jack pot 

just wondering if anyone has thoughts on drivers who have the right of way but STOP to allow a bicycle to pass in front of their vehicle i.e. car has ROW and motions for bike to enter intersection or roadway ... I am always unsure to proceed because of other traffic which may or may not see/grasp that a bicycler is proceeding against a traffic's right of way

JonathanGennick 

Dangerous. I've had it happen when I'm walking across streets. I've had well-meaning drivers wave me right into moving traffic. I guess I usually do what is needed to end the impasse quickly. Be on your guard though, for sure.

Colnago Mixte

IMO, they are the #1 most dangerous drivers out there. Give me a predictably rude, selfish, and impatient driver any day of the week over these starry-eyed do-gooders. These flakes will wave you right into the path of a speeding 18 wheeler and get you cut in half if you are naive enough to trust them.

It's a trick! Don't fall for it, just ignore them. Many times they still won't move, I have had to go completely around them on several occasions. Probably killed their buzz, but I lived to ride another day.

jon c. 

Happens to me frequently at a 4 way stop near my house. I'd really prefer that drivers didn't do this and in bright sun you often can't even see that they're waving you forward. But they're trying to be friendly and accommodating, so I usually accept the offer with a smile and a wave while grumbling to myself about how much I dislike the practice.

WNCGoater

This^^^ X10000!!! It happens rarely on my bike but often while driving. I absolutely REFUSE to "follow their directions". I know of a young lady, 15-ish years ago driving, was waved on by another motorist. She pulled out and got nailed in the driver door. Long story short, she ended up addicted to pain killers and now all these years later, I just recently learned her marriage broke, up, two kids shuttled back and forth, custody issues etc. all because she is STILL hooked on pain killers.
I wish people would just drive their cars and let me drive mine. I see enough idiot drivers out there to determine NO WAY am I going to let them make decisions for ME on how I drive. Just learn the rules of the road and follow them!!
Yep, this hits a nerve...one of my passionate pet-peeves!

WNCGoater

I usually just sit and look at them. They become increasingly more animated, then agitated then usually end up angry, gunning the engine and going on while either glaring at me with the stink-eye..or worse. I just chuckle and move on.

I realize they are trying to be courteous but in reality, they are creating dangerous situations and I refuse to participate.

Daniel4

I don't care. If they stop for me and the communication is clear, I'll take their offer. We're all stopped anyways.

On the flipside, for cyclists who plow through stop signs and red lights, what are their expectations when I'm cycling and have the right of way? On two occasions yesterday, I found myself yielding to them.

BobbyG

"Niceholes"

If there is no other traffic around I'll "take the bait". If there are other vehicles, especially on multi lane intersections I wave for them to move on then cross my arms.

Just the other night I was the the fourth vehicle to reach a four way stop. The car with the right of way waved me through. I stopped as if I didn't see them. Finally, one of the other vehicles mashed their gas pedal and honked at the "do-gooder"

elocs

Not on a bike, but once while driving home from work I saw the car ahead of me as we were coming to a red light stop and wave through another car on our right that was waiting to come out of a parking lot. The car pulls out and passes in front of the stopped car that waved him them, BAM!--he gets nailed by a car traveling down the middle lane going straight. Then the car that waved the guy through just continued on its way. But all the fault was with the guy who pulled out of the parking lot even though he was waved through.

Near me there was a similar incident that resulted in a fatality where on a busy 4 lane street at an intersection with a crosswalk a car in the right lane waved a waiting pedestrian to cross. The trouble is that a car traveling maybe 35 mph in the lane next to him never saw the pedestrian and probably assumed the car was going to turn. The pedestrian never had a chance. (I've seen a woman pushing a baby stroller get halfway across that street and the traffic coming from her right would not stop to allow her to cross even though she was in a crosswalk and there was a flashing sign warning drivers of pedestrians).

Unless somebody has total control of the area when they yield the right of way to you, proceed at your own risk.
I prefer to play it safe and wait.

dh024

Unless I am crossing only one lane of traffic, I never accept the right of way if a motorists tries to forfeit it to me.

Just give them a friendly wave and a smile, and then make a sweeping motion with your arm to say "after you" and they almost always wave back and move along. For the really stubborn ones, I just shake my head "no" and point to my stop sign. They eventually get it.

Does anyone else find that the most likely person to stop is that very last car right before that big gap you were hoping for?

elocs

Exactly! So many times I wait at the stop sign to cross a busy street with just 1 more car to pass and I can easily ride through and they stop and wave me across when there's nobody within 2 blocks behind them. Had they simply continued through I would have been across by the time they waved because I didn't know for sure if they were going to turn.

JoeyBike

When I stop, it is because someone else has the right of way. So I STOP and put BOTH feet on the ground. This is a CLEAR message that I am NOT going.

On the other hand, if I AM GOING, I stand up on the pedals - which is a CLEAR indication that I am going.

Pretty simple really.

dh024

Drivers must be dense or overly polite where I live - I do this, too, and it makes no difference.

JoeyBike

OH, I get one of those now and then. With both feet on the ground, if they are still waving me through the intersection, I whip out my phone and pretend to be making a call. In other words...I stop looking at them. This does it every time.

