Why do drivers slow down and stay back in your blind spot rather than pass you?
Originally Posted by
D1andonlyDman
Today I had a driver do this and just hang back behind me for about 2-3 tenths of a mile, rather than pass me. When I slowed down, they slowed down. I literally had to wave them around me to get them to pass. I've experienced this frequently when riding on my local streets, and it's really maddening, not to mention dangerous. Don't drivers realize that we know that they're there, and we're waiting for them to go by us?
Originally Posted by
howeeee
no, they dont realize that. Some people are being over cautious and are very concerned when they go past you, about your safety. I always smile and am appreciative of their concern, even though it is awkward.
I dont see the danger at all, they obviously are not going to hit you, it just slows you down a little, so what?
I much rather deal with an overcautious driver than one only concerned about how fast he can get where he is going with no concern for the safety of a person on a bike.
Originally Posted by
prathmann
If it's a local residential or urban street the driver may be looking for an address and may not be sure exactly how far he still needs to go before turning into a driveway or cross street. So rather than pass and then immediately turn, and possibly cut you off, he chooses to stay behind. As long as he's more than a few feet behind I don't really see why it should be either maddening or dangerous. But if it bothers you just pull over to the side and stop or wave them around as you did.
Originally Posted by
khuon
When I'm driving and come upon a cyclist, I will hang back for a bit to not only to give the cyclist time to register my position but also to judge/pre-judge the actions of the cyclist. Also oftentimes I will hang back by about two to three car lengths if I don't have the ability to safely give three feet of clearance when passing. Other times I simply can't legally pass such as in a no-passing zone. And when passing any vehicle, I generally don't reclaim the lane until I can clearly and fully see the other vehicle in my rear view mirror. So depending on speeds involved, this may require some time. When passing a cyclist, I try and keep my passing speed to within a 5MPH difference so as not to brush them with excessive wash. Since I try and allow for enough time to overtake and pass, sometimes I need to make sure there's enough passing distance in the passing lane to execute a safe pass. If there isn't then I wait. Also as mentioned above, perhaps I know I'll have to mame a turn shortly up ahead and don't want to run the risk of right-hooking the cyclist.
+!0 to all the above replies; I didn’t even edit them because all were well written and comprehensively described the scenario. My general reactions to the actions of cagers, besides indifference, is to give a
Bicyclist Blessing or Curse, and such a driver as described above would get a heartfelt blessing.
To the OP, I would say,
“What’s your problem?.” Maybe I was bothered by this thread because I’m an avid
rearview mirror advocate, and the driver would be in my sight, and I could assess if he had a hostile intent. To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart in
Casablanca, "Of all the dangerous situations on all the roads in all the world, he complains about this one." 