Skipjacks

We've all had the "Holy crap I'm lucky I didn't just get myself killed" moment in the car where you fully accept that you're a moron and the other driver has every right to be screaming at you.

I find that in those situations where the other driver pulls up and start yelling at you, rolling down the window and yelling back "I'm a moron. Thanks for being a better driver than me. You saved both our lives and are a hero today!" really disarms the other driver. They don't know what to do. They know you realize you're wrong and they just got a compliment. 9 times out of 10 they get confused and drive off much less angry.

noglider 

@Skipjacks, once while on the bike, I did something hostile to another cyclist. Then I stopped and watched him in my mirror race towards me. I figured he might hit me but I had it coming. He came up to me and started yelling, and I said sorry repeatedly. Then he stopped and said OK and then went his way.

Skipjacks

A guy almost ran me over on my bike last month. I was screaming bloody murder. Then he pulled up next to me and I was ready to go....and he start apologizing profusely and admitting he was looking at his phone and being stupid and that he felt awful to risking my life by not paying attention.

I didn't know what to do! I went from ready to throw down to "Uh....okay....well....okay...." in 2 seconds.

nayr497

Years ago, when I was younger and didn't have a family, a motorist did something stupid/dangerous towards me. He then got caught in traffic. I caught up to him and gave him an earful, with another person in the car. His window was rolled down slightly. It was amazing, he looked like he might start crying.

I concluded with, "I'm trying to get to work, just like you, so don't F up MY commute because you're angry you're stuck in traffic!" Man, that made me happy.

These days I mostly avoid engaging motorists, unless they've done something really dangerous towards me.

nayr497

I wish they'd make it a national law that using a cell phone while driving is illegal. And start enforcing it with MAJOR fines. I was passing a school and a church last week and a woman on a phone nearly pulled into me. She then gave a wave and a smile. Ugh, don't smile at me, just put your phone away and drive!

Also, what about the license plate covers that make the plates almost impossible to see?! Why don't cops pull those people over and give them a $5000 ticket? It's a public safety hazard with ZERO purpose.

And I'm now in NC where we have only rear plates. Again, why haven't the cops pushed to have front too, as this makes their lives safer/easier? It's beyond my comprehension.

trailangel

People are really overly sensitive about that finger wave. I use to drive a 25 year old Ford F-150, extra cab, long bed, I would give the finger all the time to bad drivers and they would not respond.
Now driving a late model Subaru Forester....I cannot give finger.....they start to come after me.

Daniel4

One time I borrowed a friend's F150 to move some furniture. I noticed how all the other traffic was avoiding me and getting out of my way. I felt an entitled sense of power. Of course, from the pov of the sedans, pickup trucks are bullies who just push you out of the way when they change lanes, tailgate you and butt in line when they exit any driveway. So while I was driving that F150, I knew where those smaller cars were coming from.

ptempel

I noticed that the iPhone has an app to disable use when it detects movement. I will have to look at setting that up. Its voluntary but its a step in the right direction. I recall the last two Android phones I used not having this feature (Android 6 and older at least).

Skipjacks

A little will power does the same thing.

My phone vibrates in my pocket for incoming texts all the time when I'm driving. And it stays right in my pocket when it happens.

I like being notified at least so I know that I have a message when I get to where I'm going.

noglider 

I have a special way of knowing if a message is waiting for me. I check to see if I'm breathing. That's why I like notifications off. They are redundant.

KD5NRH

Too often, the message is changing my arrival plans in a way that I need to know about before I get there. But then, I use the phone for navigation and music too. Dash mount holder in an easy-to-glance at spot makes seeing the notification less distracting than glancing at the radio dial. Since it's already connected to the audio, a hands free callback or voice-to-text message is easy too.

Of course, that's usually on open interstate or US highway, so it's already a lot different from the people who barely glance up from their phones driving in city traffic. In traffic anything other than nav gets ignored until I'm waiting for a light or stop for gas. Caller ID will tell me right away if it's anyone relevant to the current trip, so I know if I need to make a special stop to deal with it.

beegee225

This past summer, I had a ride event where the road was empty except for me riding legally at the edge of one side and a pickup about a half mile away, heading towards me from the opposite side. As the truck came closer, it appeared that it was crossing the center and making a direct line towards me. I began waving one hand away and thought about running into the shallow ditch along side the road, when at about 20 or 30 feet away, the truck swerved back to the other side eventually. I had never experienced this before and several scenarios came to my mind, from the blatantly intentional to the plain indifference. Afterwards, I installed an action cam under the handlebars to record my ride for any incident in the future for proof to lodge a complaint. I thought this might be the solution, as I didn't have time to record it by pulling out my phone camera. I'm wondering if a rear one would be better, by maybe moving it to the back or getting a second one, since most traffic comes up from behind. Does anyone have similar experiences and/or solutions other than what's been mentioned so far?

