Missed connection

[mstone]

@bobco85 59873 wrote:

I think some of the trouble caused by people shifting over into one’s path could be removed by giving ample time for the person to react when you make your call. I’m not sure if that happened in Bilsko’s case, but in general I think there should be at least a brief pause between calling the pass and actually starting the pass so that the cyclist can see how the person is reacting and act accordingly (note: I don’t do this every time but I know I should).

And slowing down.

[jabberwocky]

If I’m being forced to pass on the right, I never call my pass. I find it works better if I just ninja-pass around ASAP and go about my day.

When I used to commute on the W&OD, there was a small subset of runners who insisted on running on the center line. I never figured out the reason why. Some of them had this habit of moving left on any warning (bell or called pass), some would move right. I eventually gave up calling my passes in any way and just stealth passed on whichever side seemed to have more room.

[Tim Kelley]

Me: Riding to work on a side street in Clarendon after dropping the kiddo off at daycare

You: Male minivan driver trying to pass me before a stop sign but unable to do so because of oncoming traffic and then pulling alongside me on the next block, cursing and telling me to get off the road because “it’s dangerous” before speeding off.

Check your mail in the next week or so. You should expect a letter advising you of the complaint registered with the Arlington County Police concerning your actions and reminding you that what you do impacts others. Having a record of aggressive driving may not benefit you if a future incident may occur.

Thanks, and Be a PAL!

[NicDiesel]

@bobco85 59873 wrote:

I think some of the trouble caused by people shifting over into one’s path could be removed by giving ample time for the person to react when you make your call.

Critical assumption on your part is that they can hear you and aren’t distracted by the headphones or earbuds they’ve got on cranking oblivious to the world around them.

[mstone]

@NicDiesel 59886 wrote:

Critical assumption on your part is that they can hear you and aren’t distracted by the headphones or earbuds they’ve got on cranking oblivious to the world around them.

Well, since the OP’s person of interest moved after the call, that would seem to be a reasonable assumption. Proceeding like an asshat oneself in the assumption that other people will be asshats in future seems unreasonable, or at least not a path toward a productive society.

[DaveK]

@Tim Kelley 59884 wrote:

Me: Riding to work on a side street in Clarendon after dropping the kiddo off at daycare

You: Male minivan driver trying to pass me before a stop sign but unable to do so because of oncoming traffic and then pulling alongside me on the next block, cursing and telling me to get off the road because “it’s dangerous” before speeding off.

Check your mail in the next week or so. You should expect a letter advising you of the complaint registered with the Arlington County Police concerning your actions and reminding you that what you do impacts others. Having a record of aggressive driving may not benefit you if a future incident may occur.

Thanks, and Be a PAL!

Can you post the contact information with the police that you’ve used to get this done successfully?

[Tim Kelley]

@DaveK 59891 wrote:

Can you post the contact information with the police that you’ve used to get this done successfully?

Right now I would suggest using the non-emergency information listed here: http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/Police/PoliceMain.aspx

I have been told that the police are hoping to have an online form available in the future for this type of thing.

[bobco85]

@NicDiesel 59886 wrote:

Critical assumption on your part is that they can hear you and aren’t distracted by the headphones or earbuds they’ve got on cranking oblivious to the world around them.

The pause also gives the cyclist time to determine whether the person is clueless or not. It does not help with a touron who wouldn’t notice a mack truck blaring its horn behind them, but it does give the cyclist the opportunity to decide how to proceed (like making a wide pass if absolutely necessary). That said, I still end up surprising people on occasion even after doing everything I can short of throwing something at them (maybe a beanbag would work? Koosh ball?).

[culimerc]

Me; toodling along on the WOD this morning on my way to work, Ding!

You; on your morning walk stick your left arm out like your trying to cloths line someone and just leave it there until after I pass.

Really?!?!

[ShawnoftheDread]

@culimerc 59901 wrote:

Me; toodling along on the WOD this morning on my way to work, Ding!

You; on your morning walk stick your left arm out like your trying to cloths line someone and just leave it there until after I pass.

Really?!?!

High five time!

[TwoWheelsDC]

@ShawnoftheDread 59904 wrote:

High five time!

There were probably a half-dozen opportunities for me to do this to people hailing cabs in NYC when we were on CitiBikes. I regretted not doing it every time…

[Tim Kelley]

@TwoWheelsDC 59906 wrote:

There were probably a half-dozen opportunities for me to do this to people hailing cabs in NYC when we were on CitiBikes. I regretted not doing it every time…

Have courage young man!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMQk8Uncl9k

The opportunity is rare here in Arlington, so take it whenever the opportunity presents itself.

[krazygl00]

@Tim Kelley 59909 wrote:

Have courage young man!

(video snipped)

The opportunity is rare here in Arlington, so take it whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Can you say “Costco-sized bottle of Purell”?

[NicDiesel]

@mstone 59890 wrote:

Well, since the OP’s person of interest moved after the call, that would seem to be a reasonable assumption. Proceeding like an asshat oneself in the assumption that other people will be asshats in future seems unreasonable, or at least not a path toward a productive society.

Are you this insufferable in real life?

[mstone]

@NicDiesel 59917 wrote:

Are you this insufferable in real life?

I was trying to be a bit lighter than simply saying something like “stop rationalizing dangerous and rude behavior”. Sorry–I’ll be more direct:

The attitude of “I’m not going to signal my pass because that guy is probably listening to an ipod” comes from pretty much the same place as “I’m going to run down a cyclist because, stop signs”. We all have a personal responsibility to behave in a way that minimizes the danger we pose to others which is independent of their behavior. Yeah, it’s great fun to bitch about how others are behaving badly on the roads, but we’ve got a real societal problem when a tendency to excuse bad behavior due to others’ assumed faults becomes normalized. Most of the time in this auto-centric society we’re the ones endangered by the callousness of motorists, but in my mind that only increases the importance of our responsibility toward pedestrians and slower cyclists. In practice that means we signal well in advance, we look for some sign of acknowledgement, and we slow down/reroute if we don’t get it. Yeah, the oblivious person might be acting a bit irresponsible by listening to loud music in a bubble, or they might just not be wearing their “I’m deaf” sign today–it doesn’t really matter if we’re upholding our responsibilities rather than depending on them to add the safety margin to our behavior.

Am I taking this too seriously? Maybe, but go read the comment section of a bike story sometime and then tell me we don’t need to all work toward redefining expectations of civil behavior.

[Author]

Posts