Originally Posted by
FBinNY
Why do you think he'd risk crashing, or damaging his rims or tires just to spite you. If he wanted to spite you, the driver didn't have to risk anything, he could simply have passed you close, and or pinched you in as he merged back to the right.
Odds are that the driver simply was somewhat less skilled, and misjudged his lane position as he merged back to the right.
Despite a noisy and idiotic minority of both drivers and cyclists, there is no war. The vast majority get along fine, and are courteous and respectful of each other, even here in New York.
I'm not saying that there isn't some drivers who might hate cyclists, but I suspect it's simply because we're trespassing on "their" roads. But these same "road owners" treat other drivers just as badly, and if you want to see really rude driving, sit in the front of the bus and see what bus drivers go through every day.
Most drivers, do not suddenly 'rub' the curb. So, Even though he paid attention when passing, once he got back in the lane, all attentiveness went out the window.
I have been on a bus before, seeing how bad people drive. I was even on a bus that was rear-ended by some moron.
I do consider it a 'war', because of the number of close passes, the number of people telling me to get off the road.