Conversation with a buzzer in a big black Expedition
 

Me: You passed me kind of close
Him: What? (turns the radio down)
Me: You passed me kind of close. You almost hit me.
Him: I don't have much room on this side. (meaning the driver side)
Me: That doesn't give you the right to kill me.
Him: F*** you.

I suppose I should have taken the lane but I can't really do that all the time and it's hard to know when. If I took the lane all the way to and from work I expect three things would happen:
1. My usually stress-free commute would become usually stressful
2. A lot of drivers actually would want to kill me
3. Bikes would eventually be banned from rush hour routes

So I will keep looking in the mirror and try to better predict when I should move over.

I find my commutes to be less stressful when I take the lane. When I ride right, I feel like I'm tempting traffic to share the lane with me, when I'd prefer they exit my lane to pass.

1. So, it would be more stressful for you to force a few motorists to slow down and drive with due regard for other road users than to be buzzed by riding too far right. I disagree, but this is your ride, not mine. Unfortunately, cyclists who invite these close passes by riding too far right in unshareable lanes cause motorists to be upset with cyclists who take the lane when it is not wide enough to share, so I do have a self-interest in your riding style.

2. I never realized SoCal was so barbaric. I guess my innate NorCal dislike of all things SoCal is justified.

3. I have a hard time imagining car-addicts mustering the wherewithal to change the laws of California such that bikes are banned. This is the only state to have established explicit carbon emission targets, after all.

Look, you invited the motorist to buzz you. When he obliged, you gave him a hard time. He responded negatively to being hassled. No surprises here, but you do have a teachable moment if you are willing to see what is on offer.

Unfortunately, this goes with the territory.

I use my mirror so as not to be surprised when I get buzzed. I really only get irritated when there are other open lanes right next to the buzzer, yet instead of turning the steering wheel 1/4 of an inch to pass safely they buzz me. That boils my blood. Otherwise I gotta take it in stride or I would be pissed most of the day.

Speaking to the moron will only infuriate you more. You can't cure stupid. Instead of confrontation, I actually use a trick called "thought replacement" (also known as "cognitive-behavioral thought stopping" when I get angered by meat-heads on the road or anywhere. I say a little poem inside my head which (with practice) derails the anger and just melts me right back into the moment. It really works for me anyway. My wife is a therapist. She taught me how to do it. You could probably learn how reading a book and just practicing a bit. There are hundreds of books on this subject - goes well with any stress reduction regimen.

Hang in man. Keep that mirror clean!

I have big long windy hill I have to go down with a teeny shoulder. When I first rode it I stayed way right to "be nice" to the drivers who in turn paid me back by whizzing by inches away at 40 mph ...that was pretty stressful. I decided not to be nice anymore and I take the lane all the way down and let them follow and
letting them have the stress.....feels good to me.....I'm hitting 30 mph anyways so it's not like I'm really delaying them much. Plus I'm a cop so I don't care what drivers think....lol

I don't read poems in my head when drivers annoy me. I get all pissed off and ride 5mph faster for a mile afterwards, then feel smug about my pace.

Toronto is in Canada, not California.

My commute is on a 50km (30mph) busy route with (mostly) 2 1/2 lanes each way (it had streetcar tracks at one time) and no rush hour parking. So there is mostly lots of room but occasionally the road narrows and it's a good idea to take the lane.

Sometimes I misjudge those occasions (hard to predict the occasional giant vehicle driven by an idiot at a narrow spot) but it doesn't give them the right to run me over. I invited nothing. If people are angry with you and choose to buzz you they will do so regardless of where you are riding.

These kinds of threads should go in A&S. Mainly so I won't see them. But... you posted it here... I've seen it... let's start with the very last line first... wtf do you mean by that? Move over? FYI more cyclists get killed looking in their mirrors, or at their rear clusters than get killed looking where they are going!

H

It doesn't really matter what you prefer. You are, in fact, supposed to share the lane for the most part. Unless you can sustain 25mph. Can you? Thought not. No one is forcing you to vehicular cycle. Most normal people do not ride bicycles in traffic. If you are going to get out their and mix it up with the big iron, however, you better get comfortable being passed at close quarters at regular intervals. Or go ahead, hog the lane, no one will kill you for doing so, but save the holier than thou when you see another cyclist run a red signal. You all love to go on about how red light runners are not being good ambassadors for vehicular cycling and then you cruise in the traffic lane at 12mph and think you are winning souls for the League of American Wheelmen... I think not.

H

I mean move over and take the lane if it's safe to do so. If I know a large vehicle is coming I try not to let him squeeze me.

Time for that poem, Joeybike.

Talking to them? You give um the finger and/or vandalize their vehicle :crash: J/K, people won't ever admit they're wrong or give in to reason, take the lane and hope for the best. If you get buzzed in the door zone there's nowhere for you to go if a door opens

LOL! You need to forgive some folks in California. We do have Ontario, California and it has an airport and I used to fly into that stop a lot. But I'm a Canuck too, with roots in Vancouver, and relatives in Toronto, so it goes both ways, and I forgive the confusion. Granted, though, I have observed both Canuck drivers in general from many provinces and SoCal drivers. And skill wise, I'd prefer a SoCal driver buzz me than most Canuck drivers, so don't have guns and haven't lived by SoCal freeway rules in the mid 1980's when good driver skills were established down there.

While I do sympathize with folks who get buzzed and I get buzzed almost daily, I brush it off. Primarily, we are trying to share the road. And maybe it's me. I tolerate a narrow path and hold my line. I understand that car traffic is trying to squeeze through as well. And I also understand that many drivers have poor judgment and I just accept that fact. It keeps me alert and focused on listening for cars and anticipating really bad behaviour that might require a rapid reaction. If it gets bad, I do a little research and find a different route and/or try a different time to see if there is less traffic, and that's worked will for me. I'm pretty sure most of us can do a little research. Still, yeah, I hear ya about getting buzzed. Hey, on the bright side, getting buzzed is better than getting hit.

I find that if I ride in the far right, drivers will ALWAYS pass more closely (not usually--ALWAYS). If I ride a bit further to the left, they swerve around me or often get into the next lane. I do have other drivers who pass very closely- sometimes 2 feet or less, and this scares the F%#@ing fecal matter out of me. I often find myself thinking 'the next cager that passes that close is going to pay for a new mirror'. But I try not to actually do that, as the cost of getting a cast on my hand is just as much as a new mirror, so there is no win/win situation.

Josh

Not a few, basically half of the cars going in that direction. Taking the lane stresses me out too, I get it.

So far I've been fortunate; bike lanes are pretty big on my route, never really been buzzed close. I guess a solid slap on a window or a body panel would wake them up -- maybe only because they're worried about their car, but hey that's something!

I didn't realize there were speed parameters associated with my choice to take the lane when it's too narrow to share.
Pulling a trailer, I suspect (no onboard cyclometer) that I am frequently under 12 mph. Does this mean I'm not allowed to position myself appropriately in the lane to discourage buzz passes?

Is that "sustain 25MPH" a law somewhere? Does it also apply to other vehicles?

Share the road works both ways... motorists should share too.

I doubt it. When I lived in Ohio, there were tractors and Amish horse-buggies tootling along at well under 25mph all the time, nobody seemed upset. But a bike is so much smaller, there's the automatic assumption they (we) should get out of the way.

Yeah, there are no roads around here with minimum speed limits (except for the interstates, and bicycles aren't allowed on them).

I stay right if the road is wide enough; otherwise I move into the right tire track and this seems to encourage safer passing. Of course, I don't ride on high-traffic narrow-width roads. It's often much faster to take the back roads or cut through a neighborhood than it is to stay on the road I would take in a car.

classic convo, and constant struggle. they need to know that if it's not safe to pass they shouldn't. we are like farmers tractors, sometimes a driver has to wait until it's safe to pass. I have found that adding a strobe to my left drop bar has prevented most buzzing

I take a quick glance in the mirror often to know whats coming and take the lane when approaching intersections. Otherwise always ride far right so cars can get around you and do not hold up traffic because you will be asking for trouble from impatient drivers. I get buzzed often and its part of sharing the road. Also I try to use the less traveled ways to minimize traffic situations as much as possible.

good idea - but, doesn't that nail you in the eye? or are you far enough forward?
also i can't seem to figure out where that light is located in your 3rd picture lol

my eye? why no, does your drop bar ends come close to your eyes? I'm not that kind of rider, meaning no flat back, etc. the 3rd pic is also on my left drop bar. it was an earlier incarnation. there isn't a great way to do this and I just wanted to show some mounting options.

re: "getting buzzed often is part of sharing the road"

so true and one must get used to it without flinching

little antecdote: was commuting one morning and I was buzzed but before I could see the car I heard the scream from the teen in the passenger seat, nothing coherent just gibberish, but it was loud and gave me a jolt, they rode on laughing their arses off. a couple lights later I filtered/snuck up to their car and shouted right in the kids ear: "laughing now, funny boy!" REALLY LOUD! he almost cr*pped his pants but then started laughing and said "oh man you got me good" and held out his hand to shake mine, I just shook my head and rode away

Nicer than I would have been; when he reached out to 'shake my hand', I'd have taken it, YANKED him half-out of the car, nose to nose, and TOLD him, "Don't DO it again, mother******." Then let them roll on....

But, I've been told I'm a bit of an a**#### that way.

Sure like to see something in the body of law ANYWHERE that requires a minimum speed limit for BIKES in order to use the roads. AND, the FACT is, you DON'T have to "share the lane" if the lane isn't wide enough to accommodate both you and the car with reasonable (usually 3') separation. NORMAL? What's NORMAL? Given the stats of America as researched, ADULTS RIDING BIKES *PERIOD* ISN'T 'NORMAL'.

I really have to wonder WHO's being "holier than thou" here......

One of my biggest issues.

95% of my route is on a busy street that's 4, 5 & 6 lanes at different points. When on a 2 lane side, I feel safer and stay to the right. The buzzing is inconsistent. I can go a week with no problems, but then there's a day like yesterday when I got buzzed 3 times in a minute or 2.

When there are 3 lanes, I tend to take more of the lane as they are a bit slimmer and unshareable. I'll sometimes hop onto the sidewalk in these situations depending on traffic.