Hey drivers, do bikers bug you?

The BBQ Pit
61

Things that divers do that are insane:

  1. I know its often an attempt to be polite, but its dangerous as hell (usually); dont fucking slowdown and swerve into the other lane when passing any or all cyclists. I can understand it if the idiot cyclist is not staying in a straight line and swerving around, but many if not most (unless its a Sunday) cyclists are perfectly fine with you driving by right next to them. By swerving into the other lane/slowing down, you are being unpredictable; you are creating a climate of uncertainty.

  2. (This pretty much sums it all up) Behave around cyclists as you would another car. Cyclists depend on you acting in predictable ways, just as you depend on them acting in predictable ways. For instance, if you have a green light at an intersection, and youre going straight and in oncoming traffic is a cyclist waiting to turn left, ~dont~ be polite and let the cyclist go. Would you do the same to another car?

  3. This is very related; if you dont look out your side and rear view mirrors when parked on the side of the street before you open your door, not only are you risking having a cyclist give you a very personal Hello, but youre risking losing your door to a car. And if the cyclist is me or some others I know, unless youre an old lady or something, youre risking getting your ass kicked.

  4. If youre making a right turn up ahead, and a cyclist is ahead of you almost at the corner, dont speed up and try to cut in front of the cyclist to make your turn. That just makes you an asshole, there is no good reason for it; and again if the cyclist is me or others I know, expect to get a hand pump cracked against your window at the very least. If that would piss you off, and you dont want to get pulled out of your car and have the shit beat out of you on the side of the road, just wait the few extra seconds.

  5. This is common sense, and is very prevelant in some areas more than others (like here in the Bay Area) but ~use your fucking turn signals~. Similar to the above; if you pass a cyclist, and shortly are going to be turning right, it might make sense to think to yourself ‘Hmm, I just passed a cyclist, now Im going to be pulling in front of their line of travel, maybe I should let them know…’

  6. If youre in the left turn lane, the light turns green, and the first oncoming traffic is a cyclist, dont turn left in front of them. I dont give a shit if you have plenty of time or not; you wouldnt do the same for a car (unless youre in Connecticut), dont do it for a cyclist. Youre being unpredictable.

  7. Make eye contact, most primarily at intersections. Let cyclists know you see them. If some asshole on a bike is in your blind spot but you know hes there, try and edge forward or backward if you can and meet their eyes in your mirror.

The main thing for both cyclists and drivers is to ~be predictable~. Dont create situations where those around you are uncertain as to who is going to do what.

62

Bike lanes suck shit. Here, on the weekends, people can park in bike lanes. This, along with any road that may have some cars parked along it but not many, doesnt mean anything, because if youre going to be using a bike lane you should be on the far left edge of it (the far right of the road). Its far better to be on the far left edge and keeping a straight line than it is to be weaving in and out around parked cars.

And yes, just as its true that any cyclist who has a problem with riding right next to a car a foot away should go practice, its also true that any driver that cant handle a cyclist being next to them a foot away needs some prozac. The problem isnt with the biker, its with the drivers own state of nervous apprehension.

63

Your post uses the word “m’kay” and YOU’RE complaining about condecension???

Sheesh.