Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Fifty Plus (50+)
Reload this Page >

Most-annoying vehicles for bikers

Notices
Fifty Plus (50+) Share the victories, challenges, successes and special concerns of bicyclists 50 and older. Especially useful for those entering or reentering bicycling.

Most-annoying vehicles for bikers

Old 06-11-20, 11:00 AM
  #26  
2ering
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Chicago, IL. USA
Posts: 107

Bikes: 1974 Gitane Tour de France, 2003 Trek Madone 5.9, 2007 Co-Motion Americano, 2017 Co-Motion Divide

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 22 Post(s)
Liked 29 Times in 13 Posts
From our tours around the midwest and general riding in Chicago my girlfriend and I agree the most annoying are:
1. BMWs for the reasons given above
2. Ford Crown Victorias as they are generally driven by old half-blind people whose "awareness bubble" doesn't seem to extend past the front seat
3. Jeeps (Wrangler model especially)
4. Vehicles towing trailers
2ering is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 01:28 PM
  #27  
Chuckles1
Full Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Foothills of West Central Maine
Posts: 410

Bikes: 2007 Motobecane Fantom Cross Expert, 2020 Motobecane Omni Strada Pro Disc (700c gravel bike), 2021 Motobecane Elite Adventure with Bafang 500W rear hub drive

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 173 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 143 Times in 94 Posts
Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
My A-hole of the day award almost always goes to a full size GMC/Chevy pickup or SUV driver.
Plus one!
Chuckles1 is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 02:42 PM
  #28  
Miele Man
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 4,655

Bikes: iele Latina, Miele Suprema, Miele Uno LS, Miele Miele Beta, MMTB, Bianchi Model Unknown, Fiori Venezia, Fiori Napoli, VeloSport Adamas AX

Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1324 Post(s)
Liked 927 Times in 640 Posts
In my area the most dangerous vehicles are:

#1 . E-BIKES on the rail trails or on the pathways in parks. High speed + blind curves = interesting things happening
#2 . Tandem trailer gravel trucks on the roads. The first unit passes you and the rid starts to pull back over but that second trailer that's a fair distance from the first unit often means you have to bail.

Cheers
Miele Man is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 02:53 PM
  #29  
CliffordK
Senior Member
 
CliffordK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Posts: 27,600
Mentioned: 217 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18302 Post(s)
Liked 4,470 Times in 3,326 Posts
Originally Posted by SurferCyclist
Around here it's tractors. Think they own the road.
Many of the tractors move locally, and at less than 20 MPH, so one should be able to keep ahead of them.

But... are we limiting this to the road? Springtime they're spraying crops, and fall they're plowing. Nice country ride, and one is either breathing poisons, or getting a mouth full of dirt.
CliffordK is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 03:02 PM
  #30  
Flip Flop Rider
Senior Member
 
Flip Flop Rider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: South Carolina Upstate
Posts: 2,102

Bikes: 2010 Fuji Absolute 3.0 1994 Trek 850

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 761 Post(s)
Liked 553 Times in 320 Posts
landscapers, package delivery trucks, trash truck, debri truck
Flip Flop Rider is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 03:06 PM
  #31  
SurferCyclist
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Pembrokeshire, UK
Posts: 79

Bikes: Canyon Endurace CF 9.0 Di2, Cannondale CaaD 8, Diamondback MTB(ancient)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 36 Post(s)
Liked 67 Times in 22 Posts
Originally Posted by CliffordK
Many of the tractors move locally, and at less than 20 MPH, so one should be able to keep ahead of them.

