Road Rage

[slayer1962]

People are all in a hurry today and feel their lives and schedules are important and yours are not.
The days of entitlement are upon us. My generation or the next raised brats.
It seems pretty easy o wait a few seconds and pass a bicycle when you get a chance. ( its not hard)
I agree in today's world arguing on the street can get you shot or stabbed try o ignore them. ( we cannot outrun them)

 

[ebikemom]

I often find that I catch up with cars that were in a hurry to pass me. I usually don't re-pass that car, or I use the sidewalk for a while, because I don't want them to get irritated.

 

[Mulezen]

I occasionally have trouble on my rural Central VA roads...as I related elsewhere had the pleasure of putting some social fear in a pair of coal rollers last year...but its the clueless that smash you like the little poor sighted old lady late for church that ran me off the road. I found myself in town (Richmond) a weekend ago searching for an unfamiliar athletic venue. Though I lived in town many years ago things have really changed like the addition of bike lanes. Here I was clueless as to the rules etc.

 

[Cowlitz]

People are all in a hurry today and feel their lives and schedules are important and yours are not.
The days of entitlement are upon us. My generation or the next raised brats.
It seems pretty easy o wait a few seconds and pass a bicycle when you get a chance. ( its not hard)
I agree in today's world arguing on the street can get you shot or stabbed try o ignore them. ( we cannot outrun them)

The man I educated was around my age. All generations have jerks.

 

[Rick53]

The End of an Age People will be Lovers of Self

 

[Rick53]

The man I educated was around my age. All generations have jerks.

LOL Not like today : The Wickedness in the World is Far worse then just 5 years Ago. Anyone Paying attention can see this. It's Road RAGE

 

[rich c]

Not surprised with all the hatred and decisiveness in the world today. It's just going to get worse, and unfortunately guns will be involved. https://www.bicycling.com/rides/a20035592/3-smart-ways-cyclists-can-handle-drivers-with-road-rage/

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Taken into account I am not allowed to ride my Vado 5 on bike lanes but only on road, I intend to make a T-shirt with this wording on the back for the Spring:

It is NOT a bicycle.
Don't honk.

 

[PDoz]

Taken into account I am not allowed to ride my Vado 5 on bike lanes but only on road, I intend to make a T-shirt with this wording on the back for the Spring:

It is NOT a bicycle.
Don't honk.

Would it be worth having something that explains the concept ?

I know my initial thought would be "huh ?" and there's plenty of people out there who get angry if they are encouraged to think. After all, YOU have distracted them from whatever song / text or daydream that was already distracting their drive...so you'd better have a pretty good punch line or the heckling / abuse begins ... after about 20 or 30 days you might find mr moron chuckling " it's not a bike any longer" as you're squashed below his cooper snow tyres......

Hmmm...interesting concept....a vest that has a different thought of the day. Make them good enough and the regular commuters might slow down long enough to read it - or at least notice you?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I wrote that because I was enraged

This is a MOPED, not a bike.
I have the right to ride on the road.
Please respect that.​

Sounds better?

 

[Readytoride]

Ebikemom - I was so very sorry to read about the verbal treatment you received from the mouth of a complete ass. You did the right thing - removing yourself from a situation that could have easily escalated in the wrong direction had you retaliated in kind.

It never hurts to memorized a license plate and color/make of a rager's car, and put in a call to the local LEO to have them send someone to meet you at that spot or wherever you relocated to stay safe and out of the way. They WILL take a report of the unprovoked verbal harassment since you were using the road legally. If that person rages at someone else, and/or causes harm, then your report becomes important for justifying more severe punishment of the rager by the law.

Again, I'm so sorry you went through this from one entitled jackass. Stay safe out there.

 

[PDoz]

I wrote that because I was enraged

This is a MOPED, not a bike.
I have the right to ride on the road.
Please respect that.​

Sounds better?

deflecting blame can illicit sympathy / unity

eg this is a moped, sorry I have to share your road

too subtle?

how about ?

blame the cops, apparently this is a moped

I dunno, perhaps this could be a seperate thread?

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I have found that the most effective treatment for road rage is a GoPro mounted to your helmet.

Seriously, most people know what GoPros are and nobody, but nobody, wants to risk being the latest idiot to go viral. I've found that on journey motorists are much more respectful of me and my place on the road as soon as they see the camera.

I lived in Seattle and Bellevue for years and commuted by bicycle, producing quite a few visits to the ER and a fair number of wrecked bikes on the way. Road rage was part of the experience and I probably had a serious encounter every three months or so. You are doing well if it hasn't happened that often to you.

 

[Over50]

@ebikemom, I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Unfortunately there are a lot of folks out there with issues and some of them drive large vehicles. I'd say the number of incidents I have had with oblivious motorists is innumerable. The number I have had with 'aware but don't care' motorists (like looking me right in the eye before they pull out in front of me ... or passing me only to turn right as soon as they pass) is sizeable. The number I have had with drivers who aggressively and consciously do dangerous and perhaps illegal things in my proximity is less frequent but not uncommon An example of this is the woman who came right up on my back tire on a 25 mph residential street recently as I was preparing to stop at a 4-way and make a left (hence I was squarely blocking my lane and signaling left). She honked her horn and yelled something which I didn't understand as she sped on through the stop after I cleared the left turn.

