Originally Posted by xyz
That's why I rode in the gutter, I didn;t trust them.
I see a bit of a conflict in your post here. You say that you ride in the gutter because you don't trust them, and you say that you suspect a number of them are trying to hit you (below), yet you say you have to ride in an area that leaves you with no space at all to take any evasive action. This is actually why I avoid riding in the gutter. If I need to swerve to avoid some debris I can't do it without space.
Originally Posted by xyz
This was in Boise, Idaho. Not that big of a city, but with three levels(benches), a river in the middle, and a freeway. Not as bad as New Orleans, but almost. So many choke points means packed main roads. If I took a lane that would mean blocking traffic for 5 miles. If I did that enough times someone would just run me down and say "oh, I didn't see him".
You'd be surprised just how rarely that happens. You see, people don't just suddenly snap and decide to kill someone -- it just doesn't happen. Most of the anger anyone ever feels is generated from within the person. To put it in simple terms, if they're the sort of person who wants to kill someone (which is very rare), they'll do it anyway.
You see, I've actually been physically attacked by drivers and pedestrians alike in the past. I've had drivers deliberately aim their cars at me and step on the gas (although fortunately, none of them were very subtle about it). None of them happened when I was claiming the lane. What can we conclude about their state of mind from this? Certainly, their anger can't have been caused by me claiming the lane because that wasn't happening at the time -- so what was the cause? And what caused it to be enough that they actually wanted to commit murder over it?
I've given up trying to guess what effect my actions have on other people. It's just too uncertain. You can only get an idea by actually asking them, and if they're in a fit of rage that's an uncertain indication at best. Maybe they're just in a bad mood, maybe not. Either way, I'm not going to let it change the way I ride, and prevent me from riding in the manner that I know to be the safest.
Originally Posted by xyz
People there love to drive by, open the door and slam it, just as they drive by to see if they make you crash. I am convinced that a large number of biking deaths are murders, it's just to hard to prove.
If they're trying to belt you with an open door, you're just making yourself a sitting duck by staying in the gutter. However, I'd be calling the cops over such behaviour.
Actually, despite the amount of press they get, biking deaths aren't all that common. Especially by comparison with a lot of other activities. It's funny how the media never report on rides that pass by without a hitch of any kind at all, much like mine today actually. As far as being murders, yeah, it's possible, but if someone really wants to kill you, they'll just do it. Riding in the gutter won't stop them. In fact, getting off the bike completely won't stop them either.
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That is all.