Today I was going 40 mph in a 35 zone on my way home from work. This was on my fixie so I was spinning pretty close to 200 rpm when one of those micro-SUVs pulls out right in front of me. I was toward the middle of my lane so the driver should have seen me; the motorist probably figured the dude with long pants on the ancient bike was poking along at 10 mph. The driver pulls out from my right and makes a right turn, so I very quickly veer a little to the right to avoid smacking into him, passing him on his right -- and the little xxxx makes another immediate right turn into a parking lot just as I clear his front fender.

For our friend Serge: Yes, I know passing on the right is bad, but this was a reflex crash avoidance manuever.

RFM

I've noticed times when I know a cager has seen me coming and still pulls out or turns. What happens in a cager brain when the eyes detect me is something like, "Bicycle......=5 mph". Some of them, I've seen their eyes when they realize how fast I'm really going. :eek: I have come to realize that it very often scares them more than it does me. :D

They don't see the cyclist. Not only are they only looking for larger vehicles, but sometimes they don't see cars either, even though they look. There's some psycological effect involving "expectation" that I read about a while back.