Having fun with cyclists

Just talked to a cycling buddy of mine today about a run in he had with a V8 ute driver yesterday.

My mate was riding along with two other cycling friends between Meadows and Ashton South Australia (early afternoon 5/2). They were riding single file wearing highly visible clothing and toting lights and not presenting an obstacle to traffic. Along comes a black ute and the passenger decides to lean out the window and whack my mates girlfriend on the #### as they go by. He misses and as the the two boof heads scream off they lose control of their ute and end up stacking it into a tree further up the road.

My mate got to the car and stopped to check how the driver and passenger were (I would have kept on riding). The passenger reaked of alcohol and was semi conscious while the driver obviously had something seriously wrong with his arm. The two idiots then attempted to flee the scene pleading with my mate not to call the police. By this time a number of other motorists who had witnessed the act of stupidity had stopped and the police had been called.

I haven't heard what happened after the police arrived but I hope they throw the book at these clowns. What these idiots did is dumber than the dumbest thing I've ever seen a cyclist do.

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Originally Posted by kiwigeo

What these idiots did is dumber than the dumbest thing I've ever seen a cyclist do.

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Sure it was stupid, but some of the things I have seen cycle couriers do in sydney defies belief.
regards inter

Bewdiful!:brava

Glad to hear that karma caught up with one idiot swiftly. It's because of tools like that, that I now record all my rides on a video camera mounted to my handlebars:wink:

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Originally Posted by corbs

It's because of tools like that, that I now record all my rides on a video camera mounted to my handlebars:wink:

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It won't do you much good with a dozen or more cyclists in front of you all riding four-abreast.

I don't do group rides, I find that very few are well enough organised and you get situations like you have just alluded to. There's generally too much ego out there too with everyone wanting to ride first wheel. I would really like to think that poor cyclists are the minority but riding around Sydney there's a lot of idiot cyclists on the road. That said, I have no issue telling them that they're making it hard to be taken seriously as a road user when they continue to flaunt the rules.

Comparing bike couriers to cyclists is like comparing taxi drivers to all other cage drivers:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by kiwigeo

Along comes a black ute and the passenger decides to lean out the window and whack my mates girlfriend on the #### as they go by. He misses and as the the two boof heads scream off they lose control of their ute and end up stacking it into a tree further up the road.

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Your friend should contact the police and explain the events leading up to the tool hitting the tree. There could be charges for stupidity for the passenger as well as the other issues associated with the driver.

If you friends were going along at 40+ km\h a whack on the bum leading to a fall could do a lot of damage. Only way to stamp out the stupidity of the passenger and driver is to hit them as hard as you can with charges and perhaps they will spread the word to their other stupid mates.

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Originally Posted by Woodwould

It won't do you much good with a dozen or more cyclists in front of you all riding four-abreast.

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I made a point of stating in my original post that the three cyclists in question were riding in SINGLE file, wearing bright clothing and they also had front and rear lights on their bikes. The section of road they were on has enough room to allow them to ride off the carriage way...they were NOT impeding the traffic.

This is not a bunch of wanna be pros pack riding along a narrow city street (I have no time for these people). My friends were riding responsibly and obeying all the road rules when along came an idiot who decided to endanger the lives of both my friends, themselves and other motorists with a senseless and illegal act. At least two other motorists stopped and expressed their disgust at the ute driver's (and passenger's) behaviour..there is no way you could argue that the cyclists were at fault in this incident.

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Originally Posted by Sir Stinkalot

Your friend should contact the police and explain the events leading up to the tool hitting the tree. There could be charges for stupidity for the passenger as well as the other issues associated with the driver.

If you friends were going along at 40+ kmh a whack on the bum leading to a fall could do a lot of damage. Only way to stamp out the stupidity of the passenger and driver is to hit them as hard as you can with charges and perhaps they will spread the word to their other stupid mates.

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Two motorists stopped and one of them called the police before my friend could get his phone out. The motorist was more angry than my friend was at the whole incident. My friends were climbing a steep hill so they werent going very fast but my best mates girlfriend hasnt had her road bike very long and has just made the switch from a mountain bike....theres a very good chance she would have come off her bike if the passenger of the ute had made contact with her.

