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Not so much fun in the shared bus/bike lane (longish)

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Not so much fun in the shared bus/bike lane (longish)

Old 04-13-10, 06:08 PM
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Not so much fun in the shared bus/bike lane (longish)

There's a few reasons why sharing lanes with buses during rush hour isn't so great but it's workable. Tonight however I had my worst experience with a driver, ever.

The street is 4 lanes with auto traffic occupying the middle two lanes and buses/bikes the outer two. Cars can use the bus/bike lane to make right turns. Likewise, buses and bikes need to move left to take a left turn. This is awkward at times since there is often a left turn lane and you have to move left two lanes to turn left. The arrangement can be confusing for everyone involved, especially if you're never been on that street before. It requires that both bikes and cars be willing to cut each other some slack in order to work.

Given that I tend not to get too bent out of shape over drivers being in the bus/bike lane. It doesn't help that the markings that were freshly painted late last fall didn't survive the winter too well.

So tonight as I'm coming up to a red light, there's an SUV parked in the bike lane off to the right. There's nobody in it but it's running. There's plenty enough room to the left (even for a car) so I pull up along side to wait for the light. The SUV's not supposed to be there but I'm an easy going guy so I'm not bothered by it too much.

As I'm waiting there I hear someone call out behind me "Hey Biker!". So I turn around to look. There's a woman in a car behind me (in the bike/bus lane). "Can you move over so I can get by?"

I pride myself on being considerate. If I see somebody who needs to make a right turn waiting behind me and I can safely and easily move to the left I typically will. But in this instance, she couldn't make a right turn, I'd have to move in front of the parked SUV or behind it in order to let her by and besides that, I didn't like the way she yelled "Hey Biker!".

So I ask her: "Why do you want me to move?" since she isn't turning right anyway.

"Because I'm f*kn faster than you and then I won't have to pass you!"

Me: "You're in a bike lane."

Her: "No. It's a SHARED lane. Read the signs."

Me: "It's for buses and bikes."

Her: "It's a f*ckn shared lane"

At that point I decide not to engage her any further. I face forward again to wait for the light.

A moment later I hear: "AWW COME ON! IT'S TWO FEET! YOU WON'T MOVE TWO FEET?"

Then I hear the engine rev and am both surprised and not surprised to feel a bumper against my rear tire.

I don't move one inch. I leave my bike right up against her bumper, turn around and glare at her. A million words come rushing to my brain but none seem appropriate for what she's doing. I say nothing. Just turn forward again, shaking my head, and wait for the light.

The light changes. I move forward. She, as expected roars by me way too close on the left, gives me the finger, then cuts in front of some car in the lane that she's supposed to be in.

Of course given the benefit of hindsight, I probably would have been more clever in my exchange or changed some of the things that I did/didn't do.

What would you have done?

Last edited by tjspiel; 04-13-10 at 06:13 PM.
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Old 04-13-10, 06:23 PM
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Her: "No. It's a SHARED lane. Read the signs."
You: "Right. Now learn to share."
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Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
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Old 04-13-10, 06:37 PM
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Originally Posted by tjspiel
What would you have done?
The instant her bumper touched my wheel, I would have flopped like Bill Lambier and called the cops while laying in front of her car. The only way to teach a raving lunatic with an entitlement complex like hers is to punch her in the wallet.
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Old 04-13-10, 06:46 PM
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You're from Minneapolis? The top biking city in the country? I don't believe your story one bit.
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Old 04-13-10, 07:07 PM
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Just moved over...

Do you feel like you won? I have won a lot of those fights, but the thing is you can't win for losing. After you say your peice, if you want to say something, just move over.
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Old 04-13-10, 07:17 PM
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My basic take is drivers who yell at me are a "do not engage". It's about on par with the vehicle being plastered with bumper stickers as a danger sign.

I find the shared lanes in Madison work pretty well. But... they're largely just wide enough for bikes. And the Madison Metro drivers that I've interacted with on the road have been uniformly awesome. In 3 years, I have had one mildly scary incident, and dozens of bus drivers passing with great care, or playing tail for me so no one can pass me unsafely. I think without the bus drivers, our shared lanes would not work at all.

In a situation where the other person feels justified in playing chicken with a lethal weapon, there isn't really a way to win. At that point, you're playing "how do I not lose?"

(as far as best bike city in America... there are no cities in the US with a bike mode share of 20% or higher, and a bike fatality rate of 1 per year or less. ditto for pedestrians and pedestrian fatalities. until there are such cities, lists proclaiming "best bike city" should be viewed as "well, you might not get run over here")
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Old 04-13-10, 07:19 PM
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I think you did alright. Fortunately she didn't go any farther on the road rage thing. There is no way to win in an argument with an idiot.
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Old 04-13-10, 07:22 PM
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Selective hearing works wonders in those situations.

