Dont let abuse from motorists spoil your day.

[Banjo]

It doesnt happen often to me but when it does I used to try to analyse the situation to see if I was in anyway at fault then fret about it for a while generally losing enjoyment in the ride.

Then I had a thought. I often cycle into town and wander around in cycle gear with a helmet under my arm so very obviously a cyclist. Not once has anyone tried to barge me off the pavement noone has shouted at me or given me the finger.

What does this say about the type of person who will only abuse a cyclist when safely inside a steel box that can accellerate away?

Bearing that in m,ind makes it easier for me to ignore the Cowardly Twat$ and not give it a second thought.

 

[rowan 46]

there does appear to be something about cars that insulates some people from the real world and the customary courtesies and you are right most often it is a form of cowardice. My partner will not cycle anymore because of the abuse from people who would never talk to her like that in real life.

 

[Arch]

I try to think like this:

Every time I ride, I'm making myself fitter and healthier and generally having a good time.

Every driver who shouts abuse is probably heading for a heart attack, stroke or ulcer, because they must be so angry all the time. Plus, they probably don't have many friends, and all the men have tiny weeny penises.

Ok, maybe the last couple of bits are wrong, but anyone who gets so het up as to shout at a cyclist is probably not healthy in mind or body.

It doesn't stop me scowling at them, or muttering under my breath, but in the end, I know I win.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I never pay the smallest bit of attention to anyone like that. I'm an experienced enough road user in all shapes and sizes of vehicles to know when I've done something dodgy, and I'm adult enough to apologise if necessary, even if only with a wave of the hand. I'm not going to waste my life arguing with morons who've got a licence to drive a pathetic little metal box about the place.

 

[asterix]

Good points Banjo! Where do the cowards hide when not in their cocoons?

 

[Red Light]

It doesnt happen often to me but when it does I used to try to analyse the situation to see if I was in anyway at fault then fret about it for a while generally losing enjoyment in the ride.

Then I had a thought. I often cycle into town and wander around in cycle gear with a helmet under my arm so very obviously a cyclist. Not once has anyone tried to barge me off the pavement noone has shouted at me or given me the finger.

What does this say about the type of person who will only abuse a cyclist when safely inside a steel box that can accellerate away?

Bearing that in m,ind makes it easier for me to ignore the Cowardly Twat$ and not give it a second thought.

Yep, letting it go is the best answer. Otherwise if you spend the rest of the ride fretting or fuming they have achieved their objective of winding you up and I won't give them that satisfaction. So I just let it go and get on with enjoying my ride with maybe a cheery wave to them

 

[pepecat]

Unless I've done something stupid, in which case I'll apologise, I usually go 'yeah, whatever' and keep going. It's so not worth getting wound up about it. I figure the idiot who's hurling the abuse is not going to give me a second thought, so why should I get wound up and do myself no good. It's not as if my anger is going to reach whoever did it and make them feel bad (that would be nice!).

 

[BSRU]

I find ignoring them works best, it really gets to some people as their brains cannot understand what's not happening.

 

[martint235]

There's a similar attitude with email and telephone as opposed to personal interaction. I myself find my emails are snottier when I'm complaining than I would be face to face in a shop. It was the same when I worked in IT support, I could take a quite abusive phone call knowing that when I showed up next to the person's desk they would be as meek as a little lamb.

It's probably something deep to do with the likelyhood of a situation becoming outside of your control. If you're in a car, you wind the windows up and drive away (well all the motorists I talk to do) and if you're on the phone you can always hang up.

 

[MarcA]

I find as many courteous drivers as the opposite, which works the same as in most other aspects of life. You can spend the whole rest of a ride fuming about an incident, or you can enjoy your ride. Your choice.

 

[fossyant]

A smile and a wave really confuses them.

We need a smiley that combines these three...

 

[ColinJ]

It's hard not to have your day's ride spoiled when you have to stop to scrape someone's thick green phlegm out of your eyes!

 

[Bicycle]

I agree wholeheartedly with everyone who agrees with me on this matter, as follows:

By far the majority of other road users are courteous, thoughtful, alert and skilled in using the road.

When someone shows particular kindness, I like to offer recognition with a vave or a flash of similar, depending on what I'm in or on at the time.

Every now and again someone is beastly. My view is that nothing I can do or say (particularly on the spur of the moment) will add in any very clever way to the flavour of the traffic soup. I ignore it.

Similarly, every now and then someone appears not to have seen me. Sometimes this is inconvenient, sometimes dangerous and sometimes it involves pain and some cost.

My view is that the trick here is to remain polite and courteous at all times, even when lying in the gutter. Sometimes I fail to do so and later I always regret that failure.

I agree with the poster who noted that the insularity of cars can desensitise the occupants to the needs of other road users. I confess to having suffered from that in my youth.

One thing of which I am convinced is that the more we all see all road users as road users, the better we will all get on.

I wonder sometimes whether words like Moton, Cager and Troll don't in some way allow a sense of insularity to develop in some cyclists - leading perhaps to a minority who look for points of difference with more enthusiasm than they seek points of common interest.

I may be very wrong here, but I ride a lot and drive a lot and the above way has done me little harm.

 

[tyred]

Cowardly is the word I think.

I rarely let myself get wound up by the actions of others but a few weeks ago, I was almost knocked off by a Vectra driver who decided to pass me on a blind corner and when he realised there was a car coming towards him, pulled across on top of me. It was too close for comfort. He turned into a driveway about 50 yards up the road. I decided to have a word so rode down the drive after him and he was still in the car. I went over to it, he put up his window and locked the doors and refused to get out or acknowledge my existence. So yes, definitely cowardly.

I tried to open the driver's door to speak to him face to face even though I knew it was locked and I think I might have broken the handle

 

[BSRU]

Cowardly is the word I think.

I rarely let myself get wound up by the actions of others but a few weeks ago, I was almost knocked off by a Vectra driver who decided to pass me on a blind corner and when he realised there was a car coming towards him, pulled across on top of me. It was too close for comfort. He turned into a driveway about 50 yards up the road. I decided to have a word so rode down the drive after him and he was still in the car. I went over to it, he put up his window and locked the doors and refused to get out or acknowledge my existence. So yes, definitely cowardly.

I tried to open the driver's door to speak to him face to face even though I knew it was locked and I think I might have broken the handle

I have no sympathy for a driver willing to risk killing or seriously injuring a cyclist in order to protect their precious metal box, it was a Vauxhall only worth crushing to make washing machines.