Driver Perception

[fossyant]

There I was spinning along, approaching a small roundabout...... and a VW Polo passes me, close enough for me to shout "Wooow.....too close"..........

Car crosses roundabout with me close behind. Traffic ahead at the next junction, driver notices I'm about to overtake and moves in.

I pull past and notice window down..... "Way too close that" I say............immediately "I wasn't too close..blah...blah....."

Just not worth a discussion.............I accellerated away with a "next time you loose a wing mirror" to the bemused look of another cyclist at the junction.

So, you aren't going to get anywhere with someone who thinks they have given you room - that's how they drive. Just hoping, next time she will pass further out, after my challenge.

 

[Klaus]

Having driven cars for 25 years (and started cycling again this year) my feeling is that a lot of drivers have very little spatial (sp?) awareness. Myself I have had similar experiences, cars squeezing through when I am passing traffice islands, etc etc. When I learnt to drive cars at driving school in Germany in the 1970s (no "L" driving then!) I was given very good advice on how to judge the positioning of the car which I still remember these days and hopefully apply in most situations. Certainly, being a cyclist now as well I leave much more space.

 

[jimboalee]

On another thread I mention the memory of my commute today was partially lost. One of the moments I do recall was a close pass by a Mercedes Benz who was in a rush to get on the M40 before I rode across the entry slip.
I don't know how many other cars overtook me because I can't remember. I was, as they say, 'flying on autopilot'.

Unfortunately for other motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, many motorists 'fly on autopilot'.

 

[jimboalee]

There I was spinning along, approaching a small roundabout...... and a VW Polo passes me, close enough for me to shout "Wooow.....too close"..........

Car crosses roundabout with me close behind. Traffic ahead at the next junction, driver notices I'm about to overtake and moves in.

I pull past and notice window down..... "Way too close that" I say............immediately "I wasn't too close..blah...blah....."

Just not worth a discussion.............I accellerated away with a "next time you loose a wing mirror" to the bemused look of another cyclist at the junction.

So, you aren't going to get anywhere with someone who thinks they have given you room - that's how they drive. Just hoping, next time she will pass further out, after my challenge.

Its well known in the motor industry women have inferior spatial awareness than men.

 

[Arch]

Its well known in the motor industry women have inferior spatial awareness than men.

Yeah, but it's also apparently well known in the motor industry that a huge 4x4 is a good vehicle for urban driving.

and it's 'to men'. Something is inferior 'to' something else.

Also, it's funny how many men also seem incapable of judging a safe distance, isn't it?

 

[Lizban]

There I was spinning along, approaching a small roundabout...... and a VW Polo passes me, close enough for me to shout "Wooow.....too close"..........

Car crosses roundabout with me close behind. Traffic ahead at the next junction, driver notices I'm about to overtake and moves in.

I pull past and notice window down..... "Way too close that" I say............immediately "I wasn't too close..blah...blah....."

Just not worth a discussion.............I accellerated away with a "next time you loose a wing mirror" to the bemused look of another cyclist at the junction.

So, you aren't going to get anywhere with someone who thinks they have given you room - that's how they drive. Just hoping, next time she will pass further out, after my challenge.

Has any one ever had a postive reaction by confronting a driver in this way? If so what % of times do you get a 'good result'?

 

[jimboalee]

Yeah, but it's also apparently well known in the motor industry that a huge 4x4 is a good vehicle for urban driving.

and it's 'to men'. Something is inferior 'to' something else.

Also, it's funny how many men also seem incapable of judging a safe distance, isn't it?

Huge 4x4 = Safety Wagon.

When Ford surveyed half a million consumers in the US, almost three times as many women than men said they wouldn't drive an F350 because they have difficulty judging distances.

 

[Arch]

Has any one ever had a postive reaction by confronting a driver in this way? If so what % of times do you get a 'good result'?

I suspect it depends on a lot of factors.

a) the personality of the driver. Not many people can take criticism well, especially in such an immediate form, even if they know that actually they were wrong. It takes a lot to say, 'oh crap, yes, I'm sorry, I'll be more careful'.
b) the approach of the cyclist. That is: aggressive, angry, sarcastic, jokey, pleasant?
c) the state of the traffic or weather, or how stressed the driver is.
d) the size and physical bulk of the cyclist - but that probably cuts both ways. A slight, pretty girl, tackling a certain type of guy, might be more likely to get sympathy, whereas a big bulky bloke might win an 'apology' (perhaps not sincere) from someone who was easily intimidated...

