cyclist rage - it's as bad as car driver rage
- Thread starter reubeness
- Start date
Couldn't get back until I got to work this morning - the reason I started the thread is that two people close to me have been arrested for getting angry with cyclists who have taken things too far (imo) one spat on a friend's car the other kicked the car door. Both actions made the car drivers very angry indeed - heated exchanges followed and the car drivers in both instances were arrested, one charged and sent to prison the other in danger of losing his job if the thing comes to court with the cyclist making up all sorts of events that did not take place.
I see cyclists challenging motorists all the time, the other day I was entering a roundabout in my car, no traffic coming from my right or left - a cyclist straight in front of me, cycling down a footpath that clearly said 'no cycling' pulled out in my path and then said something like "some people really should learn to drive"
I was angry but am very mellow so just mumbled something to myself and carried on.
I see cyclists challenging motorists all the time, the other day I was entering a roundabout in my car, no traffic coming from my right or left - a cyclist straight in front of me, cycling down a footpath that clearly said 'no cycling' pulled out in my path and then said something like "some people really should learn to drive"
I was angry but am very mellow so just mumbled something to myself and carried on.
Sometimes I screw up on my bike, I cycled into the back of an aa van once, I got knocked off my bike because I wasn't paying attention. I put my hand up and admitted it and apologised redfacedly to those concerned.
I used to regularly shout at people coming out of junctions behind someone in front (its ok for them to go it must be ok for me), idiots creeping out into bus/cycle lanes. But usually it falls on deaf ears the same when idiots shout something oh so witty about my arse ( I have kind of missed the funny bit by the time you are half way down the road).
However my pet peave currently is pedestrians who see you and step out in front of you expecting you to stop becuase you are on a bike
I used to regularly shout at people coming out of junctions behind someone in front (its ok for them to go it must be ok for me), idiots creeping out into bus/cycle lanes. But usually it falls on deaf ears the same when idiots shout something oh so witty about my arse ( I have kind of missed the funny bit by the time you are half way down the road).
However my pet peave currently is pedestrians who see you and step out in front of you expecting you to stop becuase you are on a bike
Dj TAB
Mr Whippy
I've had....
..my handlebars knocked out of my hands twice by twat motorists wing mirrors,
....cut up more times than I can remember,
....had parked car doors flung open in front of me forcing me out into heavy traffic,
...stupid fucking pedestrians stepping out in front,
...plenty of verbal abuse from traffic-frustrated motorists
....motorists suddenly stopping for no apparent reason
....near misses by twats who continue to think it's acceptable to use mobile phones whilst driving.
I know a proportion of cyclists attract a degree of bad press, however we are percieved as the lowest form of road traffic. This is contrary to my belief that we are just as entitled to use London's roads as any other.
..my handlebars knocked out of my hands twice by twat motorists wing mirrors,
....cut up more times than I can remember,
....had parked car doors flung open in front of me forcing me out into heavy traffic,
...stupid fucking pedestrians stepping out in front,
...plenty of verbal abuse from traffic-frustrated motorists
....motorists suddenly stopping for no apparent reason
....near misses by twats who continue to think it's acceptable to use mobile phones whilst driving.
I know a proportion of cyclists attract a degree of bad press, however we are percieved as the lowest form of road traffic. This is contrary to my belief that we are just as entitled to use London's roads as any other.
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
I'm an assertive rider and I recognise that most other cyclists aren't - so when I whack the cars of dozy motorists on the roof, I have the next person in mind more than myself.
Sometimes I get it wrong though and I upset an "elderly" *couple in a car recently ... the driver had made a gesture acknowledging his mistake, but I still stuck two fingers up - and a second time when he sounded his horn.
(It followed a couple of previous incidents on the same journey where selfish cagers had acted like I wasn't there)
(*maybe 60ish - but I'm nearly 50 myself and don't see age as an excuse*)
The trouble with "oops I didn't see you" where a car is concerned is that the next time they do it, some cyclist will be dead.
Sometimes I get it wrong though and I upset an "elderly" *couple in a car recently ... the driver had made a gesture acknowledging his mistake, but I still stuck two fingers up - and a second time when he sounded his horn.
(It followed a couple of previous incidents on the same journey where selfish cagers had acted like I wasn't there)
(*maybe 60ish - but I'm nearly 50 myself and don't see age as an excuse*)
The trouble with "oops I didn't see you" where a car is concerned is that the next time they do it, some cyclist will be dead.
I'll take "He gobbed on my car so I ran the caant over!!" for a tenner Bob !tommers said:you don't get arrested for being angry with people. what happened?
Ah fuck it.. There's shit drivers, shit bikers, shit cyclists and shit peds. It's the nature of the game that we all can and do fuck up at some stage or another. The idea is to try and get out of dangerous habits (that increase the chances that your inevitable fuckup is fatal for you or someone else) and into good ones, like using your indicators when you change direction. At least give others a chance to avoid you when you do something stupid.
I would say one thing pretty confidently. If you've lost your rag whilst on the road, pull over for a few mins and calm down. The same if you've had a near miss. If you have a sequence of near misses, pull over and take a harsh look at yourself and your driving/riding.
tommers
Currently in investor / advisor mode.
Radar said:
Well, I didn't want to jump to conclusions or nuffing.
s'right.
people don't suddenly become wankers when they get in their car, start pedalling or whatever. It's important to remember that. They've been wankers for their whole lives. And will be till they die.
Mikey77 said:
Why?
Presumably it's self defense. Most cyclists shouting are doing it because it's the umpteenth time that someone has done something similar and it's really frustrating, particularly because getting in an accident on a bike, which can be caused by sudden braking as you suggest, almost always involves bodily harm. Whereas a pedestrian stepping backwards, or a motorist slowing down or even braking, is rarely at risk of injury.
