wild animals

Do you guys get a lot of motorists waving at you? In the past few days I've had more and more people waving or holding their hand up in the air at me, from the driver's seat. I don't know if I'm supposed to wave back. Are they going to get disgruntled if I don't? I never see them in time to wave before we've passed each other. Why do you think they're waving at me? Maybe it's for the same reason I wave at construction flaggers.

I started out really stoked this morning because people were waving at me and giving me plenty of room, but then something went terribly awry, and after a certain point almost every car that passed me did so within 2 or 3 feet of me. one car even revved its engine and pulled suddenly forward to within a few feet of me, just as I rode by in front of it at the intersection. Then I was zipping through a little S-curve turn and as I moved from leaning really far left to leaning really far right, my blinkie flew off of my pannier and bashed, skished across the street! Two rechargeables are now smushed up and I had to dodge traffic to go get them and some of the pieces of the blinkie. Luckily it was just an inexpensive Bell light. No more blinkies on the bag, though, unless they're superglued or something.

Anyway, why do you think people suddenly began to pass so closely? I don't think my riding changed. Does that happen to you? It sucked, and to be honest I'm a little unnerved.

Platy

I had three different blinkies fall off when they were simply clipped to the loop of fabric on the back of my seatpost bag. Then I started wrapping electrical tape around the ends of the blinkie clips, so that the blinkie couldn't come loose. I haven't lost one since.

chephy

I think 3 feet is usually an acceptable passing distance... 2 feet is getting to be too close though, especially at high speed.

Here are my observations: I find that drivers are almost always happy to give wide berth if it doesn't slow them down (e.g. the lane you're sharing is wide, or they can easily change lanes, or there is no oncoming traffic so they can use the oncoming traffic lane to pass). However, as soon as they have to wait to pass safely, things can change... a lot of them can't seem to fathom waiting a few seconds until it is safe to pass. So perhaps the road narrowed or the traffic became busier?

What you can do to combat this is ride further to the left to indicate that passing is unsafe. Once the conditions make it safe to pass, you can move to the right. Even if the driver gets impatient and stupidly tries to pass when it's unsafe, you'll have lots of room on the right to evade him.

I'd be surprised to find out that cars are buzzing you when there is plenty of space in the lane. If that's the case, you can still riding further out to the left, and as they adjust left to pass you, you adjust right and it results in a safe passing distance. Or you can try hanging one of those flags protruding a couple of feet to the left of your bike... those are said to have the desired effect on passing distance.

Sammyboy

Somebody surging out to try to scare me at an intersection will soon find a 240 lb man standing on the hood with the wipers between his teeth.

wild animals

i'm short on 240-pound men! dang!

chephy, thanks. i don't know exactly how close they were, and i don't want to exaggerate, so i said 2-3 feet. but it felt way too close, especially since there wasn't any traffic coming up. some of them passed during a slight curve, so i guess they didn't want to be in the other lane too long during the curve, but i was at the same point they were and i could tell that no one was coming. i've been avoiding moving out too far because i don't want to come off as aggressive, as that could haunt me later, and i'm pretty sure that if i ride further left, they'll pass closer--some can't help but pass closer because the lanes are narrow, and the drivers already go over as far as they can go. but, i'd never thought of it as giving myself extra feet of maneuvering room in case they get too close. i'd just pulled out further so i could avoid potholes i hope i can compensate in time if someone gets too close. hey if nothing else i can jump on the hood of their car and eat their windshield wipers do you mind giving me a quick rundown on when you stay closer to the curb or side of the road, and when you move out further? thanks again either way

platy, thank you! i thought i'd use tape, but i wasn't thinking of electrical tape so it probably would have been pretty unattractive. electrical tape is a much better idea. i typed this out yesterday but somehow i never posted it i guess. whoops!

