cooker

Well, it's not your carbon footprint - it's your employer's and your customers'.

cooker

I try to never "wave" anybody on, because I could inadvertently cause a crash. I'd be waving to them saying "'I'd prefer you pass me", but they'd be reading it as "I guarantee the coast is clear, so don't use your own judgement on whether it is safe to pass or not." You did say "if I see no cars coming", but they should check that for themselves.

Northwestrider

It's happened to me as well of course. I think often it just that the motorist is merely looking for an address , or side street.

CrankyOne

What is the speed limit and actual maximum speed of traffic? Lane widths? Will they have to go in to the oncoming lane to guarantee you the 3' of space you want? Where on the hill did they catch up to you (and thus how far to the crest and how far ahead could they see oncoming traffic)?

If I'm treating you as a slow moving vehicle and assuming that I have to go in to the oncoming lane, I can imagine, particularly if I'm not familiar with the road, not being comfortable that I can see far enough ahead to pass you and not wanting to risk a car coming and my having to make a choice between hitting the car and possibly killing several people, or swerving to miss the car and killing you. In reality I'll likely not even think about that but just think "oh s, there's a big object coming and no such big object next to me and swerve to avoid the big object hurtling towards me".

Shimagnolo

When it happens to me, I just stop, then turn around and glare at them.
Then they can either pass (as they should have already done), or they can sit there stopped like an idiot.
So far I have never had one stop for more than a few moments.

jon c. 

Usually fear when I see it. And often females who are very young or very old.

spare_wheel

i almost always drive under the speed limit.

i tend to give cyclists lots of room to pass by riding in the middle of the road. i drive like cyclists have more of a right to be on the road than i do.

DVC45

Its all good, they're just checking you rad bike or what your shirt say's.

TransitBiker

This drives me nuts. Also, If you're that afraid, don't drive. Problem solved. Driving is not a right, it is a privilege.

You are supposed to give the cyclist a 10 second following gap at least. Following too close is super dangerous.

- Andy

Baboo

I didn't read this whole thread it so pardon if this has been said. I had a lady explain to me why after I got off the road to let her by. She couldn't see over the top of the hill for oncoming traffic. I could see ok because of my higher position on the bike. She was simply being thoughtful of both of our safety.

RubeRad

I have nice wide bike lanes on my regular route, so nobody every worries about passing.

But what I get a lot that annoys me, when I stop at a red, I pull way up to the front of the crosswalk and make sure there's plenty of room for cars to turn right. If I sense a scaredy cat waiting, I'll try to wave them through, but usually that's not enough.

Even worse though, are people who are too nice at stop signs. Some other car is stopped coming from a crossing street, and I'm still rolling up for like 50 feet, so I do the legal thing and stop and put my foot down. But the driver waves me through, so I have to get back up and stomp hard to get going again. And then they take their turn through the stopsign, and have to pass me!

Walter S

I do that too. If people are afraid to pass, I'm reluctant to get really annoyed or angry about it. If a person doubts their skill to pass me safely the last thing I want is for them to pass unsafely! At the same time, I don't enjoy somebody slowly driving behind me up a hill. My mind is not going to drift and think about something else. So I want to put an end to the situation. And the only way to do that if they won't pass, is to stop.

Just yesterday, I was returning from a camping trip fully loaded with gear (panniers all around plus more). I got chased up a hill by a car. I tried waving them around even though that is often just a waste of energy. Then I stopped and turned around. The woman behind me stopped too and then waved me on, as though to say "no, I don't mind riding behind you - take your time and go on up the hill". I continued to look her in the face and laughed. Finally she moved on, with an annoyed look on her face as though I was being rude!

Some people just don't get it. Nothing upstairs. Too bad - she was a looker!

Saving Hawaii

And you told her to go away. Some people just don't get it.

Medic Zero

+1 Aggravating and unnecessary. The only possible exception would be when I'm touring and I've got to use a freeway for a stretch and I have to go through a tunnel or over a bridge and there's no shoulder. Then, and only then, I'd welcome that. Otherwise, it's nerve wracking.

downwinded

+10 to the 10th! Is it too hard for them to connect the dots on this? I mean, when we're sitting at that stop sign, the next order of events is only seconds away!

David Bierbaum

Whenever I pass a cyclist in a car, on a road with no/not-much shoulder, I can't help but get the "what if he falls right in front of my car" heebee-jeebees, so I can understand the feelings of those drivers. All I can say is, the road looks wider and roomier when you are on a bike than when you are behind the wheel.

Of course, it's also possible that those people are just enjoying the view of your fine... bicycle seat...

nkfrench 

I can't always judge the 3' clearance I need to give cyclists and on higher speed roads, 6' is safer. My car has some pretty big blind spots.
I also assume that any oncoming traffic is speeding.
It's not complicated if sightlines are good, intersections are few and traffic is low. But that's not always the case.

I see too many unsafe passes while I am cycling. My least favorite is on a narrow 2-lane road favored by local cyclists. There are lots of curves and hills and very short sightlines.
Many times an oncoming car is passing oncoming cyclists just about the time a car is trying to pass me.
The kicker is that these roads have a 20mph speed limit and the cyclists are often speeding.
I've also been squeezed by motorists too eager to make meaningless passes to be first to a red light/stopsign/intersection.

I am fine with a driver wanting to take a few extra seconds to assess the situation. Make sure that the cyclist is riding predictably and calibrate if it is safe to pass within the lane or if a lane change is needed (this is easier if the cyclist takes the lane to indicate I must change lanes to pass). Make sure that there are no driveways or side streets ahead with cars ready to pull onto the road. Make sure there won't be passing in an intersection. Make sure there are good sightlines. Make sure there is no car behind ready to pass (I drive at or slightly below the speed limit). Make sure the cyclist isn't put into a dangerous blind spot. Gauge how traffic is flowing.

If a driver cannot/will not pass me while I am riding my bike, I will stop and wave them on.

Mr. Hairy Legs

My mother drives like this. She has poor spatial awareness and is terrified of hitting someone.

1986raleigh

Worse is soccer mom who refuses to move over into inside lane to pass you and passes to closely in your lane of travel when you are legally and clearly occupying the lane you are in. Then while eight inches off your left quarter blast on the horn for the whole time she creeps past you while driving with her knees and talking on a cell phone, and shouting you need to be on the sidewalk.

Walter S

My post was about the crazy people that won't pass on a long and straight hill with plenty of visibility.

Sullalto

You're kidding, right? Ten seconds?

6 seconds is the rule of thumb for between cars in bad weather.

Ten seconds at 30mph is a quarter of a mile. That's a bit excessive.

spare_wheel

At 20 mph this is a 300 foot gap. I'm all for this personally since I never drive when I'm in a hurry -- that's what cycling is for.

spare_wheel

You are upset that they are driving slowly? Really???

Dave Cutter

They are just being courteous. Sometimes... a cyclist (a jogger, ducks crossing the road, a kid on a skateboard) is all a motorist needs to remind them life isn't all about hurrying. Don't let normal activity make you paranoid. If we can't [somewhat] trust the people we share the roads with... we can't ride there.

I always feel confident that motorist are watching my behind. I sure wish that meant I thought they were admiring it.

Shimagnolo

And such unexpected behaviour can get people killed: Emma Czornobaj faces life in prison for stopping to rescue ducklings and causing crash | Mail Online