Best way to deal with bad driving?

[Arjimlad]

I got fed up with being able to do nothing about it so got a camera. I don't report every piece of bad driving but I do report close passes and the like. The police will generally have words with such drivers. So I feel happier in the hope that those drivers are more likely to improve their driving in future as they know they can be held to account.

Sometimes if I catch up & get a sincere apology I don't bother reporting it. When I do have words I normally start with a "good morning" or something non-confrontational then I am more likely to get a rational reasoned response. If the driver appears to be a potty mouthed scofflaw from the word go, I'd not bother with words & go straight to reporting.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I got fed up with being able to do nothing about it so got a camera. I don't report every piece of bad driving but I do report close passes and the like. The police will generally have words with such drivers. So I feel happier in the hope that those drivers are more likely to improve their driving in future as they know they can be held to account.

Sometimes if I catch up & get a sincere apology I don't bother reporting it. When I do have words I normally start with a "good morning" or something non-confrontational then I am more likely to get a rational reasoned response. If the driver appears to be a potty mouthed scofflaw from the word go, I'd not bother with words & go straight to reporting.

How do you know the apology is sincere?

 

[Welsh wheels]

I got fed up with being able to do nothing about it so got a camera. I don't report every piece of bad driving but I do report close passes and the like. The police will generally have words with such drivers. So I feel happier in the hope that those drivers are more likely to improve their driving in future as they know they can be held to account.

Sometimes if I catch up & get a sincere apology I don't bother reporting it. When I do have words I normally start with a "good morning" or something non-confrontational then I am more likely to get a rational reasoned response. If the driver appears to be a potty mouthed scofflaw from the word go, I'd not bother with words & go straight to reporting.

Hopefully you can detect wrong uns before they throw a punch. I'm built for cycling not boxing so I try to avoid confrontations!

 

[nicasiri]

hi vis doth offend mine eye.

and makes not a jot of difference to careful, nor careless, drivers.

I'm not sure where you get that idea that it doesn't make a difference? I definitely notice a difference when I ride in hi vis, but I get my jerseys from a place where they are truly hi vis & they're brighter than any I've seen otherwise. It's called See Me Wear. I had put the link in before, but I guess I can't post links on here because I'm new maybe. The moderator removed that part of my reply originally.

As far as offending your eye goes, no offense, but maybe it's better to offend your eye a bit than be roadkill.

 

[ianrauk]

I wear hi vis clothing. I do find I get a wider gerth from drivers when wearing it.

I used to wear it and found it made no difference what so ever.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I'm not sure where you get that idea that it doesn't make a difference? I definitely notice a difference when I ride in hi vis, but I get my jerseys from a place where they are truly hi vis & they're brighter than any I've seen otherwise. It's called See Me Wear. I had put the link in before, but I guess I can't post links on here because I'm new maybe. The moderator removed that part of my reply originally.

As far as offending your eye goes, no offense, but maybe it's better to offend your eye a bit than be roadkill.

Used to have a serious hi-vis habit but I definitely notice that a rabbit's foot is just as effective ..

 

[Arjimlad]

How do you know the apology is sincere?

How do you know anything is? Just from how people interact with each other..

 

[Arjimlad]

Hopefully you can detect wrong uns before they throw a punch. I'm built for cycling not boxing so I try to avoid confrontations!

They're sat in a car, I can scarper PDQ!

 

[nicasiri]

I used to wear it and found it made no difference what so ever.

Well it doesn't make a difference if a driver's an a**hole, but I have to say I really do notice a difference in general. Anyway, I always wear hi vis because anything that makes it more possible for me to be seen is important. And I definitely notice a difference with many drivers, as they give me wider room. Of course there are 100 other issues as well. Better infrastructure is #1. People in Holland don't even wear helmets when they ride.

 

[mjr]

I'm not sure where you get that idea that it doesn't make a difference?

Studies like http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12855/ and the failure of the fluctuations in hi-vis cycle clothing sales to correlate with any measures of cycling casualties. You know, science.

Also, I think you'd need to be a special sort of crazy to wear yellow and go cycling among all the yellow crops we grow around here.

I can't make it "more possible for me to be seen". We can all be seen. We're all visible. Except maybe the invisible man. Any motorist claiming otherwise is probably trying to distract from a mistake.

However, dressing as an alien space lemon has other drawbacks, making cycling seen as something that involves special clothes and making cyclists seen as unusual abnormal people. This means people are less likely to think of cycling as something they could or should do.

Edited to add: oh and it uglies up landscapes and people's photographs, which is a bit unwelcome in a tourist area.

 

[nicasiri]

Studies like http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12855/ and the failure of the fluctuations in hi-vis cycle clothing sales to correlate with any measures of cycling casualties. You know, science.

Well you found one that proved your point, but there are numerous others that show different. This article names a few, and you'll be able to read it if they don't remove the link here. https://cyclingtips.com/2016/06/does-reflective-and-fluorescent-clothing-make-us-safer/

I'm sure you can find a study or two that says lights don't help when riding at night either, but there's something to be said for pure logic. I definitely notice a difference in hi vis.

If your own sense of fashion is more important to you than your own safety, while riding, I suppose that's up to you. But I disagree that we're all fully visible. And I definitely notice a difference wearing hi vis. And as far as making less people want to take up cycling, are you saying we should all pretend at this point, that they shouldn't have to practice any type of safety?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

How do you know anything is? Just from how people interact with each other..

So a large measure of self-delusion may well be taking place.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Well you found one that proved your point, but there are numerous others that show different. This article names a few, and you'll be able to read it if they don't remove the link here. https://cyclingtips.com/2016/06/does-reflective-and-fluorescent-clothing-make-us-safer/

Epic correlation vs causation fail in several places in that article.

 

[ianrauk]

Well it doesn't make a difference if a driver's an a**hole, but I have to say I really do notice a difference in general. Anyway, I always wear hi vis because anything that makes it more possible for me to be seen is important. And I definitely notice a difference with many drivers, as they give me wider room. Of course there are 100 other issues as well. Better infrastructure is #1. People in Holland don't even wear helmets when they ride.

And that's your own opinion. My opinion and that of others on here is that Hi-Viz makes no difference to what drivers see or react to.
In the UK it's known as urban camouflage, because it's just that. So many people wear Hi-Viz (non cyclists) that's it's lost in the general melee.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Well it doesn't make a difference if a driver's an a**hole, but I have to say I really do notice a difference in general. Anyway, I always wear hi vis because anything that makes it more possible for me to be seen is important. And I definitely notice a difference with many drivers, as they give me wider room. Of course there are 100 other issues as well. Better infrastructure is #1. People in Holland don't even wear helmets when they ride.

Hi vis is so commonplace that it is not useful in getting the wearer noticed, in fact it has the opposite effect. An auction room in Glasgow was robbed of nearly half a million pounds of jewellery a couple of years back. Why do you think the robber wore hi vis to commit this crime?