped in the middle of the road for no reason. Then I saw the ducks crossing the street.

Last summer I saw a car stop on a two lane surface street for two ducks and a whole row of ducklings. The jerk behind her in his big old truck laid on the horn and then peeled left to pass in the other lane and killed two of the little ducklings. I had, as you could well imagine, some less than charitable thoughts about the second driver. :mad: