I've been in Chicago for 15 years and am looking to get the he!! out, this being one of the many reasons. Yes, these drivers are very aggressive towards cyclists, but also towards everything. I lived in NY for 26 years, and things were never like they are here. The competition to outdo your neighbor is ridiculous. Status is everything in this area. So you will find the biggest baddest gas-hungriest SUV's all over Chicagoland (what a stuipid name, I must say), driven by morons of all shapes and sizes who just want their neighbors to say "Wow, look at that new (insert vehicle model name) that the (insert a$$**** last name here) just got. We need to get one." So is life in Chicagoland.
I had some raggy b&%ch in an Acura MDX (the choice for the 'sporting' b&tch) tell me to "get on the trail, that's what it's for" on Sunday. I replied "It's a ROAD bike". I don't think she got it.
Word of advice; ride defensively and keep your middle finger ready.

I used to own an SUV. Mind you, I lived on an Indian reservation in the mountains, and the main road was marked with a sign WARNING: NOT FOR PUBLIC USE. I had to drive over fallen trees and rocks and it was usually covered in about an inch of mud. But why the hell does someone in Chicago need an SUV?!

Glad that somebody else is out there giving us roaddies a bad name by acting stupider, more immature and more aggressive then the people you refer to. Keep up the good work.

Hauling stuff around?

Who knows. I'm about to move into San Antonio and Im looking to trade my Malibu in for a Trail Blazer or a Rav 4 because a car really does not fit my habits or lifestyle.

My involuntary response to that is, "My slowest car can blow the doors of your POS, so I'm not impressed".


This reminds me of an old friend of mine, who incidentally was also a cyclist. He was a VERY meek, passive guy, and never spoke in crowds. He would in fact cower in the corner when he was around large groups of people, and was very non-confrontational.

BUT, when you got him in a car, he was a terror. He would drive everywhere at top speed, screech around corners, spin wheels, weave in and out of traffic, pass people on double yellow lines, and was VERY aggressive in general. He ended up wrecking just about every car he owned (including a few he didn't) and we were all amazed that he didn't get killed, or kill anyone else. Thank god he was a cyclist, because that made him cautious around bikes.

But it's exactly what kefin was saying, the car flipped a switch in him, and brought out things that were usually hidden. I'm sure there are thousands of people out there who are like my friend, although to a (hopefully) less extreme extent.

A car is just like a bicycle. The bike awakens the demon in some of us the same way as a car. Some of us tame that demon in different ways.

The only difference that I see is that there is usually less damage, less mass and a smaller frequency of occurrances with a cyclist as opposed to an SUV.

E.g. When 50 cyclists take up a lane. The only real difference is you don't really see 50 cyclists taking up a lane quite as often as the reverse scenario.
or when a cyclist races through an intersection that he should have stopped or slowed down at.
or when a cyclist gets off of his bike and bashes the window in or cusses at somebody nearly threatening to bash them with this clipped shoe.

I've heard of more horror stories of bad behavior from cyclists on this forum then I have ever experienced from all of the bad vehiculcar experiences I've had in all my time riding. I think people let it get to them a bit too much.

Drivers of gigantic SUVs are understandably threatened by the presence of you on your bicycle. I think this little ditty sums it up...

Way down south where bananas grow,
A grasshopper stepped on an elephants toe.

The Elephant said with tears in it's eye,
Why don't you pick on somebody your own size.

Any questions?

wow, I have noticed that too, I live in chicago , and people in SUVs have called me terrible names, cut me off and honked at me. I think they need to relax more and realize cyclists have the same rights they do.

lol, I agree, whenever I see someone on blades or another bike, I automatically feel I need to race it

I have an SUV. AND I hate when all SUV drivers are grouped together!!
I think you are most likely having trouble with the Darango or Traiblazer or Yukon drivers? Am I right?
I have a Toyota Sequioa. My wife drives it. We live in Michigan where we get a pretty good amount of snow every year. Plus I have 3 kids. I'm 6'2" my wife is 6"3". Are kids are 12/9/6. They are all tall for there ages and have lots of friends. So we are picking up a few here and there. I HATE MINI VANS!!!!! We opted for a little bit of a luxury class SUV that had plenty of room for all 5 of us plus a few friends. We also do some long trips every summer. Pick a place and go. Last year it was visiting relatives in Virginia then a drive up the coast and into New York across the Falls back to Michigan. This year it was a NewEngland trip.
So to generalize all suv owners is just as bad as generalizing bike owners.
I'll bet you have never been cut off or harassed by a Toyota driver.

My family has a Tahoe and a Rav 4 and both of my parents are probably model citizens where driving is concerned, at least speaking for my dad anyway. 63 years old, without a single driving ticket and probably real close to a million miles traveled. I honestly can't say I don't know of any SUV drivers that are any worse then any other vehicle drivers. I would say down here the worst sterotyped drivers Ford drivers and white pickups and even then I've honestly not seen alot of those in the last 2-3 years. They were being really bad about 3-4 years ago :-/

Around here , it is somewhat older pickups and old piece of **** american cars. Some guy in an old POS buick or something circa 1982 got behind me and started blowing teh horn. He wouldn't pass although he had a whole other lane empty. Stayed there for a mile or 2 through town. He pulled in at a gas station and I followed him in. He didn't have an answer when asked what his problem was

Perhaps it is just the fact that SUV's are larger and require more lane space, so you are more prone to consider them closer to you as they pass? Percentage wise, there are more of them, so more bad drivers will be behind the wheels of SUV's. I own an SUV, albeit a small one, with a 4 cylinder, and am a cyclist. Bad to stereo type SUV drivers as bad.