That's one point here to make.

You would not go slap a car or pedestrian.

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Originally Posted by kiwigeo

I made a point of stating in my original post that the three cyclists in question were riding in SINGLE file, wearing bright clothing and they also had front and rear lights on their bikes. The section of road they were on has enough room to allow them to ride off the carriage way...they were NOT impeding the traffic.

This is not a bunch of wanna be pros pack riding along a narrow city street (I have no time for these people). My friends were riding responsibly and obeying all the road rules when along came an idiot who decided to endanger the lives of both my friends, themselves and other motorists with a senseless and illegal act. At least two other motorists stopped and expressed their disgust at the ute driver's (and passenger's) behaviour..there is no way you could argue that the cyclists were at fault in this incident.

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:? I quoted corbs and made no reference to your post or your cyclist friends.

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Originally Posted by Woodwould

:? I quoted corbs and made no reference to your post or your cyclist friends.

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And Corbs in turn was responding to my original post. I dont see how pack riding cyclists have anything to do with motorists going out of their way to endanger the lives of cyclists as well as other motorists which was the subject of my original post.

Regards Martin

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Originally Posted by kiwigeo

I dont see how pack riding cyclists have anything to do with motorists going out of their way to endanger the lives of cyclists as well as other motorists [...]

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It doesn't. As stated, I was responding to corbs and the subject of his camera. The glory of these forums is that they diversify and flourish. You don't own this thread and can't dictate its direction. Surely that's an end of it now?

Hi,
A frightening incident
If you slap some one from a moving car you usually end up with a broken arm not to mention worse damage to the slapee. But as this mob was driving so badly they hit a tree it's a miracle they didn't mow all the cyclists down.
I hope they get a nice long holiday at tax payers expense to contemplate the errors of their ways.
Regards

FWIW I had a mini-bus driver come so close to me I had to swerve into the gutter to avoid being hit. When I caught up with him at the next Stop sign and confronted him, his reply was that he was teaching me a lesson for riding too far out on the road.

I tried to take a shot of the vehicle and no. plate with the mobile phone but was too rattled to make it work.

I ride with flashing LED lights front and back at all times because apart from malevolent individuals there are some drivers who don't register anything smaller than a car in their field of view.

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Originally Posted by Woodwould

It doesn't. As stated, I was responding to corbs and the subject of his camera. The glory of these forums is that they diversify and flourish. You don't own this thread and can't dictate its direction. Surely that's an end of it now?

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Point taken. I don't own the thread but at the same time every forum member has the right to keep the thread on topic.

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Originally Posted by rsser

FWIW I had a mini-bus driver come so close to me I had to swerve into the gutter to avoid being hit. When I caught up with him at the next Stop sign and confronted him, his reply was that he was teaching me a lesson for riding too far out on the road.

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He's probably the sort of parent who disciplines his kids by force feeding them chilli sauce when they play up.

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Originally Posted by rsser

FWIW I had a mini-bus driver come so close to me I had to swerve into the gutter to avoid being hit. When I caught up with him at the next Stop sign and confronted him, his reply was that he was teaching me a lesson for riding too far out on the road.

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Not having ridden a pushbike since I was a teenager but have ridden a number of motorbikes [starting with an old Matchles 500 single] I find the above statement absolutely incredible :o

Yeah, if I'd been on the motorbike I'd have been tempted to catch up with him and kick in a panel or two.

(Used to ride a BSA 500 single; the 1000cc 4 is better!).

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Originally Posted by rsser

Yeah, if I'd been on the motorbike I'd have been tempted to catch up with him and kick in a panel or two.

(Used to ride a BSA 500 single; the 1000cc 4 is better!).

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One thing I did discover as a cyclist, is how fragile rear vision mirrors are. However, that is a last resort, only to be used when your escape route is planned. Also effective is a drink bottle squirted into the driver's groinal area.

LOL.

I used to fantasize about a metal water pistol filled with brake fluid.