But... are we limiting this to the road? Springtime they're spraying crops, and fall they're plowing. Nice country ride, and one is either breathing poisons, or getting a mouth full of dirt.
It's more of a case when going down a single track road with a tractor coming towards me they often don't slow down or move over at all so many times I've had to take evasive action to avoid getting hit/squashed as they go on their merry way.
SurferCyclist is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 03:15 PM
  #32  
daoswald
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Salt Lake City, UT (Formerly Los Angeles, CA)
Posts: 1,145

Bikes: 2008 Cannondale Synapse -- 2014 Cannondale Quick CX

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 212 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 83 Times in 54 Posts
Originally Posted by nbseer
1/ Pickup trucks with huge side-view mirrors (that could clip you)
2/ BMWs (aggresive fast drivers that blast past you)
3/ Mercedes (ditto)
4/ Landscaping trucks pulling trailers loaded with equipment (you think you're safe when the truck passes, but don't forget that trailer)
5/ Parked running vehicles on right shoulder (getting doored... )
This conversation is about as helpful as the one where drivers band together to rant about cyclists, with our spandex and rolling-stops. I would not indict all trucks anymore than I would want to be indicted for the actions of other cyclists.

Trucks, BMWs, Mercedes, Landscaping trucks/trailers, and parked vehicles are not the problem. Intolerance, lack of care, negligence..... but individuals are the problem. Individuals act individually in ways that are easily blamed on a group if we don't think dispassionately.
daoswald is offline  
Likes For daoswald:
Old 06-11-20, 03:16 PM
  #33  
lelenz
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: Central Oklahoma
Posts: 24

Bikes: Sirrus X-4

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 2 Posts
I'll go with the landscaping trucks with trailers, they block the path
lelenz is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 06:46 PM
  #34  
BlazingPedals
Senior Member
 
BlazingPedals's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Middle of da Mitten
Posts: 12,473

Bikes: Trek 7500, RANS V-Rex, Optima Baron, Velokraft NoCom, M-5 Carbon Highracer, Catrike Speed

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1511 Post(s)
Liked 732 Times in 453 Posts
Originally Posted by SurferCyclist
Around here it's tractors. Think they own the road.

Good thing it wasn't hauling 'newer.
BlazingPedals is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 07:45 PM
  #35  
unterhausen
Randomhead
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
Posts: 24,335
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Liked 3,643 Times in 2,485 Posts
Top of the list for annoying drivers are mountain bikers with their bikes mounted on the back of their giant 4x4. Second most annoying are people driving with their hybrids on the back of their SUV driving to a MUP. I swear I have suffered more close passes from these two groups than from audis.
unterhausen is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 07:57 PM
  #36  
CliffordK
Senior Member
 
CliffordK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Posts: 27,600
Mentioned: 217 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18302 Post(s)
Liked 4,470 Times in 3,326 Posts
Originally Posted by BlazingPedals
Good thing it wasn't hauling 'newer.
Don't you guys have manure guns?

When I was younger, I used to regularly pass a dairy. Oh, one could tell when they were fertilizing.
CliffordK is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 08:48 PM
  #37  
canklecat
Me duelen las nalgas
 
canklecat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 13,519

Bikes: Centurion Ironman, Trek 5900, Univega Via Carisma, Globe Carmel

Mentioned: 199 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4554 Post(s)
Liked 2,791 Times in 1,795 Posts
Originally Posted by SurferCyclist
It's more of a case when going down a single track road with a tractor coming towards me they often don't slow down or move over at all so many times I've had to take evasive action to avoid getting hit/squashed as they go on their merry way.
In much of the US those narrow rural roads and highways often are -- or were -- designated Farm to Market roads, hence the FM designation. They literally were built to accommodate farmers and ranchers doing business.

For years there was relatively little traffic on those roads. That doesn't mean everyone "drove friendly," as the Texas highway dept signs urged folks to do. There were always a few antisocial jerks.

The problem is that over the years and generations, many farms and ranches were consolidated or vanished.

In its place, Texans began pillaging the land for gravel to build roads and infrastructure for some other towns. Gravel trucks were the main menace here for about 20 years before the state highway dept finally cracked down on driver safety and vehicle inspections. For a long time lax vehicle inspections for in-state commercial vehicles encouraged operation of trucks with defective brakes, etc, which would never have been permitted for interstate use.

