fholt

I haven't been seeing much hostility riding on the roads around here, but this weekend seems a definite exception. On the way to the LBS group ride yesterday I was buzzed twice, got a "get on the sidewalk" from one pickup driver and a "move over" from another in a stretch where I have to take the lane (mind you it's saturday morning, with light traffic, and THERE'S 2 LANES GOING OUR DIRECTION.) All this in the first 4 miles! The group ride was fairly uneventful, but I had a couple more minor incidents on the way back home.

Then today, we're driving in the car, and I see this lady walking with traffic, in the gutterpan of a very narrow stretch (but again, 4 lanes wide) and while I go left to give her room, I see in the rearview that the guy in the oversized pickup (what is it with these guys) didn't move left an inch. I'd guess his mirror probably missed her head by 6 inches or so. What's with people like this?

I don't know why all the sudden - perhaps it's 'cause it's the weeknd again and the NCSU football team still sucks - folks in a foul mood - and acting it out dangerously.

maximan1

I have had a bad weekend too

unkchunk

I'm thinking that maybe it's not too hot to have the air conditioner running, so drivers have their windows down now. Why roll down a window just to yell at a guy on a bicycle. Maybe they do yell when the windows are up, I don't know. Just seems summer and winter are a little quieter.

trackhub

In New England today, it's summer-like, with temps in the low 80's. Overall, a very pleasant day for riding. The traffic in the cambridge area was extremely violatile, with lots of horn honking, yelling, all the usual. While I was not yelled at, I was buzzed several times, and "horned" once. ("Horned" is what I call it when someone lays on the horn, for no apparent reason.)

I have no clue as to why it was so ugly today. Traffic is always congested when there is a Harvard football home game, but that was not the case today. There was the usual amount of road construction projects, but nothing unexpected.

It's always interesting to stop near Harvard Square, and observe the goings-on. Motorists don't like each other, any more then they like cyclists. Stop to yield to a pedestrian? The driver behind you will probably want to kill you. Driving just under the legal speed limit on busy Mass ave? Ditto. Taking to long to exit an on-street parking space? Kill!!!

Any armchair psychologists want to have a go at this?

San Rensho 

That usually happens to me almost EVERY time I ride here in Miami. Cagers are the worst. For some reason, this weekend all I got was a fairly close buzz or two. Pretty good weekend for me!

gwhalin

I like when cars have their windows down. That way they can hear when I yell at them!

Bekologist

i see cars honking at pregnant women pushing strollers in crosswalks quite regularily around here, not to mention kids, old folks, having to do the 'reverse walk' when drivers fail to yield to them-

America's drivers are collectively quite awful. i think the psychological factors involve anonominity, goals/delays and me-ism at the expense of social order. lack of common courtesy is epidemic in this country; put people already frustrated with their everyday lives behind the wheel of a large automobile to get stuck in traffic and burn hard earned dollars up in gas every week, and a two ton gorrilla with horrible road manners is born.

Then, these people go out and frustrate other drivers, and begat more road rage.... Americans are almost pathlogically uncooperative.

Wogster

I had a good ride today, cagers seemed to behave themselves, and even the ones walking to and from cars behaved themselves. The section we rode on the MUP was good, the peds behaved themselves, and heard our bells, heck even crossing major streets, we got breaks

oilfreeandhappy

Sounds like the jerk that yelled likes to express his manliness against somebody a lot smaller. Why do most pickups on the road have nothing in the beds? Do all these people buy these things for the once-a-year haul? A friend of mine helped me out with his pickup, and we hauled some stuff to the dump. He was more than happy to do this for me, and I gave him a case of beer for his effort.

My take is that most Americans like to be independent, and thus there are so many pickups on the road. Most of these people wouldn't think of borrowing or renting one.

tippy

Cars can hear?

jfmckenna

This statement amazes me. I live in a small college town north of you in VA. I can definitively say that when there is a football game in town the level of hostility rises quite notably. I have taken note of this though it is interesting to see some one else has too. Incidentally it doesn't matter whether your team is good or bad.

DCCommuter

Around here the city empties out in the summer as everyone goes on vacation. After Labor Day, everyone comes back and the congestion and hostility increase.

BILLB58

Was just completing a 71 mile "wander" this Saturday....was at a stop light in Ft Myers (stopped) when a woman in the car at the stop light tells me to get on the sidewalk. I calmly explained to her how dangerous that is, that Florida law is in my favor, more accidents occur on the sidewalk......etc, etc.....the "tone" went out of her voice, and she ended the short conversation with "I never realized that"....and then told me "to have a great afternoon!"

......one at a time, one at a time....

SingingSabre 

+1

Great going!

flipped4bikes

I am shocked that this behavior goes on in Boston.....

billh

It's funny. Seems like it comes in waves. I can go a long stretch before encountering truly nasty behavior. And when it comes, it hits me like a brick wall. Not fun. I think that is sort of how random behavior works. People think random events are spaced out evenly. Not so. I remembering hearing somewhere that truly random numbers appear somewhat clustered to the untrained eye. They come in clumps. I think of drivers as these little ticking bombs, like landmines, and I never know when I'm going to get blown up. Comforting, eh?

sgtsmile

What I think happens is this: we live in a society that is under a lot of stress.

People are stressed because they have a morgage.
People are stressed because they have bills.
or family...
or no morgage...
or no family...
or because they feel unsafe due to world events...
or because ....

blah blah blah.

If people are stressed, and unhappy, and rushed, you end up with people striking out at those around them. What I have noticed is that people often dont seem to like people much. If you have troubles in traffic with car drivers, it is not because you are on a bike, it is because you are there. They would be obnoxious to you if you were in a car as well.

Artkansas 

Sure, didn't you see "Cars"

Artkansas 

Random, sometimes clumped, sometimes not. It's random....

bikecrate

Football games = alcohol and testosterone. You're lucky you got off so easy.

Serendipper 

People calm down when I flash the blue strobe on my bike.

I wonder why?

raleigh_fan

Yeah, if they were spaced evenly, they wouldn't be random.... ;-) You're right though -- a lot of people don't grok that random means RANDOM!

sauerwald

They all come up here where we see notably more congestion and stupid driving behaviour in the summer than we do in the rest of the year.

Mark (in Maine)

jfmckenna

I am not sure if you are joking but I have a cat eye head lamp that has a blinking mode. There are bike cops in this town. When I put that thing on I swear people give me more respect.