carrrnuttt

...AND this is what I said:

ccarnel: As S4_Dukar explained AGAIN and AGAIN, he had now way to go around the guy. Well, he probably did...but not without hitting him. So him stopping 5-feet behind him was rude? If he was going to be rude anyway, why not brush him aside and laugh at him as he lay on the asphalt?

I am sure, the way public roads are constructed, if your "friend" had just pulled aside maybe 3 to 4 feet (remind me...I haven't ridden a bicycle in years...is that hard to do on a bike?), S4 would've had more than enough room to go around with everybody going on about their business. OH BUT WAIT!! We don't want him giving-up his God-given rights now, do we? If you are willing to compromise common courtesy to prove a point about your rights, then have at it...just please stay away from the roads I drive on...I might just show you "discourteous" I can be.

RoBD305

hey s4 dukar---i ran a thread about this before a few months ago and got flamed bad. But I can completely understand how you feel about this. This still drives me insane. I wont state my opinion again since I will be sure to be flamed on again. BTW I hate it with all this racial shit (i'm azn also and i get that chow mein bullshit from time to time)

Nobody

WTF I'll throw my .02 cents in....

There's no reason for a bike to play hog of the road unless the guy on the bike had something to prove. I know, I ride bikes and I ride with a various assortment of people--some of who just love to assert their RIGHT OF WAY by travelling in the middle of the street for no reason other than to piss off motorists.

But righteousness isn't gonna save their ass from the bumper of an unsuspecting car driven by a person who isn't wearing night vision goggles. The biker, dead or alive, is responsible for the damage to the front of the car if the bike isn't equipped with a tail light and/or reflectors. The driver of the car in such a case would be the victim.

brantshali

Hmmmm...where to weigh in on the subject. Like S2020 I ride quite a bit (couple thousand miles a year) and can see the issue from both sides. First, the guy on the bike was a nitwit for riding at night without lights and/or reflectors. When I ride at night I put a headlight and taillight on my bike and ALWAYS ride with a helmet even if it's just down the road for coffee.

As for his location in the lane, it is quite possible that the lack of adequate lighting (again, the riders fault) he only felt safe riding towards the middle of the lane. If I'm riding on a road (day or night) and I do not feel safe hugging the shoulder I will happily ride right down the middle of the lane rather than get my wheel caught in a grate or pothole or other unseen obstacle.

Additionally, as has been stated before, it is very hard to hear what is going on behind you when you are riding a bike at anything over parking lot speeds. The wind noise and other ambient noises make it quite difficult to hear things until they are right on top of you. Couple that with the low visibility and the fac that it takes far more concentration to ride in adverse conditions and it is completely understandable that the rider didn't realize exactly where you were or what your intentions were.

Finally, it sounds like the verbal altercation was a case of bad judgement on the part of both parties, but I can understand this as well. It is feasable (though not necessarily correct) that the rider perceived that he was being run off the road and I can understand being quite upset by that as I have been run off the road many times both intentionally and accidentally.

A responsible driver would have surveyed the situation and taken appropriate action to avoid a conflict with the bike even if the bike were wrong.

As for the comments of nudging the rider or stopping and kicking their butt...are you really sure you want assault or manslaughter charges over such a silly encounter?

Ok... away...

S4_dukar

With all due respect, I think CCarnel is reading this from a biased point of view due to his past experience with cars -- Yes buddy, getting hit by a car will ruin your day and put you in a world of hurt. However, I am not the one who painted my bumper on your ass so, get off my ass about your bikers rule the road bs.

Take what other users reply and try to put yourself in my shoes...

You obviously somehow manage to dismiss my statement; voided my point of view, so allow me to retort for the last time.

At the rate of my deceleration, it was safe for me to creep behind him without creeping too close. However, when I got behind him he SLOWED down, and then finally came to a complete stop. If I stopped my car right when he stopped I would have been at least 20 ft behind him. Well, he was looking back and me, so what am I suppose to do? Shout at 20ft away? NO, I crept up until I was within speaking distance (5 ft')

This is very obvious and many people who have read this made it out after the first time reading it, so why are you having a difficult time?

Let me know...

On a side note, a while back my friends and I were going on a canyon run, and we pulled over to wait for some friends. A group of bikers (about 4) came up the hill. One chick started yelling out some obscenities -- totally uncalled for; of course, we retaliated with our obscenities that got them PISSED. They stopped, looked back, and we instigated them to approach us (20 heads and counting) they just chickened out and got back on their bikes and went their way. Fifteen minutes goes by, we finally caught up to them on top of the hill, and needless to say they didn't exactly have much to say.

