Strange Encounter with a Motorist
 

I had a very strange encounter with a motorist this morning. I was riding along a suburban street and this guy in a car approaching on a side street rolls through a stop sign and actually accelerates just as I'm in front of him and comes within inches of hitting me. That's not the strange part, of course.

I keep riding and go up around a bend in the road, and the guy is coming up behind me. Very cautious at this point, I slow down, and the guy pulls up slowly next to me with his window down, and I'm thinking "Oh no, here we go...."

And then the strange thing happened. When he got next to me, the guy said, "Sorry about that." I thought I must have misheard him, so asked him to repeat it, and he did. I smiled and waved as he drove away. It made my day. :)

that would have made my day.

When I guy driving a BMW nearly creamed me in a traffic circle one morning all I got was, "I couldn't see you, the sun was in my eyes.". Never mind I was positioned north of him. Probably the fact that he had a big honking ham, cheese, and egg croissant in his right hand had nothing to do with it either.

The OP's encounter sounds better than mine last Friday.
I rolled up to a stop sign after a car to the left of me did. Refusing to take her right of way I sat there. After 10 secs I started whistling. The response involved tremendous amounts of screaming from the lady in her car... with her windows rolled up. *shrug*

You should have given her your best 'you're freakin crazy, lady' look and rode through.

The OP's story was nice though. Refreshing in fact.

I waved..... with one finger. Still working on that response. :rolleyes:

Yes, the OP's experience was a refreshing change. I can only hope. :)

I love watching that sort of response. Really. The full on rant with arms waving and the window rolled up is just too funny not to enjoy.

Well, a couple of weeks ago a guy driving a UPS delivery van did pretty much the same thing to me while stopped at a stop sign (I had no stop sign). He was obviously "sick of waiting for the dude on the bike," and started rolling as I approached. I had to swerve to avoid being hit. I rounded a curve soon after that and lost sight of him in my mirror. I figured I'd let it go, but realized he may be stopping to deliver on that street, so I turned around. I saw the van parked a block and a half beyond the curve, and I hammered it. Now, I know I'm not imagining this part. The driver was coming back to the van from his delivery at a house, and he turned his head and saw me coming. He just about fell down in his scramble to get back in the van, and he floored it outa there (too quickly for me to get close enough to make out the # on the plate). He turned, blowing a stop sign, and by the time I reached that stop sign, he was HISTORY.

Sucka.

I do not like taking a right-of-way either. She was trying to be nice however, especially if, like me, she usually sees roadies and other cyclist blowing stop signs. It is unpredictable. Ticking off motorist who are trying to be nice to cyclist is certainly not productive.

I was at a light going straight through today, and a guy honked at me because i was infront of him and he wanted to turn right, i thought "oohh great, gonna get yelled at" but he rolled down the window and said "sorry about that, buddy, i'm in a little rush and didn't want to scare you" so i went back a couple feet, let him through, and went back to lead.

it was fine by me.

I refuse to capitulate to every imbecile on the roadway. :rolleyes:
Good lord man!

I had a semi-similar experience a short while back; I pulled to a stop sign, did a rolling stop and then started to enter the intersection when a motorist coming from the perpendicular direction, at my right, approached his stop sign at a faster speed and then did an even more brief rolling stop before accelerating into a right hand turn about eight feet in front of me. Not a very close call and I wasn't peeved as I wasn't surprised. As we proceeded down the street in the same direction, though, he must have seen my in his rear view mirror and realized that he cut me off because he started driving more slowly and cautiously. No looks or words were exchanged, I think he just felt momentarily guilty.

I think he probably saw me before he entered the intersection- I had taken my lane- but he was looking for another car, not a bike, so he saw me but he didn't see me.

:D

:p

I had a guy in a honda cut me off after passing me to right-turn into a driveway. He sounded his horn when comming up behind me to warn me. I'm sure he thought he was being considerate.

I had a lady pull up next to me at a stoplight the other day. This was about 200 yards after a truck buzzed me and I did my usual manic/psycho grin and waving act. She rolled down her window and said "Oh my god! That guy almost killed you!!"

I had a guy who must have thought he was helping last night. I was taking the lane at a stoplight. He stopped two car lengths behind me...not close enough to trip the light. I waved him forward. He waved back and smiled at me. I told him to pull up. He didn't hear me, and waved again. I gave up and pushed the pedestrian cross button.

They're trying to be nice...glad the OP has a good experience to report, too.

I was driving on the trans canada highway through northerwestern Ontario a few weeks ago, I was doing 118 km/h (90 km/h zone) and I passed a fully loaded touring cyclist. I swerved waa-aaay out into the other lane to give him room. Well, wouldn't you know it there was a cop coming the other way and he turned around and stopped me and gve me a ticket. He said "you were only doing 118 [this is normally acceptable on that road], but you should have slowed down for those cyclists back there."

Leave it to a cop to be right just when I want him to be a jerk! :rolleyes:

When I'm riding I APPRECIATE it when people pass at speed, especially larger trucks. It's a free tailwind. Especially nice if I'm fighting a headwind, it lets me get up some momentum for a little while.