Another example of a drivers bad attitude.....

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NigC

New Member
Location
Surrey
Yes, another thread complaining about a driver, sorry :biggrin:

Yesterday, I went for a drive to my local water-gardening shop for something for the pond. While passing St. Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, I notice a heck of a lot of cyclists (old and young) and think to myself "oh, must be some kind of cycle rally - shame I didn't know about it".

Well, as you can imagine, I find myself held up by the cyclists, but I'm happy to sit behind a small group going uphill (so it was a bit of a struggle for some) - I even pull left to let a faster cyclist pass me on my right (I would have given him space on my left, but he'd already started moving out when I noticed him in the mirror).

So, I get to the shop at least a minute later than I would have done if I hadn't been held up. Of course I was getting a little worried that the shop might close, after all it was 11:30am and that only left me a few hours to spare! (sorry, my sarcasm hat found its way onto my head this morning).

Now while I was browsing in the shop, I hear a voice (didn't see whose it was) say something along these lines: got held up by a load of bloody cyclists. For ****'s sake, they don't even pay road tax! I've been driving at cycle pace since he mentioned some shop I didn't know. I should have ploughed through a few thousand of them!

Not being one to start an argument, I let it go. But the more I think about it, the more angry it made me :biggrin:

Add to that, the impatience of a driver going the opposite way to me on my journey home (he/she was then stuck behind the cyclists) - nearly running in to me in their desperation to get past.

I can appreciate that people will get delayed by a cycle rally, but is it really that bad? I'm sure he wasn't serious about "ploughing through a few thousand", but that sentence makes my blood run cold.
 
If you possessed magical capabilities, and there and then waved your wand and placed him in a car on and empty road with no witnesses barring the gaggle of hi-vizzed sensibly-riding eight-year-old children on their bikes in front of him and said "go on then, no one will know and it'll be a few less ruddy cyclists to hold you up", you'd see his puffed-chest resolve desert him instantly (or I hope to the fates you would).
It is worrying to hear thsi type of talk though, all you need is that attitude coupled with him being late for something, a bad mood and inclement weather and you've the makings of a fatal RTC :biggrin:
 
Now that is the sort of situation where I just couldn't keep quiet! :biggrin::biggrin:

I've found that 'little' people like to talk 'big', i.e. people with insecurities, or other problems tend to like bigging themselves up. Some people attempt to do this by acting 'the hard man'. Thus the knock cyclists down type comments. In reality, they wouldn't have the guts (which is a good thing of course!).

Best thing to do is laugh at them.
 

downfader

extimus uero philosophus
Location
'ampsheeeer
jonny jeez said:
I hate it when I accidentally do that...its so embarrasing:biggrin:

:biggrin:

Or you could stand behind them at the cashier queue and start tutting about him holding you up and how you should just barge right on through the f***er!! :biggrin:
 

Jezston

Über Member
Location
London
Ha excellent.

Someone should come up with an app for phones that provides you with a witty retort in all such situations.
 

goo_mason

Champion barbed-wire hurdler
Location
Leith, Edinburgh
Jezston said:
Ha excellent.

Someone should come up with an app for phones that provides you with a witty retort in all such situations.

Now there's an idea - how about also adding a 'Magnatomizer' to it - recordings of his best girly screams and sweary abuse that you can play back at errant drivers, and a PDF copy of Mr Franklin's book so that you can direct them to the relevant advice that he gives? :whistle:
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
goo_mason said:
Now there's an idea - how about also adding a 'Magnatomizer' to it - recordings of his best girly screams and :ohmy:

Nooooo, I've got enough to contend with, with Cabbies, Peds, cars, lorries and busses...last thing I need is to be pursued by a pack of dogs as well!!
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
Well I did the Magnatom scream today ... but I'm a girl... some pedestrian decided to step out from behind a parked van without looking the direction of on-coming traffic ... on what is a very busy road (Stokes Croft), just where I was just getting ready to turn left into a narrow cycle contraflow.

But my main gripe this morning was a Bovis van who decided to reverse backwards around a corner towards my son getting ready to turn right out of a narrow side road ... hence lots of screaming - not even very girly. He didn't even seem particularly bothered so I rang and complained. I'm waiting to hear back from them.
 

Gains

New Member
But Mag you're fam....infamous for these attributes now!! Where your celebrity status with pride!:smile:
 

skerly

New Member
Location
surrey
Hi there, just joined the cycle forum as someone whos been looking at cycling to work oddly enough - i have my bike, i have my route wish me luck..with threads like this i do wonder what ive let myself infor.

As a side note and the reason ive replied to this post i'd just like to thank Nicq for being cautious around the ride on sunday. as a particpant of the ride i'd like to say thanks - for anyone that would like to know a little more it was the Woking bikathon in aid of leukema research..only 30miles but a worthy cause never the less. I only wish all drivers on the day were so considerate,

Many thanks and wish me luck for the morning
 

XmisterIS

Purveyor of fine nonsense
Welcome Skerly and good on you!

OP - I commend your self-control! I would have given the two-hat a polite earfull. Trust me, they get so embarrased and don't know where to look when you point out that:

(a) it's emissions-based VED (bike = no emissions, hence no VED) and

(:blush: you drive a car too (which you can point to and say "there's my car")

It's point (:biggrin: that really takes the wind out of their sails, leaves them with absolutely no reasonable response to make and sees them turning red and refusing to make eye contact!
 
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