Rant: drivers in Seattle
 

Just moved to Seattle and already have a bad experience commuting by bicycle here. Some Effin moron decided top to swerve at me and force me up the curb, which caused damage to my front tire. People out here are stupid inconsiderate and apparently don't like cyclists.

Anyone else have crap like this happen?

No. I've been bike commuting year round in Seattle for the past 15 yrs and haven't had too many problems.

I also drive a car here, so I guess you think I am 'stupid inconsiderate and apparently don't like cyclists'.

Gotta watch those Subaru drivers...

A place where one doesn't occasional encounter jerks? Good luck with that.

Huh, funny, my wife gripes about them all the time.

It's funny. In Florida, I don't notice a ton of Subarus (I'm an owner myself) but I never run into issues with them. BMW drivers and any [insert truck make and model] though...yea...=\

Your tire or rim got damaged? Anyway, everywhere has their jerks. I bet there are even some in the Netherlands where bikes are ubiquitous.

I often wish they would stop inbound traffic to our town on Fridays. There is an evening rush hour then which I call the "crime wave" of cars. If it weren't for them, I'd never have to do jury duty -- and I'm not exaggerating at all, last jury duty featured 3 of 5 out of town defendants arrested in State College.

Never been to Seattle..?

Today I had a driver following me too close through a construction zone on James St in Kent. At the stoplight at the bottom of the hill she pulled up besides me acar length ahead and ranted the usual nonsense about how and where cyclists are supposed to ride. I informed her that she needs to learn the rules and laws of the road, she spewed further nonsense to which I informed her that she is a dumb a--, but left it at that because she had several kids with her, she responded with a racial slur and rolled up her window.
On the bright side, the person in the car next to me was sympathetic, and even though she didn't speak much English, expressed her disapproval of the other driver, and wished me a better day.

It's nice to get a reminder that even though some people stink, most are decent, and we shouldn't let the bad ones get us down.

Where I live, the majority of motorists are courteous the majority of the time. On a recent trip to the Seattle area, during which I had my bicycle, I was shocked at how much friendlier and more courteous King County motorists are compared to what I'm used to.

My biggest problem with Seattle drivers is that they are so meek and deferential when it comes to right-of-way that it's actually more dangerous than it is courteous. If you're a pedestrian here and you're standing near an intersection with no crosswalk, or just standing on the sidewalk in the middle of a block, roughly oriented toward the street, drivers will stop 50 or 100 feet out and disrupt the flow of traffic to wave you to jaywalk, even when there is traffic in the opposing lane and you could not possibly cross safely. If you're on a bike and you have a stop sign but they don't, they will stop and wave you past, apparently assuming that all the other drivers on that street will also heed this imaginary stop sign they have invented for themselves. And often, when I'm riding ahead of a driver on a street that could very easily accommodate two cars side-by-side, I move to the right like a courteous cyclist, and they refuse to pass, instead preferring to ride my ass at 10 mph, blocking the way of everyone behind them.

As far as I can tell, there's something about the psyche here that makes it so everyone is horrified that they are the one who, in any given instant, is in someone else's way, causing even the most minor adjustment to someone else's path. It's unselfishness practiced to a thoughtless extreme.

I've actually developed a few tactics to force people to take their own right-of-way. When I roll up to an intersection that I cannot legally or sensibly cross until the road is clear, I dismount, plant my feet on the ground, and crane my head in the opposite direction of oncoming traffic so nobody can possibly make eye contact with me to wave me on.

I've commuted many, many miles in nearby Bothell. Although it is congested and dangerous, most drivers do not display malice towards cyclists. That said, I have on rare occasions had problem like the OP described. Even got shot with a pellet gun once from a passing car. Still I recommend giving Seattle a chance and doing your part to "get along." That's what I do.

Did you move from Fairbanks? How do people drive there?

I'm from NYC, so to me, Seattle drivers seem awfully gentle, but coming from Fairbanks, it might be the opposite. There are jerks in every crowd, though, and each place has its own idea of what normal driving is.