But then there are the true road rage incidents of which I have had 2 in 3 years. I posted of them here in my threads. Both were triggered by me being in a left lane at a stop light preparing for a left turn. Both were on low speed streets - one residential and one in downtown. They rattled me and have made me really hesitant to make left turns if there is any traffic. Sometimes I'll go out of my way to avoid a left. Anyway, the first incident was on my very first commute back in 2017. I was going to turn left from a residential onto a boulevard and I had a red light. It was a left from a one way to a two way so left on red would not be legal. The woman came up from behind at 6am in a minivan and laid on the horn. I ran the light out of fear and because there was no cross traffic. She sped through the red light too, went around me on the right and intentionally pulled the front of her van to the left into my path and braked daring me to crash into her as she flipped me the bird. I was tempted to just crash into her out of anger but I was riding my brand new R&M and I new it would be destroyed. She made it very clear she didn't appreciate me getting in her way.

In the second incident, I was again at a red light but needed to proceed one more block to make a left turn. My path was crossing a one way opposite direction to my intended turn so when the incident started, I wasn't preventing anyone from making a left. A luxury SUV with NY plates had just pulled up behind me when I heard, very similar to your experience, "you f...in moron" followed by other choice words. The SUV sped around me at the green but he was stopped by the next red light and I went around him on his left and tapped the driver's side window. We had words and he was hardly rational but his point was basically that a bike shouldn't be in the road particularly in the left lane. He specifically said I should be on the sidewalk or off to the side. I thought it really strange because there are a lot of folks on bikes in our downtown. I see delivery riders and commuters often in traffic sitting at lights. Maybe I was singled out because it was early in the morning and there really wasn't traffic yet. The driver was about my age. I quoted Michigan law (again, he had NY plates) in telling him a cyclist has every right to the lane and has a right to use a left turn lane to make a left turn. His response was something to the effect of "I don't give a f*** what any law says...you shouldn't be in the road blocking traffic". I'm sure he didn't realize or wouldn't know I was on a speed pedelec and in those downtown streets I can often get in and out faster than cars can. But I don't think it would have mattered to him. Whatever experience he has had in life has made him hate cyclists. No getting around that and no room in his mind for right or wrong.

So yes, unfortunately the folks with such rage issues are out there and a cyclist is in a pretty vulnerable position. It was great that you pulled aside to let him clear. I'm trying to teach myself to not react to these people although I have a hard time with that. I feel the need to respond like I did with the SUV driver but as my coworkers pointed out that day, riding up to the side of that SUV and tapping on the window could have led to dire consequences. Stay safe hope you get back out there soon.

ps - I should mention that despite all of these bad experiences, the incidents I've had with friendly motorists and courteous people far outnumber the bad. I mean just for one out of many examples, I was passing through a very downtrodden area from an economic standpoint and a woman in an old pickup who had the right of way at a 4-way waved me through and yelled at me as I passed "you stay safe baby!" I try to keep those incidents front and center in my brain each time I encounter something negative during my commutes.

 

[dblhelix]

Hi all,

Well, I experienced the nastiness of a motorists' road rage yesterday.

I was ebiking to work in pouring rain, in my bright colored raingear, with my bright lights flashing. I was at a 4-way stop, and stopped, and was waiting my turn for motorists in cars to take their turns before it became my turn to go. I was at this intersection... at this stop sign... waiting right here...
View attachment 44440

Behind me I hear a very loud, hoarse, awful hollering... something like: "WHAT THE F*** IS WRONG WITH YOU GET OFF THE ROAD".

I had no expectation that the person was hollering at me. I proceeded through the intersection and he hollered again (and it sounded closer and louder), and I turned into a church parking lot. He then hollered something like "YOU DUMBA** SH** STAY OFF THE FU**ING SIDEWALK AND STAY OFF THE FU**ING ROAD".

Ooooookaaaay. Yes, I was rattled.

I decided to pedal s-l-o-w-l-y through that parking lot to let the car get well ahead of me, so I could go on my way and hopefully not encounter him again.

It took me a while to feel calm and enjoy the rest of my wind-and-rainswept ride, but the beauty of a long bridge did the trick.

I'm grateful that nearly all motorists are very courteous. But what's wrong with the few who aren't?

Enjoy your winter riding, and let's hope we don't have to experience these things very often!

The few who aren’t:

(1) Bullies. They shout at their partners or kids at home and are impossible to get along with at work. No different out on the road where, like all bullies, they pick on those in a weaker position. They know you know that car > bike, so they figure you have to listen to their crap to avoid their menacing approach.

(2) Drunks, mostly at night, but there are daytime drunks on the road. The sides of the roads are littered with all kinds of debris including those small liquor bottles. If not at this intersection, elsewhere nearby.

(3) Drivers I privately agree with. There’s noting I hate more than one of those “Bikers share the road” signs coupled to a 50mph speed limit. This weak substitute for infrastructure is guaranteed to get you yelled at, although I don’t think it applies to your situation at a 4-way stop.

 

[PatriciaK]

If you are yelled at, cursed at, or otherwise harassed by a moron behind the wheel who thinks he owns the road, do not give him the finger. If he is psycho enough, he will get out of the vehicle and possibly hurt you badly and break your bike in the process. That's assuming he doesn't just run you over. The possibility of having him arrested for that isn't worth the aggravation. Ebikemom, you did the right thing.

I was thinking exactly the same thing!

 

[PatriciaK]

So sad you had such a terrible and troubling experience!

 

[Bruce Arnold]

As an aside I have been missing your input here and was hoping all was well in your world. Sorry that it had to be something as heinous as this to get you to pop up!

+1
@ebikemom