What is the correct response to the driver that pulls in front of you ?

[PpPete]

The motorist pulls out of a side road infront of you?

Grab the brakes BUT fail to stop in time before putting a nice tyre scratch on the door paint. Make sure you have a frightened ( not malicious ) look on your face.
If the driver attempts to open the door, it will get scratched worse by your QR skewer or brake handle..

Get your mobile out and take a photo of the car with its R5END still in the sideroad; and the scratch on your QR skewer (which the motorist's insurance will have to pay to rectify).

Exchange details ( you are a member of the CTC, aren't you?).

Been tempted to do the above.....

& often thought of mounting my bar ends on wrong bars so the "hook" end points outwards for use in the occasional too-close overtake.

 

[Rob3rt]

tbh I normaly just shake my head wave and arm and carry on, but Ive been temped to spit up the window before! Never actually done it, its gross, but ive been tempted!!

 

[jimboalee]

Actually the former was to inform the driver I was STILL on his RHS & he was pushing me into the oncoming traffic by continuing to move into the flow of road traffic. Don't presume you know exactly what happened from a brief & incomplete description of events.

So you was riding alongside a motorcar, on the crown of the road and it was moving slowly to it's right, effectively forcing you onto the oncomming carriageway.

I see now.

Only one thing to do.

"Yank the anch's".

Cars have a lot more mass than bikes. Ones rolling alongside as well as ones approaching head-on at 30 mph.

 

[Downward]

"Cant"

Or now I am a bit more mature and generally an exasperated wave of arm.

Though if it's on the way to work I ignore it as there are a lot of cars i recognize passing me on our car park.

 

[ufkacbln]

When I shout out expletives to cars, I've begun to realise to passers by I just sound like I've got tourettes

This is a different issue...
Quite often I use the situation to my advantage. A simple shout is effective and gains the attention of (potential) witnesses.

In this case they are more likely to assist a polite victim rather than a swearing foul mouthed hooligan.

 

[madguern]

thanks for the responses, seems like Oiiiii is the fave, a recent cyclist locally shouted this at a car driver for cutting him up. Was then a letter in the local rag saying that this is a typical attitude of a cyclist !! I nearly spat my sandwich out, probably best to not read the paper and eat a sandwich whilst riding to work but hey :-)

 

[GrasB]

So you was riding alongside a motorcar, on the crown of the road and it was moving slowly to it's right, effectively forcing you onto the oncomming carriageway.

I see now.

Only one thing to do.

"Yank the anch's".

Cars have a lot more mass than bikes. Ones rolling alongside as well as ones approaching head-on at 30 mph.

Actually I didn't intend to hit the window, it's just a Smart twofour has a very small bonnet & I put my hand out to try & stop the undertake (or force them to undertake on the lanes width worth of hashed area). In hindsight forget the brakes, rather than stop pedalling I should have geared up & kicked hard before taking back primary quickly. Braking was also a bad idea as I had no idea how hard or otherwise the HGV driver behind me was braking to avoid the muppet & considering how the driver was accelerating the obvious answer to me was not that quickly.

 

[upsidedown]

Saying nothing makes them think they've done nothing wrong and you are totally ok with it.

Shout at them, and some people might be dicks and believe they've done nothing wrong and not care, but at least you've made them think. Most people might realise they shouldn't have done that and might be more careful in the future.

You won't have made them think, they don't think. Just keep yourself safe and don't let them spoil your journey.

 

[BentMikey]

You won't have made them think, they don't think. Just keep yourself safe and don't let them spoil your journey.

Now this bit is completely wrong. Most drivers are normal humans, just like us, and they learn from feedback some of the time.

Me shouting out a loud Oi or beeping on the airzound and making a pushing out to the right motion has retrained most of the regulars on my commute. I get very few close overtakes now compared with how many when I first moved here.

 

[BentMikey]

It doesn't ruin my calm at all. I'm just giving a bit of feedback so they can learn from it if they want to. The most amusing angry responses still end up passing me with more room next time I see them, so that gets a laugh the first time, and a pleased and knowing smile the second.

p.s. karma means something quite different.

 

[gaz]

By shouting 'Oi!' TBH I wouldn't consider this feedback rather rude.

'A pleased and knowing smile!' What's a like down there on your low racer or rather up there on your high horse?

Well you can't have a full on conversation with someone as they are overtaking you. if you catch up you have a word.

The OI is just so they know you disagree with what they are doing as they are doing it. i've had no one react badly to an OI.

And it's better than shouting swear words at them as some people do.

 

[BentMikey]

LOL @ Lee. Deliberate misinterpretation? You should know there's no high horse after we rode together already.

 

[hackbike 666]

I had a female cabbie pull right in front of me tonight to pick up a fare near Bank.

I think I was so flabbergasted at the stupidity that I didn't really say a lot.

 

[gbb]

Nothing, there's no point. Gets me wound up and doesn't acheive anything, drivers think they are perfect, and they're not going to listen to a pauper on a bicycle are they ?

Sometimes true, sometimes not, but i always hope they reflect later and think perhaps that was uneccessary.
Typical case was last week...a small 4x4 overtook me real close and then pulled up in front of me at lights...why ???. I undertook him on the cycle lane, put myself right in front of him, turned round and said 'what was the point of that, you overtook too close and then had to stop?'
He stonewalled me...i asked him again....and he put his hand up in apology.

No-one (or very few anyway) will admit they made a mistake...i think most will reflect later and hopefully modify their driving..to the benefit of us all.

If you say nothing...nothing will change. just my opinion.

 

[hackbike 666]

If you say nothing...nothing will change. just my opinion.

+1