Automotive profiling
 

It was mentioned in another thread, someone expecting worse driving behavior from certain types of cars. I've heard several people singling out BMWs as more likely harass or endanger cyclists.

I don't pick out brands, but I do keep a sharper eye on:

Taxis. Cabbies just don't seem to give a F, they'll cut you off, hook you, and cross you regardless of whether you're on a bike or driving a bus.

Delivery vehicles. Food delivery logos indicate young, inexperienced drivers trying to get somewhere fast.

All logo'd vehicles. Cable repairmen, private contractors, plumbers, painters, any vehicle identifiable as part of a business seem to always drive well above the speed limit, tailgate, and cut me off when I'm driving. Perhaps it's because they drive so much as part of their work that they become overconfident motorists, willing to reduce their (and everyone else's) margin of safety to nil.

Large trucks, both commercial and private, I assume have worse lines of sight than the rest of us, so I give them a wider berth than smaller cars.

Loud sound systems. Driver's that cannot hear are, by definition, less situationally aware.

I do this more when driving than when biking, maybe because I'm deeper in the flow of traffic. When I'm biking I try and watch for any vehicle that might cross my direction of travel. I don't want to get crossed by an unassuming looking Taurus while I'm focused on some kid in a Napa Parts pickup in the oncoming.

Except taxis. I always keep an eye on taxis, in the car, on the bike, on foot. When I see a cab on TV, I wake up a little bit. Those guys are crazy.

Priuses .... they are just pissed off at cyclists. they spent 25 times as much as you did and you still out-environmentalize them.

Taxis are the only ones I've noticed are especially bad. Large trucks actually tend to be good in my experience, since the drivers are professionals and have to know the rules of the road. Sure they sound scary coming up behind you, but I rarely if ever get buzzed by one.

Other than that, the type of driver is more of an indicator. I'll say "anybody with a cell phone" and not get into demographic profiling...

Mom-mobiles, because the driver is probably distracted by kids and a cell phone.

In comparison to drivers elsewhere in the world, American drivers are righteous folks.

Tall 4x4 pickup trucks that's has their frame lifted high in the air. Not only does a pickup truck has blind spot, but being so high in the air make us cyclist more invisible. I sometimes wonder if the top of my helmet is the only thing they see when I am beside them.

And oh yes, I am much more careful with newer Toyota behind me now that their accelerator have a mind of it's own.

Large SUVs(hummers, Expedition, Suburbans ect) as well as large 4 wheel drive Pick-up Truck owners. The Drivers of these rigs seem to have a Napoleon Complex and let everyone know they(think) own the road.

White cargo vans/service vans/pickup trucks with trailers/Taxis

The people behind the wheel of those work vehicles are the most common dangerous drivers. Bottom line. None of them received any additional training like police drivers would, yet they are always rushing about in traffic.

I can even tell you what they'll be doing... talking on a phone, wandering in the lane, rushing through intersections, trying to eat, write and drive, squeezing(in a few cases literally pushing me) through intersections and they'll be blowing through stop signs at cross streets.

If I had to pick out a regular vehicle driven by unskilled drivers it would be the pickup truck.

Recently I conducted some incognito automotive profiling at an auto show, the results were stomach turning!

My observations
 

Worst (in descending order of badness):

1. Dodge and Ford full size pickups. (for some reason, Chevrolets and Toyotas are better)
2. Full-size school buses
3. law enforcement
4. Priuses
5. SUVs
6. newer BMWs

Best:

• municipal buses
• short buses
• old (10+ years) BMWs and Audis
• Subarus
• Volvos

Just to show that every rule has it's exceptions, I've been buzzed by a Rochester muni bus close enough to touch it, possibly with my elbow. When you consider the wake they leave, that can be pretty intimidating.

I'd have to agree about the newer BMWs, especially if they have an "M" badge. And I'm always a little surprised by the lack of love from Jeeps - the whole point of a Jeep is to project a rugged, outdoorsy image on the road. What could be more outdoorsy than a bike?

In NYC I tended to feel safest around cabbies; they're accustomed to the local traffic patterns (including the presence of bikes), and unlike out-of-towners they're not distracted by probing unfamiliar streets or searching for parking spaces. I'm warier with Boston cabbies, from whom I've seen a lot more instances of aggression and general inexperience.

Buses, of whatever type, however, make my blood run cold. Put a bike lane on a major city-bus route, and watch the sparks fly.

Well, if we're using consumer behavior to project character stereotypes, I suppose you could argue that your (stereo)typical Jeep driver has a set of attitudes that puts him at odds with the (stereo)typical commuting cyclist: sort of a "red-state," "blue-state" cultural antagonism.

Whenever I'm passed by a Prius or an Insight in my head I shout "Gas Hog!". :p
Then I remember I have a minivan and a large family. :innocent:

I had some Prius driver yell at me to get off the road and that he was doing more for the environment then I ever well. Well he can take my annual 6 tons of CO2 savings and stick it.

A lot depends on time and place, school days 2:45-3:30 - soccer moms in SUVs, ~ 1/2 mile before congestion - sports cars, ~ 1 mile around a freeway on/off ramp trucks (all sizes.) In general handicap plates or placards.

I like semis - they are always very courteous when passing. Here, my students rank #1 as far as terrifying drivers. I've had some buzz me close enough to run me off the road. The fun thing about that is that I just get to school, tell the office to suspend their driving privileges, and I don't have to worry about it for a week. Word gets around about that, and they don't seem to mess with me much anymore.

re: "All logo'd vehicles. Cable repairmen, private contractors, plumbers, painters, any vehicle identifiable as part of a business seem to always drive well above the speed limit, tailgate, and cut me off when I'm driving. Perhaps it's because they drive so much as part of their work that they become overconfident motorists, willing to reduce their (and everyone else's) margin of safety to nil."

ABSOFREAKINLUTELY!

I would add that in my area the occasional a-hole are in jeeps; pickups and mustangs are are usually young men between the age 20 - 35

but by far the biggest abusers have been men driving small service vans

Really? "I'm a center of the universe", "no one else matters", "only care about your own convenience"... That sounds like NYC driving :D

Maybe it's a Toronto thing. Nobody else is even close.

They make black tinted-window BMW drivers look like models of road safety.

mini vans - I think they give you a test to ensure you are a moran with no driving skills before they will sell you one.

Hey, I drive a minivan :notamused:

Or are probably too drunk or lit to be in control.

i dont know how Prius people think they are doing more for the planet. When most are pluging in every night to a recepticle that relys on coal to produce electricity in most countries. Coal is way dirtier than oil. Not to mention the carbon footprint it takes to make there batteries.
I think the white(company) van thing must be universal,lol.

re: "Hey, I drive a minivan"

you got a bumper sticker that reads: "no, I'm not a soccer Mom"?

Nothing wrong with that if I see bicycle inside or outside the van :).

I give my most respect to vehicle that has bike rack installed on them knowing that the driver is most likely a cyclist. Now that my fellow member is "Reverse Automotive Profiling".