Road rage. What would you do?

Rob:

You do have my phone number, right? Next time you get a ticket, may be a good idea to call. I can't practice in Texas, but I've got access to your law, and can give advice to a friend. Check my references with the guys out here, I think that I've yet to have one of them convicted of what they've obviously done.

Art

 

*sigh*

This may be a classic example of the saying that "every bad law detracts from the good ones". Arbitrarily low speed limits apparently have degraded people's regard for all traffic laws: stop signs, lane discipline, left turn lanes, etc.

Cars, today, come in all shapes and colors -- and so do the backgrounds. It's easy to miss seeing a car approaching an intersection, and people who depend on the other guy stopping are why the local insurance rates are so high.

Stop signs don't mean slow down; they mean stop and look carefully.

 

I think the "Walther/Americans" (made in Virginia) were designed to let Langley desk jockeys dream of being James Bond, without shooting themselves in the foot. They've got a double-action trigger pull like trying to tug down a redwood. You can throw a stainless PPK/S more accurately than you can shoot it in DA. In urban environments, you don't just "throw away" the first round -- because you need to consider where it's going to go.

The german made PPKs in 7.62mm are pretty good, for a "mouse gun", but cost twice as much as a W/A. And if you're close enough for a PPK to be effective, you could also use a K-Bar combat knife.

I've got a stainless PPK/S as a toy for short indoor ranges. Even with some upgrades to the feed ramp, I still can't get a full box of ammo through it without a jam. For real work (back when I was doing crypto escort), I'll stick with either the 1911 or the P9 (Springfield's version of the CZ75: a DA rework of the Browning HiPower, with the same excellent ergonomics.)

 

Better question, have you ever needed to? Motorcycles tend to be the ones who are splitting the lanes at 35 in slow downs and passing you on those mountain roads.

Yes, and in much more dangerous ways than your typical car driver.

Wait let me see if I get this right. Motorcycles, who are capable of doing the speedlimit and faster, are the same as bicycles, who can not do the speed limit on most any road, are in the same boat? Not a chance. Any motorcycle can leave any car behind on almost any road in America. A bicycle will always be a slowdown, and worse will make almost no allowances for you to pass them. Almost every motorcycle I have passed on roads where they have been driving slow have slide into the right hand side of the lane. Though I have never been in a situation where I have passed two motorcycles riding double, but I've been in at least 5 situations where I've needed to pass a group of 10+ bicycles doing somewhere in the neighborhood of 10mph or so in a 45 while taking up the entire lane.

You seem to be mistaking being annoyed and pissed off at the cyclists with taking the laws into our owns hands. I'm voicing my complaints, not bumping your rear tire out on the road. Mainly because if cyclists would actually follow the laws, no one would ever want to bump your rear tire in the first place.

And will you drop the "you are all mad at us because we're thin and taking care of ourselves" theme will you? Some of us exercise in a fashion that doesn't seem to require breaking the law. I go running at tracks and on separate bike paths. I also ride my bike on those same bike paths for exercise. Get this, I don't need to be on the road running stop signs and I can still do a 20 mile uninterrupted ride.

And as stated already, and I would greatly appreciate a response to this particular comment much more than the rest of the post, by breaking the laws whenever you feel like it and running stop signs simply because you want to on a whim (and that is exactly what it is) why do you expect people on the road to respect you? Bicyclists show no one else on the road any respect and essentially spit in their faces by blocking traffic, breaking laws at their whim and not moving out of the way of people on the road. As long as you, as a group, continue to do such you should expect every single motorist on the road to be very pissed off at you.

 

I live in a bicyclist mecca; our narrow, two lane road runs along the river, offers spectacular views, and is the promenade for bicyclists everywhere; they ride up from NYC, about 25 miles south, and run along River Road to Nyack, and further; a couple of coffee shops in each town cater to them, so you could literally have a thousand or more bikes running or hanging in a 4 mile stretch.
I live on the road, so i don't speed; its a known speed trap for cars. The bikes run 2-3 and more abreast, and in large groups. They are extremely hostile to cars. The cops will occasionally enforce the single file rule, but its a joke and the cyclists know it. So, you can be surrounded by hordes of bicylcists, pretty unsafe for both sides -car and bikes- and forced into their pace. Passing requires crossing the double yellow line, so while people do it, its a legal risk.
I am usually pretty cool with the bikers, up to a point. One dude was standing down, straddling his bike in the middle of the lane, talking on his cell-phone. Didn't move as i approached. Couldn't go around him, he wasn't budging; honking is so vulgar, i think. But, since i was driving that P-car with the so-called "quiet" sports/racing exhaust system, i let him see how good his aural discrimination was when the ambient sound level was 130db of hideous noise.
I often sit on my porch at 6am to watch the river as the sun comes up; my reveries are broken by the sound of nasty new yorker accents on bicycles talking about their stock trades at shouting levels as they pass by on their bikes.
The only redeeming thing about them is someone makes them wear those silly outfits. Sorry, Rob.

