the situation: a driver passes me, a cyclist with front and rear lights riding in the dark through the below intersection (no stop sign) leaving me very little space and feeling unsafe. Somewhat abbreviated dialog:
me: HEY WATCH IT!!
him: [slows down BMW and unrolls his window, aggressively]: what did i do?
me [yelling]: you passed me way too close
him: I’m in a car, you’re on a bike and not entitled to the road
me: you’re supposed to treat me like a car, don't come up from behind and pass me like that
him: oh, what, are you having a bad day?
me: you made me feel unsafe, you have to wait until I’m through the roundabout before passing!
him: f**k you! [honks and speeds off]
I admit I was yelling while making my case and my tone was defensive, but there is no way a car and a bike can fit safely side by side while going around these traffic circles, right? I felt like this interaction highlights a few major themes in poor driver-bicyclist relations: the notion that a cyclist should not be angry in advocating for their safety, that a cyclist must yield to a car in the hierarchy of the road, and that somehow my anger was tied to an unrelated emotional state other than the fear for my safety. I know I could go about this more productively next time by being more calm in my defense but I had to yell at least so the driver could hear me as he sped ahead. Ok rant over.
google street view:
