If you have a story about a run in with a car (crash), a driver (fight/argument), or a trucker (fight/argument/interesting talk), post it here.
I'll start it off:
Tonight I was riding home from my LBS when I was cut off. I followed the guy, and when he stopped for a car he thought was pulling out of a driveway (it wasn't) I passed him flashing the 1-finger salute (couldn't help it). He drove up to the side of me and started screaming. I turned and he followed he. He kept screaming for about a minute while I just sat there. He got bored and left seeing that there was no point in yelling at me. I could tell he was pissed off before reaching me; in retrospect I should have just shrugged it off but that's hard because this guy was a jerk. Plus, I've never had a run in with a bad driver before (most people in my are are nice.
trouble with CARS
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SpecAllez09
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Last edited by SpecAllez09 on Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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airsoft510
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SpecAllez09 wrote:If you have a story about a run in with a car (crash), a driver (fight/argument), or a trucker (fight/argument/interesting talk), post it here.
I'll start it off:
Tonight I was riding home from my LBS when I was cut off. I followed the guy, and when he stopped for a car he thought was pulling out of a driveway (it wasn't) I passed him flashing the 1-finger salute. He drove up to the side of me and started screaming. I turned and he followed he. He kept screaming for about a minute while I sat there laughing at his frustration. He got bored and left seeing that there was no point in hurting me or yelling at me. I win.
I'd be careful, i did that to a person and we got in an argument, he had cut me off, and he said "since it was a blind turn I didnt want to cross the yellow line" so he'd rather force me off the road. it pissed me off
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evenfasterson
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If someone cuts you off a good bang on the roof usually makes em jump makes a load noise inside the car but doesnt damage it.
In the UK I beleive it is legal to do whatever is nessicary to make yourself known to the driver if you think they havent seen you. So basically by law if you get cut up/pull out on you can kick the car till the driver notices you.
(This may need confirming as im not 100% sure, never actually looked it up.)
In the UK I beleive it is legal to do whatever is nessicary to make yourself known to the driver if you think they havent seen you. So basically by law if you get cut up/pull out on you can kick the car till the driver notices you.
(This may need confirming as im not 100% sure, never actually looked it up.)
IMO, you don't 'win' by making a driver even more angry. You just increase the chance that they will continue to endanger cyclists.
It's really difficult to swallow my aggression when somebody almost runs me over, but I have decided it is worth it. Maybe it helps that I'm always in team kit and therefore representing sponsors - something I try and remember when tempted to flip someone off. Also, I train 15hrs/wk on the same roads - chances are I will see the same cars again.
I have never seen such a situation resolved in a positive manner by escalation - if the driver gets out of the car and you give them beatdown or threaten them with a gun (WTF!?) they will likely be permanently (and dangerously) pissed off at cyclists.
Bike vs. car? The car wins every time. You may feel tough and proud that you 'showed them who's boss,' but the next cyclist might not even know what hit them.
It's really difficult to swallow my aggression when somebody almost runs me over, but I have decided it is worth it. Maybe it helps that I'm always in team kit and therefore representing sponsors - something I try and remember when tempted to flip someone off. Also, I train 15hrs/wk on the same roads - chances are I will see the same cars again.
I have never seen such a situation resolved in a positive manner by escalation - if the driver gets out of the car and you give them beatdown or threaten them with a gun (WTF!?) they will likely be permanently (and dangerously) pissed off at cyclists.
Bike vs. car? The car wins every time. You may feel tough and proud that you 'showed them who's boss,' but the next cyclist might not even know what hit them.
Life is too short and people far too unpredictable to be going around antagonising motorists. Its seems our very presence on the road makes some of them irrate, so I'm not going out of my way to make things worse.
I usually imagine that they have really small brains (or something else, if the car is a particularly flash looking one). It makes me feel a bit better.
brian wrote:How can the car drivers know that they drive dangerously, if no one tells them?