 

Being both an avid driver, and a persuer of the bicycling arts, I can see both points. I think that people biking are generally unsafe when traveling on the road. This is not a statement that applies to EVERY biker, but more the the vast majority that I experience in my day to day travels. Firstly, I think that a bike traveling on a road with a speedlimit of 45 and above is both dangerous and stupid, this is twice as dumb when there is no shoulder. To travel on that type of road with a machine that will average 15 to 20mph is crazy. I think that people on bikes are usually doing their best to stay out of the way when they are riding on the road, however, even at their best, they are an impedence to traffic. I enjoy biking and usually ride about 20 - 25 miles a day, however I do it on trails designated for doing so, or on roads where there is a shoulder, and I can stay removed from traffic and danger. This being said, there are laws for everything, some more pertinant than others. Pedistrians having the right of way is a good example. Ever walk in NYC?? You think you have the right of way there?? Laws like this have never made sense to me.. when boats are involved, the larger boat has the right of way. The same should be for cars/bikes and cars/pedistrians. In NY state, there is a no fault policy for pedestrians, meaning, if you hit a pedistrian the steps in front of your car, no matter what the circumstances, you pay at least their medical care. As a pedistrian and a biker, I am always the first person who will get out of the way of a car. It is a lot easier for me to stop walking for a step, then for the driver of a 2 ton car to stop the car for me. Just my .02

Craig

 

cab1704: i agree that this proves the theory of relativity. In the city, pedestrians will climb around my car, as i am backing up, hiss at me for doing so, or just wanna get hit. As a ped(estrian), i see cars as a menace. It all depends on whose shoes you are walking/driving in.

 

What would I do?

Thank him for moving over and forget this *****. He's better then the jerks that don't move over. If you want road rage there will be bigger **** heads you might face one day. Save up your rage until you need it. This seems a bit tame to be called rage.

- Enjoy the rest of your drive

 

I have a nice long reply written up for you Rob, but I'm not going to post it. I desire a simple concise answer to a simple and concise question. This means you will need to ignore your complaints about how some motorists drive, because I am equally pissed off at them as well, but in general motorists behave in a way much safer than cyclists. And we’re taking your own safety into account, as well as the safety of my wallet when your family decides to sue me because you smacked into the side of my car.

As a cyclist you blatantly disregard the desires of others by blocking traffic and in general making a nuisance of yourself. As a cyclist you blatantly disregard the law by not signaling, riding double abreast (or more in large groups) and by running stop signs at full tilt*. Why should any motorist on the road have anything but disgust for you?

*full tilt meaning accelerating and pedaling hard through stop signs, completely ignoring traffic. Quit this crap about doing a California roll. I generally do a California roll and have been passed by cyclists three times while doing so and observed how cyclists treat stop signs. Accelerating and ignoring them.

 

I can't figure out why cyclists don't just move over to the right of the lane!
When I'm on a bicycle, I try to be aware of vehicles and ALWAYS get over as far as possible even if there is no shoulder.
That allows the driver to relax and pass at the safest point instead of becoming agrevated when he sees you are making no effort to let him get by.

 

Rob, I understand the basic view your coming from and I certainly understand your frustration with how some motorists behave but that still does not give bicyclist the right to break the law. And breaking the law won't do anything but serve to agitate people. And no matter how you try to spin it, you'll have a very hard time convincing anyone that not coming to a stop at a stop sign is safer than coming to a stop.

I look forward to meeting you in Monterey, just please, don't bring your bike, ok?




Since you did ask for a list of the laws bikes are breaking, that if they followed would make me gladly tolerate bicycles, here it is.


Hand Signals. VC 22111

All required signals given by hand and arm shall be given in the following manner:

Left turn-hand and arm extended horizontally beyond the side of the bicycle.
Right turn- left hand and arm extended upward beyond the side of the bicycle or right hand and arm extended horizontally to the right side of the bicycle.
Stop or sudden decrease of speed signal- left hand and arm extended downward beyond the side of the bicycle.

Headsets and Earplugs. VC 27400

No person operating any vehicle, including a bicycle shall wear any headset covering, or any earplugs in, both ears. There are exceptions for persons operating authorized emergency vehicles, special construction or maintenance equipment and refuse collection equipment, and for any person wearing personal hearing protectors designed to attenuate injurious noise levels and which do not inhibit the wearers' ability to hear a siren or horn from an emergency vehicle or horn form another motor vehicle, and for any person using a prosthetic device which aids the hard of hearing.

Parking. VC 21210

No person shall leave a bicycle lying on its side on any sidewalk, or shall park a bicycle on a sidewalk in any other position, so that there is not an adequate path for pedestrian traffic. Local authorities may prohibit bicycle parking in designated areas of the public highway, provided appropriate signs are erected.

Permitted Movements from Bicycle Lanes. VC 21208

a) Whenever a bicycle lane has been established on a roadway, any person operating a bicycle upon the roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction shall ride in the bicycle lane, except under the following situations.

1. When overtaking or passing another bicycle, vehicle, or pedestrian within the lane or about to enter the lane if such overtaking and passing cannot be done safely within the lane.

2. When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.

3. When necessary to leave the lane to avoid debris or other hazardous conditions.

b) Any person operating a bicycle on a one-way street or highway with two or more marked traffic lanes, may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of such roadway as practicable.

Duty of Bicycle Operator: Operation On Roadway. VC 21202

a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at such time shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:

1. When overtaking and passing another bicycle or motor vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

2. When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.

3. When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge. For purposes of this section, a "substandard width lane" is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.

b) Any person operating a bicycle on a one-way street or highway with two or more marked traffic lanes, may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of such roadway as practicable.

Bicycle Use. VC 21200

Every person riding a bicycle upon a street or highway has all the rights and is subject to all the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle, including the provisions of law dealing with driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs, except those provisions which by their very nature can have no application.

 

yeah like that guy Eos... hey wait a second!

 

Very funny!! You are kidding...right??