Originally Posted by Nicodemus
Agreed. No fancy amateur pop psychology about egos and self-esteem needed. It's just about testosterone, ignorance, intolerance, and most importantly impatience.
Who are the worst?
1. BMW, Merc, and SUV drivers. What I call "aggressive executive a$$hole" cars. People who own these are more likely to think of themselves as special and feel the need to prove their supposed superiority to the world.
2. teenagers. Too much testosterone and not enough awareness of the limits mortality. 'Nuff said.
I disagree that there isn't a common psychological profile for those motorists who react beligerently to being slowed. If it was simply the act of being inconvenienced, every driver, or at least most of them would react similarly, but the vast majority behave themselves and remain patient. It is only a small fraction of drivers who fly off into a momentary rage.
But the real question referred not to just those who conduct themselves maliciously, but those who simply commit offences dangerous to cyclists either through distraction, inattention, inexperience, ignorance or poor judgement. I only had one instance today where a young female driver making a right hand turn at a stop-sign sliced right through the bike-lane I was travelling in and almost forced me into the curb. She failed to hear my insistent horn and only seemed to shake herself from the daze she was in when I yelled for her to watch where she was going.