todd@SCIRTP.UUCP (Todd Jones) (08/09/85)
Am I the only bicycle commuter who faces this scenario with regularity? _________________________________________________________ this guy is passing the other guy)-> OOOO-> <-me on bike - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - the other guy-> OOOO-> _________________________________________________________ I'm riding on a two-lane road. I look ahead of me and whaddya know, I've got two cars coming at me, taking up both lanes. I eat it into the shoulder and tactfully present a gesture to the driver informing him/her of the error. It happens with enough regularity that it is no longer life-threatening, but a bummer nonetheless. I recently took a guy to court who didn't appreciate my gesture and came back for a second try. He is now in pretty serious hot water. My questions are: How do us poor bicyclists deal with this abuse? How can car drivers be educated about the perils of passing in a lane with a cyclist in it? It's too hard surviving the shoulder to worry about getting license plate numbers. WHAT TO DO? ||||||| || || [ O-O ] Todd Jones \ ^ / {decvax,akgua}!mcnc!rti-sel!scirtp!todd | ~ | |___| SCI Systems Inc. doesn't necessarily agree with Todd.
marko@tekecs.UUCP (Mark O'Shea) (08/13/85)
No, you are not the only one who encounters this problem. My only advice is to ride defensively. I have had the experience more than I care to think about. The passing driver is almost always a macho teenager. Most of the time they return my gesture (the same one you make, I'm sure) and continue. I have several teenage children and they are making inquiries about a certain brown Toyota truck. If I ever find out who he was, I may go into the facial surgery business. He ran me into a field off a narrow road. Mark
powers@noscvax.UUCP (William J. Powers) (08/17/85)
> Am I the only bicycle commuter who faces this scenario with regularity? > > > _________________________________________________________ > this guy is > passing the other guy)-> OOOO-> <-me on bike > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > the other guy-> OOOO-> > _________________________________________________________ > > I'm riding on a two-lane road. I look ahead of me and > whaddya know, I've got two cars coming at me, taking up > both lanes. I eat it into the shoulder and tactfully > present a gesture to the driver informing him/her of > the error. > > My questions are: How do us poor bicyclists > deal with this abuse? How can car drivers be educated > about the perils of passing in a lane with a cyclist > in it? > > It's too hard surviving the shoulder to worry about > getting license plate numbers. WHAT TO DO? > I would guess that in the majority of cases the motorist has simply not seen you. There are many reasons for this happening. Probably the most common reason is that the motorist in the passing vehicle has very little time in which to decide whether to pass or not; consequently, s/he is only looking for other cars and not bicycles. In this regard, I would like to see two lane roads as described above (presumably primarily rural) posted with signs cautioning drivers to be on the lookout for bicyclists. Another reason for this incident is that the bicycle is not visible. This can happen at the crest of a hill or if the vehicle being passed is particularly wide. I would suggest that in any case that you can't see cars coming that you ride to the right as far as possible (contrary to the general rule). If you can't see them, they can't see you. This means that if you can't see behind a wide or high vehicle sufficiently to ascertain whether there is someone behind them, move to the right and be prepared to stop or take diversionary action. Finally, I want to thank this person for bringing to our attention a possibly seriously dangerous situation. The best defense for a bicyclist is to be prepared for a particular situation BEFORE it arises. We can only do this if we are cognizant of all the possible occurrences of motorist-bicyclist interactions. Bill Powers.