chas58

A month ago, someone from work got run over and killed riding on a lightly traveled road (the car apparently did not see him). A few days ago, another person I know from a local club got hit – he is OK, his $5,000 bike is trashed. He was riding about 3 feet away from the street. Are cars getting more aggressive towards bikes?

A comment on the newspaper article seemed to shed a lot of light on the attitude of a minority of drivers. Yeah, less than 10% of the drivers probably think this way, but it only takes one car to ruin your day, or your life…


The article about the hit and run, with the above quote in the comments section:
https://www.theoaklandpress.com/artic...5884697539.txt

SactoDoug

There will always be people with a criminal mindset. Unfortunately, these people can do serious harm or kill a cyclist with their car/truck/SUV.

It takes a real coward and scum bag to run someone over with a motor vehicle.

2wheelcommute

I wouldn't try to interpret a trend based on a couple of anecdotes. (On my end, I've had a startling number of people--pedestrians, cyclists, and even drivers--smiling and waving at me on my commute lately)

Boy, am I sorry about your co-worker and friend, though.

MijnWraak

Cars are getting less aggressive towards bikes, since nobody I know has been hit by a car recently

chas58

Maybe it is a Michigan thing, but its unusual for me to ride on the shoulder of a major road (i.e. anything with a speedlimit over 25mph) without some yahoo yelling "get off the road." My cruising speed is 20-25mph, making sidewalks more dangerous than the road (cars never stop before the crosswalk, like cars legally must do).

Personally, I just cut through neighborhoods and back roads as much as possible, but sometimes there are no alternatives.

lostarchitect 

People say things and make claims on the internet that they wouldn't say or do in reality. That comment from the website above is just another internet blowhard.

alan s 

I don't think it's the cars that are the problem, but rather the drivers.

JeffSG

It seems to me that the cagers are getting less aggressive. I haven't had one blow there horn at me in a couple of months or see how close they can get to me. Maybe they feel sorry for me because of the heat...don't know but it's fine with me.

Ride safe,

Jeff

chas58

Not really, I see and hear this type of attitude when riding on the road all of the time. I will admit that Michigan seems to be much more aggressive with this attitude than any other state I have ridden in.

While I have had people who, for no apparent reason, to a close drive by, and then slam on the brakes in front of me (typically a pickup truck driver for some reason), most of the accidents nearby seem to be from people who are just not paying attention when driving. My best friend had his brother run over by a car a week ago – he was riding in a bike lane (LA) and the car just swung wide on a turn - into the bike lane and took him out. Fortunately he was able to walk away (more or less) after being thrown into the windshield and then about 20 feet away like the guy above.

sauerwald

The vast majority of drivers are careful and considerate. I believe that the problem is that we have a system which is very permissive towards that small minority who endanger us all. We should be much quicker to enforce existing laws, and to put teeth into that enforcement. Suspend or revoke drivers licenses and make the penalties for driving without a valid license sufficient to make it a very rare occurrence.

scroca

No.

jbman100

I don't think drivers are getting any more aggressive I think that we as riders as getting more exposure in the press about being hit as more and more bikes are on the roads.

wolfchild

I believe that there is more "road rage" now then 15-20 years ago. It's not just drivers hostile towards cyclist but driver against driver. I think that majority of drivers are good people. But it's the few bad ones that shouldn't even have a drivers license. I

nashcommguy

In almost 25 years of commuting I've had maybe 10 experiences that I would consider harrassment. Harrassment is what I would describe as 'deliberate endangerment'. 3 times I was able to catch and confront the individual(s) at the next traffic light. Once I was able to confront the person in their work parking lot. They were beyond embarrassed as their co-workers were treated to a full-volume harangue of the perpetrator by yours truly.

Personally, I don't consider 'get off the road!' as harrassment, but I do make sure that my universal hand gesture response is clearly visible in their rearview mirror. If they decide they want to take offence and come back to knuckle up...well, so be it. Wouldn't be the first time in my life. It's never happened though. People who hollar things from the safety of their cars are confrontational cowards. You can take that to the bank.

