Automotive profiling
#51
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In my little piece of surburbia, school buses tend to scare me the most. There are a lot of them out immediately prior to rush hour which just happens to be when I'm commuting by bike. I think that school bus drivers are so used to everyone else yielding to them (which is a good thing since my kids are passengers), that they simply ignore cyclists. I've been cut off, squeezed onto the shoulder, and forced to ride behind these fume-belching monsters far too often. Rant over.
(P.S. I own two bimmers and take offense at the anti-Munchen motors attitude ;-))
(P.S. I own two bimmers and take offense at the anti-Munchen motors attitude ;-))
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1) BMW car owners
2) Cadillac owners
3) Corvette owners.
I owned a pair of BMW motorcycles over the years, and people used to get embarrassed when they remembered that after complaining about BMW auto owners. I'd just smile and tell them I understood.
#53
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Pickup truck drivers, by far. Chip on their shoulder. Not bad drivers, but watch for these landscaper rigs, the trailer is usually much wider than the trucks pulling them.
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As for the other "profiles" there is some truth to most of them, but they also tend to be dependent on location.
Delivery and service vehicles, the dreaded "White van man" Often, the job sucks, they get crap for not getting the schedule completed, and are often at risk of getting canned. The other thing is there are more of them than most of the others put together, given the tendency to just remember the bad, they sometimes get an undeserved rep.
While I am aware of the type of vehicle, I tend to be observing little clues like how they are positioned in the lane, signaling, ( or lack thereof ) that kind of stuff. Mostly this goes on at a subconcious level, and I will often find myself paying close attention to someones behaviour, before I've figured out what it was that set off the alarm.
One type that drives me crazy, are the parents dropping off their kid at school, and causing hazards in the attempt to minimize the danger to their little brat.
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#55
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Add a lift kit, and you've got a driver with terrible lines of sight, an outsized sense of road ownership, and something to prove (I don't know what, nor, I think, do they). You think they can't see you on your bike? Try driving alongside one in a small car. I love the 42 mpg my Metro gets, but I feel more invisible in that car than on my bike most of the time. I really should get one of those flags that all the 'bent riders rock.
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pfft, I can't be everywhere, silly.
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"Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws" - Edward Abbey
#57
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I got one better than that: I was in the left tire track of the left lane, preparing to make a left turn. As I went to put my left arm out to signal my turn, I had to pull it back because there was a BUS RIGHT THERE, passing me on the left. It had crossed the double yellow to pass me (which is absurd because there was a lane and a half of room on my right for him to pass me). It was shortly after that I bought my helmet mirror.
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#59
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That's pretty likely, I think. I've got an angry honk and a vocal "Hey, F you too!" more than once when signaling right turns.
I do wear mittens, so it's not surprising. Some people have no idea what hand signals mean.
I do wear mittens, so it's not surprising. Some people have no idea what hand signals mean.
Last edited by GriddleCakes; 03-12-10 at 03:57 PM. Reason: clarification
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Any driver that talks on their cell phone or texting while driving is an IDIOT. Also what scares me is very old people driving.
#61
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You don't know? Get a brain.
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-- Yard crews in their pickups, pulling those low trailers. They're gonna grease you when they try to pass, and they're gonna pull back over well before their wagon has cleared you. Definitely the worst.
-- Anybody in a diesel pickup. The fumes must elicit anger, or something, in the drivers. They are rolling piles of pissed-off manhood.
-- Anything coming out of a high-school parking lot at lunchtime.
-- Anybody in a diesel pickup. The fumes must elicit anger, or something, in the drivers. They are rolling piles of pissed-off manhood.
-- Anything coming out of a high-school parking lot at lunchtime.
#64
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You don't know? Get a brain.
#65
Count Orlok Member
As far as the Prius, I've never been buzzed by one, but I've been startled by one. It was too quiet--I didn't hear it until it was right behind me.
