naane

I was riding out to work this morning and was waiting to turn from a road into a bike path. The road is a not very busy two-laner. I did not get off the bike but slowed down sufficiently and was waiting for a minivan coming down the opposite lane around a bend about 200 feet in front of me to go past me. To my surprise, the driver honks loudly, waves his hand and exasperatedly shakes his head. This left me a bit puzzled: I am thinking that I am doing everything that I should -- staying on my side of the road, waiting for the traffic in the oncoming lane to pass before making a turn, etc. I am inclined to write this event off as the motorist's problem... however, an anyone chime in on what I should have done differently?

notfred

What usually happens with me is that I'll be waiting to make a left turn, and an oncoming motorist will slow down and stop to let me cross as if I was a pedestrian. I guess it's nice of them to do, but it actually slows me down since I plan my turn to go behind them as effeciently as possible after they pass, and then when they stop I have to rethink the whole turn.

GTcommuter

Possibly you could have put a foot down to show that you weren't going to dart in front of him. He was probably unsure of your plan so he played it safe by motioning you to turn. I don't like having to reach a full stop before turning, but it is a clear signal that I'm waiting. This situation happens to me all the time so I make sure to use clear hand signals, make eye contact with drivers, and not make cars guess about what I'm going to do.

same time

Sounds like you did the right thing. Minivan driver was having a bad day.

Drivers often give hand signals inside their cars and assume that cyclists and peds can see them. Then they get frustrated when you don't do what they want you to. Minivan driver might have signaled to you earlier, and you might have missed it.

Be especially careful in situations where the minivan is the lead car, and other cars are behind it. The lead car slows and that driver waves you on, but the cars behind it might pass on the left or right, or even rear end the lead car. You don't want to be crossing the road in that situation.

jnbacon

Your actions sound reasonable to me. I get this driver behavior at stop signs, left turns and parking lots. When a bike shows up on road, and a driver has limited experience with cyclists acting like vehicles and a limited capacity to adapt to unusual events, their reaction is to a) get frustrated and b) try to make it go away as quickly as possible. I know I do that when stuff happens that I don't want to be. Dumb human animal behavior, I'm afraid.

I don't think it should change how we act, though. I've tried to teach drivers a lesson by not responding to their waves. I've tried waving them though. I've tried grumbling and glaring at them while accepting their waves. Now, I figure, at least they saw me obeying the rules of the road. Maybe if they see it two or three times, they will get the message. But, beyond sitting down and talking to the driver, there is little I can do to "teach" that driver.

naane

I thought the same thing; i.e., it may have been better if I stuck my hand out to indicate the turn. I did not expect the vehement response, however

konageezer

Drivers offering the undeserved right-of-way are an enigma. Their intentions are good, but they can put you at grave peril, depending on the situation. On top of that, the guy's in his minivan, grinding his teeth, and saying, "Rrrr. I'm letting you IN! GO, you stupid cyclist. I'm trying to do the right thing here. Dammit. I'm gonna be LATE."

Important to remember that the intention is essentially generous.

crazybikerchick

I actually saw someone get hit this way. Ravine bike path crosses over a somewhat busy two lane road (with a center area with concrete barriers for the bike to wait in, so you only have to cross one side at a time) with instructions to bikes "WAIT FOR GAP".

Car A stops and waves on the cyclist, so the cyclist naturally goes. Car B is behind Car A, fiddling with his radio so he has no clue Car A has stopped. Car B rearends Car A, and the chain effect causes Car B to hit the cyclist's wheels. The cyclist was knocked from her bike but was fortunately okay.

caloso

Yes, these people are hazards, well-intentioned they may be. I had a similar incident, although I was at a stop sign waiting to cross a busy avenue. A driver coming from my left stopped dead in the middle of the intersection and tried to wave me through even though she had no stop sign. I kept waving at her and she kept waving at me. While all this waving is going on, a car came up from behind her and pulled around to pass her on the right and nearly took out my front wheel.

I think your best bet is to put your feet down, smile, and say "no thanks, you go ahead."

rule

I never ever take undeserved right-of-way, and for good reason. Putting a foot down and even grabbing a water bottle will take care of all but the most persistent driver. In that situation I have just turned and ridden away.

va_cyclist

The minivan driver was unclear on the concept of you as a vehicular user of the road, or thought he was being courteous and got exasperated when you didn't respond in the way he expected. Don't sweat it, at least he didn't try to run you over.

sydney_b

Glad someone started this thread. I felt very much put at danger at a tricky intersection by a driver doing this same thing. I'm going to take the "put your feet down" and wait approach.

