The Chainlink

Morning Rush Aggressive Motorists

For 5 years I biked to work at 6AM. Last week my company changed my start time to 9AM and now I hit the street at 8:30AM.  What a difference two and a half hours makes!  At 8:30 in the morning it seems that 50% of all drivers are running late for a job they hate and it's my fault.  In the past two weeks I've been buzzed by three SUV's (Two of which leaned on the horn as they passed me on North Sheffeld).  More cars only *pause* at stop signs in an effort to get through the intersection before they have to wait the extra 4 seconds for a bicycle to pass.  I've even had a car in the oncoming, left turn lane do that thing where the second the light turns green they hit the gas and bust through their turn when I was the only traffic coming towards them.
I'm no newbie to biking on city streets, but it has been eye opening to share the road with this morning crowd.  Hats off to you folks who have been riding at the end of the morning rush hour all along.
Be safe.

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Permalink Reply by Danny Green on June 13, 2010 at 11:19pm
i bike to work in the south loop from 87th and cicero, and the drivers are just as horrible as you depict. a van nearly ran me off the road, constant honking, yelling, etc. i can't count how many times i've been told to get on the sidewalk. im considering riding dead center of the right hand lane so that i have as much room as possible to swerve away from drivers who are passing me within inches (not to mention all the potholes). biking on the far southwest side is miserable at best.
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on June 14, 2010 at 8:40am
I'm probably not the only one who's noticed how driver temperaments and behavior differ in different parts of the city.

N. side/lakefront= entitlement, teaching others a lesson
S. Side-- raw hostility, low awareness that bicycles are allowed/required to be in the street
Near/far W. side--laid back indifference, often low awareness of what's going on outside the car, which often translates to treating you like you're not there

There are always exceptions. of course . . . personally I find the drivers most tolerant in my own area, but that could be a function of street size/design or some other factor.

Danny Green said:
i bike to work in the south loop from 87th and cicero, and the drivers are just as horrible as you depict. a van nearly ran me off the road, constant honking, yelling, etc. i can't count how many times i've been told to get on the sidewalk. im considering riding dead center of the right hand lane so that i have as much room as possible to swerve away from drivers who are passing me within inches (not to mention all the potholes). biking on the far southwest side is miserable at best.
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on June 14, 2010 at 10:40am
We're supposed to ride on the shoulder? Huh?

Sounds to me like Danny needs to be prepared for hockey practice after work;generally the best way to carry your hockey stick is mounted horizontally on your rack. I would paint the part sticking out to the left bright orange because I'm sure you don't want anyone to get their car scratched...

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