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First verbal altercation at a stoplight while riding in traffic.

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First verbal altercation at a stoplight while riding in traffic.

Old 06-09-15, 09:20 PM
  #26  
spare_wheel
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Originally Posted by jgadamski
It is actually filled with all sorts of information on how to operate safely on the streets.
None of that information is especially original and its rotten with car-head follow the rules nonsense. I don't drive my bike and its not a vehicle.
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Old 06-09-15, 09:25 PM
  #27  
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My exposure to Forrester dates back 20 years. At the time there was a lack of anything to instruct as to safe operation of a bike on the street. Some were still advising riding facing oncoming traffic.
So.. for the record.. if I were learning to operate safely on the streets today.. where would I find good information? Just asking, as I still see huge numbers of unsafe riders on a daily basis.
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Old 06-09-15, 09:38 PM
  #28  
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When those (in chronological order of worst drivers) come around me: [a] Florida, [b] Ohio.
This is nothing new. This has been going on since 2001, in not earlier.
Other states always complain of "California." As so much of "California" population is non-native; rather immigrated from other states (add the states of Florida & Ohio)
And int'l.
Of Californians: Blonde females. They simply choose by body profile. As if bicycle riding was a sex show. If your body not be accepted, Blondes will be the biggest problem. Blondes can be as much a problem, here in this case with a cyclist, in real life ---as Blondes are to a chosen guy in those t.v. shows.
As if real life be a t.v. show; but cycling is NOT a t.v. show.
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Old 06-09-15, 09:39 PM
  #29  
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Recommended way: Wave with all 5 fingers and smile.
Want to start an altercation with someone in a 4,000 lb vehicle? Just ask "Did your mother have any children that lived?"
Been riding bicycles on the roads since the early '70s and over 300,000 miles so there isn't much I have not seen/heard/experienced with folks in motor vehicles.
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Old 06-19-15, 07:18 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by jgadamski
My exposure to Forrester dates back 20 years. At the time there was a lack of anything to instruct as to safe operation of a bike on the street. Some were still advising riding facing oncoming traffic.
So.. for the record.. if I were learning to operate safely on the streets today.. where would I find good information? Just asking, as I still see huge numbers of unsafe riders on a daily basis.
So obviously all those Forester training programs are working quite well...

Until cycling is taught in schools right next to math and english... we will always have "unsafe riders." Even if cycling were taught in schools, there is no guarantee that people riding bikes will do so in an accepted manner.
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Old 06-19-15, 08:40 AM
  #31  
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Friend of mine had something similar happen. A van with some gang banger looking guys said, "we should just shoot you". My friend unzipped his fanny pack and pulled out his snub noze .38 in one hand and his deputy marshal badge in the other and said, "if i see a gun your asses are in hell". With that they left the scene as fast as possible.
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Old 06-20-15, 09:05 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by genec
So obviously all those Forester training programs are working quite well...
Couldn't say. I just said Forrester helped me immensely. There is certainly a lot to dislike about JF, especially his strong views regarding separated facilities. ( he has stated that trails and 'special facilities' for bikes are doing cycling a huge disservice. I do not hold that view. My sense is a large number of folks will not even try to ride for transportation, lacking safe facilities. I do see a great number of folks who do not ride with knowledge of how to get from A to B safely. I wish there were a advocate who could send that message of safe riding technique and experience. I have yet to find that person.
I don't know about schools teaching riding skills. My guess is local bias would often do more harm than good. Watching creationism being taught while scientific method being shut down suggests we would do better to keep our childrens safety out of the hands of the 'experts' at the schools.
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Old 06-21-15, 07:50 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by jgadamski
Couldn't say. I just said Forrester helped me immensely. There is certainly a lot to dislike about JF, especially his strong views regarding separated facilities. ( he has stated that trails and 'special facilities' for bikes are doing cycling a huge disservice. I do not hold that view. My sense is a large number of folks will not even try to ride for transportation, lacking safe facilities. I do see a great number of folks who do not ride with knowledge of how to get from A to B safely. I wish there were a advocate who could send that message of safe riding technique and experience. I have yet to find that person.
I don't know about schools teaching riding skills. My guess is local bias would often do more harm than good. Watching creationism being taught while scientific method being shut down suggests we would do better to keep our childrens safety out of the hands of the 'experts' at the schools.
So basically while you wish for some advocate to teach people to ride, you deny the use of the very available and ubiquitous school system out of some "political fear..." thus putting that whole notion of training people to "properly" right bicycles right onto the back burner all over again... hence, no progress.

