What the hell is wrong with people?!

Wood Devil · 02-06-2012

I swear, sometimes I think cyclists are riding with a sign on our backs that read HIT ME.

And if I ever catch one of these idiots, God help them, because I'm going to go wild man crazy, foaming at the mouth as I tear them from their vehicle.

Now here I am today doing 35mph on a good descent, two lanes of traffic on my left approaching a green traffic light. This girl in her Pontiac Sunfire races by me, nearly sideswiping the car to her left, just to beat me to her turn at the light, which she does about fifteen feet ahead of me. At that speed I had just enough time to swerve in avoidance.

What is your opinion of these people? Is it that they just have zero situational awareness, or are they actively trying to target us? You have to think that at least some of them are hoping to watch us wreck in their rear view. And then they'll speed off with a wicked grin, pumping their fist, feeling pretty darn good about themselves (but subconsciously wishing they had the coordination to ride a bike, or look even half as good as we do in our lycra space suits).

Oxtox · 02-06-2012

assclown drivers are kinda like flats...they tend to come in bunches.

I'll go weeks and experience very little friction with motorists, but then it seems that every car on the road tries to take me out...

take a breath, relax. it'll pass...for a while.

MikeBiker · 02-06-2012

Maybe she got tired of looking at your Lycra-clad ass.

Vibe · 02-06-2012

haters gonn hate.

roscoe · 02-06-2012

I think you need to grasp that drivers don't expect a bike to be travelling at 35 mph

she expects you to be going at 10-13 mph just like every other bike on the road, she knows you're there but thinks you'll be 4 miles behind her the second she passes you.

you have to realize that YOU'RE the oddball going so fast on a bike, it's not normal... and drivers don't expect it... so you have to ride extra defensively.

180 · 02-06-2012

You just need to go faster

TimV · 02-06-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wood Devil

What is your opinion of these people?

Mostly, I think people that do this are a dangerous combination of clueless and self-absorbed. This is one reason why most of my bike riding happens in the wee hours of the morning on mainly empty roads. I do, however, still commute on my motorcycle.

Cinelli 82220 · 02-06-2012

Nobody cares about anything except themselves.
Anyone in their way is a jerk.

Just half an hour ago I was at a 4 way stop sign.
Idiot bimbo in fancy sports car to my left made a left turn and ran right into a pedestrian.
Broad daylight. No other traffic around. Open area, nothing to obstruct her view.
So I get out to see if the guy she's hit is okay---he's shook up and pretty upset.
The girl leans out her window and GIGGLES and says "Sorry. you okay?" She didn't even get out of her car, and she didn't wait for an answer before driving away. I guess she thinks knocking a pedestrian down with a car equates to bumping shopping carts at Walmart.
She certainly wasn't interested in anyone else's safety or well being.
See how much she giggles when she gets charged with hit and run.

CABGPatchKid · 02-06-2012

Saturday we were on a group ride going south on PCH when we came upon several emergency vehicles in the left lane. As we went around we saw another cycling group on the side of the road and several cyclists down and several mangled bikes.
Later we learned that a woman was driving drunk, now mind you this is 9 AM, and she ran into them taking 3 of them out, and that she had 3 maybe 4 previous DUIs.
There is a very wide shoulder/bike lane where this occurred, yet she still managed to hit them. Very sad.
I don’t think anyone was seriously hurt, I sure hope that was the case.

CheapTrek · 02-06-2012

I was descending at a little over 30 on a fairly wide road with cars parked on either side and had a similarly infuriating incident. It was about a quarter of seven in the morning and there was little traffic on the road I was on. Experience has taught me that it's not a good idea to hug a line of parked cars and when you're moving at a good clip it's even more important. the speed limit on the road was 25.

So I'm cruising along and all of a sudden I hear a horn. Loud and close and which the driver continues to lay on as he guns it past me on the right.

I was doing more than the speed limit and was by no means in the middle of the lane. He could have easily just past me.

Long story short, there's a stop sign a few hundred yards ahead and this guy gets stuck due to cross traffic. I rolled up to his passenger window and firmly knocked on it with conviction. Nothing over the top but enough to let him know I was none too happy.

