Idiot drivers!

[Carl H]

So, I'm riding along a 2 lane road in the marked bike lane when a woman, headed in the same direction, passes by me then turns to her right, directly in front of me to get into her driveway!!!! I slam on both wheel brakes to avoid hitting the side of her car, almost losing control. I come to a stop and get a foot on the ground and sit there as she raises her garage door. I hollar out "Thanks for paying attention, lady!". She just looked at me as if she had no idea what I was talking about. I just shake my head and take off again, wondering WTF.

I did have a bright taillight burning and, at 6', I'm not that hard to spot.

Just another reminder to myself and other riders .... gotta be careful out there!

 

[fooferdoggie]

yep I see it all the time. I never trust cars that pass me. Hell I never trust drivers period. Though when I had my recumbent it was never a problem. I had a driver step on the g as to pass me then turn in front of me. a couple that only gave me a few feet when they passed and parked cars where on the right. portland or is pretty good with bicycling. but there are a ton of idiots driving and on bikes. I watch the casual cyclists do such stupid things its amazing. going the wrong way on marked bike lanes and such.

 

[PDoz]

Not that I'm suggesting it, but wouldn't it be therapeutic to have a caption contest for what you could spray paint on her door? It's highly unlikely your near death experience would even register on her radar enough for her to understand why her door was now a target, so there is no point actually lowering yourself to breaking the law...but it's therapeutic to dream.

I'll start with

L /OO\K with dots inside the o's

 

[fooferdoggie]

Not that I'm suggesting it, but wouldn't it be therapeutic to have a caption contest for what you could spray paint on her door? It's highly unlikely your near death experience would even register on her radar enough for her to understand why her door was now a target, so there is no point actually lowering yourself to breaking the law...but it's therapeutic to dream.

I'll start with

L /OO\K with dots inside the o's

paintball guns would be very gratifying.

 

[Carl H]

Or, carry a dart gun that shoots those rubber sticky darts ... with a flag on it that says "a**hole"

 

[Carl H]

and yes, I've watched clueless cyclists (actually not cyclists---bicycle riders) doing all sorts of stupid things here in Medford, OR, as well.....riding the wrong way on a sidewalk, riding against the arrows in the bike lane, weaving across lanes of traffic without looking, no helmets, no lights at night,......the list is endless.

 

[AHicks]

So, I'm riding along a 2 lane road in the marked bike lane when a woman, headed in the same direction, passes by me then turns to her right, directly in front of me to get into her driveway!!!! I slam on both wheel brakes to avoid hitting the side of her car, almost losing control. I come to a stop and get a foot on the ground and sit there as she raises her garage door. I hollar out "Thanks for paying attention, lady!". She just looked at me as if she had no idea what I was talking about. I just shake my head and take off again, wondering WTF.

I did have a bright taillight burning and, at 6', I'm not that hard to spot.

Just another reminder to myself and other riders .... gotta be careful out there!

A lot of us have learned that a lane with nothing more than a painted line between you and traffic is incredibly dangerous in many instances. There are more scary close call reports, as well as accidents, than you can beleive. A buddy of mine had his mirror clipped by the outside rear view mirror of a passing pick up which ended up tossing him into a ditch. Resulting accident cost him a few months of recovery. If it's possible for me to avoid those lanes I do just that. I think they're a REALLY bad plan...

 

[Over50]

So, I'm riding along a 2 lane road in the marked bike lane when a woman, headed in the same direction, passes by me then turns to her right, directly in front of me to get into her driveway!!!! ...

I've posted here a few times that my most frequent negative car interaction is with drivers who pass me and then take a right turn almost immediately after passing. This happens all the time and I assumed they underestimated my speed. But sometimes I think it is just the attitude of "I'm not waiting 2 seconds for a guy on a bike...".

In a similar incident but not quite the right turn. I was coming home tonight on a 25 mph residential street approaching a 4 way stop. Jimmy Johns delivery driver guns his engine to pass me (I'm probably gradually slowing from 18 mph preparing for the stop sign), passes me, and does an extremely hard brake as he cuts in front of me just prior to arriving at the stop sign. I had a hard brake to avoid hitting him but instead of fully stopping, I rolled up to the driver's window, tapped it and yelled "residential street yeah?" and he gave the signal with his hands of "what'd I do"? I really think he had no clue ... but someone got their sandwich "freaky fast"!

 

[Over50]

and yes, I've watched clueless cyclists (actually not cyclists---bicycle riders) doing all sorts of stupid things here in Medford, OR, as well.....riding the wrong way on a sidewalk, riding against the arrows in the bike lane, weaving across lanes of traffic without looking, no helmets, no lights at night,......the list is endless.

Yes, my stories are endless of bicycle riders going the wrong way in the bike lanes, blowing through stop signs or red lights, looking at cell phones as they weave all over the bike lane, riding with headphones and looking at cell phones as they weave all over the bike lanes .... egregious stuff ... and just don't get me started on the skateboarders and e-scooter riders in the bike lanes.

 

[Carl H]

AHicks ... yeah, I've been riding for the last 8 years. I've seen my share, as well. Far too many aggressive drivers out there (most of them males in big trucks, but there are others) that like to see how close they can come to a cyclist...to heck with the 3 foot law.

 

[FlatSix911]

So, I'm riding along a 2 lane road in the marked bike lane when a woman, headed in the same direction, passes by me then turns to her right, directly in front of me to get into her driveway!!!! I slam on both wheel brakes to avoid hitting the side of her car, almost losing control. I come to a stop and get a foot on the ground and sit there as she raises her garage door. I hollar out "Thanks for paying attention, lady!". She just looked at me as if she had no idea what I was talking about. I just shake my head and take off again, wondering WTF.