I think it's this fear of bodily harm, coupled with the rushing adrenaline you are experiencing while you're cycling (which motorists and pedestrians do not experience) that drive cyclists to be more verbally raged than others.
No tommers you don't get arrested just for being angry ...well
The first instance (spitting on the car) the friend lost it big time. He had his two teenage boys in the car obviously felt that he would lose face if he didn't 'deal' with it so the scene ended in him punching the cyclist. I don't condone his actions at all but understand he probably had a thousand other greivances in his head unrelated to the cyclist - he saw red and behaved badly. He was banged up and eventually remorseful.
The second is such a long story - the friend was in his car, his girlfriend two cars in front. She cut up the cyclist who kicked her passenger side door at the traffic lights, she got out and slapped the cyclist round the face, the two of them were arguing. Friend saw the commotion ahead but had not seen what caused it so he got out of car to help girlfriend. She was screaming so he asked the cyclist what was going on - cyclist was probably scared and said nothing. Friend raised his voice and swore, cyclist took out mobile phone, held it up in friend's face to take a picture, friend knocked phone out of cyclist hand, the casing was damaged.
If the cyclists had not taken action in the way that they did, these two events may not have taken place.
The first instance (spitting on the car) the friend lost it big time. He had his two teenage boys in the car obviously felt that he would lose face if he didn't 'deal' with it so the scene ended in him punching the cyclist. I don't condone his actions at all but understand he probably had a thousand other greivances in his head unrelated to the cyclist - he saw red and behaved badly. He was banged up and eventually remorseful.
The second is such a long story - the friend was in his car, his girlfriend two cars in front. She cut up the cyclist who kicked her passenger side door at the traffic lights, she got out and slapped the cyclist round the face, the two of them were arguing. Friend saw the commotion ahead but had not seen what caused it so he got out of car to help girlfriend. She was screaming so he asked the cyclist what was going on - cyclist was probably scared and said nothing. Friend raised his voice and swore, cyclist took out mobile phone, held it up in friend's face to take a picture, friend knocked phone out of cyclist hand, the casing was damaged.
If the cyclists had not taken action in the way that they did, these two events may not have taken place.
tommers
Currently in investor / advisor mode.
reubeness said:
right. so two drivers were so angry that somebody kicked or spat at their CAR that they got out and assaulted them? and this after they had (at least in the second case) put them in danger by careless driving?
and you start a thread asking cyclists to be calmer?
hmmm....
altho - they obviously also shouldn't be kicking cars. nobody has really covered themselves in glory.
No tommers, nothing is that simple - you, like others, are assuming that the drivers deliberately cut up the bikes, this is often not the case, often there is no intent - it's inexperience, bad traffic management (ie no cycle lanes), cyclists are not always great at cycling safely either. I drive, but I also cycle so I know what can happen on the roads.
Anyway, I was not asking cyclists to be calmer I put the thread up because someone close to me is at serious risk of a criminal record because he knocked the phone out of someone's hand. The friend did not start anything or endanger the cyclist, he was reacting to a situation involving his girlfriend.
If a cyclist does something, like pulling out into the middle of the road without signalling (this happens too) does that entitle me to pull up and kick his bike or spit on him - no it does not. Would most cyclists in the above situation act aggressively, yes I think they would.
Anyway, I was not asking cyclists to be calmer I put the thread up because someone close to me is at serious risk of a criminal record because he knocked the phone out of someone's hand. The friend did not start anything or endanger the cyclist, he was reacting to a situation involving his girlfriend.
If a cyclist does something, like pulling out into the middle of the road without signalling (this happens too) does that entitle me to pull up and kick his bike or spit on him - no it does not. Would most cyclists in the above situation act aggressively, yes I think they would.
tommers
Currently in investor / advisor mode.
catrina said:
the best one I saw was on Camden Road. There was a guy in quite a big car with either his wife / girlfriend or mother in the back seat. He was arguing with a guy on one of those pizza delivery type motorbikes. The argument developed till the biker broke the car's wing mirror off. The car driver then pushed the biker over his bike, got into his car and drove off. At which point the biker got his chain out of his top box and rode off after him whirling it around his head
God knows what happened when he caught up with him.
catrina said:
What about cyclists who ride up one-way-streets the wrong way. And then curse at pedestrians (ie me) who don't think people are foolish enough to do so...?
Though I've now got used to cyclists doing this and always double check. Just like I've learnt to double check cyclists jumping lights at pedestrian crossings. Though I really shouldn't have to...
@ cyclists who are stupid tossers and ruin it for everyone else...Mikey admitted he'd wrongly walked out into the street in front of the cyclist. That's not the cyclist's fault.
And not really sure how a pedestrian should come into contact with a cyclist coming up the wrong way of a one-way street anyway, unless the pedestrian is walking on the road instead of the pavement? Which is just as stupid as a cyclist cycling down the wrong way of a one-way street.
catrina, the POINT is that the cyclists' actions caused reactions - I didn't say they were 'good' reactions, simply that taking offensive action, even if on inanimate objects may cause a 'bad' reaction and cyclists are just as liable as the car drivers in these instances.
If you read the threads you would see the second incident the person being charged is not the one who cut up the cyclist or hit him but someone who was trying to find out what was happening and got caught up in the cyclists reactions (ie shoving a mobile in his face to take a picture presumably for 'evidence').
If you read the threads you would see the second incident the person being charged is not the one who cut up the cyclist or hit him but someone who was trying to find out what was happening and got caught up in the cyclists reactions (ie shoving a mobile in his face to take a picture presumably for 'evidence').
2wheeledathiest
I am sane, there is proof
Mobile CCTV, just in case there were any bits left that are not being watched.
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