JavaMan

If your bike was already turned sideways in the road when he first saw you, it probably freaked the guy out. Don't worry about it.

My question to the poster is, "Did you cross in front of him or stand your ground?". I think it is never a good idea to allow someone in a car to give you their right of way. Take responsibility for your own safety and don't let someone wave you into danger.

naane

I was pretty much parallel to the road since I was not turning yet. Re: right of way. He had not slowed down and I waited for him to pass. His hand waving was not to let me go but to show exasperation, I think, since he was not slowing down. My guess is that he just filled his tank and wanted to vent off some steam at the ever escalating gas prices at a "more fortunate soul"

swwhite

I have become a bit of an actor at intersections where I can see there might be some right-of-way negotiations. I try to look ahead and see what will develop, and then if I know it will be my right of way, I try to zip up to the intersection, make a quick but full stop without taking my feet off the pedals, and then scurry through the intersection to make it look like I'm doing my best to get out of the way. If I can see that it will NOT be my right of way, I try to approach slowly so I am clearly there last, then I put my foot on the ground, maybe stand up, stretch, look dumb, whatever I think will make people hurry along. Then I take my turn and hurry along myself.

I do find it annoying that drivers seem to forget all traffic rules when a bicycle is present, but in their defense I have to say that their caution is not entirely unjustified, since I have seen quite a few bikers not following the rules.

truman

Repeated for emphasis. Nicely put.

New2Cycling

Quite honestly it sounds like you were in the right. I think that drivers get frustrated with cyclists because they've seen so many bike incorrectly on the street that the guy was thinking he should be safe rather than sorry and just let you go.(sorry for the run- on sentence there).

Camel

I don't turn left in front of "the kind motorist who stops". Another dangerous variation to SAME TIME's example is:

Car A stops and waves on cyclist, so the cyclist goes. Car B behind car A, passes car A on the right, broadsiding and usually killing the cyclist. It doesn't matter if car B committed a traffic violation or not, if your dead.

This scenario is particularly dangerous at larger intersections, or if the cyclist is turning left across 2 lanes.

taisau

Is absolutism tought in texas schools or what?

Palmer

I almost always refuse a motorist's offer of the right of way. I'm always afraid that the motorist will change his/her mind when I'm in the middle of the intersection, or that I'm misunderstanding their intentions. In either event, I lose.

John Ridley

I never take improper right of way offers, whether on a bike or in a car. It's dangerous for both parties. Once at an intersection, I had to put my car in park and get out of the car to show the other driver that I was NOT going to take his offer. He had sat there for about 15 seconds waving at me.
I once was following a car through town, approaching a narrow underpass. I was to the right and keeping up. The driver slowed to nearly a stop and tried to motion me past ON THE RIGHT to get in front of him. I had to shake and shout NO! before he gave up and went ahead.

treehugger

They probably didn't know what you were planning on doing, putting the feet down sounds like a clear signal. I always take the right of way when people wave me on whether I am walking, bicycling or driving in the interests of behaving as predictably and congenially as possible, unless it will put me into danger. While riding, I find I usually do get waved on at intersections and I am never sure if that is out of kindness and pro-bicycling sentiment, (I live in a very lefty,mellow college town), or because the drivers are not sure I will stay stopped if they don't wave me on. It always feels slightly silly on my bike being as I already stopped and it usually would take the same amout of time for them to just go. When driving though, I find I often feel the same lack of predictive powers as to what people powered travelers are going to do. In the interests of erring on the side of not crashing into and killing them, I usually want to just let them go. However, I almost never wave pedestrians of bicyclists on if there are any other cars about just because of the kinds of situtations people have been describing. I can't account for how other cars are going to act. While I might smile signifying I am not going to run them over, I don't want to provide a false sense of security since I can't assure them that nobody else will. This post really reminded me how much I hate driving and how glad I am to have my bike and live in a people sized town where I can get pretty much everywhere on it.

Patellapedler

So Sad,,,As a new cyclist I am finding it easy to ride with traffic as I pretend I am a car. I act like I am in a car (with the few bike rule exceptions) however even when I am in a car I don't always wave the other car on due to the fact that the car coming up behind me is not always gonna know my intentions either. Nor is the passing car always gonna be alert enough to LOOK for other cars. I always hate seeing this,,people have good intentions,,but sometime they have BAD outcomes. If you can drive defensively than you can ride defensively as well. Yes,,I always check traffic when crossing an intersection even when I have the green light!