_ForceD_

I'm reluctant to post this in the A&S forum because it's been my experience that many of the lurkers in there tend to be there just to pounce on such things and make it the bicyclist's fault. So, if it gets relocated by the moderator...so be it.

Yesterday while riding on the southbound shoulder of a two-lane road which has ample shoulders, I nearly collided with a car coming from the opposite direction that was making a left turn in front of me. The thing is, it was neither the driver's fault, nor my fault. It was because of the other driver, in the southbound lane, who just stopped in the lane, with no stop sign or traffic signal, to allow the northbound driver to make the left turn. The southbound driver was just several yards ahead of me when he stopped. It appeared to me that HE was making a left turn. But, his stopped position blocked my view of the other car, and that car's view of me. The driver made the turn rather abruptly, and had I been just a few more yards up the road, or travelling a mph or two faster...there would have been a collision. This is one of my pet peeves with drivers in general, and it happens a lot here in RI. Drivers think they're being really polite by stopping to let another driver make a left turn...either from a side street onto the main road, or vice versa. But in both cases they're actually creating a potentially dangerous situation...and not just when bicycles are present. I wish drivers would just abide by the right of way regulations.

Dan

trailangel

Ya, somebody else posted about drivers stopping and waving you on.....
You gotta be careful and look at ALL cars.

Similar situation.... traveling through an intersection.. car is going with you through the intersection.... but just a bit faster, leaving you exposed to oncoming driver making a left turn, that hasn't seen you because you were blocked from view.

Hey... doesn't count if you don't get hit

Don't be in too much of a hurry through traffic.

mcours2006

Agreed completely. All I ask is that everyone follows the rules of the road. I've seen a couple of car crashes caused by this seemingly 'nice' gesture. Let the turning driver figure it out for him/herself. If she can't, then maybe she shouldn't be taking that route in the first place, or driving, for that matter.

BobbyG

Been there...almost been done in by that. Glad you're okay. I for one welcome cautionary tales, especially with positive outcomes.

wphamilton

It also happens to bikes and pedestrians in crosswalks. A left-lane car sees them and stops and a driver in a lane to the right thinks that they're randomly stopped for no reason (I guess) and plows straight through. While the bicyclist or pedestrian, hidden from view by the first car, thinks it's safe since "traffic" is stopped for them. It's one very good reason to stay out of crosswalks.

Steve B.

Everyone has a different interpretation of the rules of the road. Folks that think they are being polite don’t realize they are creating a dangerous situation cause nobody is anticipating their stupidity.

After 29 riding seasons, I’ve learned to be cautious of the scenario you described and am much better now at recognizing the danger. I watch and ask “why is this guy stopping with no turn signal ?. Has saved my butt to be aware and cautious.

SquidPuppet

That kind of overly courteous stuff irks me to no end. They don't even realize that they are creating danger where none previously existed. I've seen motorists stop right in the middle of a traffic circle to be courteous and allow another motorist to enter the circle. The proper flow gets ruined and chaos ensues. Ugh!

canklecat

Yeah, the niceholes are a common problem. Mostly I see 'em at stop sign intersections, where they want to play the Alphonse & Gaston game. They think they're being nice and polite but often it's just making matters worse.

Nothing wrong with that sort of courtesy where appropriate, however. For example, at an endless traffic light backup where I see someone waiting forever to merge from a parking lot -- I'll let 'em squeeze in, especially if it's one of the many handicapped transportation service vans or small buses. I know they're on a tight schedule, taking clients to medical appointments, and have limited visibility and mobility in heavy traffic.

exmechanic89

The right of way on roads is definitely grossly misunderstood by many drivers. Your unfortunate situation OP, comes under the 'no good deed goes unpunished' category.

BlazingPedals

Agree, traffic flows better when everyone follows the law. Many years ago, a motor home waved a left-turner in front of him -- and totaled my brand new recumbent. I'm forever giving dumb stares at 'good samaritans' who want me to turn left in front of them when they have the right of way. I don't know if they just don't understand that they have the right-of-way, or if they think waiting 15 seconds for them to go first will kill me.

rumrunn6

good share

Steve B.

