What do I say to inconsiderate drivers?

[Merry_Wanderer]

I agree with tatanab and the previous posts. Speaking from personal experience, it's far better to ignore comments and get on with your ride

[hexhome]

Having recently been physically assaulted for offering an outheld arm shrug to a driver who left hooked me, I at first thought that it is better to avoid such gestures and quietly go on my way.

Now my anger at the whole issue has grown to the point of demanding action. We should not have to put up with this any more, it is now an out and out war!

I will now challenge every driver who threatens me to the fullest extent of what would be seen as legal and reasonable. It is a risk and I am not recommending it, but I am no longer willing to let them get away with it. In the week when a driver is let off from killing a cyclist by outrageous driving, we should not be allowing this to go on. At the very least, email your MP, local councillor, LCC and join an active campaign group. Doing nothing is no longer an option.

[Si]

I think that you have to consider first what you want to achieve. Although the natural reaction is quite understandably to get aggressive back at an aggressive driver, chances are that it will only escalate the situation....and it would seem counter productive to put yourself at more risk because you feel that you have been put at risk. On the other hand, if you feel that you can have a constructive dialogue with the driver, and the outcome would be that they behave with more care next time, then there may be merit in approaching them in a calculated way.

I dunno about others but I've found that if you get aggressive toward a driver then they use that aggression as an excuse to justify whatever they did wrong....whereas if you are calm but assertive you are more likely to get the chance to explain to them what they did wrong (and it's surprising how many just don't realise that they have done something wrong).

[hexhome]

I dunno about others but I've found that if you get aggressive toward a driver then they use that aggression as an excuse to justify whatever they did wrong....whereas if you are calm but assertive you are more likely to get the chance to explain to them what they did wrong (and it's surprising how many just don't realise that they have done something wrong).

Agree, aggression puts us on the wrong foot, but it is perfectly reasonable to be angry with someone who has just attempted to kill you!

[meic]

Si's system allows you to smooth over the immediate incident with one driver and possibly get a half reasonable one grant you some courtesy at their discretion.
Or Hexhome's system that kicks up a fuss and makes people have to address the issue instead of just brush it under the carpet yet again.

All of the major advances in rights for minorities (even those like homosexuals who were criminals at the time) have come about through Hexhome style tactics.

It is a harsh fact of life that the squeaky wheel gets the oil and cyclists have been too meek and passive over the years.
There is an instant back lash to any "protest" but it makes things happen on a larger and permanent scale.

Personally I dont have the motivation for the fight.

[Vorpal]

I don't normally respond when drivers say things. I don't think that there is any point. Sometimes, it's hard to ignore, but if they are shouting at me, they won't be reasonable. I also don't confront drivers when I am too angry to be polite because I don't think there is anything to be gained. I will admit to shouting every now and then in reaction to something extraordinarily stupid.

However, I have confronted people a few times when I felt I could do so reasonably. I even got an apology once.

But campaigning will do more good for more people than confronting drivers.

[Edwards]

How about trying a different approach. I used to smile and give a friendly wave but some idiot decided he wanted a argument. He could not understand why when he threatened me I just started laughing, he got worried when I informed him that my psychiatrist had told me I was not allowed to hurt him or I would be sectioned.
His wife got very worried and made him drive on.

My latest one is to blow them a kiss and smile. So far nobody has stopped but when they do I will be so camp that it would make Dick Emery's "You are awful but I like you" character seem like some sort of builder.

*My medication does help in this.

[snibgo]

... but it is perfectly reasonable to be angry with someone who has just attempted to kill you!

Not only reasonable, but also natural.

However, the driver doesn't realise he has just tried to kill you. There he was, driving perfectly normally (he thinks), and a cyclist appears out of nowhere, shouting and screaming and swearing. The driver has done nothing wrong (he thinks), but is now being threatened with violence by a loony cyclist.

What happens next? The driver feels threatened, so reacts with anger, and probably also threatens violence.

It's a recipe for disaster. If the police get involved they would probably be more interested in the road rage than the incident that incited it.

[horizon]

I got the impression that hexhome was more concerned about deliberate abuse not "innocent" error. In that circumstance I would go along with hexhome - righteous anger is a powerful and reasonable response. It's a strong expression of one's moral standpoint and may actually do some good. Sometimes for your own sense of self you have to stand up to the bullies. It is often safer than you might think if you make sure you have an escape route worked out!

[byegad]

Not worth the bother speaking to this plonker, and only going to end with one of:- frustration, assault or worse. Unless it's worth reporting to the police a cheery wave is always the best response to shouted comments, IF you really must respond. I tend to ignore clearly adverse comments like get on the cycle path etc.

[snibgo]

I can't distinguish deliberate abuse from "innocent" error.

For example, a school mum decides to overtake paked cars, using my side of the road, despite me coming the other way. We both stop in the middle. In the ensuing heated "discussion", she expresses the view that I should have got out of her way as I was on a bike.

Now, I'm glad that I did challenge her stupid driving. Perhaps she went away and read the highway code. Or perhaps she thinks a loony bolshy cyclist lives near her child's school.

[horizon]

For example, a school mum decides to overtake paked cars, using my side of the road, despite me coming the other way. We both stop in the middle.

Extraordinary but so believable.

[hexhome]

Or Hexhome's system that kicks up a fuss and makes people have to address the issue instead of just brush it under the carpet yet again.

All of the major advances in rights for minorities (even those like homosexuals who were criminals at the time) have come about through Hexhome style tactics.

It is a harsh fact of life that the squeaky wheel gets the oil and cyclists have been too meek and passive over the years.
There is an instant back lash to any "protest" but it makes things happen on a larger and permanent scale.

Thank you, you have clarified my point well.

Surrey County Council are about to have a public consultation concerning their cycling strategy plan. Invited are groups protesting that there are too many cyclists on Surrey's roads. This week, a major world city banned cycling as it is too dangerous. This is the direction that our silent acceptance of the status quo is going.

All we can do is challenge the ill conceived perception that we are a nuisance to be swept away at every opportunity. Cycle groups often cite Amsterdam as an ideal, well how did that happen? http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/ ... ycle-paths

[hexhome]

However, the driver doesn't realise he has just tried to kill you. There he was, driving perfectly normally (he thinks), and a cyclist appears out of nowhere, shouting and screaming and swearing. The driver has done nothing wrong (he thinks), but is now being threatened with violence by a loony cyclist.

What happens next? The driver feels threatened, so reacts with anger, and probably also threatens violence.

It's a recipe for disaster. If the police get involved they would probably be more interested in the road rage than the incident that incited it.

1st, at no point did I suggest threatening violence. 2nd, the fact that the driver has no concept of what he does wrong makes me angry. 3rd, I neither appreciate nor feel it acceptable to label someone a 'loony'. And 4th if the driver reacts with violence as happened to me recently then they are in the wrong not me!

[snibgo]

I don't, of course, accuse you (or anyone else) of any of those things; I was trying to express how a road rage incident can develop, perhaps one person (the driver) not realising he has made a mistake, so not understanding the cyclist's complaint.

You have mis-attributed my words to you, so you might edit your post.