Someone tried to kill me today.
Well, maybe he didn't really attempt to kill me but he did intend to intimidate and put me in fear of my safety.
Mr Impatient, behind the wheel. I met him at an intersection. A quiet back street. He was driving in from a quiet side street. Despite the fact that he was supposed to give way to me (and I was already in the intersection), he was off, trying to overtake me as he turned. No way was he going to sit behind a mere bike for a second!
But I could see what he couldn't because a parked car obscured his view of the oncoming car. Without evasive action, a collision was certain. Self-preservation kicked-in: I lurched for the gutter and signalled that there was a problem.
Now when someone does something silly like this, you normally expect some recognition that they've got it wrong, an indication that they accept they made a mistake. Not Mr Impatient. He just floored it and went screaming away through the narrow gap left when the more cautious road users braked heavily around him.
So Mr Impatient sped away, into a school zone, then stopped not a hundred metres away at the door of the local kindergarten. The distance was so short that I was past him again before he had a chance to open his door and get out (that's assuming he did get out—he was so impatient, I wouldn't be surprised if he just opened the door and pushed his kid out).
The next thing I know, he's right behind me as I'm waiting to turn into a busier road. He starts revving his engine and pushing up close behind me. Seriously intimidating stuff. Apparently my "crime" here was that I wasn't far enough over to the left—presumably so that he could squeeze through and make the turn ahead of me—despite the fact that there was heavy traffic on the road we were turning into. Even if I had bowed and tugged my forelock and let my petrol-powered master go ahead of me, he wouldn't have made the turn one second faster. But bugger logic, I was In His Way.
And this is what bugs me. This guy was happy to endanger my safety (twice), risk a head-on collision with another car, and to speed through a speed-restricted school zone—and yet he's a parent himself! Talk about a lack of insight and perspective. Would he like people to go speeding where his kids are walking? Would his kids be happy if his physical safety were needlessly threatened in the street?
Now I can let most of the bad stuff that happens on the road slide. But this idiot really needed some special treatment. I exploded. Informing him in no uncertain terms that I thought he was a homicidal nutcase. Unfortunately, by turning around and engaging like this, I gave him two things that he wanted: a reaction, and enough space to squeeze through. With a squeal of tyres he was gone.
An encounter like this can ruin your whole ride. But I refuse, simply refuse, to let selfish bastards steal my joy. So instead of dwelling on today's twerp, I deliberately called to mind all of the times that people in cars have done kindly by me. Those who wait their turn and completely change lanes to overtake, give way properly, slow down and generally look out for the more vulnerable road user.
And I called up one particular memory of a recent incident that played against stereotype. On a busy road, I was stuck out in the centre lane making a right turn. Thanks to traffic light sequences and the flow trams, traffic on this road is usually broken up enough that I can make the right turn without stopping. But not on this occasion: with two lines of traffic bearing down on me from behind I also had a line of traffic oncoming, and nowhere to go. Though perfectly legal, this was not a particularly safe or restful place to be. At the head of the oncoming traffic was a taxi, whose driver slowed down a little and blocked the following traffic, signalling me to make my turn. He smiled broadly as I completed my turn to safer ground and I waved my thanks gratefully. It cost the taxi driver less than a second in travel time, made no-one late for work, and filled my morning with sunshine.
I see little acts of courtesy every day. Idiots like Mr Impatient I see much less frequently. I'm glad that I can keep things in perspective.
Comments
Sorry to hear about your experience, but eyes must be failing you... Otherwise you would have seen the coffee cup/McDonalds wrapper/water bottle he dumped out the window as he sped off. Of course if you had seen it you could have reported it to the EPA. They take that sort of thing very seriously (more seriously even than the police take driving/speeding complaints) and send a infringement notice to the owner of the car asking them to donate some money to the state.
Geez, never fails to make me upset hearing about these stories. IMO someone with road issues like you've described is going to be indescriminant in dishing out the agression, so not taking it on-board is good way of dealing with it - well done!! Glad to hear you're ok too!
Glad to hear that you survived the impatience of another motorist.
To put this in even more perspective: My Canadian visitors decided to ride around Port Phillip Bay stayong the night in Queenscliff. On the second day they encountered the bicycle commuters on the bike paths around Docklands. Much to their surprise many riders were intent on rushing home at the fastest possible rate, weaving in an out of other cyclists. They even described a blind corner overtaking maneuver the resulted in one of my visitors falling off her bike.
Bike v motorist usually the result is unfavorable to the cyclist. But I hope that we cyclists at least know that motorists will be unpredictable.
But I would have thought that cyclists would take more care of other cyclists and be predictable.
Maybe I live in a fools paradise.
Hans
There are so many nuts on the road today. You just have to grin and bear it.