Did I do the right thing?

[mikefish]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gitYoqnm6Qw

looked like the driver was about to do it...hard to say...i like my teeth where they are now though

 

[biohazardman]

Hard to say is the way it was. I have had quite a few wait for me and can often see in their mirrors if that is their intention. Then there are the others, the minority, which just do the deed. I have managed not to hit any of them thus far but their numbers are few around here. A horn is but a good reminder saying I am here. Think I need one too. Nice vid of the way it is out there by the way.

 

[julesa]

I would have hit the brakes harder and let the car go. It's not my job to teach idiots how to drive, especially after that front wheel starts turning. Once the wheel's turned, I'm not going in front of it. If they get hit from behind, they're turning.

 

[Link]

I would have hit the brakes harder and let the car go.

Same. Too cautious to try something like that. I've been almost hit too many times for comfort.

 

[mikefish]

i was storming down a hill, 25 plus mph.
i only have regular pull brakes (looks like maybe time for an upgrade).
she was turning into the old folks trailer park. another reason that made me think this person may just turn.
i dont like giving bikers a bad rep by blasting my horn at every little issue. i figured it was either hurt feeling for her, or hurt bones for me. small risk for big reward in my opinion.

julesa...your right on the super safety front...i should have just hit the brakes, and avoided the situation. i just got too fast on the downhill...perhaps no more storming down the hill (damn)

one thing is for sure. the video does not show it, but the horn sure got a response from the driver...she hit her brakes more.

what triggered me to give a blast of my horn? i swear the car started to turn a bit.

personally, i just hope the driver understands why i would blast the horn like that..not to be a jerk, but just watching out for my neck.

btw... thanks biohazardman...i try to keep my camera running all the time...it helps the police, perhaps it can help us.

 

[swbluto]

I would have hit the brakes harder and let the car go. It's not my job to teach idiots how to drive, especially after that front wheel starts turning. Once the wheel's turned, I'm not going in front of it. If they get hit from behind, they're turning.

Exactly what I would've done. Unless it's VERY EVIDENT they had noticed me and are allowing me to pass (Which wouldn't be in that situation, unless they took forever to turn and had not turned the front wheel, unless they begun to turn and evidently stopped turning), I would not at all risk an intersection conflict with a 2 ton beast. Sure, your risk of collision with the horn+that-situation might only be 1-5%, but do that over time and the chance of that risk actualizing approaches 100%. It's not the once in a blue moon incidences that tend to kill us, it's our habits. IF I did pass the person, I would ensure I would be passing them at the point of potential collision at 10 mph or less as the lethality risk decreases with the decreased difference in velocities.

 

[julesa]

Nice horn, by the way!

 

[swade]

It would be better to not even be in this situation in the first place.

Two tactics come to mind:
1) Ride your bike further from the curb. Go into the center of the lane and own it.
- you could then pass the car on the left if they right hook you
- if you couldn't pass or react fast enough, you fly over the back of the car or slam into the back of a right hooker, maybe slightly better than possibly sliding into and under it while it turns
- it communicates to the driver that your vehicle deserves more respect, or at least it makes them aware that you are there in the first place
- it forces the driver to actually go into another lane to pass you rather than just drive by and turn.
Note that this may be illegal in some durisdictions. The way I see it, it is much safer so its an easy choice.

2) Develop a defensive habit of scanning the road ahead for potential right hook zones. Before you are in the right hook zone, check your review mirror and brake or at least be ready to brake if you sense a car approaching fast from behind trying to overtake you.

I can't tell everything about this situation from the video so take this advice with that in mind. That you are here to share what happened says you did something right! Thanks for sharing this. It really helps us all get safer by reviewing these kinds of situations.

 

[swbluto]

It would be better to not even be in this situation in the first place.

Two tactics come to mind:
1) Ride your bike further from the curb. Go into the center of the lane and own it.
- you could then pass the car on the left if they right hook you
- if you couldn't pass or react fast enough, you fly over the back of the car or slam into the back of a right hooker, maybe slightly better than possibly sliding into and under it while it turns
- it communicates to the driver that your vehicle deserves more respect, or at least it makes them aware that you are there in the first place
- it forces the driver to actually go into another lane to pass you rather than just drive by and turn.
Note that this may be illegal in some durisdictions. The way I see it, it is much safer so its an easy choice.

