Have you noticed that some drivers, purposely move over.....

.....to the curb side so your ebike cant cut ahead?

I have noticed this with several drivers lately.

The typical Road Hog showing extra rudeness to what they percieve to be lesser road users. :x

I don't see that cuz I ride in traffic with traffic as part of traffic (although I'm to the right side of the road due to the laws, whereever it is "safe and prudent" or "practicable", but I do have another frequent problem:

When on non-main roads, where cars can park at the edge of the roadway, but don't line the whole thing, instead only one every so often; but there's no bike lanes:

I'll be riding along in the same zone cars can park in, with quite some distance before I'll reach the next parked car and have to move left to go around it.

There will be traffic moving along at the same or a slightly faster speed than I am (most of these are 20-25MPH roads).

As I reach the point I must move left to go around the parked car(s), the traffic will speed up (sometimes greatly, but always beyond the local speed limit) such that they make it to that point before or as I do. If they did not speed up I would be past the parked cars and back to the right, out of their way, before they ever got there, so they create a problem and hazard where there would not be one if they weren't driving stupidly.

(I keep an eye on everything around me and time my passing of various things specifically so that I *won't* be in anyone's way, if at all possible; only their own improper changing of what they had been doing correctly causes the hazard.)

Usually this happens more often when there is *also* opposing traffic such that the traffic passing me can't swing very wide of the parked cars, and would either hit me or have to screech brakes to slow behind me to prevent that, if I were already passing the parked car(s).


So that either leaves me sandwiched between tehm and the left of the parked car(s) if I "give way", or I have to speed up significantly beyond the legal limit for bikes to pass the parked car(s) so I can move right and get out of their way so I don't get hit, or if I happen to not have begun passing the cars I have to slam to a stop so I don't collide with them as the traffic vrooms past me.


This is all much more likely to be a problem in daylight than at night, probably because in daylight they can see how relatively small my bike (trike, presently) is, but at night the lighting on it and shining down on the road around it makes it appear larger and they are less likely to do stupid things like this.

And not everyone does this sort of thing--but quite a few do. In general the larger the car or truck is, the more likely they are to do it, but this aggressive driving is not limited to that--even motorcycles and tiny "smart cars" do it too.

to be honest i tend not to undertake cars as you are far more likely to get knocked off if there is traffic i will overtake just like all the motorbikes do its far safer that way in over 100k bike miles clocked i have only been hit 2 times both on roundabouts one was some idiot cutting across lanes as he was in the wrong one and the other was an old guy that just did not look both times walked away un harmed in that time i have seen somany people get taken out by car doors when undertaking stoped traffic lots of people get pushed off the road because cars havent seen them coming up the inside i ride as safe as i can because i would rather not get hit even if it takes me a bit longer to get from a to b

For safeties' sake, I like fat tires on my commute. I can dive off of curbs, and in a pinch, I can go from the street to the sidewalk when someone is trying to run me over (my ex-wife?). If a guy scooted over to squeeze me, I think I would hop the curb and ride on the sidewalk for a minute. Once he hits a red light, I can pass him without saying a word...

I don't run red lights, it's just that I can be at the head of the line next to the driver who is texting and the ole driver is stuck behind them until they go.

Lots of them just don't see you in the city trafic. There is too much to watch around for a cager who is isolated from the reality, and sometimes busy with what is inside his cage. On 2 wheels, you are supposed to be conscious for the cagers who aren't. Today a car parked suddenly without flashers, neither looking in his mirrors, right at the moment I was going to pass him. I did jump on the sidewalk and stopped by his passenger door at the very same moment that he was stopping. I looked at him, pushed his mirror to the front as I left and jumped back on the street in acceleration. It is useless to confront them, for most of the time they don't even know what happened.

Oh I always give a doors length to parked cars, always. If that means I have to ride in the middle of the lane for say 50m (or 150m+) between parked cars, I do it. If I am stopped at a light, I let my front wheel (when inline with the top bar) be more left (or middle of the lane). So many times cars, when they have a choice of an open left lane, or me in the right lane, some choose behind me. I give them no luck and they have to put up with me.