That land was abandoned, sold off and eventually developed into shake and bake homes and McMansions. Cheap gasoline and white flight from urban centers made it affordable to commute longer distances.

But infrastructure is always the last thing to change. So where we once had a few dozen cars at day, at most, we now have hundreds or thousands on the same narrow roads.

I've limited my rides to a few routes where the old two-lane farm to market roads run parallel with interstate highways. Most drivers, including the recently transplanted city folks who bought rural McMansions, eventually shift over to the main highways. So for now those old FM roads and access roads are safe.

But another 10-20 years, there won't be many safe places to ride other than parking lots of abandoned commercial buildings and warehouses.
canklecat is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 08:49 PM
  #38  
GeneO 
Senior Member
 
GeneO's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: midwest
Posts: 2,528

Bikes: 2018 Roubaix Expert Di2, 2016 Diverge Expert X1

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 482 Post(s)
Liked 151 Times in 105 Posts
Garbage trucks
School buses
Pickup trucks with a boat in tow
Delivery trucks
Silent electric cars that come out of nowhere

Though any vehicle with a yahoo behind it can be dangerous
GeneO is offline  
Likes For GeneO:
Old 06-11-20, 08:49 PM
  #39  
Batstar
Senior Member
 
Batstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 190
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 54 Post(s)
Liked 175 Times in 79 Posts
Coal rollers. I live in the heart of oil country where many households own trucks. Most drivers here are decent and typically share the road with cyclists but breathing in the black, noxious fumes of these belching behemoths is just over the top.
Batstar is offline  
Likes For Batstar:
Old 06-11-20, 09:12 PM
  #40  
scott967
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Oahu, HI
Posts: 1,396

Bikes: 89 Paramount OS 84 Fuji Touring Series III New! 2013 Focus Izalco Ergoride

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 285 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 74 Times in 54 Posts
Motorcycles (when riding two-abreast on en echelon). My experience the bike on the outside won't move over an inch for a bicycle. My other problem is pickups (mainly) with large/aggressive tread tires. They are very hard on my hearing. I would actually love to have some sort of hearing protection that attenuates that tire noise but still allows you to hear other stuff. The other PITA is 2-stroke mopeds that stink to high heaven after going past you. I have a route with a 4 mile hill about 6% ave and some big guys on those mopeds those things are full throttle. Or a pack of kids on modified ones that scream. (But they like to pull wheelies and what-not which is entertaining.)

scott s.
.
scott967 is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 09:18 PM
  #41  
unterhausen
Randomhead
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
Posts: 24,335
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Liked 3,643 Times in 2,485 Posts
Originally Posted by CliffordK
Don't you guys have manure guns?
I was riding once and somehow got behind a tractor towing the biggest manure spreader I have ever seen. I kept my distance.
unterhausen is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 09:28 PM
  #42  
big john
Senior Member
 
big john's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: In the foothills of Los Angeles County
Posts: 25,032
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8147 Post(s)
Liked 8,800 Times in 4,368 Posts
Originally Posted by Batstar
Coal rollers. I live in the heart of oil country where many households own trucks. Most drivers here are decent and typically share the road with cyclists but breathing in the black, noxious fumes of these belching behemoths is just over the top.
Modern diesel pickups do not smoke at all, at least in the US. In order to make them able to "coal roll" they need to be modified. That's some next level sadism there.
big john is offline  
Likes For big john:
Old 06-11-20, 10:00 PM
  #43  
woodcraft
Senior Member
 
woodcraft's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Nor Cal
Posts: 6,016
Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1814 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 923 Times in 569 Posts
Originally Posted by CliffordK
Lowboy carrying a 15' wide Dozer.

