Why do drivers hate cyclists? - Home | The 180 with Jim Brown | CBC Radio

The initial episode was a pro/con thing on a Vancouver bike licensing proposal which was, IMHO, pretty lame on both sides. This episode asked a psychologist why drivers hate cyclists (assuming they do).

These two points struck me as especially valuable in understanding the mentality of drivers. Competition for resources coupled with lack of empathy. Cue the sociopathic behavior.

That second point is why I believe that motorist training in the US should start with cycling training in the lower grades, and build up like math or any other life long subject...

First basic cycling skills, then road use while cycling, then eventually the rules, laws and ethics of driving, and finally the physical skills of driving... not in a 40 hour course, but in 3 or more semesters, with each following phase requiring the earlier phase.

This is how driving is taught in public schools in places like Copenhagen... not the quicky "hope you remember this" 40 hour weekend sessions that are typical of drivers ed in the US.

Fat slob with pre-diabetes is enraged when he sees fit cyclist pedaling in front of his double chin at over 20 miles per hour. Easy to understand.

The answer is easy...we are different than they are, and they don't like it. It is irrational and it blows their minds that people would use anything other than a car to get around

Any reason you seem to feel that other people envy you for no other reason then your butt is sitting on a bicycle seat?

It's the best explanation I could find for why fat people in cars would flip off cyclists and/or yell at them for what appears on the surface to be no good reason.

This so called 'war' seems to be manufactured by cyclists who want to make their hobby appear more tough than it really is. If one pulls their head out and communicates with other drivers, most will find that drivers are neutral to friendly. We share the road with folks who drive more dangerous vehicles than we do so it is a foolish to make it out as some battle.

First of all, I don't see anything resembling hate for cyclists among motorists, except for a very small percentage. Yes, there is dislike, or even hatred about some specific behaviors, including no lights at night, excessive weaving in tight traffic, blatant running of red lights (with cross traffic having to adjust), and so on which drivers feel makes their own lives harder, but it doesn't seem to translate to a general antipathy. Cyclists and motorists are usually fellow users of a shared resource, and sometimes competitors for more limited space, but both share an go along to get along attitude most of the time.

The place where I see the most antipathy between motorists and cyclists is right here on BF, with the most blatant hatred being that of some of the posters here for "cagers" or whatever, with drivers freely and unashamedly being characterized as fat slobs, diabetics, jerks, idiots, murderers, etc.

IME- you get what you give, and given the attitude I see among some of the cyclists here, it's no wonder that they report that motorists hate them. I would too. There's also a certain smug, sanctimonious, "I'm better because I'm greener, healthier or whatever" attitude, and it shows through to others. That doesn't relate only to motorists, I see that reflected in many posts based on the need to "enlighten" fellow cyclists about helmets, where/how to ride, use of lights, and whatever is perceived as being done wrong.

You want to see friendlier roads? Start by showing some consideration for other road users, and giving them the respect and courtesy you're hoping they'll give you.

Or just keep whining that nobody likes you.

Your explanation is an oversimplification. I'm aged and ugly, and there ain't nobody jealous of my ass on a saddle, and I get the same treatment. More likely, cyclists provide a safe outlet for the rage that almost all motorists feel. Here they are, driving a vehicle which is easily capable of doing 80 mph, but it can't because of all the other jerks in the way. And while you are in the middle of a mass of thousands of people, your communications is restricted entirely to right blinker, left blinker, HONK and 2-3 obscene hand gestures. That's it. Frustrating for a basically social animal.

On top of that, your boss is a *****, your daughter is pregnant from some lazy schlmiel with acne and your wife just sent you an angry text because you left the bath towel on the freakin' floor again. And there's that @%$%@#! cyclist i hate his guts god he's smiling i'm gonna chuck my slurpee at him, the prick.

I think that's more how it goes.

Well said.

This

Another vote...

Entirely dependent on where you are and who you talk to. For example here in Nebraska...

-In large cities like the state capitol...you're very likely to get honked at (horn laid on in anger, not polite "I'm here" short honks) or flipped off or had profanity shouted at you by 50% or so of the motorists on the road for no reason other than your presence, all of whom are under the impression that roads are only for cars. All of these shouters are men, and most all are between 20-40 most of whom are driving SUVs and pickup trucks. And many of whom attend the local university.
-Leave the city and immediate area and enter farm country, and most everyone will wave at you and give you room....including the farmer pickup drivers of just about all demographics. Note I say "most".

On Saturday I was minding my own business on a country road towards evening with my lights on heading down a 1-2% hill booking it at 20MPH coming to a country road 4-way with a turn (tons of visibility to see traffic). I see an SUV with my mirror and signal my turn well in advance (no driveways or side streets on that stretch). When I signal again as I'm starting to bank my bike and brake to bleed of some speed, SUV guns his engine and cuts me off right in the middle of the intersection. For no reason other than to be a jackhole. Easily could have passed me before, or waited to after. Nope.

