Do you do the same for cars that you need to pass?
You end up swapping paint and both participants live to fill out reports of the accident.
Dunno about this, but I had the impression that in foreign civilized countries, car horns have two settings, one, a melodious friendly “tootling”, and the option for a serious “Watch yer ass, dipshit!” blast.
You mean that guy that has a seat belt, airbags and a half a ton of steel surrounding him? I’ll probably unavoidably hit him. He has a good chance of surviving it. The guy on a bicycle, not so much.
Yep, the second last thing he needs to do is hinder his hearing with headphones and music.
Have you read the replies above? some have claimed that they were INSTRUCTED to honk at cyclists. Not something I agree with as I stated previously that my honking was for the music loving cyclist.
Again - seat belts, air bags, surrounded by a steel cage etc.
I can understand why your mind is boggled. You seem to lack the ability to read through the material.
I appreciate that you think you’re giving me warning of your presence, but I already know you’re there. You can hear cars approaching you (even hybrids but I admit they’re harder to hear) and a beep from you doesn’t give me any more information. Bikers who are oblivious to cars may be helped by hearing your horn, not sure how many of them are out there. Some may be startled by the sound of your horn and react badly.
As a city rider, I can tell you that for me it’s not helpful. I would guess that it’s not helping the majority of bikers you see in an urban or suburban environment. There may be some that it helps, there may be some that get startled. As long as your not laying on the horn for 15 seconds I’m not going to worry about it.
This happens to me. My usual response is to yell at the offending honker, “What are you going to do, hit me?” in an angry, yet ironic manner. I guess I’m lucky I haven’t been hit, yet.
Since this the Pit, I’d like to chime in about the assholes who honk not to warn you but to intentionally scare the shit out of you. Its usually young guys with their friends, some of who find it necessary to hang out of the passenger window and scream when they are about two feet from you. Its fucking hilarious! Its a good thing I don’t ride with a rock or gun or something. I’d be in jail or a hospital if I did.
This is where frame mounted pumps come in handy.
I used to ride a lot. A few local races that I never had any chance of winning, and some 100mi rides but mostly pleasant hours spent going nowhere. Some drivers honk, some people yell, some drivers pass close by and quickly swerve in front of me. Most drivers ignored me.
And then there are the drivers who are texting, talking on their phones, playing grabass with their passengers, eating a hamburger, looking at their car’s entertainment center, yelling at their kids, watching the girls on the beach, wondering if they’re going to lose their job, or if their doctor is going to tell them they’re dying. In other words, driving their car is not their primary concern. And a bicycle is not on their radar.
When a driver honks, you can be sure, well… pretty sure, that the driver knows you’re there. I find that reassuring.
Why do some bicyclists, with a nice wide shoulder to ride in, choose to ride right long the white line? Wouldn’t you want to put more room between yourself and traffic?
That’s fair, and I understand where you’re coming from.
I generally assume drivers don’t see me and ride accordingly. It’s helped me a few times when drivers turned right in front of me after passing, forcing me to slam on the brakes and/or turn into the same parking lot as them to avoid hitting them broadside. Even if they beeped at me I’d still ride as if they didn’t see me.
Debris, glass, thorns.
Because if you’re riding there, you’re riding among the road debris, sand, and poor pavement. Plus, every time you approach a parked car or a particularly bad stretch of pavement you have to veer back out into the traffic lane, surprising drivers. It’s much better to stay on the edge of the travel lane where road is in better shape and ride in a consistent predictable manner that doesn’t involve moving back and forth.
You mean that part of the road called “the garbage lane”?
The last time I noticed it, it was in a place where the shoulder was nice and clear. That’s why I wondered about it. Maybe it is force of habit from the person riding elsewhere.
A lot of the crap you can’t see from a car.
Four wheels hates two wheels even if two wheels is a motor vehicle.
I think it is actually safer for two cyclists to ride abreast in the lane (I mean, after all, the road does not belong to the motorists). With two abreast, the car must go entirely into the next lane to pass; if the cyclists are riding single file, the car goes a third or half way into the other lane but has to stay there longer, which makes the driver try to finish the pass sooner, which puts the forward bicycle in greater danger of being clipped by the early return.
Well, the area right near the white line looked just like the area farther away, and a street sweeper comes through regularly. I will have to look more closely.