Originally Posted by
jowilson
...inquiring why they do it on a cycling forum is erroneous. If you want to know the real truth, ask a couple of motorists.
Aha, squire, but the OP did because I (and I suspect others as well) am both a cyclist and motorist. Though I don't yell at cyclists, the frustration (rage) I sometimes feel toward other motorists is quite similar to that some motorists have toward cyclists.
In an older post, I ascribed motorists frustrations toward cyclists as partly being surprised by their presence...merrily driving along, then suddenly being subjected to an unexpected/unanticipated road user. It parallels the frustration of driving in the fast lane then suddenly being held up by a slower driver...hey, you're not supposed to be in this lane, what the heck, jerk! Although the slower driver and cyclist are rightful road users, the perception that they're not following the rules is upsetting because it doesn't meet our expectations...something attributable to an inflexible mind, even if just momentarily inflexible.
As odd as it may seem, I actually enjoy driving on the free-for-all roads of foreign countries. In those scenarios my expectation is craziness, and it's surely met...it's liberating not to expect anyone to follow the rules, and to disregard them myself. It's an odd twist on driver accountability, if you get hit it's your own fault for having been in the way...well, at least that's my perspective. In an environment where everyone does whatver they want, you have to let go of your expectations and take on more personal accountability. When I read about urban riders upset about being hit, while I sympathize, I can't help but wonder why they thought they wouldn't be hit...too much of an expectation that the motorist would follow the rules of the road. All road users are guilty of this. I both ride and drive very defensively (though assertively too), and this helps me to expect the unexpected...not to say I always do.
While not rage, while riding my bike this afternoon, I chastised another rider for riding against traffic, he cut across an intersection to avoid waiting at the light. Why did I chastise the other cyclist, we weren't in any danger of crashing into one another...in part because he didn't meet my expectation of where he should have been, or the driver immediately behind me who avoided turning into him, and also because I don't care for cyclists whose actions may cause a driver to resent me.
PS: Here's an article that exemplifies the positivity of organic free-for-all roads.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/traffic.html