Taking off the door mirror...

[Pat "5mph"]

Personally I would never, really dislike extreme display of brute force
However, I do understand how others need to vent justified rage.
It is true that the practice does not endear cyclists a a whole to the general public: guess a non driving partner of a motorist who needs to find money to replace a side mirror would be non to pleased.

 

[glenn forger]

Yeah, well my council tax pays for the damage pavement parkers do to the pavement, my taxes pay for the people injured when they have to walk in the road because of pavement parkers, my taxes pay for the people injured when stupidly parked cars block sightlines at junctions.

If these cowards don't even have the guts to ask if it's ok to leave a ton of metal on the pavement before abandoning their vehicle they deserve all they get.

 

[ianrauk]

Personally I would never, really dislike extreme display of brute force
However, I do understand how others need to vent justified rage.
It is true that the practice does not endear cyclists a a whole to the general public: guess a non driving partner of a motorist who needs to find money to replace a side mirror would be non to pleased.

Well they had better tell their partner the truth then as to why the car has one less mirror.
"Sorry, dear, I nearly killed a cyclist on purpose with my aggressive, bad driving and he wasn't best pleased, that's why we have no mirror. Bloody cyclists, no wonder no one likes them"

 

[50000tears]

Wouldn't do it myself but can see why you would want to in a very dangerous pass situation. I would hope though that you at least stay around long enough to tell the driver why they have just lost their mirror or else there is little point. Most close passes in my experience are not deliberate attempts to intimidate or endanger the cyclist but just p!$$ poor diving. Still tend to agree with others though that despite the provocation, doing actual damage to the persons car just reinforces the falsely held stereotype of how some drivers perceive everyday cyclists.

 

[slowmotion]

Yup. That's what I did.
I honestly didn't mean to break off the wing mirror, I just bashed my closed fist down on to it and it just came off....surprised myself at how easy it broke..

I thought that bashing them forward from the back was the way. Is downwards better?

Just asking like....

 

[slowmotion]

How is that possible?

Stand behind the mirror and whack it towards the front of the car. Most mirrors are designed to take a certain amount of force from the other direction if the driver squeezes through a gap that is too small.

 

[mickle]

It could be argued that if drivers knew that there was a risk that their car might lose an essential component if they endangered the safety of a vulnerable road user., that they might drive with a little more farking care.

Windscreen wiper arms look funny if you bend them.

 

[400bhp]

Are we losing the plot here - psychopaths are more likely to drive cars?

Don't do x to a car cos the driver might be a lunatic. You could apply that to any situation.

 

[mickle]

Are we losing the plot here - psychopaths are more likely to drive cars?

Don't do x to a car cos the driver might be a lunatic. You could apply that to any situation.

Innit.

 

[50000tears]

Stand behind the mirror and whack it towards the front of the car. Most mirrors are designed to take a certain amount of force from the other direction if the driver squeezes through a gap that is too small.

Aren't a lot of mirrors designed to fold in towards the door these days? Sure I saw it on an avert as a selling point .................... maybe it was advertised as a defense against angry cyclists?

 

[slowmotion]

...or an elephant in the wild....

 

[400bhp]

It is true that the practice does not endear cyclists a a whole to the general public: guess a non driving partner of a motorist who needs to find money to replace a side mirror would be non to pleased.

But this is utter bolshoi - I posted this in t'other thread. As Greg alluded to, I see more aggressive actions by car drivers (seen them get out and fight, punch windows etc). I don't think all car drivers are lunatics. The reason (if you are correct) must be because what we do isn't seen as normal.

 

[slowmotion]

That's from the front, not the back

If the car squeezes through a gap, isn't the force on the mirror coming from the front? That's why they are often designed to fold in safely when subjected to forces from the front. They are not designed to resist forces from the other direction.

EDIT: calling @McWobble

 

[400bhp]

Hmm, mirror knocking off is a bit conspicuous - better off battering the rear quarter with a wandering leg. Won't even realise what it is until they have got home/few days later.

Not condoning it but if you must...

 

[slowmotion]

The mirror's at the front, and the casing is at the back - that's how the thing is operated though, and it's how most people see it I think.

When viewed from the front of your motor, you can see the wing mirrors? That's novel.