Yes. I like that term, very descriptive and accurate.

_ForceD_

Yep, that's me too. And then they just can't fathom why you're not accepting their generosity and so they flash their headlights at you.

"Niceholes"...I like that too. I'm going to use it.

Dan

WNCGoater

There's a thread over in A&S that addresses this. I believe these "good samaritans" are the most dangerous drivers on the road. Just drive your car & follow the rules of the road. It is not up to an individual to interpret those rules as they see fit. There is no state statute ANYWHERE that advises or suggest that any driver has any right, need, or authority to direct other motorists when and where to drive their vehicles. I've heard a multitude of stories of people getting hit following the "directions" of a do-gooder. VERY dangerous to wave people into traffic and assume everyone knows what everyone else is doing.

SquidPuppet

Never heard that one before. Thanks.

AlmostTrick

Right. A driver or cyclist thinks a motorist is stopped for no reason. Now the OP knows he/she needs to be aware that whenever a view is blocked, there may be a car about to cross. I'm glad they weren't hit.



Hmmm, I'm not sure statistics would agree with this. It seems to me there are a plenty of worse driving habits out there.


Agreed. So while the do gooder is setting up a dangerous situation, it takes a non-attentive or clueless person to "take the bait" and get whacked. I'd be upset with myself if I "allowed" it to happen to me.

Ironfish653

Yeah, but a motorist stopping in an active, through lane to 'wave across' a left-turn, is STUPID.
Stupid too, for the motorist taking the turn, unless, there's no other cars around, or it's 'making a space' in stopped traffic.

I had somone 'wave out' a car from a driveway, mid-block of a 4-lane road; Turns out the kid was trying to make a left, not a right, and he pulled out past the do-gooder, right in to the passenger door of my car, as I was in an active, through lane.

Also had a kid make an unsignaled left turn from the right lane across 3 lanes of active traffic. I was on my moto in the center lane, with too much closing speed and not enough road to get clear.

I was mad about that for a while, because I probably could have made it, if I'd know what he was going to do. But some moves are so hare-brained that it takes a moment or two to figure out what the hell is going on

The 'rules of the road' are there so that everyone behaves in a predictable manner. If I looked at every driver like they were going to do the most unpredictable thing possible, I'd probably never get out of the driveway.

TimothyH

Many years ago, the New York State learner's permit test had a question about "Unnecessary courtesy." I really didn't see it much in New York but here in the south unnecessary courtesy it is the norm.

If you wave someone through and contribute to an accident then you can be held liable. I don't do it in the car or on the bike.



-Tim-

canklecat

That certainly was true in my part of Texas years ago, but less so now. Some of the rudest, most impatient drivers I've encountered are in Weatherford, to the west of Fort Worth. And it was all the sort of thing I'd been accustomed to in New York City, but never in rural Texas.

A couple of weekends ago I rode through Weatherford on a beautiful afternoon. Seemed like the perfect day for a relaxed attitude. But I was surprised by the number of drivers honking impatiently at each other, a split second after a traffic light turned green, or if they had to wait a moment while a driver ahead of them paused for a break in traffic to turn left. I'm talking dozens of incidents -- drivers leaning on horns, then gunning their engines, screeching tires to pass unsafely.

And these weren't "Yankees". They were locals in pickup trucks.

Texans love to blame "Yankees" for changing Texas but the fact is it's Texans who have changed, and not for the better in many places.

But Fort Worth is a great cycling town. A rare pocket of relative sanity and tolerance toward cyclists.

Maelochs

While everyone loves to hate drivers (even though a lot of us probably drive from time to time) I only see a couple people pointing out the Important lesson: Do Not assume and then complain.

You couldn't see the other car, and you saw a car---with no signal on--- stopped on the road.

I don;'t know---years of road-riding have left me in a place where I would say "That's odd--I wonder what is going on?"

I certainly wouldn't blow by the car without even considering any possible situations.

Obviously Something was out of the ordinary. The car was stopped with no turn signal for Some reason. For all you know there could have been an animal crossing the road--or a child---also obscured by the car. If you had ridden full steam into a child .... hmmm .... then what?

