What the hells the matter with some drivers :=(

[johnnyb47]

Hi and hope you've all had a good day.
Most nights I can go out for a ride and it's hassle free, regarding fellow motorist that we have to share the roads with, but occasionally there will be a night were it seems all the jerks will be out in force. Tonight was one of those nights. In the 17 miles I did , I got abuse from 3 separate drivers. The first was a van driver. As he approached me he put his lights on full and deliberately swerve his vehicle towards me and shouted abuse. I hadn't a clue what he said but he sounded pretty angry. When I calmed down, I thought maybe my light may of dazzled him so I adjusted downwards a little and put it down to experience. A few miles further along, number 2 abusive driver come along. This time it was a 4x4 and the driver made a close pass on a quiet secluded road with the passenger shouting obscenities at me. I haven't a clue what hell that was about. I could only put it down to some youngsters messing around thinking they've invented the car. Finally the third lot of abuse tonight I got turned a bit nasty as I was now starting to get really peed off by it all.
I had good tail wind behind me and cycling really well ,pushing an average of 20 mph for a good 7 miles or so. The car driver behind was inconvenienced by this for a minute or so, and drove close up behind me before giving me a close pass. A bit further down the road he got caught at lights and I duly filtered in front of him to get onto a cycle path. Blimey was I met with some abuse for doing that !
He was effing and blinding at me for holding him up further down the road and for filtering past him at the lights !
I was at boiling point by now and ended up giving him a piece of my mind. He soon piped down when he saw my ugly mug and realized I wasn't going to back down..
Now I'm back home and writing this, I'm starting to question is it me who's in the wrong more than I would admit to or is it just that a small minority of drivers really hate cyclists, and no matter how small the mistake a cyclist may make ,the motorist will make there life's hell on the road for it.
Anyway sorry for the negative sounding post but I just wanted to get it off my chest.
All the very best,
Johnny

 

[fossyant]

There are idiots everywhere.

 

[JhnBssll]

Ignore them, you'll never win against someone too stupid to contemplate their own faults.

 

[johnnyb47]

Your absolutely right. I should just ignore these idiots. Biting back at them feels right at the time, but once back home I do regret it as I think it just winds me up even more when I lose my cool with these clowns

 

[Andy in Germany]

Hi and hope you've all had a good day.
Now I'm back home and writing this, I'm starting to question is it me who's in the wrong more than I would admit to or is it just that a small minority of drivers really hate cyclists, and no matter how small the mistake a cyclist may make ,the motorist will make there life's hell on the road for it.

That's your problem right there.

On the other hand I notice it clusters: I'll have no trouble for weeks and then three cars being awkward in a day.

I think it's moon phases.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Your absolutely right. I should just ignore these idiots. Biting back at them feels right at the time, but once back home I do regret it as I think it just winds me up even more when I lose my cool with these clowns

Wave and smile. It keep you calm and makes them madder than anything else you can do.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Don't react when someone has a dangerous weapon in their hands. But get their registration noted if you felt seriously threatened,

 

[tom73]

Rise above it and show your better then them. You will never win they aren’t the sort that will change as with anything for every mindless plank they will be many more who are just not into making trouble. We can’t avoid the knobs in tin boxers but we can more than deal with them by peddling away , holding firm and not carrying on our merry way.

If they really do get you mad wait till they have gone past and no longer a issue then give them hell. Even if they will never hear you it sure make’s you feel better. So I’ve been told

 

[Slick]

I seem to notice it comes in clusters too. Difficult at the time but like everyone else says, try not to rise to the bait unless you have it on film.

 

[johnnyb47]

Don't react when someone has a dangerous weapon in their hands. But get their registration noted if you felt seriously threatened,

That is really good advice. I've slowly learnt over the short time I've been cycling to maintain my bike , cycle long distances etc (thanks to this great forum) but I'm still on on the learning curve of dealing with plonkers who think they can bully cyclists in there metal road going cages.

 

[lane]

Your absolutely right. I should just ignore these idiots. Biting back at them feels right at the time, but once back home I do regret it as I think it just winds me up even more when I lose my cool with these clowns

I think thats the right approach. That said I'm not always very good at taking my own advice, but like you never feel great for losing control with idiots. At the end of the day I'm just going to spoil my own ride.

 

[HLaB]

I hardly ever filter in front of the 1st car, preferring to slot into a gap one two cars back as every so often you get a nutter like that. The exception is Cambridge City Centre when a dozen or more cyclists often surround a car and if you wait back behind the car, that is waiting back behind other cyclists, you'd miss the lights ;-)

 

[JhnBssll]

I must admit I tend to join queues at lights and junctions rather than filtering to the front, especially if the cars in front have passed me recently. Quite regularly this results in other cyclists filtering past me to the front but I'm never in enough of a hurry to worry about that

 

[Slick]

To be honest I'll nearly always filter but like HLaB not always to the very front. Some cars pass me 4 times or more in the space of about 3 miles but that's not my problem. I haven't kept them back at all, it's just traffic.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Trouble is, if you act like a car and filter that's fine until they want you to act like a bike. Then suddenly you should be 'on the pavement'.

It's your presence on the road that winds up this minority.