2) Develop a defensive habit of scanning the road ahead for potential right hook zones. Before you are in the right hook zone, check your review mirror and brake or at least be ready to brake if you sense a car approaching fast from behind trying to overtake you.

I can't tell everything about this situation from the video so take this advice with that in mind. That you are here to share what happened says you did something right! Thanks for sharing this. It really helps us all get safer by reviewing these kinds of situations.

That is sound advice, but he seems to be in a bike lane so drivers would probably be more irate if they had to pass him on the street(even more so during busy traffic) and it may not even be "legal" (depending on his jurisdiction).

 

[Ypedal]

i NEVER pull up next to a car like that.. my right of way or not.. i would hit the brakes and stay behind the car, pass him on his left if it's safe to do.

The car driver " should " imo, have slowed down ( poor distance and speed judgment on his part ) and stayed behind you, once you pass the point that he wants to turn, then he turns.. or.... be far enough ahead of you to make his turn without forcing you to stop/slow down. but you are not going to win this fight if push comes to shove..

I like my dual 8" disk brakes !! :wink:

 

[gogo]

The "english" of the car should be read as an imminent turn into your path. Their speed + the intersection means you should assume they will turn and that you should deprive them of their opportunity to hurt you.

They are all trying to get you hurt. At the same time though, they don't even see you.

Stopping, blasting your horn, and waving them through would have been an appropriate option.

 

[mikefish]

Nice horn, by the way!

thanks! Air Zound rocks!

 

[mikefish]

it is a posted bike lane, and riding out of that lane would be near suicide.

the drivers around here are very "MY ROAD!" minded, and though they can use the bike lane, they will not treat you kindly if you use "their" lane

it looks to be pretty unanimous that slowing down would have been the right thing here. since i still have old school brakes on the bike, i should not be storming down hills at near 30mph.

thanks swade!...I am still here...that's a good way of looking at it! I guess im just trying to better my chances because next time might not be so lucky!

ypedal...me=jealous of dual 8 inch brakes

thanks everyone for the feedback and help!

 

[John in CR]

If that's a bike lane, then thank goodness we don't have them down here. What is the going from a solid white line to a broken line before that turnoff supposed to mean? I'm with Swade on this one, and I always own my rightful lane on the road. Of course it helps that my bike easily does 40mph, and I'm courteous enough to squeeze over or pull off to the side and allow cars to pass if I start pulling a train, which only happens on long climbs. Ever since I went from an e-bike that topped out at 30mph to one that I've clocked at 55mph with a long straightaway and some tail wind and the brakes for those speeds, I feel many times safer mixing in traffic because I match their speed. My next step is brake lights and blinkers to feel as comfortable as I would on a motorcycle.

John

 

[Sacman]

If that's a bike lane, then thank goodness we don't have them down here. What is the going from a solid white line to a broken line before that turnoff supposed to mean? I'm with Swade on this one, and I always own my rightful lane on the road.

John

Yep that's a bike lane here in California and Mikefish does have to stay in that lane with his bicycle and cannot move more towards the center to "own" the automobile traffic lanes. That transition from solid line to broken line is the legal "merge zone" for a car to move to the right edge of the street and into the bike lane so it can slow down and safely make a right turn. But California DMV laws puts emphasis on SAFETY with regards to traffic movements so that car can't simply merge into the bike lane unsafely and cut you off.

But putting aside what's legal... that car did look like he was going to turn in front of you. I like the location of my teeth too (just like you Mike). And I know pretty much that if a 200 pound ebike vs. 2,500 pound car ... the ebike loses. So I probably would have hit my brakes and flagged the car to make his turn.

Car drivers here in Southern California generally drive more like a'holes than where you are Mike and little courtesy goes along way. If that car would have slowed down and let me go first then I would have given him a quick thumbs up gesture as I go by him. I'm a serious commuter with my ebike, and I'm out there shareing the road with the same cars during the same time of the day, every day, and it does pay to be coureous. Last thing I want is to get jacked up by some motorist who's pissed off at me and my ebike.

 

[Lessss]

Sounds like Californian bikers need to attach a paintball gun to the front of their bikes (with red paint balls) set to trigger with very deep pulls of their brake levers.

