damnable

From here https://seven.com.au/todaytonight/story/?id=29973
But will copy and paste because I am not sure how long that link will work.

The Royal Automotive Club in Queensland (RACQ) has just completed a survey of more than 4000 drivers and compiled the Top Ten list of driving habits that make us angry.

Here are the results:

(1) Tailgating

(2) Aggressive behaviour by bus and truck drivers

(3) People talking on mobile phones

(4) Drivers who speed up when you overtake

(5) Drivers indicating late or not at all

(6) Bullying

(7) Cyclists with no lights

(8) Slow drivers that don’t let you overtake

(9) Drivers eating or drinking

(10) Cyclists disobeying road rules


Interesting there that two cycling related ones get in there. Just the other night when driving I past I overtook a cyclist who was wearing a black coat and had no lights on. Otherwise generally in my experience the angry people are the ones breaking the road rules. But with the amount of cyclists around (defintely less than 2 in 10) I was surprised.

But it wasn't an excellent study I suppose either.

markhr

+1

AlmostTrick

The good news is that cyclists obeying the rules of the road and using lights when needed are not on the list.

AndrewP

I doubt if cyclists disobeying the rules by riding on the sidewalks makes motorists angry.

bkaapcke

I think Americans really aren't good at waiting in line. Traffic in many areas has turned into a giant line where you endlessly wait your turn. Driving gets more aggressinve in general and a few go over the top. Often the 'waiting' that pushes some too far is not even in commute traffic. It may be on a day off when some driver has to wait for you on a bike. It's the straw that broke the camel's back. bk

AlmostTrick

That's because they've become accustomed to waiting behind other motor vehicles so they accept it. When it's a bike they go nuts because they think we should get out and stay out of their way. All the sidewalk riders help to fuel this notion.

The Human Car

Actually that is bad news for every cyclists that you see on the sidewalk, riding the wrong way or even on a MUP there are at least 100 drivers who think that is the rule of the road for cyclists that they MUST ride like that (or in that location.) Too many drivers interpret the rule of the road as “it’s the cyclists’ duty to stay out of the way of cars.”

CommuterRun

While I agree with all the points made in the OP, this one also applies to cyclists. It goes right along with being predictable as a road user.

LWaB

Riding on sidewalks is not illegal everywhere. In Queensland, it is legal except where the local authority has banned it.

Cyclaholic

you mean cyclists obeying the what cagers think are the rules that apply to cyclists.... ask the average cager what the rules are regarding cyclists and you'll discover just how much ignorance and lack of adequate driver education is out there.

staehpj1

That would mean being on the road at all in many motorists eyes.

JohnBrooking

But I'll bet it's in the top 5 of what makes pedestrians angry!

JohnBrooking

I don't know how it is in Australia, but in the U.S., it's also fueled by the continuing perception of bikes as recreational vehicles only, thus less important than people in cars who are "really going somewhere".

cc_rider

I supspect that they are on the list somewhere. Just not in the top ten.



1.
2.
...
...
...
13. Cyclists using the road instead of the sidewalk.

wahoonc

And I would be willing to bet that 98% of US drivers are completely ingnorant of most laws pertaining to cyclists as well as their own operation of the motor vehicle as well as their responsibilities as the operator.

Aaron

cooperwx

Around here "lost tourists" would be in the top 10.

A few times a week I hear a local honking at a poor soul in a car with out-of-state plates, going slower than the speed limit, trying to find a good place to turn around. If they're behind me I play it really safe, even pull off the road, since they're usually flooring it to make up for the time the wayward tourist "cost" them.

sbhikes

I stay out of the way of impatient aggressive motorists whether I'm riding a bike, a motorcycle or driving a car. Let them pop a vein behind somebody else.

wahoonc

If I did that around here I would have to stay home Unfortunately I live in an area where the population is a bit younger than the norm (military base) and we have more than our fair share of aggressive drivers, on a very poor road system. But we ride anyway

Aaron

Tom Stormcrowe

I know it ticks of the owner of a Corvette if you beat him to the next light on your bicycle!

DCCommuter

++ to the numerous posters who noted that many drivers believe that riding on the road at all is somehow against the rules.

We get a lot of tourists around here too. You have to be very careful around them, as they're likely to swerve or pull a u-turn suddenly and without looking. As in, "Oh -- there's the Lincoln Memorial" and cut across three lanes of traffic.

I've also noticed that tourists are disproportionately likely to be perturbed by bicycles in the street.

Dchiefransom

Not exactly answering the intended question, but:







ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME !!!!!!!!!

noisebeam

i wonder...

flipped4bikes

Especially if you're not another Corvette, bicycle or not.

San Rensho 

Here in Miami, the mere existence of bicyclists annoys drivers, if all the honking followed by screams of "Get the f@ck off the road!" are any indication.

Keith99

How many cyclist are there in Queensland? It makes a difference. You don't get annoyed by what never happens and you usually don't think of things that annoy you that rarely happen.

Thinking as a driver I would never have included the truck/bus thing. I don't do much central city driving and I just don't have that problem. On the other hand I have a short commute on a 4 lanes each way freeway and at least 3 and likely over 4 days a week there are one or two drivers in the number 2 and 3 lanes going considerably slower than the flow of traffic. That would have made my list. Also being in Los Angeles it is common to hit a freeway interchange where traffic is backed up for one or two options and thre are always those who wait til the last minute to force their way in, sometimes STOPPING in a lane where traffic was going 50+ MPH to do it. This of course slows traffic in that lane. (I have seen this so bad at the 405 North where it meets the 101 that even though thare are 3 lanes going straight that even the fastest lane is down to 30 or so because of drivers that far out waiting as long as they can to force their way to the right. That would have made my list for sure.


So how may bikers in Queensland? If there are not very many then having two bike related things make the list is pretty bad. On the other hand one is no lights at night. If there is a fair pop of roads without or with minimal street lighting that would make each incient that much more dangerous and thus that much more memorable, contributing to it making the list.