Fribley

Today I was riding I and needed to cross a 4 lane road not at a light or sign, one of the busier ones in town. So i am waiting patiently one foot on the pedal other on the ground for the road to clear. I am waiting there and an approaching car slows down and just completely stops right the middle of the road wanting me to cross in front of him. Meanwhile all the drivers behind him start taking the middle lane and going around him, as i would too if I was the driver. Needless to say I dont cross and after he is passed by 5 other cars he gets the hint that I am not going anywhere and he contiues on his way. I just thought it was really odd that someone would do that, and I know he was just trying to be nice but I dont like the idea of being treated special becuase I am on my bike, it leads to unpredictablity from drivers, he probably wouldnt have done that had I been in a car. I was Just wondering if anyone else has had something like this happen?

Machka 

You're not in central Alberta are you? That happens all the time here.

It's annoying ... and actually illegal for the cars to do that. I know they are trying to be nice, and really, the drivers around here are wonderful ... but I wish they would just keep moving like they are supposed to.

knobster

Use to happen to me all the time in NC. HATED that. Just get the hell out of the way, don't stop and piss everyone else behind you off. Courtesy is one thing, stupidity is another.

mmerner

I agree with the past two statements, also wanted to try the multi-quote.

ottawa_adam

Yep I hate when drivers think they can give up right of way. They don't realize it's disruptive.

chinotex

I like to believe that stability and order are friends of the cyclist, especially when concerning multi-ton metal objects hurtling down the roadway at you. The guy stopping in the middle of the road throws that all out of whack.

mstrpete

ITA, and I'm waiting for one of these well-intentioned fools to get rear-ended one of these days. The rare exception is when a driver slows down, there's no other car around, and they give the "go ahead" sign. Especially when there are multiple lanes to cross, though then I try to take a crosswalk.

Buglady

Me too. It scares the living daylights out of me when drivers do that. I actually changed one of my frequent routes because this happened so often at one intersection, and I just did NOT want to be there when someone inevitably got creamed.

Right of way is there for a reason!! If i have a stop sign, and you don't, DON'T STOP!

Buglady

Me too. It scares the living daylights out of me when drivers do that. I actually changed one of my frequent routes because this happened so often at one intersection, and I just did NOT want to be there when someone inevitably got creamed.

Right of way is there for a reason!! If i have a stop sign, and you don't, DON'T STOP!

markf

It happens a lot around here, I usually just do a quick U-turn and leave the intersection. Just because one guy stops doesn't mean the other drivers will, and if I get hit by another car it would be my fault for "running" the stop sign.

FWIW, the Colorado commercial driver's handbook makes it very clear that a driver should be follow traffic laws instead of giving up the right of way voluntarily.

HeIncreasesMe

Yea it happens here in CA. It's annoying but I don't blame the drivers. I give right away to other drivers when I am driving sometimes too. Like when they are backing out of a drive way on a major street. I back out of my drive way onto a major street. It's like cake to me, but I have too many times almost been hit too. So if I have enough room to break and give adequate breaking warning to the drivers behind me..I will stop sometimes. That usually occurs when the car is already out in the street and more liable to hit me. .

RT

Just a bad motorist. If they check behind them, see traffic, it is obvious that people will go around, so they should press on. If there's no traffic behind, there's still no reason for them to stop.

VA_Dave

I see this pretty often. My commute crosses a rather busy 4-lane road with no signals. I think these good samaratans are actually trying to get us killed. It's a shame, though, because they don't understand why we don't appreciate their generosity, and I'm betting the experience makes them a bit resentful.

545h4

Regularly. And the good-intentioned driver always ends up getting impatient as I watch the other cars coming at me...

cc_rider

Happens a lot here, too. Usually I just wave them on with a little thank you nod.
But sometimes when this happens at a striped crosswalk, where drivers in Virginia are REQUIRED to stop for anyone in the crosswalk, I'll nod to the person who stopped and move up a bit. If the person in the next lane tries to run the crosswalk I put up my hand to say "stop" or point to the "yield to pedestrians" sign. As soon as it's safe I finish crossing and give another thank you nod.

Rendered

My most recent bike wreck was a result of someone doing that, then changing their mind. I was on a MUP that crosses a street (there is a crosswalk where the MUP crosses over, however, cars are not supposed to stop here unless someone is already in the cross). I came to a stop as I see this car coming, the car does the same and waves me on. I get rolling, halfway into crossing, and the car changes its mind and starts accelerating towards me. I lock up my brakes, and unfortunately couldn't clip out in time (toe clips on my road bike - i'm more used to the SPD on my mountain bike) and over I went. If he would have never stopped - all would have been well.

M_S

I try and wave them on.

Then they wave me on.

I've learned to sigh and just go, giving them a wave as I go by.

I've also noticed it happens more frequently when I'm making a halfhearted attempt at a trackstand than when I have a foot down. Perhaps the assumption is that I'll dart into the road an an inopportune time anyways?

ctoddrun

Reminds me of my grandmother as she was getting up in years. She was, by most accounts, a fairly poor driver anyway, and age didn't do her any favors - she would roll through a stop sign, convinced that others would expect that and stop for her, and then stop at an intersection with no stop sign, convinced that others would run the stop sign. Sigh...

I get this once in a while on my commute, usually at a left turn into my neighborhood across two lanes of traffic from a left turn lane. Not sure why that particular spot, but probably once a week someone tries to be nice and allow me to go. I just stand there, wave them on, and wait for my break. Of course, when my chance comes I also pretty regularly have to deal with the impatience of a cager trying to turn left out of my neighborhood who decides he DOESN'T need to wait for me (he has a stop sign...) Sigh...

Buglady

Also, it always seems to happen when I've already spotted a nice upcoming break in the traffic, and then the person who stops messes that up. Argh!

Artkansas 

Similar stuff happens all the time. If I had right of way and they stop, I go. If I did not, then I refuse. Sometimes I even have to pull my bike off the road and park it before they get the hint.

aley

In Albuquerque they're putting flashing yellow lights at most of the places that the bike paths cross major streets. The lights are on sensors so they're only supposed to flash when a cyclist or a ped is there. Unfortunately the sensors don't seem to work very reliably (they often let the lights flash when nobody is around), and drivers seem utterly confused about what to do when the lights start flashing even when the sensors do work properly. Some drivers stop and wait for me to cross (blissfully ignorant of all the cars behind them who change lanes instead of stopping, so I couldn't go even if I wanted to), some slow way down, and some do nothing different.

Somebody stopping usually screws up all the gaps in traffic, so I wave them on (and if they still won't go I dismount completely and make it clear that I'm not going to cross). The folks who slow down are well-intentioned and trying to be safe and careful, but typically all they succeed in doing is screwing up the gaps in traffic that I could otherwise have crossed in, therefore forcing me to stand at the crossing for that much longer. The drivers who proceed through at their normal speed are the best - I like to hope that they're being more vigilant than usual (probably too much to hope for), but otherwise they get out of the way and don't screw up the flow of traffic.

All things considered, I'd rather not have the flashing lights that confuse everybody.

vtjim

Happens nearly every day for me too, at MUP-street crossings. I understand why they do it, because no one stops (sigh), but when I'm at a dead stop, foot down, and they still stop? That's just ridiculous.

Once I heard one woman cyclist say to another, "We have the right of way", after they blew through a stop sign and made a driver brake for them. :confused: So the stop sign is there why, exactly?

I'm guessing one of these days someone is going to turn into a hood ornament, and the town will just switch the signs so the road traffic has to stop, and not the MUP traffic. I've seen a couple people almost get tagged, but no direct hits yet.

ken cummings

Happens all the time here. I have to take it on a case by case basis. If there is conflicting traffic I decline. Once the driver kept insisting in spite of all the other traffic. I just got off the bike moved to the side of the road and sat down. I would like to cooperate with drivers who thinks they are being friendly but not at the risk of my life.

Pinyon

It happens here sometimes as well. I always make them go first. It makes some of them angry, because they were trying to be nice, but...you never get hit by the back-end of a car that is moving away from you. Folow the rules of the road. Exceptions like that leave too much room for people to get hurt. Keep it simple.

caloso

Very scary. I once nearly joined the Choir Invisible thanks to a well-intentioned idiot and the impatient jerk behind her.