Pass cars on their left at your own risk. My worry is more just that they don't see you at all, even if they stop looking at the phone.

I feel much safer to take the lane, and wait in the line with the cars at any intersection.

markz said:

.....to the curb side so your ebike cant cut ahead?

Click to expand...

Out here (San Diego) I notice the opposite - a lot of cars will move left as they are passing me.

My problem is the opposite. Cars are not passing me, I am passing them. The worse idiots are driving small cars like they are 10 ton trucks. When they want to turn right, they start by moving left, or vice versa. When they don't signal, it is natural to believe they are going to turn where they are moving, then suddenly they cut you when you are passing them. This situation does happen many times every week.

markz said:

.....to the curb side so your ebike cant cut ahead?

I have noticed this with several drivers lately.

Click to expand...

Ride up along the top of the curb, and flip their mirrors as you pass. Then ride back down off the curb and proceed.

Or split the lanes to get ahead, then sink into an open spot if traffic starts going again if I havent reached out ahead.
But if I do get ahead, pull to the curb or stay in the middle splitting the lanes.
Havent done that one much.

Chalo said:

Ride up along the top of the curb, and flip their mirrors as you pass.

Click to expand...

. . . so you startle them and they swerve. Not a good strategy if your goal is surviving the ride.

the more posts i see on threads like this the less comfortable i am in directing noobs this way this forum needs to set an example not seem like a bunch of knobheads with over powerd ebikes breaking every law they feel like all it takes is for the cops to see this forum and you risk them useing what you say as evidence against you !

zackclark70 said:

the more posts i see on threads like this the less comfortable i am in directing noobs this way this forum needs to set an example not seem like a bunch of knobheads with over powerd ebikes breaking every law they feel like all it takes is for the cops to see this forum and you risk them useing what you say as evidence against you !

Click to expand...

Other places, other ways of the law. Some of us are lucky to live where ebikes are not hassled, and free to ride as motorcycles with bicycle privileges. Other are living where it is almost impossible to ride on the street above 250w. ES members are all over the world. You are responsible to take and disregard what does or doesn't suit your part of the world.

It happens occasionally, but in my area, there's so much traffic during my commute times that they are often already stopped and cannot move sideways when I pass. But there are always those take up the whole lane anyways. It's no big deal to me as I will get on the sidewalk or go the other way around. One time, this jerk did move over on purpose to deny me, but I gently bent his mirror and gave myself some room. He wasn't too happy about having unfold the mirror, but I was long gone by then.

MadRhino said:

Other are living where it is almost impossible to ride on the street above 250w.

Click to expand...

So you are saying its impossible because 250W ebike is gutless and no speed?
Or the ebikers are too afraid to go 251W because the cops are really cracking down, like in NYC.
Of course 251 is exaggerated, say 500 or 1000W instead.

Something I've noticed about drivers passing me at whatever speed and bike lane:

If I ride very straight and level and predictable, then drivers are overly confident in me, and feel safe passing me closely.

However, if I intentionally add some random bobbing and swerving in the mix, even if nothing is in the road, then drivers have much less confidence in my handling abilities, and thus give me a lot of room, up to a full lane. If they think I will cause them to hit me, they are mucho careful.

markz said:

MadRhino said:

Other are living where it is almost impossible to ride on the street above 250w.

Click to expand...

So you are saying its impossible because 250W ebike is gutless and no speed?
Or the ebikers are too afraid to go 251W because the cops are really cracking down, like in NYC.
Of course 251 is exaggerated, say 500 or 1000W instead.

Click to expand...

Some places are so strict about ebike laws, that it is impossible to get away with illegal bikes. Most of EU do enforce the 250w pedelec law, and there are a lot of cops to watch.

Here, almost all fellow riders are feeding 10+ kw and never got bothered.

In the Uk 200w is the law but as with the EU 250w was adopted to bring us in line with rest of EU. Although most OEM bikes sold are 250w rated most will put out 600 - 900w. No one has yet ever been prosecuted or stopped for having a motor greater then 250w and going faster then 15.5mph, common sense is the order of the day.