A few miles later I'm headed back on a long straight country road with several driveways for acreages scattered about. My lights are on, I'm visible. Oncoming lane of traffic is stopped ahead and backed up 5-6 cars for a van turning left into their driveway, again truck closes behind me and waits until and then guns his engine when I'm immediately parallel with that first van in that line and passes me laying on his horn while he does so. Why? To be an @$$. Could have killed me and wrecked his truck and 6 other motor vehicles potentially killing more. But he had to be macho. Could have waited 5 seconds and yielded and been safe, but nope.


"Most drivers are neutral to friendly" indeed. It is far more realistic and safe to presume all are idiots who never signal their lane changes (which is 99% the rule in Nebraska), who don't signal any of their turns (which is 99% the rule in Nebraska)...whom are texting on their phone and driving...and the larger the vehicle the more likely they will cut you off or treat you dangerously just to be a macho jerk.

While I somewhat generally agree with this... and feel that most animosity on the road is not hate, but just the result of drivers not paying attention and then being shaken out of their daze by "something unusual" on the road... I disagree that this is a situation limited to cyclists... I provide an example in this thread...
https://www.bikeforums.net/advocacy-s...s-drivers.html

The OP was about "attitude" not conduct. I agree that conduct may leave much to be desired (varies by area), but conduct and attitude (ie. hatred) are different things.

True, I believe there is little hatred for cyclists, by drivers in general, but there is a certain "let's play games with them" attitude by a very small slice of the population... otherwise most of us, drivers and cyclists alike, we're just trying to get there... where ever there is.

Yes, and that's why I posted. This whole cyclists vs. drivers thing is a bunch of nonsense that segments on both sides create and the media pick up on to "sell papers". Yes it's there, but it's limited and a two way street.

The vast bulk of both cyclists and drivers are just road warriors trying to get home (shorthand for any destination), and IME very willing to help each other out when things go wrong.

it is a reason i lost interest in a&s many years ago.

And yet here you (we) are.

I left the advocacy "movement" some 25-30 years ago because of philosophical differences, and don't consider myself a "bicycle advocate" by any stretch.

I'm here and I speak publicly on the various issues mainly to reinforce the point that those who purport to speak for bicyclists, speak only for themselves and those who share their views, which is a far cry from bicyclists in general. Cyclists encompass a large and varied community, and I find the notion that we should be expected to speak with a single voice, or hue to a single message insulting.

[QUOTE=FBinNY;18288923This whole cyclists vs. drivers thing is a bunch of nonsense that segments on both sides create and the media pick up on to "sell papers". Yes it's there, but it's limited and a two way street. [/QUOTE]

Not nonsense, and as others have pointed out, it varies by location. Results from an Australia-wide study:

"Of 1830 respondents, 76% of men and 72% of women reported harassment in the previous 12 months." Cyclists' experiences of harassment from motorists: Findings from a survey of cyclists in Queensland, Australia. Preventive Medicine. Volume 53, Issue 6, 1 December 2011, Pages 417–420

Then there's this study
which found that not a lot of people do it much of the time but almost everybody does it some of the time; the authors called these times "stress points."

This is a really interesting study. Worth a read.

"Lies, damned lies, and statistics". Often this kind of survey data is very misleading, and reflects the polling base, and how a question is phrased rather than a true picture of what's happening.

Take myself, for instance. If I were asked if I'd been harrassed while on a bike in the last 12 months, I'd have to say yes. But some perspective.

1- I ride almost daily, and am out on the roads an average of 10 hours per week year round.
2- I pass and get passed by countless thousands of motorists every week.
3- while the answer was yes, it was ONCE in those countless possible opportunities, so at best it makes the case that it's NOT a common issue for me.
4- the irony is that while there WAS a single incident in the preceding 12 months, there hasn't been one in the prior year, so if I'd been asked 6 months ago the answer would have been no, and may be no again in 6 more months. (and that's riding every day)

Are there ******** out there--- of course there are, and while the odds of being to go an entire year without running into one are low, the odds against running into one on any given day are actually very high.

Based on?

This. Also it should be noted that motorists treat each other terribly - driving is much more pleasant as a cyclist.

Two problems with that theory.

I'm not exactly a sunken cheek, stick figure with big calfs and I still experience occasional harassment. Virtually every incident I've experienced doesn't fit the stereotype you described.

I think it's nothing more than those who can't control their selfish impulses, and that bikes are often an impediment or inconvenience. That bikes are often associated with holier than thou lifestyles probably doesn't help either.