The guy was scared shirtless and would not even turn to look at me. When the cars passed he quickly changed to a left turn and slowly crept off.

tihsepa · 02-06-2012

Your in Mass?

No wonder. Those people drive like a$$wholes out there. I ride alot in Norwood when I am out there for work.
Sorry man, Just be safe.

orbit · 02-06-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by roscoe

I think you need to grasp that drivers don't expect a bike to be travelling at 35 mph

she expects you to be going at 10-13 mph just like every other bike on the road, she knows you're there but thinks you'll be 4 miles behind her the second she passes you.

you have to realize that YOU'RE the oddball going so fast on a bike, it's not normal... and drivers don't expect it... so you have to ride extra defensively.

I think there is a lot of truth in this… I believe drivers often fail to judge with any sort of accuracy the speed an approaching cyclist is traveling.

That and they just don't register an oncoming bike as a 'risk' or physical threat to either themselves or their car. A cyclist lacks physical 'presence' or 'bulk' on the road.

So they will turn across your path, or pull out in front of you without considering the consequence for the cyclist. Sometimes it's a 'might is right/get off the road' attitude… and other times it is poor judgement.

foto · 02-06-2012

dbl post, sorry.

foto · 02-06-2012

Not everyone wants to be a cyclist, and I think that is fair. However, everyone should understand what it means to be a cyclist--ie: a vulnerable user of the road. Therefore, when I am president, every man, woman, and other will be required to spend 10 years getting around on a 50cc moped, or bicycle, before being qualified to apply for a driver's license. And then, it is an entry level driver's license which permits the person to operate a POS bucket-of-bolts rusted out Geo Metro with no power steering. If, and only if, you can manage that for 10 more years without a single moving citation, then you get the full license to operate one of these rolling living rooms we call vehicles these days.

**Gripped** · 02-06-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wood Devil

What is your opinion of these people? Is it that they just have zero situational awareness, or are they actively trying to target us? You have to think that at least some of them are hoping to watch us wreck in their rear view. And then they'll speed off with a wicked grin, pumping their fist, feeling pretty darn good about themselves (but subconsciously wishing they had the coordination to ride a bike, or look even half as good as we do in our lycra space suits).

Typical driver behavior. I see this all the time when I'm in my car. Driver speeds around someone only to slow down and turn seconds later. Personally, I think cars can compartmentalize the transportation experience to such a degree that many drivers see other vehicles (and pedestrians) as objects without recognizing that there are associated people with them. And they largely see those other objects as obstacles to their getting where they are going.

I think a little more empathy on the road would be good for everyone.

velodog · 02-06-2012

People like that are just Fcked in the Head and there ain't no help for them. They don't care about anyone or anything but themselves and ain't nothin' gonna change, so it falls to us to watch out for them.

Just be careful, because if you ever do put your hands on one of them, deserving or not, it'll probably be you handcuffed in the back seat of the squad car. And there will probably be witnesses that will be surprised by your behavior for no apparent reason.

Cinelli 82220 · 02-06-2012

Lately cars have become far more powerful than ever before, with four door sedans capable of higher performance than hot rods of the seventies. Even giant pickup trucks, probably the most unsafe things on the road, go incredibly fast.
At the same time there are more and more driver distractions. Cell phones, fancy sat-nav systems, even TVs in the dashboard.
Couple these with the modern rush to get everywhere and run over anyone in your way and you have a recipe for disaster.

Rob · 02-06-2012

Fro some reason this reminded me of an interview of (golf analyst) David Feherty, who is an avid cyclist. He has been hit twice by cars while riding.

Q: Are you nervous riding in traffic now?

Feherty: I tend to ass-munch the saddle when some idiot rolls by too close. I'll tell you this, the next person who hits me had better keep moving, because if I'm able to get upright that ambulance will have two passengers.

KoroninK · 02-06-2012

Heck it's not just cyclists, I've been cut off about a half dozen times in the past two weeks while driving my car. My thought is too many people not paying attention to anything while driving.