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Old 06-21-15, 09:01 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by zonatandem
Recommended way: Wave with all 5 fingers and smile.
Want to start an altercation with someone in a 4,000 lb vehicle? Just ask "Did your mother have any children that lived?"
Been riding bicycles on the roads since the early '70s and over 300,000 miles so there isn't much I have not seen/heard/experienced with folks in motor vehicles.
As you would say to one whom told you --- what you just told me: I got too much concentrated into my personal life. So to care for communicating to those who I don't know. There be no reason why I should communicate to those who I don't know who are in the state of where I live. Driving with THEIR wreckless attitude. Before I observed this the first time: I been watching tv news for decades.
The WEIRDEST incidents, via the strangest people, happen in Florida & Ohio. That's a polite statement. As a more conservative statement being that many CON incidents are in Florida.
This TRIANGLE be of no coincidence.
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Old 06-23-15, 06:28 AM
  #35  
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I just had this sort of thing happen recently. had an agressive(young) guy and his buddy come up behind me at 40mph and honk as they got behind me and went around me. no reason to honk. so I just raised my hand in a "Why as that necessary" gesture, and they both flipped me off. The got stuck at the next light and as I rode up behind them, I grabbed my phone and pretended to be on the phone with the police speaking VERY loudly so they could here me giving the make/model of the car, and the license plate, and explaining that they tried to run me off the road while honking at me while no other cars were around. all people in the car started looking around, as I explained to the fictitious officer where we were and the direction we were traveling. Shut them up pretty quickly.
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Old 07-13-15, 11:37 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by TheBoogly

Him: What the **** are you doing on the road, get on the sidewalk.

Me: Florida law says bicycles are permitted on the road.
I'm told the same thing here on a regular basis, and here it is actually ILLEGAL to ride on the sidewalk. The road is the only place we are legally permitted to ride (which is also stupid, but I digress...). Not saying that people don't ride on the sidewalk, because it's a pretty silly law, but they are not legally entitled to. When people do ride on the sidewalk, pedestrians immediately start yelling at them to get on the road. When they ride on the road, people yell at them that they need to get off the road and get on the sidewalk. People do not allow cyclists to exist.

The outskirts of town (more rural-like areas) are where people are more likely to yell at you to "get on the sidewalk", whereas the more urban areas are where people are likely to yell at you to "get on the road". Whereas those who want to take up cycling simply don't, because they have no place to go. They're scared of the drivers on the road, and they're scared of getting ticketed on the sidewalk. So they don't ride at all, even though they're taking public transit and are having a seriously hard time with it, which would be easily rectified by riding a bicycle.

There's nothing you can do but try to find some humor to laugh at their stupidity.
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Old 07-20-15, 09:28 PM
  #37  
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It takes a bit of a thick skin to get into cycling on the road in America as things are now. You have to have the sort of strong personality where knowing you are right is enough, social disapproval is ignored and physical danger is acknowledged but is not enough to dissuade you. I've always believed that one shouldn't let fear or common sense hold you back. The first is just an emotion and the second is just a set of widely held unanalyzed prejudices.
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Old 08-03-15, 02:20 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by joeyduck
Engagement = Enragement

Just smile and say,"Jesus loves you too."
Buddy of mine just posted to facebook with a fun response to a belligerent driver who accosted him: "I hope you're good with Jesus because you're old and you're going to die soon." That got him left alone in a hurry...
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Old 08-14-15, 03:07 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by kingston
I have found that the best thing I can do to keep my serenity in traffic is to maintain an attitude that I am a guest on everyone else’s road. That means doing everything I can to prevent drivers from becoming irritated with me in the first place, and being apologetic if I ever inadvertently do something that offends them. Something like “Sorry to have upset you. I’m doing my best to keep out of the way of traffic” usually works to de-escalate the situation. I have even moved to the sidewalk for a short time when one motorist asked me to (that guy had flashing lights on the top of his car, and I’m positive he had a ***). The worst thing you can do is argue with people in cars, or carry an attitude that you have some “right” to be there. Just move over and let them go by. They’ll be long gone soon enough. Cars are way faster than bikes.
This sort of attitude only adds more fuel to the fire among the motoring public to discriminate against cyclists and that we should not be on "their" road.

While I practice many of Forrester's principles, I think a better publication is a small booklet called Street Smarts by John Allen. I got a free copy of it when I attended TS101 as part of my club's ride leader training. In my experience, motorists seem to understand the concept of first-come first-served when I assertively control my space in the lane. If I'm hugging the gutter, they see it as an invitation to squeeze by in the lane or barely moving over the line, if they even see me at all.
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Old 11-19-22, 09:17 PM
  #40  
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A couple of thoughts...

Operant Conditioning...
We do not want to reinforce negative bahavior. If you engage with morons like this, they get what they want, and that is a rise out of you. So do not engage.

Pepper Spray, Bear Spray

Mark Twain — 'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'

And finally. sprechen sie deutsch

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