The Chainlink

Passive aggressiveness-let me know how i did!

So today on my ride to work i was almost run down by a 2010 mercedes that gave me about six inches while he passed me in the same lane on sheridan (no shared marking or bike lane)

He then proceeded to turn into the same parking lot i was heading into and the thought crossed my mind to let him know in a friendly manner that he should give a cyclist 3 feet when passing. )I have heard rumblings that the 3 ft passing law exists here so correct me if I am incorrect) But anyways I let it go and rode on to work.

About 30 minutes later I get a request from one of the graduate students in the lab that I need to call parking services to have a car towed because a family has come to participate in an experiment and they have no where to park. (I manage a developmental and adult cognition lab at northwestern) So i give them a ring, tell them the plates and they respond that they CANNOT tow the car because the individual is a trustee of the university. My initial reaction was to kick his side mirror off and after that i have provided a visual progression...



and finally



So considering these guys must wield some kind of power around here to be able to literally park *wherever* they want, I felt like the message was tempered but crisp. I am interested to know the cyclist point of view. Too much, not enough?


btw he drives the same car that douche hit and run guy from colorado drives, do they do mercedes on bike stats?

 
he is second from the bottom....

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on November 11, 2010 at 2:59pm
If only people used this more often it would have more of an effect. As it is, one might as well piss in the ocean.



jamimaria said:
I know of this site off the top of my head: http://chicago.mybikelane.com/

I need to remember to use it more.
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on November 11, 2010 at 3:00pm
A more level camera angle would probably generate an image which displays license plate, make, model, and color of car, and the text on that restricted parking sign.


jamimaria said:
I know of this site off the top of my head: http://chicago.mybikelane.com/

I need to remember to use it more.
Permalink Reply by igz on November 11, 2010 at 3:14pm
i feel that it didnt need to be left out. bring it up, call him out. too often, people hide behind the fact that they can be anonymous, believing their actions are of no consequence. this is perpetuated in motorists actions as they hide in their cars and speed away, epecially the self indulgent holier than thou types. calling him out just might remind him that we are intertwined in the little web called life, and that the person he neglected to have any concern for while riding their bike...might just be taking photos of his car and license plate contemplating revenge and retribution.

garrett honke said:
yea the folks around the office felt the same way... it was really hard to leave that bit out

i agree as well that letting the board know we are upset that they can park wherever they want and our participants were inconvenienced is probably not going to change any policy or cause them to censure this particular member



Kevin Conway said:
Though not excusable conduct, I would be willing to bet he has no recollection whatsoever of passing you with less than 3 feet of clearance. The inclusion of that tidbit splits your message and makes it sound personal. I would have left that off.

He is parked illegally and should be subject to towing. Members of the public who are participating in research at NU (and responsible in part for the research-grant feedback loop) are unable to park where they've been instructed to park. Your account implies that DPS has a list of license plate numbers for cars which are allowed to park wherever the hell they want. If that's true, reporting him to the rest of the board probably won't help much-but I'd do it anyway.
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on November 11, 2010 at 3:14pm
I see enough room for four bananas.





garrett honke said:
is there a nasty drivers/be on the look out/wall of shame list somewhere on the interwebs?

Permalink Reply by BalloonBiker on November 11, 2010 at 3:15pm
There's also this site:

http://www.zapatag.com/
Permalink Reply by Jason W on November 11, 2010 at 4:31pm
Next time go with your initial reaction and kick the side mirror off... or bust the windshield.

And yes, German luxury cars and luxury SUVs are the worst. Their sense of entitlement is what does it. "I paid 90 skigillion dollars for my auto, everyone should get out of my way. Plus I have a meeting, and what I do is more important than everyone else."
Permalink Reply by garrett on November 11, 2010 at 5:19pm
Everyone I spoke to was pretty pissed that the policy exists if it is documented but I am not sure. i did not know about it until today but there is no reason why i should have known. It is in a trustee's interest to make this smooth for families because if we lose participants it makes it very hard to conduct the research. Considering the wealth of spots available, I think ignorance of how important the spot is to us is the main factor

In retrospect, i think the spot message was much more important to emphasize considering that including the biking part might diminish the message or even convince him to do it again. In which case we are just out a spot again with no recourse




chrisc927 said:
I like the 3rd version of the letter the best but I would have gone one step further and removed the biking blurb from the letter. Press him on the parking space issue and keep the bike safety issue separate.

Just curious,
1. What does the posted sign over the parking space say?
2. Is it documented policy that Trustees are exempt?
Permalink Reply by Chris Hainey on November 11, 2010 at 5:27pm
The Mercedes S600 is one of the biggest gas-guzzlers they have: 11 MPG city, 16 MPG highway.
Permalink Reply by garrett on November 11, 2010 at 5:33pm
yea i was thinking about that when he gunned it to get between me and the car that was in front of us in the left lane, i was thinking it probably cost him a quarter to be an asshole just now. Just "piss in the ocean" if you are the 573rd richest man in the world haha



Chris Hainey said:
The Mercedes S600 is one of the biggest gas-guzzlers they have: 11 MPG city, 16 MPG highway.
Permalink Reply by Chris B on November 11, 2010 at 5:38pm
Everywhere i have ever worked we have a mantra "no special treatment"

that lasts until the next person high up enough calls for help and we do special things we specifically told others we would not do.

then my managers would reiterate "remember no special treatment"

it used to annoy me, since hey I wanted to make my other customers happy too. Now I am bitter and cynical and it no longer annoys me :)
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on November 11, 2010 at 5:43pm
That's because it's powered by a 6 litre V-12, capable of 510-hp and propelling you and a 2+ ton vehicle from 0-60 in a little over 4 seconds. Tough to get good gas mileage with those numbers. Don't hate the machine.


Chris Hainey said:
The Mercedes S600 is one of the biggest gas-guzzlers they have: 11 MPG city, 16 MPG highway.
Permalink Reply by Duppie on November 11, 2010 at 5:47pm
I don't think he is the 573rd richest man in the world. Rather Republic Services is listed as #573 in the Fortune Global 2000.
Besides, if that is him, he has a bigger problem than being rich. He is 79. He should no longer be driving

garrett said:
yea i was thinking about that when he gunned it to get between me and the car that was in front of us in the left lane, i was thinking it probably cost him a quarter to be an asshole just now. Just "piss in the ocean" if you are the 573rd richest man in the world haha



Chris Hainey said:
The Mercedes S600 is one of the biggest gas-guzzlers they have: 11 MPG city, 16 MPG highway.

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