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A conversatoin with Graeme

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sojournermike:
Just a counterbalance to the fears and anger we often feel towards our car driving friends.

I rode with Graeme last week and one of the topics of conversation was how we deal with car drivers and we both observed that our own experience is far, far better than might be imagined by following t'interwebs. By and large we find ourselves treated carefully and given sensible space. Perhaps it's where we ride, but I thought it worth remembering that most don't want to hurt us and many take care around us. I was passed too close and too fast by one driver today and it was the exception. If I see the car around again driving in a similar manner I will take his number and pass it to my local policeman, but apart from that it was all fine and I remembered the car because it was driven is such contrast to the others.

 

De Sisti:
I always find that if I react to a car passing too fast and too close to me by throwing my hand up in the air in disgust,
the following driver will ALWAYS give me lots of room.


I sometimes think that when a car driver wants to overtake (4 of us in today's example) and there is another vehicle
coming in the opposite direction, rather than waiting for the other vehicle to pass, they will inevitably try not to expose
the offside of their car to the offside of the approaching vehicle; thus coming as close as they think possible to the cyclists without causing a car/bike collision and them having to slow down.

hatler:

--- Quote from: De Sisti on 25 January, 2015, 06:15:36 pm ---I always find that if I react to a car passing too fast and too close to me by throwing my hand up in the air in disgust,
the following driver will ALWAYS give me lots of room.

--- End quote ---

Snap.

Kim:
I had an unusual number of close passes on today's ride.  But it was still a tiny fraction (maybe a percent or so?) of the number of vehicles I was overtaken by.  The overwhelming majority of drivers *are* reasonably competent and sensible.

The problem is that it only takes one to ruin your day.

Graeme:
I think I'm afraid of becoming afraid.

I've decided to stop watching videos of 'road users in conflict', on the basis that reporting of bad experiences are outweighing reporting of good experiences.  I'm also a teeny bit concerned that angry rhetoric is breeding a growing resentment between humans on bicycles and humans in boxes. The humans on the bicycles are not going to come out of this conflict well, and the humans in boxes spend a life regretting a moment's anger.

I don't want to stick my head on the sand over this, I too experience close passes from drivers who are inattentive or apparently aggressive, I just don't want to end up too frightened to ride. I still believe I have an inalienable right to 'not be killed'.  Even more so if it was just because someone was in a hurry.

In a moment of cross threading, the whole discussion about pinch points has slightly upset me. The idea that cyclists are being put into conflict with motorists as a traffic calming measure I find abhorrent.  But that discussion ought to go back to that thread.

In the meantime: I'm focusing on the good news of cycling <pause/reflect>.... Grin... Woo hoo!

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