JAM: "Hey biker!"
Me: *Turns around*
JAM: "Can you move over so I can get by?"
Me: "Huh?"
JAM: "I SAID, MOVE OVER SO I CAN GET BY!"
Me: "Sorry, WHAT???"
JAM: "It's a shared lane. Read the signs".
Me: "Pardon?"

And so on, until the light turns green.
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Old 04-13-10, 07:37 PM
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Got a phone? Get her plate and file some sort of report with the cops... she basically threatened you with her car. Imagine how crazy things would be if drivers did that to each other?

I'd like to say I'd have a little more self-control if someone nudged me like that but I dunno.
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Old 04-13-10, 07:59 PM
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Originally Posted by sygyzy
You're from Minneapolis? The top biking city in the country?
Ironic isn't it?
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Old 04-13-10, 08:07 PM
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+1 on the phone. Snap a picture of her license plate and of her face. A major factor in road rage is the feeling of anonymity and freedom from consequences. Burst that bubble, and they may start actually thinking about their actions.

(Or not. There's always going to be some risk in doing anything the driver may perceive as escalation, and the safest route is probably to just get out of their way. It's up to you whether the choice is worth it.)
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Old 04-13-10, 09:35 PM
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Originally Posted by IanHelgesen
+1 on the phone. Snap a picture of her license plate and of her face. A major factor in road rage is the feeling of anonymity and freedom from consequences. Burst that bubble, and they may start actually thinking about their actions.

(Or not. There's always going to be some risk in doing anything the driver may perceive as escalation, and the safest route is probably to just get out of their way. It's up to you whether the choice is worth it.)
A person may panic and do something stupid when they realize they're about to be caught, so use the phone from a safe vantage point is possible.
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Old 04-13-10, 10:04 PM
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If a vehicle touched my bike at a light, I would turn green and smash the offender's car to pieces like the Hulk.
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Old 04-13-10, 10:15 PM
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Originally Posted by CliftonGK1
The instant her bumper touched my wheel, I would have flopped like Bill Lambier and called the cops while laying in front of her car. The only way to teach a raving lunatic with an entitlement complex like hers is to punch her in the wallet.
Agree! I would would have claim injuries. In Ca, the driver who hit you from behind is most likely at fault. I would have been sitting on the ground but not in front of her car and have draw my Pepper spray out ready to fog her car through her car window. I would have got every right to defend myself when someone tries deadly force with a vehicle. If she run, that a hit and run and report her license. If she claim it was an accident, fine, because the bump was enough to throw out my back and neck. Let her car insurance pay your Chiropratic bill and let her live in fear of getting a lawsuit.
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Old 04-13-10, 10:19 PM
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I think you did the right thing. Actually, if I were in your shoes, I would have gotten off my bike and pretended to have a flat that needed to be fixed. That would have fixed her.
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Old 04-13-10, 10:42 PM
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Snap a pic, say: "Smile, you'll be on the Internet tonight..." can work.
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Old 04-13-10, 10:50 PM
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FYI, this post is actually from my evil twin not me: First thing, when people act like this don't argue with them laugh at them. Then they really lose it, much more so than if you yell at them. So hold your ground and don't move and laugh at them. Hopefully they will lose it and really start yelling and threatening you. Now, once the light turned green you should have just held your ground forcing the car to back up and move into the other lane in order to go forward. Don't worry, they are not going to really run you down with witnesses. Now, while this is going on you are mentally recording the plate number of not only her car but one or two cars immediately behind. Then when she pulls out around you, take the dive as you are being passed but behind her so she doesn't see you fall and keeps moving. Now you call 911 and report the Hit and Run. If you're lucky a car will stop who saw it but if not you've got the other plate numbers to give the police. Don't worry, the witnesses will never know you faked it. Now, when the police interview you, you tell them the motorist threatened to kill you. Most likely the witnesses will have only heard the yelling and not be able to recall what was said and with false memory syndrome there is a very good chance they will remember the driver threatening to kill you, or maybe she did if you were able to provoke enough anger with the laughing (see above). OK, now the driver is facing arrest and possible jail time (terroristic threatening, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to render aid, attempted murder, vehicular assault, etc.). This is the ultimate goal, get these people behind bars and ruin their lives so that they come out of prison broken, pitiful excuses for a human beings and, if the spend time in a State Penitentiary, that is the likely outcome.
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Old 04-13-10, 11:18 PM
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Originally Posted by electrik
Just moved over...