I did have a bright taillight burning and, at 6', I'm not that hard to spot.

Just another reminder to myself and other riders .... gotta be careful out there!

The classic Right-hook... https://www.zinn-law.com/the-right-hook-bicycle-accident.html

 

[CSH]

We're you guys just saying something............... ?
I was busy Tweeting................... You want to go over that again ?

............ Sad but true.

Stay Safe, and TRIPLE Check your surroundings out there !

 

[Mulezen]

In May a couple of young sports in their jacked high pickup pulled by me, slowed, rolled coal. I put my Super commuter in turbo hoping they stopped at the store three miles ahead....which they did. While they were inside I snapped a picture of their license plate. They rushed out to complain and then the driver realized I knew his grandfather. Hilarity ensues.

 

[ruffruff]

My favorite are the cyclists that blow through stop signs and flip you off when they almost hit you.

 

[Mister orange]

One strategy I've noticed works is SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS as a car makes a move toward u.

Try it, it works, they freeze. But you need to blood curdlingly scream

 

[CSH]

Sorry to hear that!

As I mentioned above, this is exactly why we need self driving vehicles.. or more technology.
Those "idiot drivers" are humans, just like us.

You can't expect the human drivers to be paying attention all the time, you just can't.
Science has proven that humans are FAR from perfect, and our attention span can be very flaky.
Ask any scientist and they will say the same thing, humans will make mistakes and there's no way it can keep 100% concentration all the time.

Sometimes, things disappear, sometimes brains can't register certain moving objects, and our eyes can't follow everything and we have this thing called optical illusion.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying what happen to you was good or anything, (I've had similar experience too!) I'm just saying how human brains or senses can only do so much.

Unless the driver was doing something stupid, like drinking and driving, street racing, etc.. your experience seems like classic example of human imperfection.
I know exactly how it feels, it scared the crap out of me.

People do NOT expect bicycles, so they don't see it. They really don't.
I know you had the tail lights, and so do motorcycles. Motorcycles often do not be seen on the road.

When you go to any motorcycle riding school, they really stress you have to ride like you're invisible. I would say ebikes more so.

Being objective, I agree with much of what Timpo is saying.

A very good friend of mine has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and I can not tell you how many times I have been with him
when there is something I see, he Just Did Not See !
It's kinda spooky, and he is not in control of it.

It is a Human condition that exists out there (amongst others), that we all must acknowledge.
Just like crossing a Railroad Track, We can't go on your merry way assuming there is No Train around the bend.
We must ride our Bikes as if there are Distracted People all around us, at any given time.

⚠ ⚠

I realize I'm Preaching mostly to the Choir ...................... but it never hurts to Remind ourselves.

Craig

 

[Browneye]

We learned on the motorbikes a long time ago that you have to ride like you're invisible. Just figure that a car driver simply does not see you.
About a 100K miles on them and not even a parking lot drop. And why I've sold them all.

 

[sl_duck]

Timpo makes some good points. Humans make mistakes, and sometimes they are just a-holes. I used to get angry and belligerent when wronged by drivers (almost every ride), but now I treat it like running in a herd of wildebeest. I do my best to avoid getting trampled, and don't expect the animals to learn anything from me yelling at them with righteous indignation.
I figure the shouting and shaking fists can only have one of two outcomes:
1) the person genuinely didn't see you, and might have remorse but your outburst just makes them defensive and they dismiss you as "one of those weird, entitled bike people who think they own the road"
2) the person did see you and acted recklessly anyway, and will probably get a kick out of your outburst. Maybe they would also relish a confrontation.
I find my rides no less dangerous, but much more pleasant now.

I also changed how I ride at intersections. If a car is a bit in front of me with their right-turn signal on I will pull in behind them rather than expect them to wait for me to pass on the right. This was an adjustment from my habits riding non-electric, where it's all about maintaining speed and momentum. I had to remember the fact that it really is no effort to get up to speed again on an ebike.

 

[Pete-y2k]

We learned on the motorbikes a long time ago that you have to ride like you're invisible. Just figure that a car driver simply does not see you.
About a 100K miles on them and not even a parking lot drop. And why I've sold them all.

After riding motorcycles and scooters for some 50 years, I also am selling off my fleet in favor of ebiking.
BTW, I like what was done in the Netherlands making car drivers responsible for any bicycle related collision.......even if caused by the bicyclist.

 

[CSH]

Timpo makes some good points. Humans make mistakes, and sometimes they are just a-holes. I used to get angry and belligerent when wronged by drivers (almost every ride), but now I treat it like running in a herd of wildebeest. I do my best to avoid getting trampled, and don't expect the animals to learn anything from me yelling at them with righteous indignation.
I figure the shouting and shaking fists can only have one of two outcomes:
1) the person genuinely didn't see you, and might have remorse but your outburst just makes them defensive and they dismiss you as "one of those weird, entitled bike people who think they own the road"
2) the person did see you and acted recklessly anyway, and will probably get a kick out of your outburst. Maybe they would also relish a confrontation.
I find my rides no less dangerous, but much more pleasant now.

I also changed how I ride at intersections. If a car is a bit in front of me with their right-turn signal on I will pull in behind them rather than expect them to wait for me to pass on the right. This was an adjustment from my habits riding non-electric, where it's all about maintaining speed and momentum. I had to remember the fact that it really is no effort to get up to speed again on an ebike.

Hey.............. !
Do I know you ?
I think we've Bumped into one another a time or two..............