I find the folding mirrors most cars have now are really good. You can give it a little tap which folds it against the car but doesn't damage anything. It's my form of an exclamation mark expressing my dissatisfaction with their driving abilities and is an inconvenience for them to stop and fix the mirror:;

I have 'tapped' a few windows of cars as they try to squeeze through gaps that were never safe as well. I figure if they're within arms reach of me on my bike then they're too close:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by AlexS

One thing I did discover as a cyclist, is how fragile rear vision mirrors are. However, that is a last resort, only to be used when your escape route is planned. Also effective is a drink bottle squirted into the driver's groinal area.

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Cyclists don't like a quick squirt from the old water bottle either...

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Originally Posted by Christopha

Cyclists don't like a quick squirt from the old water bottle either...

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A quick squirt from either a motorist or a cyclist doesn't achieve anything except increase the unnecessary animosity that exists between many motorists and cyclists.

I'm really sick of motorists who think they own the road and equally sick of cyclists who have the same mind set. I don't see what's so hard about reaching a compromise where both motorists and cyclists share the road.

I don't know how this can be achieved but it seems that it requires a paradigm shift in the way we approach using the road in our chosen mode of transport. :?

Drink bottles getting thrown from passing cars is pretty common too. I usually just ignore them completely and just continue on my way. I have found from experience that confrontations have never really been productive and just get the offenders more annoyed which was not my intention.

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Originally Posted by kiwigeo

A quick squirt from either a motorist or a cyclist doesn't achieve anything except increase the unnecessary animosity that exists between many motorists and cyclists.

I'm really sick of motorists who think they own the road and equally sick of cyclists who have the same mind set. I don't see what's so hard about reaching a compromise where both motorists and cyclists share the road.

I don't know how this can be achieved but it seems that it requires a paradigm shift in the way we approach using the road in our chosen mode of transport. :?

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Spot on there. And that's the ten billion dollar questions that no-one seems to know the answer to.

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Originally Posted by I_wanna_Shed

Spot on there. And that's the ten billion dollar questions that no-one seems to know the answer to.

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The key word seems to be "share"....something humans seem to be less willing to do these days. :(

I don't think people see the equation as "one person on a bike= one person in a car! " That's the problem. They start thinking that a car has right of way cos it is bigger! Forgetting that it is still illegal to run over someone even if they do a dumb thing! :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by tea lady

I don't think people see the equation as "one person on a bike= one person in a car! " That's the problem. They start thinking that a car has right of way cos it is bigger! Forgetting that it is still illegal to run over someone even if they do a dumb thing! :rolleyes:

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Some people don't see anything when they're driving their car or riding their bike except themselves and "their" road.

I ride a bike as well as drive a car and I really can't see cyclists being worse than motorists when it comes to disregard for their own and other road user's safety and straight out acts of stupidity.

Last week I went for a ride and saw at least a dozen motorists merrily talking or texting on their mobile phones while negotiating roundabouts or intersections....one just about pulled out from a stop sign in front of me and only saw me because I had seen him on his phone and yelled at him to make sure hed seen me. The same day I also came across a pack of bike riders....3 abreast on a narrow winding road and one of them busy with both hands off the bars talking on his mobile phone...he got an appropriate comment from me as I went past.

Sharing is something that is completely alien to everyone these days.

Cycling is a bit of a bugger of an area, you are much faster than pedestrians and they get very cranky at you if they have to share the path and then you are much slower than road traffic who get equally as cranky at you.

Now being a pedestrian, cyclist and motorist (and former motorcyclist), you get to see the good, the bad and the ugly in all users.

As my mother says, there is nothing you can do to change others behaviour so concentrate on your own and try to be the best and most considerate you can be.

Hopefully at least one person will pay it forward.

I got pulled over by the police this morning.

I had just overtaken a motorbike.

There were 3 bike riders in the the emergency lane all single file and I passed them.

Next thing there is the wail and lights of a police car so I pulled over and he ambles over. By this time I am out of the car with licence in hand.

I ask him what the problem was.

No problem says he looking at my licence. He notices the quizzical look, the motorcycle goes past, the 3 bike riders go past and wave.

He says to me, "Who taught you to drive?"

" My father about 45years ago." says I with raised eyebrows.

