So I'm at a 3-way intersection...
 

I'm headed west on the bridge crossing a major highway. To my right is the southbound service road traffic, and straight ahead is the eastbound traffic. Its a three way stop.

I stopped first, then the southbound car (who was turning right (west)) stopped second, then the eastbound car third. What caught my attention was the eastbound car had their left turn blinker on, indicating that they wanted to turn northbound, the wrong way against traffic.

The southbound car turned right, and I proceeded through the intersection, all while paying most of my attention to the car with their blinker on.

Just as I started moving forward, I watched as a pickup truck, headed southbound, barely tapped his brakes at the stop sign then tried doing a VERY sharp left hand turn... into me. I swerved to my left, in front of the (stopped) car trying to go the wrong way, and I looked back at the pickup truck.

He had already slammed on his brakes and was completely stopped, about 7-10 feet into the intersection, and probably 10 feet from me.

That's when he did it.

His window was down. Out came his arm. Next I heard him yelling.

"I'M SOOOOOOOORRY!!" he yelled as he gave me a friendly wave and a nervous smile.

I grinned, gave a quick wave and kept peddling through the intersection.



We're all human and we all fu** up. Sometimes sh** happens. Its how you handle it that matters. They guy made a mistake, caught himself before anyone got hurt, and then apologized. That's all I can ask for from another human being.

I hate reading about how a lot of folks feel like all cagers are idiots and they all want to kill us. That's the wrong kind of attitude to have. Look me in the eye and tell me you've never made a mistake that could have gotten someone else hurt, and I'll call you a liar to your face.

Live and let live, kumbaya, shut up and ride. :thumb: :D

sig'd.

I was following a box truck through an intersection yesterday , I was probably in the middle of the lane. An SUV coming the opposite way waiting to turn left made it about 1/3 of the way into their turn before she noticed me. She stopped and waved. It was no big deal, but a second or two later and it may have been a big deal.

Agreed. Most incidents result from momentary inattention, not actual malice. Admittedly, severe inattention is as bad (or worse than?) actual malice. I've experienced the real jerks, but I've also had my moments of inattention and caused or contributed to problems. I'm human. I try to give benefit of the doubt to most.

Nice story. It is comforting to know that not every car encounter is awful. Thanks for sharing.

I'm usually a cordial cyclist.

But, you pull out half way from the side of the road and I have to dodge you, you get lip reading cursed.

The real offenders get the finger.

But, I'm from NYC, sometimes I can't freakin' help myself!

A personal favorite is the, "stiff arm".

"My lane, you slow/stop now."

+1 liked the story!!! Glad you were not hurt 2. Ride on

LOVE this!!!! Great story, thanks for sharing your sunny disposition!

Thanks for the comments, folks.

I'm writing stuff like this on my Blog. Check it out if you like.

Just be warned, sometimes I get a little crass.

http://stdlrf11.blogspot.com

While it's great that nobody got hurt, unfortunately, this kind of activity is the result of cagers simply not paying attention.

In a car vs. car world, had something happened, it would have been a fender bender and two people having a rough day.

If the truck had hit you, you could be in the hospital seriously injured.

I ride bicycle and motorcycle and the fear and problem is similar. Being on vehicles with lower visibility, combined with drivers who simply don't look, turns "small boo boos" into "serious injury or death" situations. It makes the "SOooooorrryyyy" meaningless when you consider the bad-case scenario, and that all (s)he had to do was look properly.

I'm glad you could let it go, but this is where the ire for inattentive drivers come from in the two-wheel world.

Look twice, save a life.

You're playing the what-if game.

Nobody wins when you pit what might have happened against what really happened.

The ire for inattentive drivers comes from people too worried about the wrong stuff. I know there's a chance I'll get eff'd up when, not if, I have an accident with a car. Hell, cars can't keep from hitting each other, let alone a harder-to-see cyclist.

You knew the risks when you hit the road on two wheels.

That's like the cowboy getting mad at the bull for bucking him off. Dumbass should have seen it coming.

This time it didn't, and for that I'm thankful.

Life is way too short to get pissy about the inevitable stupid crap you will encounter while co-inhabiting a planet with "cagers."

Most people are pretty good about bicycles, but pretty bad about seeing them at intersections. Some are bitter jerks ... these are few.

Anything you can do to improve your visibility is helpful --- bright colors, reflective tape, etc.

