This line from the 1976 film "Marathon Man" came to me yesterday as a way of asking others if they are noticing an increase in aggressive drivers along with the constant increase in distracted driving. It's early in the season for me, but I don't recall any year where I have had this many close calls/near run-ins in an entire year, let alone in just the first quarter of the year. In the last week I have been coal rolled twice, and been passed more times than I can count with less than 12" air between me and a motor vehicle. More honking and overall less tolerance than in the past. Last year in May I rode with a friend from here in the Piedmont of NC to just north of Boston MA and never experienced anything like I have in the lest three weeks. The distracted thing I get. I don't like it, but I get it. But I'm wondering more these days about what seems like an "us vs. them" mentality. I know that I am reading more and more about cyclists being hit. And killed. And too often these are hit and run episodes. Anyone else seeing this kind of escalation?