Why They Hate Us

[baiskeli]

@ShawnoftheDread 44562 wrote:

In other news, my girl finally decided during a trip to our LBS today that she was going to start riding her two-wheeler. We got home and she jumped on and rode to the playground, only needing a small balance and push at the starts. The best part was when we got to the playground and she decided to keep riding instead.

You’re raising her right!

[Greenbelt]

@TwoWheelsDC 44554 wrote:

…it’s really car commuting that causes so many issues. People get so angry during their car commutes and I think eventually that carries over into non-commute driving as well because people associate driving with stress. Even when I was bike commuting just a couple of days a week, my driving stress level dropped dramatically. And now that I drive pretty much only by choice (as in, to places I don’t really have to go) I’d say I’m much more relaxed, much more safe, and much more considerate when I get behind the wheel.

Yep!

[JimF22003]

Yesterday I drove out on River Rd to start my ride at Rileys Lock. I passed a bunch of riders.

My reactions to seeing and dealing with them were all over the map. First thought: oh, other bikes — cool!. Then, OK how am I going to pass here so they know that I don’t think they’re a problem? I don’t want to buzz them, but I don’t want to go way out into the other lane, so they think I feel inconvenienced by them? How do I pass in such as way as to indicate, I’m showing respect, you’re not a problem, keep on carrying on boys and girls!

In one case two riders were riding side by side, and one was basically riding directly in the center of the lane. That’s not something I would do on a busy narrowish road like this. Truthfully I think it’s kind of a jerky thing to do. I could see how it would piss off some drivers, but at the same time I suppose it could be justified as “vehicular cycling” or something. So… do I get mad about it or not? How do I think it will reflect on me as a cyclist?

In another case I couldn’t pass for a few seconds because of oncoming traffic. Again, it didn’t bother me a bit except that it made me have to think about my strategy — how slow do I need to go to time the pass — could I squeeze by or not (answer was not, but I bet a lot of other drivers would do it because in truth there was room enough, but it would be a bit “buzzy” to the riders.) When I pass are the riders going to think I’m all PO’d at them? Don’t accelerate too fast or they’ll think I’m gunning my engine in order to make some kind of a point…

I think it comes down to the fact that driving a car in the presence of cyclists causes you to have to do a little extra thinking, and that’s not something even I really enjoy having to deal with. It doesn’t make me hate the cyclists at all, but it can take even drivers with the best of intentions out of their safe zones, and that can cause stress.

Unfortunately some drivers deal with stress by running you over….

[rcannon100]

The other thing to remember is that there are LOTS of very unhappy people out there. For whatever reason, they are miserable. And they are willing to share their misery with anyone they come into contact with (and it is easier to share your misery with someone you will never see again – than someone who you have to see every day)

[Tim Kelley]

@JimF22003 44568 wrote:

I don’t want to buzz them, but I don’t want to go way out into the other lane, so they think I feel inconvenienced by them? .

Yes, do this. I’m a selfish cyclist so I’d rather feel safe than worry about if you’re inconvenienced.

[Terpfan]

The impersonal “them” also plays a factor. My neighbor nearly hit me the other day when I had the right of way. The good side was he clearly felt guilty and said something. The pessimist would say “but he almost hit you,” however, I think it’s helpful because now cyclist’s aren’t a “them” to him, they’re a neighbor and people act differently when it’s closer to home.

[rcannon100]

Visualized

[dasgeh]

I’ve enjoyed reading through this thread, but it made me realize something: I really don’t care who “hates” me. It’s a good point that we “hate” all sorts of people that inconvenience us — slow walkers in narrow supermarket aisles, the person taking FOREVER to return something at the store, etc etc.

The problem I have is that driving a multi-ton steel vehicle is not treated as a much greater responsibility than, say, navigating a shopping cart through the supermarket. If you’re stuck beyond a slow walker in the supermarket, you might audibly hough, you might tailgate them, you might even say something or tap them. Not nice behavior, but it’s not going to kill someone. In a car, however, you could kill someone by honking when it’s not necessary, tailgating, “tapping”. Yet, it’s become “acceptable” behavior (not ticketed, not overtly shunned).

Similarly, it seems acceptable to drive without really paying attention to driving. Remember when that plane headed to Minneapolis (?) missed it’s destination because the pilots were reading on their iPads? Remember the outrage — how dare pilots not pay attention to flying a plane! I wish there were that outrage when it came to driving, because, honestly, it’s a greater responsibility than babysitting a plane on autopilot.

I’m starting to realize that this is why I’m annoyed by safety campaigns aimed at all road users. Yes, cyclists and pedestrians have a roll in road safety. But it is very unlikely that our choice of transportation will lead to DEATH, or that our actions will even endanger anyone but ourselves. Where are the campaigns to drive home the great responsibility of driving?

[americancyclo]

@ShawnoftheDread 44529 wrote:

I doubt most people who see me roll by in a freezing drizzle while they’re sitting on heated leather listening to their favorite music are that envious of me.

I’ll agree with you on that point, but as I was riding down M St. this morning, it occurred to me that how I’ve framed it is jealousy of the ability to maneuver through traffic in a way they can’t. I think a lot of it comes back to how the person exists in a threat/reward balance and the perceived differences in how we travel.

A driver on free flowing 66 who sees me pedaling up the two sisters, in the rain, on the custis is definitely not jealous.
They are in a reward state in terms of status, certainty, autonomy, and fairness while closer to a threat state in terms of relatedness.

but that same driver, stuck in traffic and unable to move on a beautiful sunny day, is jealous that I am making progress (albeit slowly) while they are not.
The driver’s sense of status lowers, and their autonomy and sense of fairness is pushed to a threat state, along with the relatedness.

[baiskeli]

@rcannon100 44580 wrote:

Visualized

That’s awesome.

Just saw this today:

[bobco85]

I think the drivers’ perceived hatred of cyclists is more due to the fact that people (drivers, cyclists, pedestrians) are very territorial about the spaces they use.

I like to imagine any interaction between any combination of drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians to be like the interactions of two dogs approaching one another. Sometimes they’ll be friendly (though I do not really like “sniffing” a car’s exhaust), sometimes they’ll growl, bark, or lunge at each other, sometimes they’ll shy away from each other, and sometimes they’ll just ignore one another. We all know that little dogs (pedestrians) can be quite fiesty and scare off the bigger dogs (drivers), but should the bigger dog do anything to the little dog, it’s straight to the (animal) hospital! Lastly, just like dogs, if pedestrians/cyclists/drivers get wet, they’re going to smell

[ShawnoftheDread]

@americancyclo 44586 wrote:

…A driver on free flowing 66 who sees me pedaling up the two sisters, in the rain, on the custis is definitely not jealous….

Come on now, we all know you don’t ride in the rain.

[Author]

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