SUVs fit in the United States.

Here, bigger = better, right?

Right?

I'm more than happy in my Volvo sedan.

Wow! That is so damn stupid! Have you ever heard of a Toyota Land Cruiser? Well I have, because I get to see them up close and personal when the jaggoffs almost run me off the road! You almost succeeded in justifying your SUV purchase... "But Toyotas are flawless! They wouldn't hurt a fly!" Give me a break. SUV drivers should have to get their Class A before they can purchase one.

Oh, what a timely post: last week a guy driving his suv, tried to push me into parked cars. So close, after passing me, he almost hit cars parked ahead. I caught him at the light and said "do you realize you almost hit me"? He said "too bad a**hole", spit, and sped off. I again caught this buttwipe at the next light, reached in, grabbed this dickhead by the throat and told him to get out and he and I were going to have a little come to Jesus meeting. Bastard than turns his wheels to drive me into curb, and then drove off screaming on his cell phone to police that he had been assaulted. He followed me for 3-4 miles and trying to get a cop to come. I waited 3 times and when I would ride to him, off he goes. I wish the cops would have arrived, I would have pressed charges. My gf said to just ignore and ride away..sorry, no turning the other cheek for me...too much Irish blood. I keep looking for this guy, I really want to nail his fat suv attitude with a big right. Sorry for the rant, but this guy still makes me white hot.

I again caught this buttwipe at the next light, reached in, grabbed this dickhead by the throat and told him to get out and he and I were going to ha


------


You should be in jail if you actually did that. No wonder why so many people have a negative attitude towards cyclists.

I find large and jacked up pickups far more agressive than SUVs.

But if you want to sterotype, its younger 20-30 year old male drivers who are generally most agressive, this does happen to be the most common driver of the vehicle type I mention above.

(I drive a 2dr Ford Explorer - do these count as SUVs anymore , I feel tiny compared to Expeditions and the like )

Al

The most agreessive acts i've ever had happen to me came from cars. 2 beer bottles and several soda bottles thrown at me over the course of 2 1/2 years. Almost every single time that I can recall they were thrown fromthe window of a car.

TexasGuy, obviously a generalization/stereotype isn't going to fit with everyone, otherwise it would be a fact. So please don't get so offended. and if you wouldn't mind, please elaborate on why "a car really does not fit my habits or lifestyle". Just curious.

Yesterday on my ride to my parents' to replace my dad's chain, a driver of a Mercedes SUV honked loudly during the 20 seconds he was tied up behind me then pulled next to me after making the same right as me to tell me how I was tying up traffic. I just shook my head. A few minutes before that a delivery van (going the opposite direction) screamed some obsceneties at me while climbing a hill with a car behind me (who didn't seem to mind the 30 second delay).

If I had to generalize about the worst drivers and what cars they are in it would be:

1. BMW's (all of them, any year)
2. Hummer H2's
3. Delivery vehicles
4. Luxury sedans and SUV's

OMg
Every BMW we have here has some cute blond chick that I want to marry I wouldn't mind if one of them honked at me

Currently mylifestyle doesn't really "need" a rav/trailblazer per-se but I'm looking at the future. If i went to college whatever vehicle I had before hand would pretty much be the vehicle I have for the duration of college and I can see myself wanting to turn it into a mini-office for books, etc since I would be running between work, college and hopefujlly cycling. I really dislike putting my bike on a trunk rack even though the rack I have is a really nice one. I'd rather stow it inside. 'Sides chicks dig SUVs

Yeah, and lots of those blondes have to stop talking on their cellphone for a second or two to flip me the bird and scream at me. Not very attractive in my book.

I'm disappointed in your justification If I can fit my bike easily in the trunk of a Honda Civic (without the seats down) then I'm sure you can find a car that could fit your bike. Same thing for the books. With the car, you'll have more money for those books and bike stuff too. Unless, of course, all you care about is the chicks diggin' your truck (never met any of those girls BTW).

FWIW, I've talked at least 3 people out of buying SUV's and every one of them has thanked me later. Two that I didn't succeed with went on to sell the SUV and buy something smaller that fit their needs better. Very, very few people really need to own an SUV in my experience.

Could it be you get yelled at, etc more often because you ride in the gutter to pass people at stoplights that have just spent 10 minutes going 20 mph below the speed limit to pass you. Yeah I know it is legal, but that doesn't make it right. Ie, it is legal for that SUV to pull all the way over to the right to keep you from passing, but it pi$$es you off.

maybe San Antonio bmw chicks are politer, who knows. They always drive in San Antonio and not out in the Hill Country where I cycle.

Also to add to the list, I like the vantage point. I'm 5'5 and when I get stuck behind some blocky old truck I can't see for **** what is in front of me or in the next lane. It is extremely frustrating for me. I am pretty sure that my reasons aren't justification to most people but for approximately the same gas mileage that my Malibu gets + extra storage + getting my bike off of the trunk rack I figure I might as well get something that has room for expansion for literally the same cost. The car i would want costs approximately 18-25k and the Rav/TrailBlazer I want is roughly around the same price.

Stereotype on...

Teenage girls on cell phones scare me. Just yesterday I was waiting at the left side of a the right lane at a red light as a pedestrian was crossing in front of me. Car came up fast to my right with said teenage girl on cell, she didn't even look and missed pedestrian (who had to jump back) by ~1ft. Instead of stopping the girl kept chatting away oblivious to situation, with barely a glace over her right side (which cell phone was on) to see if traffic was coming so she could turn right.

Pedestrian and I shared some common anger and insults toward driver.

Al