wheeldeal

Car & Driver did an experiment a few months ago. They tested reaction time of two of their staff.
- First the two men drove normally. The readings/data were downloaded into the computer
- Next, the two men drove while texting (and reading incoming text).
- Lastly, the two men drank alcohol until they were legally drunk (confirmed by breathalyzer) before getting behind the wheel.

The results were amazing. Driving drunk is much much much safer than driving while texting. The reaction times of both drivers increased exponentially DWT.

fiataccompli

I really like the concept of 'let the stupid drivers flow by' or whatever it was. Come to think of it, I do the same thing when I'm driving a car. I gladly will move over (changing lanes or sometimes even pulling off if there's a spot) when there is some a-hole hothead tailgating me and driving like they're on fire. It's just a matter of safety for me - not pride.

The only thing I should have to prove in situations like the OP's is that cars & bikes really CAN share a road...so riding according to some standards of safety and killing 'em with kindness probably help get the message across more than anything else I can come up with. (Pulling up to an offending car and asking the driver if they were actually trying to kill me or if they're so f--king stupid they didn't realize they almost killed me would be a counter-example....but unfortunately I can't say I've never done that)

wALDO<><

Yes they are, albeit smaller, lighter, healthier than the alternative. Still, better to be safe than sorry when mixin' it up with traffic. Bike's are vehicles yes, but folks in cars seldom see us this way. Thus the respect for the larger vehicles. Our goal as cyclist is to arrive at our destination safely & above the bumper line.

HPV's rule as far as I'm concerned! Pro's & con's I spose...

I like the post from the car drivers perspective posting on a drivers web site.

wALDO<><

FUNNY JulianPowell, Cleaver too. It's always insightful when putting on someone elses hat....

Doohickie

Agreed. Like I said, not very smart on my part. And I think I've only done it once... maybe twice.

I am trying to develop my zen, Master.

chipcom 

Hey, the fact that they see me at all is a win.

jefferee

Didn't sound or look like a particularly aggressive pass to me. Video tends to make passes look closer than they actually are, and I didn't hear anything other than standard engine rev-up when matting the throttle of a car with an automatic transmission.

Interesting that the motorist was looking back to see the reaction from the cyclist. Seems to me like the best strategy in these situations is not to dignify the motorist's antisocial behaviour with a response--but that's easy for me to say and a lot more difficult to do.

ddez

You give him the finger and say but i didnt want to escalate anything.Your kidding right?

Lot's Knife

Zackly. He was looking to get into a scrape.

jsmonet

this is pretty much where the thread could have finished. There is a ton of road there, and no reason not to let him eek on by.

I'm all for taking a lane when prudent and necessary. This just wasn't one of those times.

ItsJustMe

Interestingly enough, the most worked up a driver that passed me has ever gotten was when he passed me and gave ME the finger, and I just smiled and waved. He got really bent that I wasn't being bothered by his finger, so he gave me the FINGER (jacked WAY up and pumped it a bit). I smiled more and waved more. This went back and forth about 4 times. By the time he got to the next intersection, I thought his head was going to explode. It was funny as hell.

AlmostTrick

^^^Now THAT would make an entertaining video. Thing is, waving and smiling will piss them off almost as much as the finger. Best to just ignore.

JoeyBike

Figures...video is broken. Dang it all.

noisebeam

The motorist had to cross the centerline to pass no matter where the cyclist was and there was no oncoming traffic. Further right lane position would have not made passing any easier or safer for the motorist.

nycphotography

Just because you say it, doesn't make it so.

I expect the cars to accomodate me, but let me assure you, I full well expect to be invisible at all times, and I will guarantee you that I do everything I can to stay the hell outta the way.

Taking the middle of the the lane to prevent a right hook? That's your story? Seriously??

Dude, the car passed you, drove to the intersection, pulled over, got out, and was standing around WAITING for you to eventually get there. He couldn't possibly have right hooked you because he would have been long gone before you got anywhere near that intersection.

Here's a scenario that happens over and over and over again every time you ride on a public road. You are riding along and two cars come up on you from behind, one behind the other.

Where is the smartest place to be, dead in the middle of the lane to establish your territory? Or all the way on the edge line, if not outside if it?

Hint: The cars are rolling along at 55mph. Front driver sees you, never lets off the gas, and flows around and past you. Second car never sees you. WHAM!. Good thing you staked out that lane to prevent the non-fatal right hook that you could have seen coming a mile away. Good thing you didn't leave room for them to "buzz you" in case they didn't see you in time. Brilliant!

nycphotography

No, but it would have made it a hell of lot safer for the cyclist.

dedhed

I would have been a bit further right. I was taught (and found out) the center of the lane will have more debris, oil, vital fluids than near the wheel tracks

JoeyBike

Motorists are never in too big a rush to stop and chat tho.

mikeybikes

Duke,

While I do see a problem with your reaction to the pass (airzound and flipping him off), I feel you have every right to be where you were positioned in the road.

You were riding where you deemed safest. Everyone here who is saying that you took up too much lane must enjoy getting buzzed. That lane is not wide enough to share for both cyclists and cars.

That man was just an impatient asshat.

twelsch42

You need practice route-finding if you're riding on roads with cars rolling along at 60+mph (who drives 55?). Your sceneario could happen on any street if a driver doesn't see you.

Here's another scenario. I'm riding on a one-way street, three lanes, traffic about 25mph. Me, a few mph slower on bicycle. I'm quite possibly going to take the complete lane. Because there are two other perfectly good lanes to pass in. I'm tired of being buzzed. I'm not going to be ridiculous about it. But if I find it necessary, I'm not going to feel bad about it.

twelsch

Digital_Cowboy

I have to laugh at Mr. Moron asking you if you just threw a finger at him. What did he say when he first get's out of his car? Not too long ago I also flipped someone off, they traveled up the road a couple of blocks stopped but as I got closer they took off. Don't know what they were thinking or planning to do, but they obviously had a change of mind.

Digital_Cowboy

Sadly, I think too many of us are too quick to flip drivers off. It really doesn't gain us anything, especially considering the damage that they could do to us by backing up, or turning around and hitting us with their car.

Or as has been pointed out we don't really know who is and who isn't packing, or what their mental state is.

Digital_Cowboy

Exactly, here in Florida the law clearly states that if we're traveling on a road/in a lane that is of substandard width (defined as any road/lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle traveling in the same direction to safely pass each other) that a bicycle doesn't have to stay to the far right edge of the road. And that road looks as if it qualifies.

noisebeam

How?

Digital_Cowboy

I realize that you are probably aren't going to respond, but does that lane look like it's wide enough that if Duke had been riding to the far right side of the lane that there would have been sufficient room for the car to safely pass the cyclist? It doesn't look that way to me. Most of the streets around my area are of this type. And Florida and I believe most other state laws allow cyclists to "take the lane" under such circumstances.

The driver is/was the instigator in this situation. HE should have waited until the road widened before attempting to pass. It was his impatience that caused the problem, not the cyclists lane position.