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"Why drivers hate cyclists" article, Chicago Magazine

a good read

 

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/March-2011/Why-D...

 

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 23, 2011 at 2:51pm
The author makes some good points.  I've often thought that envy was a significant factor in all the hate, because they're stuck in traffic or wasting a lot of time looking for parking spaces, while we're getting where we're going more efficiently.  Your $0.02?
Permalink Reply by Anne on March 23, 2011 at 3:47pm

for the key phrase is "drivers are afraid of cyclists....fear is what makes them angry".

If we take any animal and remove it from its natural environment, relegate it to a cage, compensatory activities arise to compensate for those that it is no longer able to do. Aggressive behavior, self mutilation and offspring killing is not uncommon.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 23, 2011 at 4:25pm

Drivers are upset and annoyed that they actually have to pay attention to something different rather than zoning out in their comfort zone.  We are "in their way" and they have to actually wake up and drive and they realize that it is dangerous when they are in their zombie driver mode.  But instead of looking inwardly at themselves and their own lack of skills and attention span they blame the bike for making their job more difficult on the road.

 

Watch this crazy video from a university in China and how many accidents happen.  Notice that many of the bicyclists are totally unaware or turn their heads before they are hit.  When I'm on a bicycle (or motorcycle for that matter) I've got my head on a swivel.  My situational awareness is nearly 360-degrees around me and any car with a vector that can come even close to me is tracked and I assume that it could hit me and think what I'll do before they do so as to deny them the opportunity.

 

Permalink Reply by Eric R on March 23, 2011 at 4:25pm

Another bicycle vs. motorist article that fails to point out we all pay for local roads with sales and property tax, and yes, gas tax and auto fees go to the roads as well. The motorist's argument that bicycles "don't belong" is misguided information, which is in the comment section of every bike related article.

Here is a link to a US PIRG article detailing the "we all pay for the roads" argument. No hard data though.

Permalink Reply by Dr. Doom on March 23, 2011 at 5:16pm
I don't know about all this envy business, I think drivers hate cyclists because a lot of cyclists are dangerous and unbelievably annoying. A huge percentage of cyclists I see are salmon, doofuses on janky conversions helplessly flying through reds because they don't know how to stop their bikes, sociopaths riding without lights at night and then yelling when it turns no one can see them, derelicts with huge bags of garbage unpredictably rolling on and off sidewalks and in and out of traffic, etc.
Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 23, 2011 at 5:25pm

I don't care what anyone says, someone who works the word janky into a sentence deserves a big +1

 

Are you perhaps using janky as a euphemism for another word?


Dr. Doom said:

...doofuses on janky conversions helplessly flying through reds because they don't know how to stop their bikes...
Permalink Reply by chixieonfixie on March 23, 2011 at 7:33pm
I find it curious they could compose an entire video of crashes...and yet they havent installed a traffic light at this intersection?  Odd.

James Baum said:

Drivers are upset and annoyed that they actually have to pay attention to something different rather than zoning out in their comfort zone.  We are "in their way" and they have to actually wake up and drive and they realize that it is dangerous when they are in their zombie driver mode.  But instead of looking inwardly at themselves and their own lack of skills and attention span they blame the bike for making their job more difficult on the road.

 

Watch this crazy video from a university in China and how many accidents happen.  Notice that many of the bicyclists are totally unaware or turn their heads before they are hit.  When I'm on a bicycle (or motorcycle for that matter) I've got my head on a swivel.  My situational awareness is nearly 360-degrees around me and any car with a vector that can come even close to me is tracked and I assume that it could hit me and think what I'll do before they do so as to deny them the opportunity.

 

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on March 23, 2011 at 8:56pm
Quit hating on me.

Dr. Doom said:
 derelicts with huge bags of garbage unpredictably rolling on and off sidewalks and in and out of traffic, etc.
Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on March 23, 2011 at 9:42pm
Good bit of it is group psychology. "They" see "us" as different from "them". Makes it easy to release aggression onto the groups they see as different. Happens to tribes, countries, races, etc., etc.
Permalink Reply by Anne on March 24, 2011 at 9:27am
+2 (insert audio, theme from "Sanford and Son") lol

James Baum said:

I don't care what anyone says, someone who works the word janky into a sentence deserves a big +1

 

Are you perhaps using janky as a euphemism for another word?


Dr. Doom said:

...doofuses on janky conversions helplessly flying through reds because they don't know how to stop their bikes...
Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on March 24, 2011 at 9:39am
What's more essentially American than a profound quivering antipathy toward anyone who appears to be having a good time? It's why celebrities are reviled as elitist and billionaire coal and oil heirs aren't- the latter tend to look bloated and miserable.
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on March 24, 2011 at 1:20pm

Claiming that driver antipathy towards cyclists stems from some kind of secret envy strikes me as rather pompous. The root of the problem is simple; it's too many traffic controls. Observe how drivers interact not just with cyclists but any elements of traffic - including other drivers - that deviate even just slightly beyond the predetermined parameters they are conditioned to abide by. You'll see the same rage directed against other drivers that cut them off, or fail to signal a turn, or turn right on red when the action is prohibited, etc. The reason it seems to be more focused against cyclists in the public forum is the obvious distinction that can be drawn between cyclist and driver. In fact, the very argument most commonly made by drivers when complaining about cyclists is that cyclists don't follow the rules of the road. Wouldn't this indicate that perhaps there may be too many rules to begin with?

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