In other words, any kind of %age positive result will vary from rider to rider, day to day, moment to moment. I suspect that the very best tactic is to have a nice badge that identifies your constabulary, and one of those natty belts with a baton and handcuffs, and even them you'll get lip and aggro from some.

 

[jimboalee]

I've known a fair few girls and ladies in my life and most of them wouldn't have the saddle of a bike at the correct height because "Its too far off the ground and I can't judge when to hop off the saddle to put my foot down. I want to touch the ground with both feet when I'm sat on the saddle".

 

[Arch]

Huge 4x4 = Safety Wagon.

When Ford surveyed half a million consumers in the US, almost three times as many women than men said they wouldn't drive an F350 because they have difficulty judging distances.

And that wouldn't have anything to do with a male reluctance to show any sort of weakness or defect of judgement?

Look, this is a thread about drivers cocking up. Many drivers do it, and sadly I think as many women are rapidly achieving equality in terms of bad driving. So why not drop the tired old cliches eh?

 

[magnatom]

Has any one ever had a postive reaction by confronting a driver in this way? If so what % of times do you get a 'good result'?

Yes. I've had plenty of sorrys, plenty of, 'oh I didn't realise' etc. I tend not to post them, although there was one recently (in the petrol station) where the driver did say, 'ok I didn't realise'...


Of course there are also those drivers who will react angrily at the time, go home and reflect and change the way they drive. So it is impossible to come up with a percentage of eventual positive outcomes. Positive outcomes at the time, possibly 30%, but that is a wild guess and could be over or underestimating. It also depends on what you class as positive. Is a shrug positive, is a wave, is a stare straight ahead etc? All of these drivers might drive more carefully next time. Who knows.

But, not confronting bad driving will definitely make no difference. If a driver doesn't know that they have passed too close, how could we ever expect them to change?

 

[BSRU]

I had two cars overtake me reasonably closely this morning, they were just out of arms reach but at no point did I perceive it as dangerous as they crawled past a few miles an hour faster than I was going. My perception of danger would have changed dramatically if they had passed at the same distance but at 15mph or more faster than I was going.

 

[Arch]

I've known a fair few girls and ladies in my life and most of them wouldn't have the saddle of a bike at the correct height because "Its too far off the ground and I can't judge when to hop off the saddle to put my foot down. I want to touch the ground with both feet when I'm sat on the saddle".

All that proves is that you tend to know stupid people....

Although there is an issue about bottom bracket height for those of us with shorter legs. I have to hop of the saddle to get a foot down comfortably. But I manage to judge when to do so fine.

 

[Norm]

Has any one ever had a postive reaction by confronting a driver in this way? If so what % of times do you get a 'good result'?

I don't think I could call it a positive reaction but I believe I sowed some seeds in a discussion with a woman.... oh, earlier this year, I think.

There are many sets of traffic lights on the road between my LBS and Windsor, I had a woman who passed me between each set and, at the last set, she wound down her window and shouted "I've had to pass you 7 times". She wasn't expecting my response of "That's OK, I've had to pass you 7 times too".

I posted it up here at the time, I can't remember exactly how it went after that. I made the point that I was travelling as fast as the traffic but she kept taking my "safety buffer". She was definitely listening, whether she took it on board, whether it changed her perception of cyclists or whether she ignored the whole lot, who can tell.

 

[jimboalee]

And that wouldn't have anything to do with a male reluctance to show any sort of weakness or defect of judgement?

Look, this is a thread about drivers cocking up. Many drivers do it, and sadly I think as many women are rapidly achieving equality in terms of bad driving. So why not drop the tired old cliches eh?

JaguarLandRover have this system where Automobile Association Callouts are recorded for Warranty and customer satisfaction issues.

Looking down the Year To Date list on the PC at my side, I see a lot of 'Punctures' where the verbatim says "struck curb". Looking across at the 'driver details', it says Mrs and Miss a LOT of times.