BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

i've had similar interactions, not quite as odd as that, but with a simple "yeah, sorry." it really takes you off guard

It's stories like this that makes me feel that it is possible to change the way people feel about cyclist. I have changed my tactics from yelling to talking, educating and not lecturing and it seems to be working. I also have gotten a few (not many) sorry responses.

I've been that guy in the car before. Sometimes its just a care of momentarily lack of brain function.

Like "oh, crap, yeah, I totally cut you off, I'm a dick, super sorry about that."

I've been that guy in the car before. Sometimes its just a care of momentarily lack of brain function

Yep, me too, in car and on bike. The ones I regret the most are when I realize I've been a dick, and it's just a moment too late to apologize.

@reddan: "Yep, me too, in car and on bike. The ones I regret the most are when I realize I've been a dick, and it's just a moment too late to apologize."

Guilty.

It's especially sh*tty because when it happens, you know what that person on the bike must be feeling (anger, fear, etc.), and you're kind of powerless to make amends in that moment.

I do know the feeling of screwing up on the road, but I don't really think this was a mistake I can relate to--I think it was particularly egregious.

Though, I guess it is a fine line between a minor mistake and a deadly one.

I had an interesting interaction with a driver on the way home form OTB that same night.

I was rolling down center near the Giant Eagle around midnight and was passed way too closely by a dark blue two door sedan. Not another car in sight, plenty of room to give me space. I rolled up next to him at the stop light, took a look at his angry face and decided moving away from him quickly was probably my best course of action. I was in fine mood and confronting someone who just tried to scare me with his car wasn't on my list of things to do that night.

This was the corner of Center and Negley. The light was red all around, so I paused and made a left onto Negley. I'd like to interject here that I'm a habitual red light stopper, this light was run to avoid an altercation, which is not at all what happened.

I get a few feet up Negley towards Morningside, and the joker in his car has the audacity to start lecturing me on the rules of the road. I explained to him that they also applied to him, and passing too closely was also illegal.

Then the threats began, and I snapped a bit, and told him if he really wanted to hurt me then get out of his car, because I was right here. Well wonder of wonders for the first time in my experience a driver got out of his car.

Well, since I called him out I dropped my bike in the street and started walking his way. Of course the "faggot" talk started on his end. As I got closer to him I realized why he was fumbling around in the car for a few seconds before getting out. He has some sort of baton. The fight or flight instincts switched into full fight mode, so as I berated him for not being very tough for needing a weapon I closed the distance to him quickly, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to swing very well if I got in close enough.

I guess I called his bluff, because as I got closer he backed up, and which point I told

he was going to get in his car and leave, which is what he did, all the while continuing to threaten me, and insuring I knew he was going to get me next time. I said now would be a fine time because I was still standing in the street. He left, I picked up my bike, and rode home.

There was a LOT more name calling (on both sides) that went on, I’m not going to recount every little bit, but I want to be clear I never threatened him in the slightest, I just made sure he knew I was available if he wanted to make good on his threats.

I really don’t feel how I feel about this, I’m hoping I might have changed his mind about cyclists being helpless victims he can intimidate on the road, but I suspect it won’t do anything of the sort.

"Though, I guess it is a fine line between a minor mistake and a deadly one." A small second can cause a BIG difference. I almost ran a man over at a rest stop on the interstate the other night! He was walking to a car clearly to my left (while I was parked) and in the short moment that it took me to look down and fasten my seat belt, he shifted and walked directly in front of my car. I was only half paying attention as my car began to lurch forward into the space in front of me when I noticed that he was only inches away from my car. Given, I was only moving at a crawl (not giving any gas) and he had plenty of time to react, but that is no excuse. My car was moving and I wasn't even looking in front of me.

Eric, that's crazy. You're instinct was right, the dude was pissed for some reason that you were in front of him. Too bad it had to go that far.

I had a man get out of his truck and pick up a shovel and threaten to kill me once. I told him to get the fuck back in his truck and he did. An old Jedi mind trick. I was leaving for vacation that night and it had me shook up the whole trip.

@eric, that's nuts. Though I don't advocate violence, I feel that incidents like that may make people like that think twice about an approach like that. (Though, I guess it could make them justr look for a weaker victim). I don't know why, but a lot of drivers tend to assume someone on a bike would never take a stand. (Which I don't understand, since some of the roadies I know are about as big testosterone fueled jocks as you will come by)

I've also had two experiences similar to this, but both times I was with another rider, the driver was completely unprovoked, and the drivers took swings. I wasn't hurt in either, but I wouldn't say they were positive in any manner.

@headloss, why not buckle up before you get moving? It's a hard habit to build if you been driving a while, but it's worth it.

Being "that guy" is actually a big fear of mine. I have hit black ice when I was driving last year and ran up on the sidewalk a minute later a cyclist passed by, If he had been a little faster I could of wiped him out that terrified me. I know accidents can happen but hitting a cyclist seems to be the unforgivable sin. I have never been hit by a car but I have been hit 5 times by another cyclist, (4 of those times it was mrs. marvelous who hit me) the one time other than her was a friend on a group ride rear-ended me. Not his fault but more of a combination of circumstances that caused an accident. But if he was in a car the group would have lynched him no matter how sorry he was.

Also I am completely against altercations with drivers. I don't believe it help cyclist or advocacy in any way. It gives drivers a bad taste in their mouth about us. Even if they back down to you they will take it out on a weaker target. I have never screamed argued or punched my way to equal rights. We want drivers to respect us, give us or rights to the road and also encourage more people to ride. I believe educating over arguing is the way to go.