CBBaron

Unless there is enough room in my lane for a car to safely pass me I ride near the center of the lane to prevent cars from trying to squeeze by. If the lanes are narrow and there is traffic in the other lane or the cars can't see well enough to feel comfortable using the other lane then some drivers will try to squeeze by you if you give them a little room ( a few even if it is barely enough room). By moving to the left and taking a lane it becomes obvious there is not enough room in the current lane to pass and they must wait to use the other lane for a safe pass. This is not something that most cyclists are comfortable doing but it does prevent being buzzed or worse hit by a side mirror. If road conditions are such that traffic cannot get around you safely then it is considerate to pull over occasionally to let the backed up traffic pass you.
Craig

squeakywheel

I ride as far right as practical...unless the lane gets skinny or curved. Then I move farther left in the lane to prevent cars from passing when there isn't room. When the unsafe passing zone is past, I move right again.

I won't ride on roads that are entirely narrow and busy with fast moving traffic. In that case, I find another route.

jonathan180iq

I agree with Chephy. When I'm far to the right and there is no one coming in the opposite direction, people usually go all the way to the other lane to be polite. I'll occasionally even get the nice driver who will even screen me from the rest of the rear traffic for awhile. Eventually, this person will pass and things will be back to normal, but it's nice.

Also, the statement about drivers not being able to wait 2-3 seconds for a passing zone is soo true. I'll be cooking alond at like 20+mph, which is only a few MPHs sloer than the speed limit on most of my roads, and people who think their destination will disappear if they don;t drive faster will simply pay no attention to me and literally come within inches of my handlebars as they zoom by. I hate those.

As for the suggestion about blocking the lane until it's safe for the motorist to pass. I'll have to advise against it. I was going the same thing going over an oversection of bridge that crosses the interstate and some a$$ in a red F-150 simply didn't want to stay behind some biker in the middle of the lane and sped right up along side me and cut me off on purpose. I was scare and angry all at once. The kind of emotion that makes you want to cry with rage. I haven't done that since.

finally, if you do get a nice driver behind you and they are giving you plenty of room, you can return the favor by scooching over a little and giving them the two-finger-wave to let them know it's OK to pass closely. It;s like returning the favor. I've done this several times and some of the same cars will always give me a little extra room when I need it. You never know when the same driver will notice you somewhere.

Ride Safe,
Jonathan

ItsJustMe

That's when you pull out your cell phone, take a pic of the license plate (or at least make a big show of doing so, so that the driver sees you) and call 911 to report a reckless driver. I honestly haven't had anyone ever act intentionally aggressive towards me, but I ride with a video cam and do have a small collection of stupid driver tricks, and if anyone ever does intentionally endanger me, the cops are getting the vid for sure.

chephy

Yeah, blocking the lane may bring up the a$$hole in some drivers... Yet it is probably the safer way to do things. Depends on your comfort level.

As to when it is a good idea to "block" the lane, it all really depends on the sort of road and the sort of traffic you're experiencing. In situations when there is no one coming from the opposite direction, I typically won't do it... even though theoretically it's not hard to pass me if I did. However, I'm just used to traffic giving me wide berth under those conditions and find it unnecessarily unnerving to ride in the centre. I'd seriously consider moving to the left just a couple of feet under those conditions, which makes motorists cross the yellow line when passing (and usually give you a wider berth as a result) and, as I said, create more room for yourself. This tactic may get you in trouble when visibility is a problem (around blind curves, for example, or just past a crest of a hill). Don't use it there.

Anyway, I don't often ride country roads, and when I do I try to pick quiet ones for my tours, so I don't have a whole lot in the way of advice here. Other riders might help. And I would seriously consider one of those tacky safety flags, even if just to test whether they make a difference.

A lot of people find a mirror really helpful on country roads; may give you a bit more of a peace of mind.

Pff, surely lanes aren't so narrow that TWO lanes aren't enough for a bike and a car. They CAN go over into the oncoming traffic lane if they wait a bit. But of course they figure they can't wait a second...

