billwatson58

So I'm tooling around a residential area not far from home and at a cross street to my left a cement truck stops then proceeds to pull out in front me - I have no stop and thus the right of way. I yield (he's slightly bigger than me) then at the next block up at the stop I inform him he pulled out right in front of me and ask him if he saw me. He said yes, that he had stopped and that I had slowed down is why he pulled out. He seemed very casual about it and acted like no big deal, then proceeds to light up a cigarette and motors to the job site a few blocks away. Meanwhile, I call the number on the side of the truck and I'm put in touch with the guy in charge of safety for the company and give him the truck number and the details. The guy was very receptive and agreed that the driver was wrong. He asked if the driver was polite or not and I told him he was just indifferent and didn't seem to really care. He said he will ask the driver about the situation and will discipline him, and asked for my number in case the driver gives a different version of the story.

I tell my wife the story and she thinks I'm crazy for confronting the guy "what if he had a gun - you never know - there are a lot of crazy drivers/people around here". So I won't be telling the wife about things like this anymore.

I felt compelled to report it because if it had been a kid not paying attention they could have been hit.

uke

The single most important thing you did was contacting the driver's superior. Good job on that.

capejohn

Nothing worse than a cement truck driver with a gun. 8>(
Wives worry too much sometimes, don't they?

Roughstuff

Let us know if the guy gets back to you about the story being different. Most buses and trucks here have 'hows my driving' numbers on the back. Now that I think of it, it'd be good idea to call the numbers to report both good and/or bad behavior toward cyclists.

roughstuff

billwatson58

In hindsight, I was just awestruck that the guy thought that it was ok to pull out in front of me because I was on a bike.

And about Obama - there's no apostrophe in his name - though I think I saw one in his name at the St. Patrick's Day Parade on a sign in Chicago this year.

And BTW, Palin is a joke.

noisebeam

Or maybe because you were slowing down like you were planning on yielding to him. He's seen it many times before, not just cyclists, and takes advantage of it.

(You did nothing wrong, he shouldn't take advantage of you looking out for yourself)

trekker pete

I like cement trucks.

They accelerate about as quickly as glaciers which makes them excellent draft fodder.

I once followed one from a stoplight musta stayed with him for a few mile. Definitely the fastest 2 miles I ever did on flat ground.

As for this guy, I might give him the benefit of the doubt as apparently he thought you were yielding to him. Didn't hurt to call his boss though.

billwatson58

I made no indication whatsoever that I was yielding or slowing down. He made that up as an excuse. Me thinks that in his mind he said "i'm in a big cement truck, so what if the dude on the bike has to hit his brakes to yield to me"

gcottay

Another example of a minor incident handled as if it were a minor incident. Just right, in my book.

dobber

Big vehicle tend to do rolling stops as it is a ***** to get something that big and heavy moving from a complete stop.

Anticipate the fact and you'll be happier........safer too.

billwatson58

Not an acceptable excuse. He had come to a stop, not a rolling stop. Trucks that big have a greater burden of responsibility for safety given their size and the fact that he was in a residential neighborhood:

https://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...194159899,,0,5

And it's not my safety that concerns me - it's the kid on a bike that isn't paying attention and gets hit wherein the driver says " I thought he was slowing down for me"

Sledbikes

i blew a stop sign trying to stop one, when loaded and from a dead stop they burn 1 gallon for every foot it takes them to get to 30.

StrangeWill

Lol, wut?

Proof? That is an insane amount of consumption, maybe you just drive poorly? I've never heard any trucker except for you make such a claim, and I've talked to a lot of those economical types too.


@OT:
I dunno I would think that it was entirely possible he thought it was a 4 way stop, but once it wasn't was trying to find a somewhat more legal way to cover his arse.

Not acceptable still, just I wouldn't think that a professional driver would risk his career to pick on a cyclist.

billwatson58

I should have mentioned that there are signs that state cross traffic does not have to stop.

Pedaleur

It's a cement truck. Not a supertanker.

phillypino215

i called one of those how's my driving sign things in the past...and it was freakin the cell phone to the driver...***** just laughed at me. moments later after i settled down, i thought it was quite funny as well.

uke

dynodonn 

A cement truck burning a gallon per foot is a definite stretch of the imagination, I'd tend to believe the notion that it would take a gallon of fuel to get a fully loaded truck from a dead stop up to thirty miles per hour. Even a top fuel dragster gets better fuel mileage than a gallon a foot, burning only 7 gallons in 1320 feet, or less, now that they're limited to 1000 feet for safety reasons.

Anyway, back on topic, I've had more motorists pull out in front of me that seem not to care, than cement trucks. As far as I'm concerned, I treat every motorist stopped a intersection as if they don't care, and are about to pull out in front of me at anytime.

Bekologist

people don't even have to be driving a cement truck to feel like they can pull out in front of you.

i need to get past my visceral reaction to this when it occurs. even happened last night, some woman, probably drunk. oh well. just watch it out there.

chipcom 

I don't think dobber is making excuses for the guy, just simply pointing out that you should plan for Murphy...always expect the other guy to do the stupidest thing possible and plan your contingencies accordingly, so when/if he does, you are ready for it. It's hard to report the mutt if he splats you across the pavement, ya know?

Bat22

I only had one friend who was killed on his bicycle....by a cement truck.

unterhausen

I got pulled over drafting on a cement truck once. I'm pretty sure the jerk called the cops on me.

damnable

This is more an indication of your driving skills than anything else.

Even if this was true, what's your point? I'm all for trying to combat climate change, but it almost sounds like you are trying to justify disregarding stop signs and endangering lives because of it.

Daily Commute

Yep. Drivers with numbers on the side of their vehicles can sometimes be held accountable. I've had success complaining about a two or three bus drivers.

Vodalus

drafting cement trucks or busses is so great. i always love it when i work my butt off to get into a position so i can draft them, and then they turn or i have to turn so it was all wasted effort