I don't know, maybe its just me and my luck of running into biker assholes, but my experience with cyclist thus far have all be negative -- I am hoping this to change.

SHIRI

I think the problem is you, perhaps you need to change. You obviously have problems with bikers, perhaps you could share your views with the traffic authorities if something like this bothers you so much (like bikers should give way at all times to you or something stupid like that).

Your story had too many holes from the very beginning, not alerting the rider, confronting the situation in the safety of your own car, endangering the rider with your car that was only 5 feet away from him. Sounds like you will always be the instigator, or quite simply a dickhead.

I also noticed that the younger/inexperienced fellows get hot headed too easily and quickly. People having problems with your threads are those who know better, they are not hot headed drivers like yourself. CCarnel and Brantshali both expressed some very good points, it may be a good idea to listen to them.

I wonder what would be the next headlines, "I can't stand NEONS?"

brantshali

So that I don't come across as biased on the subject I do need to agree that there seem to be decent number (not sure if it's a large percentage overall, though) of bicycle riders that are rather inconsiderate...are road hogs...or are simply unaware of their surroundings.

This is highly unfortunate, but does not abdicate those of us behind the wheel of a car of our responsibility to drive responsibly and maturely.

Even when I am in a hurry and come upon a large pack of cyclists riding 2 or 3 abreast I slow down so as not to spook them and then wait until there is plenty of room to pass them without buzzing them with my mirror or having the force of the wind from me passing them cause them to lose their balance and possibly crash.

I guess I'm lucky living here in the Seattle area, because the vast majority of the riders AND drivers around here seem to play well with each other. I've had relatively few encounters and for that I am very thankful.

Patdeisa

I thought I'd post my $0.02 here. I used to be a big-time cyclist, and now do it as a hobby, so I might bring some insight to it. As someone stated before, road conditions can help determine where I ride. How was the road? A lot of roads around my place are really potted and broken, so I have to ride in the middle of the lane so I don't stack, and I ride at the speed I can (10mph up hill, 20-45 mph down hill). The rider should have lights and reflectors- no doubt about it. He should have pulled over as far as possible to let you pass- true. But, no one should demand him to do it at their convenience- the biker should do it as soon as safely possible. In a lot of areas, it is illegal for a bicyclist to ride on the sidewalk (and I've seen people ticketed for it before).

For all out there, bikers remember you must stop at stop signs and lights and obey all road signs (including speed limits in mountains). Remember to ride in a line, not 2 or more across (except while passing). Be courteous to drivers, for they are bigger and can't see as well. Drivers, remember to share the road and watch out for bicyclists when making right hand turns- I've was hit twice within a month when this happened and the driver was found at fault both times. Also remember down hills, bikers can pick up good speed (my personal record is 48 mph, my brother's is 62 mph), so be careful of your surroundings. Be courteous to bikers, for they can't hear as well and are a lot more vulnerable. Bikers may be a nuissance at times, but remember when you're stuck in traffic, they're another car not on the road.

azulfool

The problem with the bicyclist was that he was endangering himself and others (there's been at least one thread lately that included stories about drivers being seriously injured or killed trying to avoid rabbits, doves & squirrels, so imagine what the bicyclist could have caused) by being in the middle of the road at night without lights.

The problem with s4_dukar was that he rose to the bait and endangered himself by confronting the bicyclist who, as has been pointed out, might have been dangerous. If he really couldn't get around the guy safely, another options would be to back up about 100 yard and pull off the road, take out his cell phone, and call the police to report a madman on a bicycle in the middle of the road shouting racial slurs . . . then wait to find out if all the sympathy of the law is really on the side of the bicyclist, as has been suggested by some.

The problem with me is . . .

S4_dukar

Good suggestions azulfool, however... LAPD would have shown up like one hour later. By that time the biker would have been LONG gone.

SHIRI,

Did you bother reading what I wrote? Probably not, so let me take the time to ask you to read what I wrote before you start blabbering.

I entered into the situation with the utmost of confidence and I was not looking for trouble. So this is not an anger management issue on my part.

Furthermore, that last thing I wanted to do is honk at a cyclist, that would probably pissed him off. Hell, honking at other motorist pisses them off, imagine a cyclist. He would have probably got scared and fell over.

Let me ask you this, why would I have problem with cyclist or bikers? The only bikers I have problems with are the jarheads driving those obnoxiously loud Harley's.