Originally Posted by
WPeabody
Car went roaring past, and had to stop at a stop sign, behind another car, 25 yards ahead. You know the pattern. I rolled past him in the line of cars, stopped at sign, and went on ahead of this driver again. Second time around I almost got hit by said extremely impatient driver who raced his engine nearly to the red line, crossed over the center of the street and nearly sideswiped a car coming the other direction.
Not sure I understand. He almost hit you once, then you passed him at the stop sign and gave him another shot at you? I would have stayed behind him at the stop sign, and let him antagonize some other poor victim further up the road.
A principle of defensive driving is that you should quickly identify drivers who are erratic or hostile, and give them a wide berth. This works just as well for cycling as it does for driving.