I almost got taken out by one of those- the memory is still vivid

of looking back & seeing the corner of the blade a foot or two behind my head.
woodcraft is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 10:31 PM
  #44  
CliffordK
Senior Member
 
CliffordK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Posts: 27,600
Mentioned: 217 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18302 Post(s)
Liked 4,470 Times in 3,326 Posts
Originally Posted by woodcraft
I almost got taken out by one of those- the memory is still vivid

of looking back & seeing the corner of the blade a foot or two behind my head.
Mine honked. I moved right, but didn't particularly look back until after it was past, and might not have noticed the load anyway. Fortunately the truck moved left, but it is hard to say what would have happened if the traffic patterns had been different. I don't think it had a lead vehicle, just a sign on the back.
CliffordK is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 10:35 PM
  #45  
CliffordK
Senior Member
 
CliffordK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Posts: 27,600
Mentioned: 217 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18302 Post(s)
Liked 4,470 Times in 3,326 Posts
Did we have drunk rednecks that seem to think they need to hang out the window and yell some kind of insult (which fortunately I can never quite understand what they're yelling).

I did have a bag of garbage whiz past my head once.
CliffordK is offline  
Old 06-12-20, 07:55 AM
  #46  
SammyJ 
Senior Member
 
SammyJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Summerville SC
Posts: 595

Bikes: 2012 Caad 8 105; 1994 Trek 5500

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 32 Post(s)
Liked 47 Times in 18 Posts
Originally Posted by fietsbob
Police cars pulling you over..
I would love to get pulled on my bike.
__________________
I have NEVER regretted going on a ride;
I have often regretted not going when I could have!


I am grateful for the headwind that challenged me today!
I am grateful for the tailwind that helped me go fast!


Clydesdales and Athenas Strava Club
https://www.strava.com/clubs/clydesda...bikeforums-net
SammyJ is offline  
Old 06-12-20, 07:57 AM
  #47  
SammyJ 
Senior Member
 
SammyJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Summerville SC
Posts: 595

Bikes: 2012 Caad 8 105; 1994 Trek 5500

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 32 Post(s)
Liked 47 Times in 18 Posts
Originally Posted by fietsbob
Police cars pulling you over..
I would love to get pulled on my bike.
__________________
I have NEVER regretted going on a ride;
I have often regretted not going when I could have!


I am grateful for the headwind that challenged me today!
I am grateful for the tailwind that helped me go fast!


Clydesdales and Athenas Strava Club
https://www.strava.com/clubs/clydesda...bikeforums-net
SammyJ is offline  
Old 06-12-20, 08:13 AM
  #48  
taco2ewsday
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Memphis 10
Posts: 193

Bikes: 2021 Canyon Endurace SL8, 2019 Cannondale Topstone Sora, 2002 Giant Yukon

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 34 Post(s)
Liked 148 Times in 57 Posts
Pretty much what I meant by lifted pickup, also the occupants of older american sedans with stereo wort 10x the vehicle have been relatively similar in their tendency to yell random indistinguishable words

Originally Posted by CliffordK
Did we have drunk rednecks that seem to think they need to hang out the window and yell some kind of insult (which fortunately I can never quite understand what they're yelling).

I did have a bag of garbage whiz past my head once.
taco2ewsday is offline  
Old 06-12-20, 08:15 AM
  #49  
taco2ewsday
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Memphis 10
Posts: 193

Bikes: 2021 Canyon Endurace SL8, 2019 Cannondale Topstone Sora, 2002 Giant Yukon

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 34 Post(s)
Liked 148 Times in 57 Posts
Originally Posted by SammyJ
I would love to get pulled on my bike.
As a teenager NYPD pulled me over for rolling a stop light and in another instance threatened to take my bike for riding on the walking trails in Central park.
taco2ewsday is offline  
Old 06-12-20, 08:42 AM
  #50  
rydabent
Senior Member
 
rydabent's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Lincoln Ne
Posts: 9,920

Bikes: RANS Stratus TerraTrike Tour II

Mentioned: 46 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3344 Post(s)
Liked 1,054 Times in 634 Posts
Young diesel truck drivers "rolling coal", and expensive foreign cars driven by young women. On my ride yesterday a young girl in her high priced japanese car went thru a red light at a cross walk. She was just too important to stop for a trike that had the green light.
rydabent is offline  
Likes For rydabent:

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.