I know everyone loves to blame--vent all that pent-up rage and anger collected through a lifetime at any target one can find.

But sometimes ... there really is no one to blame. Sorry.

If a driver for some reason chooses to stop to allow another driver to turn---perhaps said driver saw a car stopped in the oncoming lane, and had slowed to see what the other car was waiting for, then decided to come to a stop and let it go just to get it out of the way. I might do that if the car didn't have a turn signal blinking. If the guy doesn't think to signal, I'd rather have him out of my way rather than anywhere he could possibly hit me.

Maybe the driver was doing what the cyclist should have done---slowed to assess the situation---a car stopped in the middle of the road with no signal on. Is this someone who forgot to signal? is this someone who is on the phone, saw the turn, stopped to turn, but was too distracted by the phone to hit the signal? Is the car stalled? Might the driver be yelling into the phone, or looking at the fighting kids in the back seat and yelling at them?

In that case, might the driver finish yelling and step on the gas without looking ?

Yes, which is why I would approach with caution, while in a car or on a bike.

If I approached a car apparently parked in the oncoming lane, I would probably slow until I was sure of what the driver was doing---particularly if there were no other cars around. I often let cars into traffic but not if there are cars close behind me---unless I am already stopping for some reason--approaching a light for instance. When I cycle, I expect other drivers might so the same--and not see me coming down the bike lane. So, I take care.

Not Blaming anyone. I see no reason to get angry at anyone. The cyclist now knows why blowing by a stopped car without knowing what's up and what's ahead is not a good idea. Always good to learn, and I'd imagine we all learned it the same way. No one got hurt, and next time the cyclist will be a little more defensive in unusual situations.

Without knowing the rest of the story---the stories of the other two vehicle operators---I can't blame them either.

Funny though ... I know a fair number of cyclists and most of them will confess to now and then bending the rules of the road. Not sitting at a light in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere with clear view down the roads for a few miles, knowing the light might not change for two or three minutes .... rolling stop signs when it is clear there are no cars anywhere withing a mile ..... little things which actually make sense to do (some states are legally permitting this---I forget which states already have; California and Colorado are considering it. (https://www.vox.com/2014/5/9/5691098...signs-and-ride))

But yeah ... No One I know follows every traffic law 100 percent to the letter 100 percent of the time. Who here has NEVER exceeded the posted speed limit by more than a mile an hour? Yeah.

So ... getting all self-righteous and looking to Blame someone ... that is a symptom of suppressed anger. Maybe OP is mad because OP got scared. Maybe like the rest of us s/he is just pissed at all the injustice in life. I don't know.

I do know I have never met a perfect person.

The takeaway here should be that the OP has learned a valuable lesson about surviving as a road cyclist.

scott967

That happens here all the time. It falls under the general heading of "aloha". So you learn to expect it and not make a big deal out of it.

scott s.
.

Myosmith

Yep, we get that all the time. Up here they call it "Minnesota Nice" and we learn to accept that sometimes excessive courtesy causes glitches in the flow. There has been a lot of road construction this year and it really causes delays at those temporary 4-way stops along detour routes. You get four "nice" drivers all trying to wave each other through rather than just following the right-of-way rules, which would make things much smoother. As some others have said, situational awareness and due caution will solve the majority of problems, but there will always be some cases of human error or just plain unforeseeable accidents.

kevindsingleton 

Out here, they call it "the Pittsburgh Left". It's one of the reasons we don't "pass on the right". Never saw this in Texas.

Daniel4

This kind of thing happens to motorists too. Whether driving or cycling, if there's a gap on the lane to your left, or for any vehicle that has suddenly stopped on the left, you procede cautiously because you can't see pass him.

If a collision were to occur, it would have been the left turn vehicle's fault because he didn't check (also quite difficult) for oncoming traffic.

It's also funny to note how the attitudes in this forum change when the types of vehicles involved are changed for the same situation: car/bicycle; car/car; bicycle/bicycle; bicycle/ car.

ciclista_pazza

Kudos for giving everyone who might not have considered this scenario a heads up on this potential hazard. It almost seems like a forum category on near collisions like this would be helpful to alert other cyclists to dangers they might not consider.