In Finland there's lot of suburban roads that have 30 km/h speed limit. If you ride 40 km/h on them, every car overtakes you. It's funny.
They just have to overtake you every time, no matter what.
Cops in Finland don't give a damn about your e-bike as long as you try to ride decently and obey the basic traffic rules such as red lights.
Off-duty cop has even testridden my unlimited velo That was funny. Only thing he said was that discs would be better than V-brakes.
Our law is 1kw max with 65e insurance. No type certificate required, DIY-bikes ok.

billvon said:

Chalo said:

Ride up along the top of the curb, and flip their mirrors as you pass.

Click to expand...

. . . so you startle them and they swerve. Not a good strategy if your goal is surviving the ride.

Click to expand...

My assumption was of stationary traffic at a light. If the traffic is moving fast enough that swerving is an option, there's not a good reason to pass on the right. In that case, I advise using patience and not riding like a jackass.

What pisses me off if when I'm over on the shoulder as far as possible (not asserting my full rights I know, but I try and get along with motorists as I are one) on a two lane road WITH NO TRAFFIC COMING and the driver passing me doesn't give me a little extra room by moving onto the center line a bit. Like that painted line is a physical barrier or something.....I came very close to giving him a one fingered wave, but kept my cool. Tight shoulder, so he went by at 45-50 mph about 24" away, which I'd be cool with IF he had on coming traffic to prevent him from moving over, he didn't and was just a dick.

I'm all over the map on the subject, as when I'm driving my 54,000 lb crane truck, and some cyclists force me to slow down and down shift etc. when they have plenty of room to allow me to not do so but they don't, fully asserting their legal right, that also pisses me off. It happened again last week, a very wide paved shoulder, but the two riders stayed side by side in the traffic lane, they were also dicks just of a different sort. If it would have been me riding with a friend, we wouldn't have made me down shift, hell it's just common courtesy/sense. Those same kind of bike riders probably don'y use their turn signals when driving, just overall clueless.

Yeeeaaaa I hate that too.
They have all the room in the world, yet they give you inches.
Just wanna have some porcelain shards in your beer holder located on the handle bars ready to go.

This morning, after a 3 hour ride up a 8500' mountain site, dodging cattle and their byproducts as it was open range, I loaded the e-fatbike up and drove back to the main highway, then unloaded it again (quick and easy, got it figured out...) and I rode the frontage road that runs along I-15 to a big convenience store that sells some good iced coffee. I sometimes like the contrast between a really gnarly remote area ride, followed by some smooth pavement riding. As I was coming down the curvy rarely traveled frontage road, a guy with a big Dodge pickup pulled up to the stop sign at the off ramp. We both had clear line of sight and I had a lot of room on a very wide shoulder, so it was no big deal as he pulled out in front of me. I almost expected it as I was of course going faster then he expected,high 20's, and in fact stayed parallel to him, slightly gaining on him even, for the 1/4 mile to the coffee place as he was going there too. I was going a bit over 30 at this point, as I had a downhill to work with. I think he realized he had screwed up and was kind of making up for it, as I clearly had the right of way. At this point I noticed he was fully aware of me being there, and he even slowed to let me pull further ahead. A non event, as I had my guard up, and a really wide smooth shoulder to work with, knowing how my speed can be deceptive, if he would have hit me I would have considered it my fault for not paying attention! Like the people that get in a car wreck when sitting at a stop light, that turns green, and they proceed WITHOUT LOOKING left/right for someone blowing the light. It happens all the time, but I rode a motorcycle too long, and even driving my crane truck I drive super defensibly so doing so on an ebike comes second nature.

The guy's family suing tennis player Serena Williams after she pulled into a intersection, and then the light turned red but she couldn't proceed because of other blocking traffic, and he comes along and plows into her? What the hell, sure he had the green light, but I'd bet anything he had no past driving history of motorcycles or bikes, I hope she wins the lawsuit! Reading police logs and traffic accident reports is a hobby of mine, and can be extremely instructive