CB HI

I have one forward and one rearward camera. You will likely be surprised by how many close passes from behind are intentional as you watch motorist set up for the close pass as they approach.

The only guy trying to scare me with the near head-on was when I was on a motorcycle. That was worse than had I been on a bicycle since it is easier to bail off the road on a bicycle.

Abe_Froman

Not really.

Studies are beginning to show that many of the functions/apps of smart phones are truly addicting. Which means in many cases, use of the phone is, to some extent, beyond the control of many members of the population. These phones need to come standard with a disabling feature anytime they are in motion, and make it a felony to disable it.

noglider 

I like this idea, but shouldn't a passenger be allowed to use it? How can the phone tell the difference between a driver and a passenger?

Abe_Froman

I'm not sure. Either way...my personal opinion is that any small inconvenience to a passenger that wants to play with their phone while getting a ride is a fairly small issue in the grand scheme of things.

Besides...most cars are 1 occupant vehicles.

I suppose you could program phones to enable certain features while moving; say voice enabled outbound calling that automatically goes to speaker/bluetooth mode, or the ability to take inbound calls in the same way as well.

noglider 

I don't mean to be contrary, because you make good points, and distracted driving has become a serious problem. The collision rate has risen for the first time since they've been measured, and it's all because of distracted driving. My point was a small one, which is about how such a feature can be implemented reliably.

Abe_Froman

No worries, I'm the ultimate contrarian

I'm sure you're right, there are probably ways to enable phone use for passengers. I'm honestly not technologically savvy enough to really guess at what the possibilities are.

However..assuming there are ways...I guess I'm still not convinced it could solve the scenario of a driver just asking his passenger to give him their phone so he could text someone.

noglider 

I'm fine if the problem is solved 95%. People still have a responsibility to comply with the law and good sense, even if there are ways to circumvent them.

Abe_Froman

Not me. I want a full blown authoritarian smart phone nazi state

I get too angry at stoplights watching 3 out of 4 drivers on their phones

vol

Maybe install something in the steering wheel that will disable any cell phone signals within, say, 1 meter from the steering wheel? Problem is what if a driver needs to call 911 for legitimate reason?

KD5NRH

Like the penalty level would matter. How many people have multiple felony-level DUIs and continue to drive drunk?
We have DUIs every week in the jail logs, and I don't recall the last time a first offender was over 23. All of the older drunks are "third or more," which is a felony regardless of any other factors. And yet, except for the occasional time the judge decides to "make an example" (last of those I recall, he had 10 DUI convictions, got probation on #10, left the state, got arrested for #11 in CO, jumped bail there and came back to TX where he got picked up for #12 and got a life sentence - possibility of parole in 15 years, but he's 62 now and not in great health already) you can bet they'll be behind the wheel again within a year.

Chuck Naill

I got rear ended a few years back at a red light driving a Forester. Ever since then I've been overly sensitive to cars being too close.


As a cyclist I am always concerned about drivers getting angry. I try as much as possible to acknowledge their presence, but not to do anything that would cause them to shoot me.


Once I had stopped to answer the phone. The property owner came up in his truck swerving very close. He jumped out and started ranting about me being on his property. I remained silent and road off. I was surprisingly proud of myself.


There are road I love to ride where dog owners to not obey leash laws. Rather than have to deal with them and the dogs I do not ride on those roads.


I no longer shout at others and animals. I simply get off the bike and use it as a shield. Perhaps I have gotten to a place where I want to rid my life of BS and drama. Anyway, I am much happier this way.

Abe_Froman

You’re missing the point. The things you describe is exactly why the phones will be automatically disabled in motion.

I’m not too wrried about people figuring out how to turn off that feature. The felony penalty is to keep businesses from doing it for people.

Abe_Froman

Then they can stop.