Should you say something to drivers if they do something stupid?

[Randombiker9]

So bassically if you get a close pass or something else stupid. I just ignore it as I don't want things to escalate as isn't that what road rage is? But in your opinion do you think you should say something to the driver that does the stupid thing?.
Because the likely thing is if you confront a driver about their actions it's just likely to escalate and in some cases that could lead to police getting involved and cyclists that don't have a camera it's just down to your word against his.
So what's your opinion? Should you say something or not?

 

[Spinney]

I did once. I was on a roundabout, a little old lady pulled onto the roundabout about a foot from me. I chased her (it was downhill ) saw her turn into a road that lead to a housing estate and she'd pulled into the shop there. So I knocked on her window, managed to speak in a calm voice asking if she'd even seen me. Apparently not, even in my bright yellow jacket. She kept saying sorry, and I suggested she thought about whether she should still be driving.
I have no idea what effect it had on her.

Not sure what I'd have done if a yoof or similar more threatening person had got out! Possibly just gone into the shop myself to buy some chocolate.

There's a big difference between explaining what someone did wrong, and road rage. Although sadly the former can often escalate into the latter.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Good luck with that.
People in cars are very odd when challenged

 

[DaveReading]

It dawned on me recently, as I was giving the thumbs-up to a driver who was passing me after having waited patiently for a safe place to do it, that to even the balance I should really give a thumbs-down to any driver who nobbishly puts me in danger.

As I see it, this has the advantage of being less gratuitously provocative than the middle finger (or an old-fashioned V sign), while still allowing me to imagine myself as the Emperor Nero commanding my victorious gladiator to administer the coup de grâce to the nobber.

 

[Banjo]

I dont think you have much chance of educating someone on the side of the road and as you say it can all get ugly leaving you in a vulnerable position.

What I do sometimes ( for example if someone does a stupid overtake just to get to the que at the lights quicker) is put on a grim face and shake my head side to side slowly as if expressing dissapointment in a slow learning child .

 

[Welsh wheels]

Depends who the driver is. Call me sexist but if it's a female I'd might say something because they're more likely to be pleasant and not punch me into next week.

 

[Drago]

Unless I need to ask them if they'd mind awfully moving their car off of my legs or some such, I just ignore them. I'm not risking getting stabbed, or a wheel brace round my skull, or, even worse, Ronnie Pickering coming for me bare fisted.

 

[Banjo]

On the whole I think drivers are improving around bikes .Still the odd R Sole but my perception is the situation is better than a few years ago.

 

[Spinney]

On the whole I think drivers are improving around bikes .Still the odd R Sole but my perception is the situation is better than a few years ago.

In spite of the best efforts of the gutter press/radio phone-ins!

 

[johnnyb47]

With me I think it depends on what kind of mood I'm in on the day. Some days when I'm feeling mellow I will just let things go, but other days i may not.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Depends who the driver is. Call me sexist but if it's a female I'd might say something because they're more likely to be pleasant and not punch me into next week.

That could be classed as bullying towards someone you perceive to be weaker than yourself.

I ignore everything, returning aggression with more of the same never improves the behaviour of the other person and can escalate into something far more serious.

 

[classic33]

On the whole I think drivers are improving around bikes .Still the odd R Sole but my perception is the situation is better than a few years ago.

Not these?

R. SOLE VEHICLE RENTALS LIMITED. Free business ... https://companycheck.co.uk/.../ R-SOLE- ... Free company summary for R. SOLE VEHICLE RENTALS LIMITED including Companies house registration, overview ...

 

[Vantage]

The last time I tried setting a driver straight after pulling out from a side street despite seeing me, she corrected me in that she had more right to be there as I didn't pay road tax and she did.
I returned home with a look of shame because I had clearly got it wrong.
I've been trying to find my Road Tax payment book ever since. I fear it is lost forever.

 

[Sixmile]

Last week I had a driver pull across in front of me when we were both heading through a set of lights. His lane was stopped, I was moving on the inside. I had slowed as I anticipated that he was going to keep on coming to the point where I wasn't that far off his back window. Only another 500 yards or so down the road, he'd stopped at a pedestrian crossing as his son was jumping out of the passenger side onto the inside lane of traffic. I wasn't even speaking to him about cutting me up and bullying me out of the way but instead chose to calmly tell him that his brake lights weren't working (only the central strip was operational, 2 bulbs were out). He then goes off on one, saying that they are working so I just told him to maybe stick some bulbs in them. He swears at me and speeds off. Some people are just angry at the smallest challenge. The fact that I passed him 2 minutes later at the end of the road and gave him a wave, hopefully cheered him up.

 

[numbnuts]

Having reached nearly 66 and I'd like to reach 70....... I say nothing now