 

[tailwind]

Hi Mike,

I captured a similar situation to yours on video.

Car passes, then turns across your path.

Mine was nowhere near as close as yours and I had plenty of time to slow down.
This is what I did,

Brake, as soon as the brake lights come on,
Check your mirror,
Move out into the lane,
Pass on the outside.

I didnt slow down much because I wanted to keep my speed up for the next corner, which is the tightest on the track.

Keep posting these videos mate. They are a great educational tool that we can all learn from.

Fast forward to 8:00 - 8:15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BFsQhJ5M5o


Greg

 

[mikefish]

nice vid! riding on a race track sure looks like fun!

it also looks like your bike will go much faster than mine will!

not that it makes it safer but there have been times where i wish i had more speed to get out of the way!

looked like the oncoming Volvo was thinking about turning on you as well! hard to tell exactly.

i have been turned on like that plenty, they cut it close, but as long as they are not slowing me down, I say no harm no foul.

i really need a side cam for the many drivers that totally can not tell how fast they are going, and how much time they need to turn.

they race up along side me like they are going to go for it, but when they get to the turn, they would have to run me over to keep going, so they slam the brakes instead. im grateful they slam the brakes instead of me, but it always gives me a good scare to have this huge car, truck, or whatever pop up right next to you to screech to a halt. makes the old ticker jump a bit

i still think they are idiots that do not know how to drive.

 

[swbluto]

I'm sure the "Gotta beat the slow one" stereotype has to play into it. Bicycles, buses and garbage trucks are typically thought of as slow, so what do you do when you need to make a right turn in front of them? Race to the front of them and make it! So much less time than waiting for them. Unfortunately, it seems people can't see to accurately perceive an e-bike's speed due to the stereotype of a bicycle and it does seem somewhat dishonest to the "stealth the bike" so that drivers are deceived, so I expect that to be a consequence of that deception. Not that that's your particular fault, but stealthy riders can expect they'll be predicted in a way that a regular cyclist would be.

 

[Mathurin]

I woulda swished over to the car's left, spit on it's window as I passed and slowly merged back into the bike lane.

Edit: There's ample place for a bike between two moving cars either side to side or front to back, for the rest your ears give you a 360 degree view of where cars are and how fast they're going, so git er done.


Also, 1500 get!

 

[mikefish]

I woulda swished over to the car's left, spit on it's window as I passed and slowly merged back into the bike lane.

Edit: There's ample place for a bike between two moving cars either side to side or front to back, for the rest your ears give you a 360 degree view of where cars are and how fast they're going, so git er done.


Also, 1500 get!

very funny! lol

these could be people that I may have to deal with day after day. so being friendly is unfortunately something i will have to do.

although, i love the idea of a paint ball gun, and spitting...oh what fun that could be

from the aggressive to the protective riders comments, i do appreciate them all.

but i do live in a small town (ish) and running into the same drivers over and over is a distinct possibility, so i should play it safe, and always be on the friendly side...unless they "cross a line too far" which as someone mentioned before, the sack of ball bearings sure sound interesting...LOL

 

[Link]

Also, 1500 get!

 

[dogman dan]

Classic right cross. Nice that you had a signal, that gave you a bit more warning he was going to f--k you. This is where I like to get close to the rear right corner, but short of the corner so you won't get rolled over by the rear wheel as it goes around the corner. If you time it good and can reach the fender, ya give the rear panel a good hard slap with the flat of your palm.

Very educational for the dumbass driver since he now thinks he just killed you. While he shits his pants, you then spit on the left window as you pass.

 

[mikefish]

OK...I am NOT going out there looking for these people, but they keep finding me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8-38vmJKmU

drivers don't see bikers (or stop for stop signs)

I have to stop riding my bike like I drive my car.

I could reach out and touch her car if I wanted, but I was too busy trying to swerve away from her, and make sure the oncoming car did not hit me either. That was a close one, and Im going to take it way more easy from now on.

I am counting my blessings tonight...

glad to be here...I thank the Air Zound company for that one.

lesson learned...thanks

 

[swbluto]

Enhancing your visibility is probably one of the safest things you can do as a cyclist.