Another technique I use every single day: When the car and I are nearing the 4-way stop, I just wave THEM through as soon as I can. They are very happy to run their stop sign and I am happy to not lose momentum before running mine. I just carve behind their crossing vehicle. This technique works about 9 of 10 times. I actively avoid the stare-down contest with pro-active signaling.

Keep in mind that I live in a very unique city where cyclists are 100% expected to run stop signs, so many times a motorist will assume i am running it and wave me thru long before either of us stops. If running the stop-sign at this point saves us both time, I just go ahead (while keeping a sharp eye on them).

canklecat

Depends. Mostly I use the same methods JoeyBike describes.

If a driver waves me ahead and there is no other traffic around -- typical of my suburban neighborhood -- I'll take the offer and smile and wave as I go ahead.

But only if the vehicle is completely stopped. If the driver is inching through the intersection while waving me ahead, that's a sign of impatience. I know the driver will dart into the intersection if I hesitate evens slightly. So I won't take the bait.

And if any other traffic is nearby I won't take the nicehole's offer. For all I know the next driver behind will dart around on the shoulder and barge through the intersection. Happens all the time in my neighborhood. I have to watch for drivers using the bike lane to pass on the right when a car ahead of them slows to turn left.

The worst is immediately around the nearest elementary school. While most drivers are more cautious in school zones, it seems to provoke the worst antisocial behavior in others -- speeding, honking impatiently, darting back and forth erratically to change lanes, basically acting like a stunt driver in a spy movie.

DaveZ

I don't like it. As others have said, if there are no other cars around, I take the bait. Otherwise find something to do with the water bottle etc.
If the car has tinted side windows, I never go. I don't know why those are legal.

indyfabz

Same here, and you and I have the same initials.

rumrunn6

stand your ground. wave them on (then give them a little wave, or nod your head in thanks)

KD5NRH

Well, how are the kids supposed to learn not to play in the street if not through some carnage?

B. Carfree

This is how I feel.

However, I did have one funny mishap with one of these a few years ago. I was riding stoker on a tandem with my wife. We got to a four-way stop sign at just after a vehicle that came from our left. The driver waved us through, which I saw but my wife didn't. I said go, she said no. By the time my tiny brain processed her veto it was too late for me to put a foot down and hold the bike up (our normal procedure for stopping). Instead of taking us both down, I launched myself up, which allowed me to uncleat and land "gracefully" (ahem) on my ass next to the bike. I didn't actually see the driver as I got back up, but I'm sure he must have been laughing at the show.

njkayaker

It appears you are thinking the other driver is indicating that it's safe to go.

Only go when you determine that it's safe to do so. This is the rule whether or not anybody is yielding.

njkayaker

This.

People often misinterpret the "waving" to mean "it's safe to go". You are supposed to make that determination for yourself, by yourself.

TenSpeedV2

I make it clear that I am not going by putting a foot down. If I have to put both down, then that is what happens. No driver is going to tell me to go first, especially when I do not have the right of way.

Chris0516

When I encounter a situation like this. Even though the driver is 'abdicating' their ROW, I wave them on, and won't budge. Even if there is traffic behind me.

mrodgers

I detect hostility about people out there just being nice. People in cars are screwed either way in the opinion of this forum I guess. They don't care about us on bicycles and this forum hates them. They go out of their way to be nice to us on bicycles and this forum hates them.

I do the same as a few have said. I don't ride where there is a lot of traffic. My traffic is single cars whether out in the country on main throughway secondary roads or in town on the side streets where I will generally encounter a single car at a 4 way with me.

If noone else is around, I wave thanks, give a smile, and move through the intersection or whatever quickly. If more than just a single car, I generally am the one waving everyone through before I go. If I see multiple cars and plan on waving everyone through first, I grab the waterbottle for a drink and wave folks on before going myself.

I do the same on higher traveled roads when stopped for redlights. I filter up close to the front but not all the way up. Most of these roads for me have space around the 2nd car in line for me but is tight with a curb or lack of shoulder right at the first car. We generally will have up to maybe 6 or 7 cars stopped at the light so when it turns green, I'm down on my right leg (not the normal leg I stop on) and turn around a bit and motion all the cars forward and take up the tail through the light. I don't understand the thoughts that most have to filter up front and get ahead when the light turns green only to have everyone need to pass you then repeat at the next light.

I also attempt to direct traffic that is coming up behind me. It is very hilly, and thus on a bicycle, I can see oncoming traffic much earlier than anyone in a car. When I can see over the crest of the hill, I'll wave a car that has been waiting behind me through if there is no traffic coming. If I see a car, I'll hold my hand back telling them to hold back and give them my index finger. If another car appears, I'll give them 2 fingers. I can see what's coming, they can't behind me.

I am not a fast rider and though I climb a lot (rollercoaster like hills) I am well into Clyde territory so my momentum into a climb is measured in feet before its gone. So when I'm climbing up our hills here, I'm usually 5-6 mph, maybe 8 at times and when I see a car coming up from behind and I'm closer to the top, I'll stand to give a burst of speed to get closer to the crest when the car catches me and also to see over that crest earlier to check with traffic so that I could wave the car around me.