Ogsarg

I know many people dislike cyclists but don't hear about them resorting to oil slicks and thumbtacks...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/w...s&emc=rss&_r=0

Not a tremendous amount of insight here but an interesting read.

johngwheeler

One interesting conclusion was that the possibility of being filmed had an effect on driver behaviour. The recent thread showing a hit and run in a US national park in which the driver was filmed on a GoPro and subsequently charged, shows that the widespread use of cameras can have consequences for inconsiderate (or reckless) driving. Like many aspects of law enforcement, it's not a desire to do the right thing, but rather a fear of bing caught and paying the penalty.

EnjoyinTheRide

I wouldn't call it a dislike for cyclists as much as i would call it an added distraction drivers must face on a road. Keep in mind 98% of drivers do not road cycle and have little or no knowledge of the knowledge you road cyclists posses in doing what your doing. ie: drivers get very nervous passing road cyclists which leads to negative impressions and statements regarding the sport. Many believe is should only be a sport such as in the tour de france rather than a recreational thing. Many drivers believe there are other forms of recreation other than putting yourself along side of moving traffic...which btw a standard of transportation (drivng) where road cycling is really not....If you get my drift.

I pass road cyclists all the time on my way to and from camp. The thing that makes me nervous is when I see a road cyclist approaching a curve. Because every time this happens it is the automobile that has to break stride to avoid the cyclist...ive seen near crashes as a result of this....Lol Im certain that the driver of the car has some pretty choice words as they pass the road cyclist in this senario.....Lol. Im pretty certain the lance wannabe comments come out regularly at that point lol....

Clyde1820

An added distraction. Someone going more slowly, seemingly impeding the progress of the others on the road. Someone who shouldn't be there on the road, getting in people's way. Someone smaller and ostensibly less capable of defending himself/herself. Probably any number of "motivators" for folks who think that way, depending on the person.

The same essential frustrations occur when others are "impeded" by slower drivers. Horn honking, thumbing, threats, cutting off folks, hard-braking, even in some cases (which I myself have been a victim of) attempts at shoving the other off the road despite being in a vehicle just as large as theirs.

Puerile, dangerous acts by mentally juvenile "adults" who are permanently stuck in the third grade. Only, when it's lashing out upon cyclists or pedestrians it's people's lives on the line.

jefnvk

Sadly, it is not just limited to cyclists. Some people have this innate belief that they are entitled to dictate how others use public right of ways. I've known folks who have dug up dirt roads so only them and others with 4x4s can get through. Landowners near where I went to college hated students out on legal off-roading areas that passed through their lands, and we'd occasionally find boxes of heavy long screws scattered on the trails. There is a homeowner with a nice trout stream running through his back yard where I used to fish, that took to tossing debris in the river because he didn't want fishermen (again, access to the public legally granted) there. And then, there is always the occasional strand of barbed wire stretched across snowmobile and ATV and MTB trails, which is probably the most disgusting example.

Daniel4

The dislike of cyclists is miniscule compared to the dislike of other drivers by each other.

"Fifty-one percent of Americans report that they loathe sharing the road with bad drivers, more than cyclists, buses, taxis, joggers and walkers combined."

Expedia Road Rage Report 2015

Of the top 20 motorist gripes, 18 are other motorists.

So if my magic all cyclists and pedestrians were back in there cars, it would get worse.

1989Pre 

If any non-cyclists, particularly motorists, do bear a grudge against cyclists-in-general, it is because of the rude and crazy practice of not keeping to the right on one's bicycle. Thankfully, it is relegated to the "lunatic fringe" element of cyclists, but if there are enough of these arrogant posers, it will create a war. Absolutely unnecessary.

StarBiker

If you are trying to make a left this is not possible.

Another problem is many of the roads are in worse shape on the right do to underground infrastructure.

I can't believe how bad some of the roads are around here.

I do not cycle on main roads.

jefnvk

I've actually taken to preferring dirt roads around me, when I cycle on roads instead of trails. Even when washboarded, they are still in better shape than many of the paved roads.

If you want to know how bad roads in Michigan really are, ride them on a bicycle.

Daniel4

This morning I heard an interview on CBC Radio's Metro Morning show in Toronto. The interview was with a nascar racer for the upcoming Honda Indy Race this weekend.

What caught my attention was the interviewee's admission of road rage when he's on the 401 (one of Toronto's commuter highways). He describes a lot of motorists doing "silly" things. This from a professional motorist feeling safer during a race than amongst private drivers.

TimothyH

Carpet tacks were regularly spread about the roads in rural Bartow County, Georgia, especially in the days leading up to some of the big, organized century rides.

I haven't heard of it in about five years but it was a problem and caused many flats. I know the police were investigating at the time.


-Tim-

Marcus_Ti

I most certainly would.

https://www.treehugger.com/bikes/new...nt-pretty.html

Exploring Drivers? Attitudes and Behaviors toward Bicyclists: The Effect of Explicit and Implicit Attitudes on Self-Reported Safety Behaviors | Transportation Research and Education Center

Noddy

This is a very common feeling among race drivers but keep in mind when they are on the track they "know" everyone around them and can somewhat predict their behavior. There is a level of trust there playing into it as well.

spinnaker

Link is bad.

Points to an article


Senator Resigns Over Dual Citizenship. Also: Facebook Rejects Turnbull on Decryption.

runway1

Easy answer - NYC

Maelochs

World is full of buttheads. Lots of good people as well.

Someone wrote an article about a few extreme situations. I am sure there are even worse out there, somewhere.

On the other hand, the worst I have faced in a while is the horn-blast or window-shout ... distracting, but I have heard it all so much a barely flinch.

You want to scare me, play a loud recording of squealing tires.

A couple months back i was riding through farmland deep in Redneckville, when a jacked-up pick-up with exhaust stacks and gun racks and good ol' boys drove by. I watched as they passed ... I heard them slow ... I looked back and watched them u-turn ... I kept riding and stayed calm ... as they went past me and took the turn onto the dirt trail they had missed the first time.

it's enough to make me think the media wants to keep people afraid so they can sell more ads.

Maelochs

This was my first thought, but obnoxious as I usually am, I din't want to be the one to say it.

TimothyH

The article is about cyclists and motorists in Australia.

The tacks and oil slicks are in Australia, not New York City.

NYC is one of the greatest places anyone can ride.


-Tim-

mcours2006

It's cuz they drive on the wrong side of the road.

Marcus_Ti

Their toilets flush the wrong way, too.

Maelochs

See ... here is a guy from new York trying to start a problem. They just can't help it.

I have walked enough in NYC that I cannot see how I could ever enjoy cycling there ... at least in the actual city. Plus, you can't tell the New Yorkers form the Australians .....

I-Like-To-Bike

Read past the headline.

spinnaker

Article is buried at the bottom of the page. Nothing to do with the article at the top of the page. It has an image regarding oil slicks near bike trails in Australia which has nothing to do with "bicycle rage" in NYC or the article at the top o the page. And then there is a comment regarding a letter from the Australian David Carmen embedded in the bicycle article.


Are the folks at NYT high or something?

mcours2006

That kind of behaviour is just crazy--tacks and oil slicks? C'mon. I'm thankful I live in a civilized country and not one populated by ex-cons.

I-Like-To-Bike

News Flash:

Despite reports to the contrary, the NYT is well known for its reporting that covers events that do not occur in NYC and about issues that involve people who live elsewhere.