You said it bro.... taxicabs are the worst.

x10

The same could be said for anyone, whether you're on the road as a driver, motorcyclist, cyclist, pedestrian. If a pedestrian got hit by an inattentive driver would you say "you knew the risks when you walked out the front door"? Are all road users dumbasses for going on the road and not expecting to get smacked/injured/killed by drivers who fail to perform basic visual checks?

I understand accidents happen, often, but accidents due to negligence are preventable and inexcusable. While you're totally fine laughing it off and moving on with your day, there's nothing wrong with saying "Hey, look where you're going, you could have seriously hurt me!". If drivers think that near misses with vulnerable road users is okay, they won't learn to pay more attention until they actually do kill someone, at which point it's too late. Your incident was at a low speed 3-way stop sign, so your "meh" attitude may be fitting (since you were likely in little to no danger). However, I'd be curious to see what your feeling would be after a more dangerous encounter, after you realize you could have easily lost life or limb, and the driver gives you a "friendly wave and nervous smile SOORRRRY".

If all cyclists were as laissez-faire about this issue, and noone played the "what if game", there would be no attempts at raising awareness with drivers to pay more attention on the road, and the roads would be even more dangerous. Especially for those who are more vulnerable and who have an equal right/equal expectation of being alive and well from point A to point B. Luckily for everyone, there are people worried about the "wrong stuff".

So, what you're saying is...

"...The source of this justice problem is our social acceptance of inattentive driving...."


we, as a whole, are too accepting of distracted or inattentive driving?

I can't comment whether we, as a whole (society? the world?), are too accepting of distracted driving. The enacting of more "distracted driving"-style laws would seem to indicate we (at least in some areas) are becoming less tolerant of distracted driving.

What I am saying is you can't blame a cyclist for being angry that they were almost smeared across the pavement because a driver was texting or just plain being stupid. I would say that the OP is too accepting of distracted/inattentive driving, not because he let the driver go without getting angry, but because getting angry at an inattentive driver is apparently akin to a cowboy getting angry with the bull that bucked him off. If everyone had that attitude (specifically drivers) the roads would be far more dangerous than they are now.

You make a lot of good points.

My bull rider analogy was a bad one.

Road users are dumbasses if they don't understand that there is a chance, although slight, that they will be run over/smacked/hit or whatever you call it. Acting as if you will never have an accident is naive.

Accepting that you will have an accident is what I'm getting at. Being glad that nothing happened when it could have. That was the point I was trying to make.

I've been hit by a car. I was 6 and it screwed me up pretty bad. Not that it has a place in this discussion since I was on foot, but I know what its like to be hit by a Buick going 40. It sucks.

Trust me, I've gotten mad at a lot of people while commuting. I've done things I won't admit to online to drivers who have done stupid things that could have gotten me hurt. Most of them were intentional. I don't forgive intentional acts. Ask the guy on the Harley what happens when you buzz me. Ask the trucker who threatened to run me over at the red light because I was in his way.

I don't like getting mad at mistakes because I've made plenty myself. Even if I do get mad, I try to cool off and forgive as quickly as possible. What this guy did, or didn't do ;), was a simple mistake and nothing more. We've all made similar mistakes in our lives, whether driving, or cycling, or walking, or whatever. This guy caught his mistake and took corrective actions before an incident even occurred. That's why I was so non-chalant about it. Nothing happened.

I don't like discussing what could have happened because IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. Yes I would have reacted differently had it been more serious and the occasion called for it. BUT THIS INCIDENT DIDN'T CALL FOR IT.

That was another point I was trying to make. I'm talking about what did happen and you are talking about what could have happened, or what happened at another time or place. Its hard to discuss things when both people are talking about different incidents. No two encounters are the same, and we as humans will all react differently in these different situations.

If you chose to get mad, then go for it, but don't go around telling others they should get mad also.

One last thing, If I made it sound like I was "blame(ing) a cyclist for being angry that they were almost smeared across the pavement because a driver was texting or just plain being stupid," then I apologize. I didn't mean to come across like that. The cowboy analogy was supposed to be about knowing the dangers. It wasn't supposed to shame someone for being angry after an accident.

Thanks for the link. That's some good stuff.

Fair enough!

Clearly there are enough near misses that you need to balance it with a little "forget about it" or else cycling will be a stressful activity rather than an enjoyable one. We can all only hope we don't have to deal with that often. I'm lucky that I've found a pretty good route from home to work where it's either bike path in the park, or a bicycle shoulder lane, so my possible incidences are limited. My motorcycle commute is a totally different story though!

Hey Diamond!

Please tell me you ain't a cop! Please!

- Slim :)

I'm looking at your avatar and all I can think of is...COP! :roflmao2: