BroadSTPhilly

This morning a driver honked at me and then passed me doing around 50 on a 35mph busy road. He was half in the lane I was taking the middle of and half in the other lane. I felt annoyed for half a block after which I just didn't care. A year ago this would have really pissed me off. Have you noticed that after a while of cyclocommuting you get innured to insane drivers as long as you don't get hit?

MessenJah

Yes.

maddyfish

I answered Meh. But after a close pass I usually go over what I could have doen to prevent it for a couple blocks.

jpdesjar

i voted for the stare...just so they know they were in the wrong

MMACH 5

Shooting the bird used to be my standard response.

Now, I usually just ignore them. Sometimes I'll sit up and give them the palms-up shrug along with a "WTH?" look, in their rear view mirror.

crocodilefundy

I uesd to get really pissed at people. for example if people often try to speed through the bike lane to get around backed up lights. if they honk and rev their engine at me I often stop, block their path, and stare at them. however i've gotten more mellow. i've had some firiends get guns pulled on them for mouthing off... although if it is really bad i get their plate and call the police. for example some one once passed me on the inside of the bike lane. they had 2 wheels on the side walk and they were going quite fast. this is not typical but it is one of the many exciting adventures of living in the ghetto.

BroadSTPhilly

You need a helmet cam. That is youtube gold right there.

annc

You ran a car off the road with your bike?

DAkilles

I try to stay calm but find it very difficult. Knowing that people are going to do these things doesn't make it any easier. This morning at a 4 way stop I signaled left turn when it was my turn and proceeded through the intersection. Goofball decides to go straight through (me) anyway. I can rationalize from his POV that he had more time if he just sped through endangering more people in more ways. So I changed my hand signal into a pointed finger right at him. He gives me one of those shrugs like he really doesn't give damn. I wanted to rearrange his teeth. But the real kicker that makes me most sympathetic with the shotgun in the poll was that he had a bike rack on his roof.

evblazer

Cars I don't mind so much. They do all kinds of crazy stuff while I watch them in my 2 rear view mirrors.
It is the new scooter/motorcycle riders that I want to throw a crow bar into their wheels. I'm in the right tire track of the 4 lane road which is empty and they try and hold their line in the center of the lane so they pass me with inches to spare. I can understand staying in the same lane but they could at least move over a bit and still not get close to those raised lane marker bump thingies.

Then at the light they start saying they wish they could ride a bike but 6, 8, 11, x miles is too far so they just got their motorcycle when gas prices shot up and I'm lucky I live so close. "Yes sir I live 22 miles from work" ends the conversation real quick.

DAkilles

Yeah, I wonder about these people. We now have more 2 wheeled vehicles on the road than we have for what, 80 years? I wonder if anyone is keeping track the new accidents, deaths etc that are happening.

AlmostTrick

I voted for "Stop my bike in front of them and start to strip in protest."

That'll teach 'em not to mess with me!

DataJunkie

Judging by how my upper body looks in the mirror, that would cause them permanent blindness if I did the same.

I don't pay too much attention to the occasional somewhat close call.
However, something like me traveling at a high rate of speed almost being hit by a SUV gives me pause.
Nothing much happens when reacting but afterwards...
Thank goodness the vehicle was long gone.

Mr. Underbridge

See, that's your problem - thinking you can prevent stupid. You can discourage stupid (say, by lane positioning), but you can't prevent it.

annc

You can't prevent stupid but often you can see stupid coming. And it's usually two stupid/inattentive people that creates an accident so it's good too ask yourself if you could have done something better after a close call. Sometimes you could have, sometimes there is anything to prevent it but it doesn't hurt to reflect on it.

elTwitcho

Some bonehead nearly ran my girlfriend over while she was riding in front of me passing way too close, I had visions of assaulting him for a few minutes afterwards, but when I get someone do it to me I usually don't even think about it.

CliftonGK1

I'll play the linguistics game with this poll:

How do I feel? I'd like to drag them out of their car and ride my bike over their neck.

How do I actually react? Not nearly as violently as I feel.

MessenJah

I''m actually writing a short fictional story about a guy called Mike Banno (anagram of Man On Bike) who decides enough is enough...

Still in the planning stage at the moment but I am gonna start writing the first draft of the first chapter in the next couple of days...

uke

I let it go. Not worth the risk, not worth the stress.

CliftonGK1

Have you read the entire Spike Bike series that Bob Fishell published on Usenet back in the 80s?

HardyWeinberg

Was it Robert Novak?

sharkey00

Most things don't register anymore. Getting buzzed at 60 mph. meh.
The intentional/downright stupid ones still get me a wee bit worked up. For example, 2 lane road a 3rd lane opens as a right turn lane. There is a bike lane and it runs in between the right turn lane and the thru lane. 2 days ago as I am passing this juncture I hear someone (minivan no less) gun their engine. They pass me just enough to put me in their blind spot. Then they put in their brakes and the turn signal in the thru lane. Now my choices are trust that a minivan is not going to run me over (not going to happen) or stop (rather quickly might I add) and let them go by.
What was the plan there? Stop in the middle of the road and..... let me go? Wait for me to let them in? And the most likely answer being they had absolutely no idea what they were going to do, which is dangerous for everyone on the road (particularly those not in a steel cage). Ok rant over.

Fairmont

If they almost hit you it puts a huge scare into them as well, and that's something you just have to let go. If they carelessly skim you and don't even know it, they need to be told politely.

If they throw an orange at you while they're going about 50, and it hits you in the leg, causing you to have to walk the rest of the way in agony, well, then you were me a few years ago.

I still remember looking into the eyes of one of the laughing, screaming guys in the back of the Jeep and watching his face melt from pure evil laughter to, "oh crap. We know each other."

I've never seen a smile turn to a look of fright faster.

I let it go, however. I was very young and didn't want to get into it with four guys in a Jeep. I'm sure they sweated it for awhile, though, wondering if cops were coming to their homes. I'm sure the guy I recognized said, "Shut up, guys. I know that guy."

Had they known who I was they probably wouldn't have thrown it, but they only saw the back of me.

And forget the bruise and the pain. The worst part was that the orange, after exploding, rolled back into the street and got ran over. I could have eaten it!

MessenJah

never heard of it, or him, but am having a look now.

mine is a bit more realistic, based on current situation.

Niten

I voted "Meh", but I'll usually file the incident away to tell the story later -- usually with embellishement.