How would you have handled this situation?

Hi everyone,

This is my first time adding a discussion on Chain Link forum. I read Chain Link everyday. I would love to read how you would have handled this situation. I should have been patient and realized the driver was clueless.

I started cycling to work a few months ago. I have noticed more people clueless of their surrounding as the cold kicked in. I primarily been using Lincoln, Wells, and Dearborn and noticed people double parking, drifting (due to texting) and just standing in the middle of the bike lane which is causing dangers to cyclists. I really hope this gets better.

Also is there a Strava group for chainlink members?

Here is my Strava profile
http://www.strava.com/athletes/2548995

http://youtu.be/EDng5AD0K6E

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Permalink Reply by Davo on December 7, 2013 at 9:36am

I  can agree with your frustration but it baffles me why U turns are acceptable on a street like that. Unless you can make a complete U turn, not a 3 point (or more) turnaround, don't do it, go around the damn block. I can't feel too bad for someone who has to walk an extra block.

Todd Nelson said:

Then again, you know how you get when you're lost or frustrated about finding parking (assuming that you also drive a car)? You've already passed you destination and you wondering if you should just grab the next spot or circle the block again, but you've got someone riding your butt like there is no tomorrow? Frustrated enough to forget to signal before pulling over to park and to forget how to start a parallel park, pulling forward and left to back into the spot instead of turning your wheels to the right as you back in? Do you know that they're not teaching parallel parking in drivers ed anymore, at least not in high school? It's a lost art. 

So have a little compassion, maybe hold back and give the poor soul some room. Maybe you can stop and calmly offer some driving tips once they are parked.


Todd Nelson said:

Appears to be intentional. Can you capture the license plate number or remember it? When video recording, if lighting is not good for capturing license plates, it's a good idea to say the number for audio recording. You should report it. You have a bike lane, though not a good one. You should be able to pass a motorist who is apparently distracted, but then appears to be intentionally and dangerously obstructing your use of the bike lane, and then tries to block a proper pass on the left. Confronting would not have been a good idea.

 

Todd Nelson

CyclingSavvy Instructor

Cary, IL

Permalink Reply by Jose Fonseca on December 7, 2013 at 9:45am

Hi Chainlink,

So I just read about another cyclist that was killed in Chicago. 8(

(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-driver-arrest...)

I have a question does Chicago have any specific cyclist rules/laws? To be honest all I read is the cyclist map (http://www.scribd.com/doc/151163211/Chicago-Bike-Map-2013) 

Permalink Reply by Dean Bekken on December 7, 2013 at 12:08pm
I agree that it looks intentional.
Permalink Reply by Todd Nelson on December 7, 2013 at 3:55pm
Permalink Reply by Jose Fonseca on December 7, 2013 at 10:04pm
Hi Chi Lowe,
Thanks for the analogy,
I hope you serve your pasta with garlic bread.



Chi Lowe (<12 parsecs) said:

DEATH MACHINE!  Just kidding.  Hi DUG.  

Also, Hi Jose.  

I think I woulda made that Range Rover like I make my pasta.



notoriousDUG said:

I would have done about what you did, maybe yelled a 'hey!' at them the times they wandered at me in the bike line and when they turned left.  Really on one like that there is no point in getting really mad or confrontational; that was, in my opinion, a text book example of distracted/lost/out of their element driving.  My money is that they were lost and trying to figure out where to go.

Permalink Reply by Katie on December 9, 2013 at 10:56am

Slow down, be patient.  We all have to share the road and we have no idea why the driver was driving in that manner.  I'm perfectly okay with stopping while the driver figures out wtf they are doing.

Permalink Reply by John Farris on December 12, 2013 at 1:06pm

I second this.   You've got no idea what's motivating the driver's decisions, and it is a mistake to believe that they will think the way you do in a given situation.  The left-move he/she made suggests to me that they were trying to block you from passing, as there didn't seem to be a place for them to turn into.  But you could have just as easily mesmorized a distracted driver (cell phoner, address-seeker) with your odd-sized headlamp and movements behind them, and they were following your movements without malice..

h' 1.0 said:

I would have slowed, hung back, and ultimately stopped completely until the front wheels of the car were pointing in such a way that guaranteed the driver was not about to pull out again.

When I see someone behaving that unpredictably I am not putting myself in their line of fire.

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on December 12, 2013 at 7:22pm

I must've watched your video at least two dozen times. I think that driver was f@cking with you. There were plenty of parking spaces available on both sides of the street. Your headlight was very bright and it's reflection was clearly visible in the passenger side rear view mirror. You made a few tactical errors by not shining your headlight directly into the vehicle's center rear view mirror and the license plate was not readable (although you couldn't have known that at the time). Your speed was moderately high for the conditions and I'm guessing the driver decided to have some fun with a weird looking biker who freaked him out a little. The smart move would have been to come to a dead stop behind the driver, shine your light directly into his center rear view mirror and make certain you have the vehicle's plate number recorded. Then call the cops before getting any closer to the vehicle. (I'm assuming you have a cell phone.) He might be intoxicated and he might be packing heat. He put you at grave risk and is a jackass and should be made painfully aware of both those facts. I wouldn't have been so charitable.

Permalink Reply by T.K. 3.5 mi on December 12, 2013 at 7:38pm

Joe, please read and contemplate Hanlon's razor:

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

You only have control over your actions. (This kind of applies all of the time) Not the drivers. Make no assumptions about their motivations, and do what keeps you safe. Also please consider that if your hypothesis that the driver was 'f@cking' with you turns out to be wrong, then your actions of shining a light in their face and calling the cops makes YOU the f@cker. 

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on December 12, 2013 at 8:34pm

No, I didn't say in his face, I said in his center rear view mirror. Jose has hard evidence that he was put at grave risk. Getting a hole drivers off the street is a public service effort, my friend.

Also consider Occam's razor, which for the purpose of this discussion would mean that we really can't make any assumptions about the driver intentions. However, the driver is responsible for his behavior, which is clearly unsafe here. Now maybe the driver was stupid or maybe he was drunk or maybe he was distracted or maybe he just wanted to f@ck with Jose. Regardless, the driver could benefit from a little safety reminder and I'd leave it up to Chicago's finest. In any given situation, I tend to assume the worst. I don't really like razors anyway. Facial hair has its benefits, particularly in the winter.


T.K. 8.4 mi said:

Joe, please read and contemplate Hanlon's razor:

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

You only have control over your actions. (This kind of applies all of the time) Not the drivers. Make no assumptions about their motivations, and do what keeps you safe. Also please consider that if your hypothesis that the driver was 'f@cking' with you turns out to be wrong, then your actions of shining a light in their face and calling the cops makes YOU the f@cker. 

Permalink Reply by T.K. 3.5 mi on December 13, 2013 at 5:46am

I agree with you, facial hair is very beneficial in the winter. 

I fundamentally approach all of these situations differently though. "How can I keep myself safe?" Teaching the driver a lesson is a lesser priority, and I'm not convinced that bringing cops into everyone of these situations is a good use of their time or an effective way to curb minor incidents of poor driving. 

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