Kerry Irons · 02-06-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wood Devil

I swear, sometimes I think cyclists are riding with a sign on our backs that read HIT ME.

And if I ever catch one of these idiots, God help them, because I'm going to go wild man crazy, foaming at the mouth as I tear them from their vehicle.

Now here I am today doing 35mph on a good descent, two lanes of traffic on my left approaching a green traffic light. This girl in her Pontiac Sunfire races by me, nearly sideswiping the car to her left, just to beat me to her turn at the light, which she does about fifteen feet ahead of me. At that speed I had just enough time to swerve in avoidance.

What is your opinion of these people? Is it that they just have zero situational awareness, or are they actively trying to target us? You have to think that at least some of them are hoping to watch us wreck in their rear view. And then they'll speed off with a wicked grin, pumping their fist, feeling pretty darn good about themselves (but subconsciously wishing they had the coordination to ride a bike, or look even half as good as we do in our lycra space suits).

A wise person once said: Never attribute to malice what can so easily be explained by incompetence.

scottzj · 02-06-2012

Seems everybody is in a hurry to die.....the unfortunate detail is they end up taking others with them. I have always thought that every driver should be required to ride a bike on busy roads for a few months. I bet they would pay more attention to us then.

cantride55 · 02-06-2012

Drivers don't get it. When cyclists get in an accident we go to the hospital. Usually by ambulance.
Cars go to the body shop, maybe by towtruck.
And the driver goes to rent another car.

It's been said here before "ride like the cars don't see you". I agree with this but, how do I do that, everytime?

Serotta Nova · 02-06-2012

Went for a night ride a couple of weeks ago from a local high school. Ended up being just three riders. We all had our winter gear, reflective tape in great quantity, headlights and tail lights. All was good as we got started.

As we approached an intersection, a huge Ford Expedition passed us. It was obvious that he saw us since he went way wide to pass. However, his generosity ended there. No sooner had he passed when he came quickly back into the our lane, slowed, and then turned right. Brakes were applied with extra exertion so that we didn't rear-end him.

The irony of it all was his license plate. A special plate from SC with a cyclist prominantly displayed on the left. Yep...."Share the Road". Guess it only applies when he is on his bike.

banosser · 02-06-2012

Same thing happened to me when I was back in High School... Cruising up an in town road, probably only going 18-20 mph, two lanes.. Lady passes me and immediately hangs a right right in front of me... I can only try to turn inside her, but am going too fast.. I slam into her rt rear qtr panel and proceed to endo over her trunk into the middle of the intersection... Thankfully all I ended up with was a big lac on my elbow.. could have been worse (no helmet back in the mid 70s).. but my older brothers Browning roadie was pretty trashed.. Oh yah.. the lady got out of the car looked at the dent in her qtr panel and yelled at me "look what you did to my car!"... I was abit too shaken to respond appropriately, but fortunately it happened right in front of the residence of an older high school peer, who happened to be out in his front yard and witnessed the whole thing..he had no such problem, ripping the old lady a new one.. I always appreciated that... The totally clueless lady got in her car and drove off... My buddy made sure I was ok.. and drove me & my brothers bike home..

Chef Tony · 02-06-2012

and another-
riding home from work today, going about 5 mph up a short ( 200ft. long) steep (>14%) residential hill, cars parked on both sides. Blind hilltop, I'm in the middle of my lane humping it to the crest. lady in a minivan passes me just before the top, then stops to turn R into a driveway less than 100 ft later, right in front of me.
Me- "What in the world are you doing?? why would you pass me on a blind hilltop, just to stop right here??"
her- " OK, I made a poor decision, but at least I stopped to let you go by."
me- 'yes, I'm always thankful when I manage to avoid accidents from someone's bad judgement. After seeing your first move I dint' know what would come next."
her- 'You should'nt even be riding here- you should have a light on that bike', etc.
(I have a L&M 180 on the front, Superflash on the back, and plenty of reflector tape on my commuter). I could still hear her ranting from 100 yds off as I ride away...