Do you feel like you won? I have won a lot of those fights, but the thing is you can't win for losing. After you say your peice, if you want to say something, just move over.
I've replayed the whole thing in my head a few times and it's possible that moving could have yielded a positive outcome. Her original tone didn't strike me as very friendly but wasn't overtly hostile either. If I had moved she might have verbally thanked me, nodded or otherwise acknowledged my gesture.

It's also quite possible she would have drove off muttering "damn bikers" under her breath and I would been kicking myself for acquiescing to a person who was clearly in the wrong. There's no way for me to know.

Aside from the bad vibe I got from her right from the start, there really wasn't a good place for me to move to. If I had moved to the right up against the parked SUV (like she expected), she would have had enough room to go by, but just barely. Much less room than I would find comfortable. I could have also scooted forward into the crosswalk and moved in front of the parked SUV. Not really a dangerous thing, but I don't belong in the crosswalk either. Finally, I could have unclipped my foot, gotten off the bike and walked it back behind the SUV. Planting myself behind a parked vehicle didn't seem like such a hot idea.

Now I'm sure to some drivers it may not seem unreasonable for a cyclist to take one of those options. It certainly wouldn't have killed me. However, I got the distinct impression that she wouldn't have interpreted my moving as an act of kindness or doing her any kind of favor but rather as something I "should" do. So, my stubborn side kicked in. Maybe it was just a power trip.

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Old 04-13-10, 11:29 PM
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I do have a phone with a camera but it wasn't easily accessible. Getting her license number would have been smart. I have seen many posts here regarding confrontations with drivers where people did actually remember to do that, but it never once occurred to me until after it was all over.
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Old 04-14-10, 06:18 AM
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Originally Posted by akohekohe
Don't worry, they are not going to really run you down with witnesses.
If the driver has already bumped your rear wheel at a stop light, do you really want to take that chance? Every hit & run incident I've heard on the news in the past few months occurred at intersections full of people.
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Old 04-14-10, 06:24 AM
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Originally Posted by CliftonGK1
The instant her bumper touched my wheel, I would have flopped like Bill Lambier and called the cops while laying in front of her car. The only way to teach a raving lunatic with an entitlement complex like hers is to punch her in the wallet.
Fact.
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Old 04-14-10, 07:26 AM
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Originally Posted by tjspiel
I do have a phone with a camera but it wasn't easily accessible. Getting her license number would have been smart. I have seen many posts here regarding confrontations with drivers where people did actually remember to do that, but it never once occurred to me until after it was all over.
Although I stop carrying my large shoulder bag, I still carry a small bag that is the size of 8"x8". It has the essential such as cellphone, ID, spray, electric persuader and a handy small compact Flip video recorder that's capable of recording in three second or less. It is always on me and ready for action. I used it along my iPhone camera several time. Two of those times, I was able go get a "sorry" from the driver. People in general do not like their picture taken and it's not from camera shyness.
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Old 04-14-10, 07:36 AM
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bumper touches my wheel?, I put down the kick stand and rip her out of the car and beat her senseless. hey, it's self defense!

... of course I might have moved over to begin with, (right or wrong). frankly though the lanes you described sound like a death trap! any way of avoiding them? seriously
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Old 04-14-10, 07:56 AM
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Generally I'd think a shout is more polite than a honk. I understand you didn't like the way she shouted it; so I probably wouldn't have liked it either; I can't say. Not having heard it, I can only speculate what I would have done... and I guess I probably would have given her a thumbs up and scooted over a little. But that's hypothetical.

But once she rams the bike with the car (the issue is contact, not speed or force), that's a totally different ballgame. The right thing to do, at this point, was to get the police involved. But again, I can't speculate what I would have done. Most likely I would have been in a hurry to catch a train, and wouldn't have had the time to fool around with a police report &c.

I don't understand why this car was in the bike/bus lane in the first place... did I miss something?
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Old 04-14-10, 08:05 AM
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Originally Posted by rhm
But once she rams the bike with the car (the issue is contact, not speed or force), that's a totally different ballgame. The right thing to do, at this point, was to get the police involved. But again, I can't speculate what I would have done. Most likely I would have been in a hurry to catch a train, and wouldn't have had the time to fool around with a police report &c.

I don't understand why this car was in the bike/bus lane in the first place... did I miss something?
+1 Once she tapped you it became a crime rather than an someone being impolite or uncivil. A fraction of a second would have been the difference between a nudge and damage to the bike or injury to you.
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