Had words with a cyclist yesterday

[Raging Squirrel]

In all fairness, I can see why the OP was annoyed. I love my car, its my pride and joy and I like to take care of it. This includes buying very expensive wax and spending many hours detailing it so the paintwork looks brand new. The worst thing that can happen is then for it to get dirty, or even worse, fingerprints....which attract the dirt which in turn can scratch the paintwork. It is "just a car" but it's MY car that I spent a lot of money on.....so show some respect for other peoples property.....I mean how long does it take to unclip?

 

[redcard]

In all fairness, I can see why the OP was annoyed. I love my car, its my pride and joy and I like to take care of it. This includes buying very expensive wax and spending many hours detailing it so the paintwork looks brand new. The worst thing that can happen is then for it to get dirty, or even worse, fingerprints....which attract the dirt which in turn can scratch the paintwork. It is "just a car" but it's MY car that I spent a lot of money on.....so show some respect for other peoples property.....I mean how long does it take to unclip?

No sensible person is disagreeing that leaning on your car is a 'bad thing'.

 

[Sara_H]

If someone leaned on my car (if I had a car), I'd be surprised, but it wouldn't bother me.

But then I'm a lady, and don't consider my car to be an extention of my genitalia (which is good as I don't own a car).

 

[Hitchington]

(Some) Car drivers are such drama queens.

 

[Dan B]

how would people feel if you were at a cafe stop during a ride, sat outside having a coffeeor what ever and someone else came along and realised there were no seats left so sat on your bike to have their coffee.
would that bother anybody?

In the same way as it would bother me if they sat inside my car to have their coffee. It's not really a very good comparison

 

[Hip Priest]

It seems that everything that happens is an excuse for anger. I can understand why someone might be annoyed by the above scenario, but I don't understand why they'd completely lose their rag and resort to violence or threats.

Emotional subtlety seems a thing of the past.

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Car drivers shouldn't have to wait on a cyclist to remove their hands in order to continue their journey. They should also be able to move their car whenever they please, assuming it's in a safe manner. A cyclist is endangering him/herself by leaning on a car.
If it's considered even slightly unsafe then why bother when it's so easy to unclip?

If it was the only option, i would understand. It clearly isn't and for this reason it is simply inconsiderate.

 

[cd365]

So the cyclist was asked to get off the car in no uncertain terms, refused so Stu moved forward to give him a scare, the cyclist got what he deserved in my opinion. If he was waiting at traffic lights he would not have been in a position to move very far forward so I doubt the cyclist would have been seriously hurt if he fell.

 

[BSRU]

If someone leaned on my car they would need to go and wash their hands

 

[BigonaBianchi]

they don't like it up 'em Mr. Mainwaring...they don't like it up 'em

bloody car drivers...its ok to ram a rider off the road but ooohh...wo betide if their paintwork gets scratched..

 

[redcard]

So the cyclist was asked to get off the car in no uncertain terms, refused so Stu moved forward to give him a scare, the cyclist got what he deserved in my opinion. If he was waiting at traffic lights he would not have been in a position to move very far forward so I doubt the cyclist would have been seriously hurt if he fell.

I think if the cyclist had got hurt then Stu would have seen that as bonus.

 

[ianrauk]

If someone leaned on my car they would need to go and wash their hands

I only lean on recently cleaned and polished cars.
Filthy cars? Yuk.. no way.

 

[Brandane]

In all fairness, I can see why the OP was annoyed. I love my car, its my pride and joy and I like to take care of it. This includes buying very expensive wax and spending many hours detailing it so the paintwork looks brand new. The worst thing that can happen is then for it to get dirty, or even worse, fingerprints....which attract the dirt which in turn can scratch the paintwork. It is "just a car" but it's MY car that I spent a lot of money on.....so show some respect for other peoples property.....I mean how long does it take to unclip?

Better that you don't bring your car to where I live, on the coast. The seagulls don't tend to show any respect for highly polished paintwork; in fact I am sure they prefer it! I would rather have a cyclist lean on my car than get splattered by a seagull.

 

[Matthew_T]

I dont really understand all this nonsense about getting so attached to your car.

In Paris due to the problems with parking everyone leaves their handbrake off so that the car can be pushed a little to allow other people room to park.
In the USA people just leave their broken cars at the side of the road to rot and then buy a new one.
In Russia there are that many crashes and accidents that every single car has some form of dent in it.

The UK are the only people who actually care so much for trivial items which just cause more problems than they solve. The cause arguments, traffic jams, pollution, and cost a stupid amount to run.
If people in this country took a laid back attitude then things would be a lot calmer.

When I do have car, I would welcome cyclists to lean on it because I would know that it isnt the end of the world and They are extremely unlikely to damage it even if they do fall over.

 

[Brandane]

I dont really understand all this nonsense about getting so attached to your car..............

............and cost a stupid amount to run.

I think you just answered your own question there!