DataJunkie

I have been getting very aggrivated with drivers lately. The worst offenders seem to be the rent a truck lunatics.
Yesterday morning I was buzzed by a driver in the largest budget truck I have laid my eyes upon. Maybe a foot if that when he\she passed. Scared the living hell out of me and I actually veared off to the right. People suck and I need a mirror.
I never take the lane on this street due to the wide lanes and having 2-3 lanes each way virtually empty. Most motorists switch lanes and pass safely.
A few days before was a similar incident with a commercial ice truck. A$$hats the lot of them!

No one waves to me. Perhaps a few middle fingers that I gladly return.
Anyhow, I was stopped at a light on a 2 lane road this morning left justified as usual. However, the lane was way too narrow to turn right with me sitting there. I noticed a patient motorist waiting to turn behind me and I scooted over to let him pass. The motorist then said thank you. Far better than a wave
That and I picked up a big chunk of debris that I kept running over. It failed to thank me

jonathan180iq

I've had a mirror for about a week now and I have to say that it really helps. I usually just depend on my hearing to warn me of oncoming cars, especially in lines of traffic. However, with the mirror, riding and knowing when to expect oncoming cars in much easier. Just a quick glance and I know how many cars to expect and what color of car will be last, so I can start riding harder.

I've come to hate the anticipation of the next car. You know, that feeling when you can hear the car next to you, but you can't quite see it out of the corner of your eye, and you can't look over your shoulder because it's too close and you don't want to swerve. Sucks!

Ride Safe,
Jonathan

wild animals

i have a mirror! i wouldn't ride without it. i got it a couple months ago and it's a godsend. i might need another one, though, because when i wear a hat under my helmet, the mirror points up too far and i can't adjust it down enough.

no, there's room! what i mean is, many of the cars go all the way over to the left, so if i scoot over in the lane, i'm only getting closer to them, and no matter how much they want to, they can't move over any further. i'm having a hard time recognizing when someone is going to be nice and go all the way over (someone i don't want to offend) and when the person is going to pass very closely (which could be a time when i need to give myself more room).

the waiting problem came up when i got closer to the school, and parents were dropping off their kids. you'd think they'd be more careful near a school but i guess not. the drivers REALLY wanted to get in front of me, even though they were just going to have to stop at the 4-way and then stop behind the buses anyway. i'm not very fast but i was keeping up with traffic as we neared the buses. no one had to wait for me. so annoying. i would try another way but my work is right in the middle of the street and there are buses in either direction.


i hate that too, jonathan! my situation is a little different but the idea is the same. i wish i could better predict what people are going to do, so i know how to respond to it without having to take 5 minutes developing a strategy (by which point i am flattened on the side of the road).



datajunkie:
i love when motorists and pedestrians are polite and friendly. i always feel so happy after that. i wish i could be more friendly back, but unfortunately sometimes i'm not paying close enough attention to faces and things, just potential collisions, so i can't wave back in time and am probably rude. have to improve my waving mechanism somehow. it is sad though that i always tend to get optimistic and contented when people are friendly, so i don't expect to have others pass me so closely, and i'm not necessarily prepared for it all the time.

nukemm

In the morning people seem to be much more courteous than when I'm on my way home. Granted, there is less traffic, but I've been "buzzed" every day this week on my way home, but I've rarely had anyone closer than 3 feet in the morning. This afternoon I was buzzed twice, once by a Kitsap County Sherrif and once by some black Chevy 4x4 with "Redneck" in red vinyl on the back window.

wild animals

how close do they get to you, do you think?

i think there's only been one car so far that's passed within a few inches of me (knock on wood), but a lot have passed close enough to scare me, and i'm wondering if i'm being sensitive or if they're too close. it's hard to say how far away they are from me because i'm freaked out and they pass so fast.

Falkon 

I love winter. It's so cold in the mornings that idiots don't want to roll the window down to yell unintelligible garbage. They usually opt for the honk instead, which does absolutely nothing.