Is a driver getting out of their car an act of potential aggression?

[gaz]

Without prejudice to your other points, I have rarely seen this to be a problem. Most car drivers stay out of bus lanes even outside their hours of operation due to (1) not knowing the hours of operation and (2) "rule 2"[1] which states that one must always drive with right-hand wheels abutting the centre line.

From my experience, the ones that do drive in the bus lanes are fraking idiots and I've had a few close calls from it.
But most drivers don't drive in the bus lanes

 

[ianrauk]

[QUOTE 1246039"]
This amazes me with respect to the amount of ignorance shown by car drivers. There is a bus lane local to where I live where the hours of operation are 0700-1900hrs Mon-Sat. The amount of times I have travelled down the road on a Sunday to see a traffic jam that goes on for about a 1/4 of a mile and no-one uses the bus lane (except me of course).
[/quote]

The same as the A21 bus lane in Bromley.

 

[Origamist]

Without prejudice to your other points, I have rarely seen this to be a problem. Most car drivers stay out of bus lanes even outside their hours of operation due to (1) not knowing the hours of operation and (2) "rule 2"[1] which states that one must always drive with right-hand wheels abutting the centre line.

In fairness, if the traffic in the rh lane is moving at any more than about 10mph, it does actually make good sense to stick in it instead of taking the bus lane and getting stuck behind a bus or a parked behicle.



[1] "rule 1", of course, being "overtake the cyclist"

It is certainly true that a significant proportion of drivers do not use bus lanes when they are de-restricted and, like you, I am quite happy to trade on their ignorance. However, this state of affairs is not ideal as a number of drivers are very much aware of the bus lane hours of operation and when they see a “clear” slab of bus lane (only a cyclist in the mid distance!) they often start whizzing along (often accompanied by a helpful beep when they come up behind you). This can then cause a domino effect – i.e. other drivers who were crawling along in the right-hand lane then pull into the bus lane as they realise it’s unrestricted and is effectively a parallel undertaking lane.

Narrow bus lanes in these situations now start to cause problems (only a tiny minority of bus drivers would try to pass a cyclist within a bus lane if the width is around 3m) but quite a few car drivers simply expect cyclists to position themselves 30cm from the road edge to facilitate very close overtakes...I find this sort of behaviour particularly prevalent on Sundays when many of the bus lanes near me are open to all, but considerably less common, Mon to Fri, when a lot of drivers simply assume it’s peak time all day long...

 

[barongreenback]

[QUOTE 1246042"]
I just take the lane on that bit -ride down the middle and stop them getting past.
[/quote]

After my first couple of commutes that's exactly what I've been doing. The taxis and buses are generally very patient, which is good. Keep an eye out for me between 5:10 and 5:20 - I'm the Christmas tree

 

[Grizzly]

Back to the question, "is a driver getting out of their car an act of potential aggression?". I'd say the answer lies in another question, what was the driver trying to achieve by getting out of the car? I think in this case he was trying to intimidate the cyclist so in this case the answer is yes. I've only had a driver get out of his car once (I've just had a thought, has anyone ever known a woman get out of her car to discuss an issue?), and that was caused because a sounded my horn at him (I was in my car at the time) after he nearly hit a cyclist. I crapped myself but decided it would be better if I was out of my car facing him rather than sitting below him trying to defend myself. As soon as I got out his posture and face completely changed (I'm only 5' 6"), he muttered a few words then left. Typical behaviour of a bully.

The points made about defensive riding are spot on, you need to ride in a way that dominates the road and discourages other road users from overtaking.

 

[400bhp]

... and that was caused because a sounded my horn at him

Your job isn't to admonish other drivers.

Do this and expect the unexpected.

 

[Grizzly]

Your job isn't to admonish other drivers.

Do this and expect the unexpected.

My horn was used to warn another road user of my presence, which is correct according to the highway code, but thanks for telling me what I should and should not be doing.

 

[Origamist]

My horn was used to warn another road user of my presence, which is correct according to the highway code, but thanks for telling me what I should and should not be doing.

Grizzly, you better learn quick and toughen-up - that's all people do on this sub-forum

 

[BentMikey]

Your job isn't to admonish other drivers.

Do this and expect the unexpected.

OTOH your job is to admonish forum users, yes?

 

[400bhp]

OTOH your job is to admonish forum users, yes?

There's laws on the road. There isn't on forums.

I'll say what I like thank you.

 

[400bhp]

My horn was used to warn another road user of my presence, which is correct according to the highway code, but thanks for telling me what I should and should not be doing.

Yeah, of course you did

 

[BentMikey]

You filthy hypocrite!!

 

[cheadle hulme]

As other's have pointed out, the woman's riding left a lot to be desired, the blokes driving likewise (although potentially more grave consequences).

Really? At those sort of speeds, I'd rather a streamlined car brushed past than another cyclist.


And what if the guy couldn't hear what the cyclist was saying and got out to hear better? He's immediately got a posh sounding guy right in his face "advising" him not to do anything stupid! Talk about inflaming a minor situation......

 

[BentMikey]

Tell you what, if I'd been that girl, I would have been extremely glad Gaz intervened. It might have been nothing, but I doubt that very much given how the dude tried to push past Gaz. Gaz is a gentleman and deserves mucho credit.

p.s. if you think Gaz has a posh accent, LMAO! Perhaps that goes to show just how well you observed that video?

 

[ianrauk]

Tell you what, if I'd been that girl, I would have been extremely glad Gaz intervened. It might have been nothing, but I doubt that very much given how the dude tried to push past Gaz. Gaz is a gentleman and deserves mucho credit.

p.s. if you think Gaz has a posh accent, LMAO! Perhaps that goes to show just how well you observed that video?

I was going to say, Gaz? A Posho? LMAO