"He did a damned good job then. You are one of the few people I have ever seen that indicates and move into the right lane to overtake a motorbike and cyclists in the left lane. If a few more did that instead of trying to knock their handlebars off my job would be a lot easier and I wouldn't have to scrape them off the road."

One of the few times I have been pulled over to thank me.

The reason that I do overtake that way is because my children all ride motor bikes and enjoy cycling on odd occasions and I would like to think that other motorists treat them the same way.

They don't of course but maybe some will.

Edit: and I were posting at the same time. This was re Cruzi's:

Yeah.

On the motorbike when I'm lane splitting quite often drivers pull sideways to give me more space ( a big diff from the 70's when I started riding when like as not they'd do the opposite) so I always raise my hand in thanks as I go past.

Most folk are sensible and considerate here in Melb at least; it's just the 1% that are criminally stupid.

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Originally Posted by kiwigeo

i'm really sick of motorists who think they own the road and equally sick of cyclists who have the same mind set. I don't see what's so hard about reaching a compromise where both motorists and cyclists share the road.

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yep!

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Originally Posted by InterTD6

Sure it was stupid, but some of the things I have seen cycle couriers do in sydney defies belief.
regards inter

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I am surprised that comment was missed by the cyclists out there.

Can you please explain to me the relevance of a cycle courier working in the centre of Sydney has with respect to 3 people riding along in South Australia?

Are you suggesting the driver was "stupid", but since there are some bike couriers riding their bikes poorly in Sydney it mitigates the actions of the ute driver?

As a very experienced cyclist, both racing grade and commuting, it seems just about any action of any motorist is somehow justified because there are some foolish cyclists out there. For the record, I stop at every red light, never ride the wrong way up streets, carry lights.......oh, and I have 3 kids at home who would love to see me again.

Forget justifying poor behaviour by blaming the minority. I hate the cyclists who behave poorly more than you do because they alienate so many against the bulk of good, honest cyclists.

Anthony

The discussion about animosity between car drivers and bike riders is academic when I remember a discussion I had with a colleague's partner who is a truckie. He had a serious problem with anything that was smaller than what he was driving. They needed to get out of his way. I hope that he was just grandstanding because he knew we rode bikes but I have wondered about his attitude since that day. he seemed pretty serious to me.

Having said that I find the other 99.99% of truckies very curteous to riders and unless they are coming the other way with a 40km/hr gust behind them, I appreciate the 'pull' which I estimate must be 3-5km/hr on my speed.

Graham

Yep to your post Graham! I am a truckie and was once a competitive cyclist and a little bit of curtisey goes a long way. :wink:

As with 's post, one sometimes has one's faith restored. I was on the Pacific Highway, stopped at the lights in the left lane, with a learner in a driving school car next to me. I could hear the instructor explaining to her why I had positioned myself where I was, what both our responsibilities and rights were and how she should go about overtaking cyclists. Guess the driving school I got to finish off my daughter's driving instruction.
(Marquis, by the way.)

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Originally Posted by Luddite

I am surprised that comment was missed by the cyclists out there.

Can you please explain to me the relevance of a cycle courier working in the centre of Sydney has with respect to 3 people riding along in South Australia?

Only that one of them has done some stupid things which defies belief

Are you suggesting the driver was "stupid", but since there are some bike couriers riding their bikes poorly in Sydney it mitigates the actions of the ute driver?

Just grouping the stupid together

As a very experienced cyclist, both racing grade and commuting, it seems just about any action of any motorist is somehow justified because there are some foolish cyclists out there. For the record, I stop at every red light, never ride the wrong way up streets, carry lights.......oh, and I have 3 kids at home who would love to see me again.

Nobody is justifiying anything here just stupid acts


Forget justifying poor behaviour by blaming the minority. I hate the cyclists who behave poorly more than you do because they alienate so many against the bulk of good, honest cyclists.

See previous answer above

Anthony

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How absolutely ridiculous, one of the worst/most interesting stories I have heard involving cyclists.

There is no excuse for acting stupid in a huge hunk of metal zooming across the ground at 100km/h. :((