Like the above poster says, most cagers pass at a respectful distance and go on about their day. Sometimes, I feel bad that they feel the need to pass all the way over in the opposing lane when moving over close to the center line is plenty of room. I do my part in having the best flat-resistant tires I can afford while riding to the right of the fog line as much as possible.

I'll filter when it's safe, make eye to eye contact, be very clear of my intentions and try to be as considerate of the reality that I'm a 200lb vehicle in amongst 5000 lb behemoths as possible. I keep my head on a swivel and maintain the attitude that if I get hit it's my fault, regardless of the level of the cager's inattention. Ultimately, I'm responsible for my own level of safety and refuse to blame cagers for my lack of anticipation.

So, no it doesn't seem to me that the level of aggression has increased over the years. There are alot more bikes on the road during commuting hours, though. So, it would stand to reason that conflicts between cagers and cycle-commuters would go up simply because there are more people on bikes, nowadays.

TheHen

It seems to me that motorists are both becoming more considerate of cyclists and becoming more aggressive. That is to say, the motoring public, like the political public, is becoming more polarized. I seem to have way more drivers going out of their way to give me extra space and I am getting a lot more waves (five fingers) and smiles than ever before in my many decades of riding. At the same time, I am having more intentional close passes and general harassment than ever before.

I don't think I'll ever understand what causes someone to think it is acceptable to put a stranger's life in danger. I'm not bothered by the mindless yelling or one-digit salutes (Do they think I'm #1?), but putting a life at risk because the person doesn't appear to be like you in some way is just beyond my ability to comprehend.

Loose Chain

Cars don't get more or less aggressive towards bikes. Drivers get more or less aggressive towards cyclist. The removal of the HUMAN factor as poised in the question is part of the problem. People don't see people, they see machines.

The answer is probably yes, people are more and more spoiled, me, me, me, I am the most important thing in the universe and what I want is most important and what you want does not matter.

LC

dynodonn 

They probably are (motorists), but my skin has gotten thicker as well, so it's hard to tell. I noticed from personal experience is that motorists are worse around election time, especially if it's a heated one.

Ira B

We need a fact based PR campaign.

Every bicycle commuter who leaves the car at home is applying downward pressure on the price of gasoline by reducing demand. That should make every bicyclist the driver of a car sees cause them to smile a little.
As cyclists we should always keep in mind that for many people biking is often just not an option. On the flip side, those people should recognize that they face less traffic and lower gas prices because many of us can and do ride.
And then everybody is happy.

Dean7

I have to say: in Portland I think it's the opposite. Every day it seems that cars and cyclists are finding better ways to interact with each other. Honestly, as a driver there are some situations where it's hard to look out for bikes (like when we are pacing them in a bike lane and they go to take a right, etc.) but most of the people I see are doing their best.

There will always be a subset of the population bent on chaos and destruction, but they can kill you in your car or as a pedestrian as well. So, I don't really view it as aggressiveness aimed towards cyclists.

Titmawz

Bad things happen all around but I would have to say as well that from my experience drivers have been much nicer lately =)

The Human Car

IMHO It's going both ways. Most are getting more respectful of cyclists but those that are not, are getting really not respectful of cyclists.

Grim

Seasonal trends.

School is starting back up. Lot of College students and house wives driving their too fat too good for the bus children to school.

cccorlew

My secret plan (I guess it's not secret now)is to fund road bicycles for the children (especially daughters) of police officers and judges. I think we'd get more protection from those groups, and that drivers would think twice about harassing us.

silmarillion

Reprehensible mindless drivel. This writer would feel different if it were a member of his/her family that was killed. Being on the receiving end sure does a lot to change perspectives...

It's like saying that if you got shot in an armed robbery, it's your fault for going into the bank to make a transaction.

I think that people are becoming more and more frustrated with traffic in general. More cars on the road, and dwindling infrastructure not able to keep up with traffic demands. People get uptight.

Fuel costs, and Oil War arguments aside though, saying that people deserve to get killed so others can enjoy driving without the hassle of having to deal with bicyclists on the roadways is asinine ignorance. Much bigger threats to public safety on the roads than people on bicycles.

streetstomper

Rising gas prices probably don't help. Somebody who feels trapped into spending a lot of money filling his tank is likely to resent people who don't have to pay for gas and who are "stealing" his road space.