#66
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I'm in London, UK, and have heard the BMW thing as well. But I do not find it to be true. Rather, I have to say BMW drivers tend to be a little better than other drivers. The ones I find bad are those driving small cars as they tend to be either overly careful (light's red, 'hun, get a fricking move on instead of staring at me in your rear view mirror) or dumb (the road's about to narrow so either stay behind me or stick it into second gear and accelerate hard, coz your 4th gear acceleration aint gonna get you infront of me in time for the narrowing of the lane).
London cabbies are great, give plenty of space, always aware of what's around them. Thumbs up/ Buses are also real good. A couple of times I've come across the move-outta-the-way-cowboy-i'min-a-hurry bus driver, but hardly worth mentioning.
Drivers of more expensive cars are a touch more careful, I guess they have more to lose financially if they're involved in an accident and also they dont wanna damage their fine automobiles.
This reminds me, I had a tiny scrape witha person in a small car (see paragraph one).
London cabbies are great, give plenty of space, always aware of what's around them. Thumbs up/ Buses are also real good. A couple of times I've come across the move-outta-the-way-cowboy-i'min-a-hurry bus driver, but hardly worth mentioning.
Drivers of more expensive cars are a touch more careful, I guess they have more to lose financially if they're involved in an accident and also they dont wanna damage their fine automobiles.
This reminds me, I had a tiny scrape witha person in a small car (see paragraph one).
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I'd say about 98% of the 'close to death' experiences for me have been from Porsche drivers.
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Well, since we're playing one-downsmanship, I have one better than that. It was on a suburban road, not a city street. I already had my arm out, and I was dead in the center of the road. The road had no markings or lane lines, though. I heard a noisy car coming up behind me and got a bad feeling, so I didn't turn left. She passed me on the left. I was towing my two little daughters in a trailer. If I had turned left, she would have mowed us all down. She was not stopping. Maybe she thought my signal was an invitation to pass me.
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Contractors with old pickups carrying unsecured/poorly secured cargo. Nothing like dodging a sawhorse that just tumbled out of the back of mid '80s F 150 to get your heart racing.
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+1 on the landscaper rigs. There's a rig which passes me on a regular basis in the morning and it scares the hell out of me. You think the van has passed by, you relax and the trailer damn near wipes you out
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While I am aware of the type of vehicle, I tend to be observing little clues like how they are positioned in the lane, signaling, ( or lack thereof ) that kind of stuff. Mostly this goes on at a subconcious level, and I will often find myself paying close attention to someones behaviour, before I've figured out what it was that set off the alarm.
Dreaded hand.
What you mention is best type of profiling, it just so happens in various anecdotal experiences we've had different cars stand out... that being said i can't resist and would like to add "post-menopausal woman having a hot flash" to the list of drivers to watch out for - because sometimes all you can do is lean on the horn and try to make life miserable for other people!
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Like a couple others have pointed out, I have been put in perilous circumstances by all kinds of vehicles, none excluded. Mostly I watch out for any erratic or aggressive driving. I also listen for vehicles behind me and how hard the engines are running and how close they are (in addition to my mirror). Maybe some of the more aggressive drivers have been Yellow Cab, mostly in the summer when the tourists are out. Then it would be full-sized trucks (construction workers) followed by larger vans (delivery, carpool, smaller buses). In all my experience the scariest drivers have been middle-aged men, period.
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In my personal experience...cell phone drivers seem to be the most courteous (i.e. wait behind me on blind curves, wait longer at driveways/stop signs). I figure having someone to talk to makes them more patient.
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It is a little known fact that Mercedes and BMW owners pay a special tax at the point of purchases that allows them to kill a cyclist without any fear or prosecution.
People who drive VW Jettas only think they have paid this tax... as a messenger and rider I found that Jetta drivers were the worst after anyone driving a Hummer.
People who drive VW Jettas only think they have paid this tax... as a messenger and rider I found that Jetta drivers were the worst after anyone driving a Hummer.