_ForceD_

I am strictly a road cyclist. I like to think that out there on the road I am obeying rules of the road, trying to keep myself safe, and trying not to be a nuisance to drivers. Obviously not all of us out there are doing the same. The other day my wife and I went for a drive along a local scenic oceanfront road. She was actually driving. This area is very popular with tourists...usually driving slow and/or sometimes making unexpected decelerations or stops. And, pedestrians stepping into the roadway without looking. It was a weekend afternoon so there were lots of cars and pedestrians. It’s a popular area and locals expect all that. The road is also popular with cyclists. I ride there frequently myself. There is a good bike lane on both sides of the road. But on this particular day, for some reason a fellow cyclist felt the need to tuck in behind our car (an SUV) and draft us in the middle of the car lane. And he was dangerously close. My wife driving couldn’t see him in either side view mirror. Only in the rear view mirror. It was understandably unnerving to her because if she would have had to abruptly stop for another car, or a pedestrian in the road...the cyclist would have smashed right into us. We were driving the speed limit, 25mph (probably closer to 30 mph) so the collision would have been painful to him (and his bike). I can only think that this guy wasn’t a local, or just seriously doesn’t realize how much of a nuisance he was being.

Dan

10 Wheels

The Proper way to handle that situation is to Gradually SLOW Down, till he passes you.

Iride01 

It's really not your problem or your wife's problem. To me the vehicle in front, whether that is a bike or a motor vehicle is the one that gets to do what ever they want. The vehicle behind is supposed to operate in a manner that they can avoid anything done by the vehicle in front of them.

Just don't do anything malicious. Drive as you normally would.

_ForceD_

Concur it’s not my/our problem. Still, my wife and I...as a cyclist myself...didn’t want to see the guy get hurt. In regard to “10 Wheels” comment above...actually we did slow down briefly. At that point he moved back into the bike lane and came alongside (abreast our rear wheels). (I should have rolled the windows down and said something at that point.) As I said...I’m very familiar with that stretch of road, and I know the wind can be fierce there, and it was pretty much a direct, stiff headwind that day. So, I’m sure he just wanted a break from the wind. As we sped back up...he dropped in behind again. Eventually the pace of traffic picked up and he couldn’t keep up. I just feel he was being a nuisance, and endangering himself.

Dan

Iride01 

No I hope no one would want to see them get hurt. Even if we all do consider it a stupid practice. However from his viewpoint he knew what he was doing and probably an expectation of how you would behave and move as normal traffic.

So right or wrong on his/her part, you can only hope for a good outcome since trying to do anything about it will probably be worse. Certainly rolling your window down and voicing an opinion might have been taken badly by them no matter how nice you were in your verbiage.

When I'm on the MUP and coming up on people to pass, I'm considering traffic on coming or going the same way in front of the cyclist I'm gaining on. I've got my plan figured out and normally that will be to allow the person in front of me to get by other traffic first.

However, my biggest safety hazard at that time tends to be those cyclists with mirrors. When I notice that they see me in their mirror, they almost always act in ways they wouldn't if I wasn't approaching from the rear. That messes up all my planning. Some seem to want me to pass them immediately, but traffic or blind curve makes that dangerous. I'm sure most have good intentions, but they need to realize that any changes to the way they are riding will mess up my planning and make it more dangerous for both of us.

So, just don't worry so much about others that you do something they wouldn't expect. They already probably know they are being sketchy. And they are hoping to get away with it one more time. Wrong as they might be, don't be more wrong yourself.

work4bike

I do this all the time, but I'm not drafting. As I come up to a light in a lane without a bike lane I get behind the cars in front of me and as they start moving I'm directly behind the person in front of me, but not so close that I can't stop if they stop. I know this, because I'm always having to slow down, because people making a right turn slows down the whole line.

I don't FRAP during these situations, because the cars are generally too close to the fog line, making it dangerous to pass and as I'm approaching the intersection, it's much easier for a car to see me in their rearview mirror, instead of worrying that I'm in their blind spot (if they're planning on turning). And if I were to be FRAP'in, most likely the turning car would not see me (how many drivers actually look out for a cyclist before making a right turn). I've notice a lot of people don't use their turn signals, so I don't even look for that.

If the road does have a bike lane and there's a long line of cars and the light turns green before I get up to the intersection, I quickly jump into the lane. Yes, I do signal before this move and I do it without slowing anyone down, it's easy, because there's always a gap that forms as the cars start moving.

Gresp15C

Indeed, this is also how I deal with tailgaters and harassers when I'm driving a car. Very few drivers have the patience to slow down for very long.

Iride01 

Do you really feel the driver of the vehicle in front would be considered liable for any damages? Here, the vehicle behind is responsible for maintaining clearance from the other vehicle no matter what it does. A rear ender is always the responsibility of the vehicle behind.

Courts tend to not favor cyclists, juries are always stacked. Almost every juror is a driver, few are cyclists.

livedarklions

Agreed.

I'm pretty sure tailgating is illegal everywhere in the US, whether it's on a bike or in a car, and I find it very far-fetched to think that a judge or a jury would be more sympathetic to a bicyclist in the lane than a driver in the lane--if anything, the judge or jury is likely to think the bicyclist was in the wrong for being in the lane in the first place (depending on jurisdiction's laws).

