General Discussion Triathlon Talk » People can be such ArseHoles! Rss Feed  
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2014-09-30 4:41 PM
in reply to: k9car363

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Subject: RE: People can be such ArseHoles!
Glad you came out of this with only a flat. That is a scary situation.

As long as I've been riding I've had to deal with boorish drivers. Recently it seems to be ramping up though. I'm getting tired of being buzzed, having things thrown out of cars, and being yelled at. I can't figure out why some people have such disdain for cyclists, or why this behavior seems to be on the rise in my little corner of the world.


2014-09-30 4:57 PM
in reply to: TriDadinAsheville

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Subject: RE: People can be such ArseHoles!

Originally posted by TriDadinAsheville I'm not sure what you're advocating then. Don't ride on roads? All we can do is follow the rules on the road, pay attention to our surroundings and hope we don't get pancaked. The OP was doing just that, in his situation it wouldn't have mattered if he were going 30 or 15 if a car decided to whip around him and make a right turn right in front of him. Clearly, based on this woman's behavior after the fact she was trying to screw with him.

Just so we're speaking the same language here... I have no worries about the OP's bike skills or rule following or whatever.  I have issues with the vehicle drivers he's sharing the road with.  When I said his situational awareness sucked and what he was doing was not smart, it wasn't him that concerned me.  It was placing himself in a situation where he's risking getting pancaked.  Yes, we all accept some level of risk riding outdoors but we can mitigate that risk by riding in safer situations on safer roads.  I'll argue all day long that flying down a city street at 30 mph is very, very risky.  It's already been argued how drivers don't realize how quickly a fast cyclist can close on them.  They have a preconceived notion of how fast a bike travels.  The driver probably wouldn't pull out of a side street or attempt a turn in front of a vehicle traveling 30 mph.  Why?  They have a sense of how fast a vehicle is moving through experience and they know they could get injured/killed if another 4000 lb. vehicle slams into them.

You don't "need" to put yourself in that situation.

2014-09-30 5:22 PM
in reply to: k9car363


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Subject: RE: People can be such ArseHoles!
Why so much effort to blame the cyclist? The post clearly states the driver passed him from behind before cutting him, stopping in his way and laughing at him. How can the driver not see him when she comes from behind.

Yet some people insists it is the cyclist fault because he might have surprised the driver!

When you drive you have a responsibility to respect the safety of other users. it is the whole point of owning a driving license.

Risking your life is something but risking others is another. Nobody should feel self-entitled to the point where they believe they can ignore or even intimidate others users off the road.

On another note, Glad you are OK and it did not result in anything worse than a flat.
2014-09-30 6:14 PM
in reply to: GMAN 19030

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Subject: RE: People can be such ArseHoles!
Originally posted by GMAN 19030

The driver probably wouldn't pull out of a side street or attempt a turn in front of a vehicle traveling 30 mph.  Why?  They have a sense of how fast a vehicle is moving through experience and they know they could get injured/killed if another 4000 lb. vehicle slams into them.


That's really it, and it's a sad statement of humanity. The main reason cars act boorish, buzz cyclists, etc is simply because the risk is not theirs. It's passive aggressive, weak and sad quite frankly. Ever catch up to an aggressive driver at light and try to talk to them? Most of the time they won't even look over. They're terrified or embarrassed, I'm not sure. But they certainly rarely stand up face to face. At least I've never had one do so, and I am not at all shy about confronting them. I realize it's dangerous, but I lived in NYC for too long and lost the ability to keep it to myself (I don't live there now, but it's stuck with me). I make sure not to act aggressive or be abusive or anything, but I certainly, and in no uncertain terms, let them know that they their little prank, or carelessness is risking someones life. On the rare occasions that they do speak up, it's typically some misguided, "you know, you guys are supposed to be...." fill in the blanks about what we're doing wrong. This is quickly assuaged by being able to quickly and word-for-word, recite every applicable traffic code...and yes, I have them all memorized (all those that deal with vehicle, pedestrian and cyclists right of ways). And as I mentioned before, noting that it (and their plate) is on camera, then listing the laws broken, get's people really humble, really quick.
2014-09-30 6:30 PM
in reply to: 3mar

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Subject: RE: People can be such ArseHoles!

The driver failed to yield the right of way to the cyclist, then laughed about it when he almost crashed.  That's pretty much all there is to it.  We do like to complicate things. 

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