I don't think there's anything with pointing out dangerous behavior, but I rarely trust myself to do so in a civil manner, so I let it pass.
99% of the time drivers are well aware that they are driving irresponsibly. If I really feel a driver is unaware of being too close to me, and happen to end up next to the driver at the next stop light, I might politely ask them to give me some more room - I've been pleasantly surprised how drivers respond to advice given with a 'please' and 'thank you.'
It's not my first instinct, but I try to remember that both the driver and I will be on the road again together, and they have the distinct advantage.
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rustychain
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SpecAllez09 wrote:If you have a story about a run in with a car (crash), a driver (fight/argument), or a trucker (fight/argument/interesting talk), post it here.
I'll start it off:
Tonight I was riding home from my LBS when I was cut off. I followed the guy, and when he stopped for a car he thought was pulling out of a driveway (it wasn't) I passed him flashing the 1-finger salute. He drove up to the side of me and started screaming. I turned and he followed he. He kept screaming for about a minute while I sat there laughing at his frustration. He got bored and left seeing that there was no point in hurting me or yelling at me. I win.
So the next bike rider this jerk comes across will be so thankfull to you for "teaching" this guy a lesson
. Your not making the situation better for you or for other bike riders. All he saw was some bike rider giving him the bird. Tip, if you want to blow off some steam and make him avoid other bike riders just blow him a kiss 
. Like it or not in this world messing with cars and trucks while riding a bike is a losers game.-
rustychain
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Servile? Not at all. Survival in traffic is a cooperative effort however my friend. I like my life and I like not being dumped on by drivers that are loaded with rage over stupidly simple mistakes that have been escalated by further poor judgement.
Second point. Riding in the USA we are subject to idiots in massive SUV's, idiots with guns and just plain idiots. We survive by understanding this. I can't say what conditions you ride in but your servile American rant is not something that shows you at your best.
Second point. Riding in the USA we are subject to idiots in massive SUV's, idiots with guns and just plain idiots. We survive by understanding this. I can't say what conditions you ride in but your servile American rant is not something that shows you at your best.
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rustychain
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OK here is my latest near miss.
Riding on a windy road on the way home. I'm doing 30 MPH in a 25. A car slowly passes me so close that the mirror almost hits me. I was forced into the gutter when the car turns right . I was just able to swerve in time to the left, missing the bumper by what looked like an inch. I was screaming thru all this and I guess the driver figured what she had done and stopped her car to say she was sorry. It turned out to be my mother in law
................my wife said later it was funny 
Riding on a windy road on the way home. I'm doing 30 MPH in a 25. A car slowly passes me so close that the mirror almost hits me. I was forced into the gutter when the car turns right . I was just able to swerve in time to the left, missing the bumper by what looked like an inch. I was screaming thru all this and I guess the driver figured what she had done and stopped her car to say she was sorry. It turned out to be my mother in law
................my wife said later it was funny Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
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When I was a teen the club I rode with was intentionally run off the road by a motorist who thought that he would play traffic cop. He was caught and was stupid enough to get out of his car; he was badly beaten (in those days everyone carried a frame pump). Sorry to admit but very satisfying at the time.
A few weeks ago a motorist took exception to having to wait behind our peloton. He pulled ahead and then jumped out of his vehicle to harass us. In a minute he was surrounded by a dozen fit young men (he was 50ish short and fat). His beef was that he pays the taxes in the area and us outsiders come into his district and take over the roads. He challenged us to compare income tax records with him. Funny thing was most of bikes around him were worth more then his POS mini-van (with his fat wife and kids sitting inside)!
A few weeks ago a motorist took exception to having to wait behind our peloton. He pulled ahead and then jumped out of his vehicle to harass us. In a minute he was surrounded by a dozen fit young men (he was 50ish short and fat). His beef was that he pays the taxes in the area and us outsiders come into his district and take over the roads. He challenged us to compare income tax records with him. Funny thing was most of bikes around him were worth more then his POS mini-van (with his fat wife and kids sitting inside)!