Unca_Sam

I'm not playing devils advocate here. The police will never write a ticket for 'tailgating' the ticket will be for "operating without assured clear distance" or "reckless operation". There's no set distance that has to be clear, it just has to be enough to allow the following traffic to stop as needed. From a torts perspective and under accepted law, the following operator is responsible for maintaining that distance, and bears the liabilities if it is not maintained.

Applying reason here, you have a cyclist strong enough to maintain ~18mph in your draft while you drove around 25mph. That alone tells me the cyclist is not inexperienced, and is likely able to judge how close is too close for safety. Carry on about your day and accept that you aren't in control of the situation behind you (nor should you attempt to). There is no harm here, therefore no foul.

I think UCantTouchThis is hinting at the hidden costs of an accident, which is that your rates used to increase with a claim, regardless of fault. I'm generally more concerned that I'll inadvertently hook or door a cyclist than I am about a cyclist damaging my vehicle and fleeing. The bike lanes in Columbus in the downtown area are kind of a trap for hooks .

rydabent

You cant fix stupid.

Iride01 

Well just to give an example or two from my riding.

Sometimes I take a route that goes through a two lane traffic circle. I go through them much quicker on a bike than most cars will. If a car happens to be in front, I'm probably going to look like I'm right on it's butt drafting, but I'm not there for drafting. I just want to get through the traffic circle as rapidly as possible. And staying close to the car in front of me actually makes me feel it less likely that I'll be hit by others entering the traffic circle.

Maybe the cyclist in the OP had some similar reasoning, valid or not and wasn't thinking of himself as drafting.

I also frequently have cars pass me on the road leading to my subdivision. When they slow down to turn, they have to slow down much more than I do to make the same turn on my bicycle. So I'm catching up to them during their turn and I really hate having to slow down that slow, then having to speed up on completion of the turn. So I might get a little closer than maybe one would like just trying to keep from not having to slow down as much.

In either case, I'd much prefer the driver of that vehicle not see me so they don't do anything I don't expect.

livedarklions

Just for point of reference, I live in NH and would expect this as a possible ticket:

265:25 Following Too Closely. –
I. The driver of a vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the way.

NH defines vehicle to include bicycles. $124 fine.

livedarklions

Also, I suspect you look a lot closer in the rear view mirror than you do from the cyclist's perspective.

Traffic circles are interesting on bikes because they vary so much. It's definitely a situational awareness is vital condition.

livedarklions

Honestly, as a driver, I can't remember a single cyclist or group of cyclists ever doing this to me. I sure have had to deal with tailgating drivers, though.

Iride01 

But if the Canadian driver had been on a bicycle, your brother probably wouldn't have had much to fix if anything. Maybe fix a scratch. Wipe some blood off. <grin>

But yeah, I get confused reading and keeping context straight. Both in my own writing and reading of others.

Leisesturm

How old are you that you don't know stupid comes in all ages, shapes, sizes and hobbies and interests? Stupid drivers outnumber stupid cyclists by several orders of magnitude. Seriously, a cyclist is going to cause enough damage to a car to be financially consequential and will "more than likely take off" or "not have insurance"? Are they writing policies for vehicular cyclists now? You've gone from the sublime to the ridiculous with this one. My wife calls me a 'solutions guy' because if I perceive a problem I try to solve it. I hate people that ***** endlessly about problems that cannot be solved. There actually is a solution to the o.p.'s (and your's) problem but they wouldn't like it.

downhillmaster

Nice to see that you are still on your ‘cyclists are wrong at all cost crusade’

Koyote

Good grief, so much kvetching.

I occasionally draft vehicles when I am commuting by bike; it's safer, as it allows me to stay in the traffic lane and keep up with traffic -- rather than riding on the side of the road and having a bunch of cars zooming past me.

As for the manufactured fear that I will rear-end the vehicle: that's pretty much hogwash. I can generally see right through the vehicle's front and rear windshields and hence can see when it will slow for something...And I can stop my bike faster than a driver can stop a car.

Iride01 

I don't see it as a cyclists are always wrong crusade.

It's just supplying another viewpoint or pointing out things so we can be aware of them. It's always more helpful to me to understand what and why other people think.

If we are just going to silence them by accusation, then we'll never understand enough to solve the issue.

Many times there are things done wrong by all parties involved in an accident. If we only discuss the most wrong and fail to discuss the wrongs of the others, then we'll not realize what other simple things done by another, may have kept the accident from happening.

The thing that seems to have provoked you was a example of an automobile and automobile accident. No cyclist involved. And in the other statement, if the cyclist had hit the rear of the car, who do you think was wrong?

Leisesturm

Any argument taken past the reductio ad absurdum loses its credibility and just becomes noise. There is no amount of damage a bicycle can cause in rear ending a modern car that would surpass the deductible of a homeowners policy so I'm not understanding why it matters whether the cyclist is insured or not. How many HOMEOWNER cyclists are rear ending SUV's anyway? Take a WAG. And, yes, I am asking you how old you are.

Eric F 

Yep. I enjoy the opportunity to pick up a draft behind a car, when I can. When I do, my vision isn't fixated on the back of the car. I'm looking ahead to see what is happening up the road that might cause the car to stop or slow down. I'm also aware that some drivers will freak out when they realize I'm drafting, and always try to leave myself a quick escape route, if I need it.

Flip Flop Rider

have never been tailgated by a bike

BikeMike27

I agree with you. Cyclists should follow all the regular rules of the road, unless it is unsafe to do so. In this case, he was causing a dangerous situation.

Koyote

Dangerous to whom?