[Closed] Do you shout at car / van drivers on their mobile?

Yes.
I have also banged on the side of vehicles after close passes and other idiocy if i catch up with them, gesticulated rudely and shouted.

I've yet to get thumped but have been in some threatening situations and I don't do it when i'm with my children but as the roads are too dangerous for children and inexperienced cyclists, sadly they rarely are.

I just try and make eye contact, and mime putting the phone down (thumb upright and little finger extended, rotated 90deg and then moved downwards!) a few times. Usually just get the finger in return, but a couple have been sheepish and stopped playing with their phones.

If there's any escalation by the driver, I just do what a mate of mine used to do to bad drivers - when they stop, just open the boot or rear passenger side door, so they have to get out and close it, and by that point you're off home free down the road!

mime putting the phone down (thumb upright and little finger extended, rotated 90deg and then moved downwards!) a few times

I do this...

I've not been chased yet but sometimes the other Driver mouthes rude words back!!

I normally rant "get off your effing phone" I'm sure I will be thumped at some point.

What's the point in initiating a confrontation? Is it going to stop them from doing it in the future?

Some police forces allow you to upload photos/videos now of dodgy drivers, surely that might have more of an effect assuming they actually follow them up. Of course, if someone clocks you videoing them THAT will probably spark a confrontation. Possibly that's what you want? You could explain what you were doing, and why. Depends on the person how well that goes down I suppose!

I am not looking for confrontation. I'm a lover not a fighter 😉 - its more about expressing my displeasure at their poor driving that could kill me. I am a much less angry rider now than I used to be.

Watch some CycleGaz videos on YouTube.
Don't be like CycleGaz

Driving in the other direction to queuing traffic, it's great fun to beep your horn at those faffing about, eyes down on their phones. They jump out of their skin.

When driving on the motorway because I am in a van I can see down into cars and spot what drivers are up to. The amount of people playing with their phone in their lap in horrifying. I tend to beep at them but most simply carry on doing it. I reported 3 drivers to their respective employers for mobile phone use a couple of weeks ago. 2 companies failed to respond but Openreach called me to say they would "speak to the driver". That probably amounts to a "go eff yourself Mt Busybody" though.

I don't shout,I just give them a full power withering look*.

* This has been known to frighten small children and creatures of the forest
P.S.
This thread did NOT need pitchers.

I have done in the past, but it never gets a good response.

I've started waving to people in a friendly manner, in the way you would with someone you know well.

Had an incident a few weeks ago while walking through our small town.
There is really only one proper road in and out, so it gets busy. A young girl driving an open topped car with music blaring was texting away. She came to a nice halt right by me. I lent over and asked her nicely to get off the phone. She completely ignored me, then the car behind her was tooting, because traffic had moved along and she's still furiously texting. Then several cars started beeping. At this point I lent into the car and said get off your phone you stupid woman.

Also had an argument with my best friend. She picked up her phone to start texting while driving. I grabbed it of her and threw it into the back seat. I asked her to stop the car and I got out. She turned the car around I got back in and we had the first argument ever and she's been my friend for over 27 years. She finally realised after I told her about cyclists getting knocked off their bikes and worse that she realised. Gosh was I angry, We're friends again now. But hopefully my reaction to her stupid action will make her think in the future.

I have also banged on the side of vehicles after close passes and other idiocy if i catch up with them, gesticulated rudely and shouted.

You don't live in London, do you... That behaviour would... generally not end well

Driving in the other direction to queuing traffic, it’s great fun to beep your horn at those faffing about, eyes down on their phones. They jump out of their skin.

Yup - its funny as well when you do this as you filter past cars on the bike. The look of shock on their face when you shout at them to get off their phone from a foot away - and they have no idea you are there

Can't say I notice them when I'm riding. I did mess with a car the other day when I was driving - woman was having a full on rant down the phone while driving (badly). She had a wet drip of a male passenger sat next to her too. He just looked at me. She was oblivious.

Most folk using their mobiles probably aren't going to change their ways for a shouting cyclist is my guess.

And if they are stationary I see it as less of a problem.

couldn’t join the queue of traffic and thus completely blocked the cycle lane

This is annoying and endemic.

Most folk using their mobiles probably aren’t going to change their ways for a shouting cyclist is my guess.

Probably not. But the more people they have telling them it's unacceptable, the sooner they are likely to stop doing it.

And if they are stationary I see it as less of a problem.

Perhaps less of a problem, but there's never a good time to be distracted while you're driving.

No. But I do go slightly mental when I shout/mouth "TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON" when it's dark.

No, because I don't believe it will make the slightest bit of difference but it will wind me up.  I find cycling way less stressful if I focus on doing things to stay alive rather than telling other people how to drive to not kill me.  If I have a stand up argument with a driver (which I used to do) I end up wound up for the rest of the day and it's no fun

Quite agree on that leffeboy. I used to get wound up - now I don't. I still shout at idiots tho but then laugh and ride off

yep.  I use the @bunnyhop technique of friendly waving as well if I really need to get someone's attention rather than shouting.

"You don’t live in London, do you"

Used to commute into the City. Also used to be a cycle messenger (one of the first!) in Birmingham in early 90's - that was much worse

Depends on what mood I’m in. 98% of the time I just go about my business and ignore them. The other - 1% ends with me agreeing to pay for vehicular damages so the nice policeman has an easier life. Sadly other 1% half is threat of fisticuffs from the driver and half is posturing from the driver whilst I laugh and pootle off. Laughing at angry people is great though.

I usually shout "Call me!" while making the phone gesture, it seems to confuse them, though I often get a guilty response rather than an angry one

I do go slightly mental when I shout/mouth “TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON” when it’s dark.

Your foglights are on!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ei0-wq9AqQ

I am not looking for confrontation.

You should explain that carefully before you shout at them so they don't get the wrong idea 🙂

You don’t live in London, do you… That behaviour would… generally not end well

In the early 2000's I lived in Norf Lahndon and with a few mates would go "street riding"*, and there were a few faces you'd see around. One chap in particular was quite aggressive with motorists, regularly shouting or banging cars if they came too close.

On one occasion, he brandished the heavy bike lock chain he kept wrapped around his waist, and afterwards explained that he kept that with him since a driver had pulled a shotgun on him when he'd had a go at him for his bad driving!

After that we tended to let him go first on the road, just in case...

I wonder what he's doing now... (10 to life?)

*jumping up and down kerbs. Ahem.

Nope, neither on the mtb or motorbike. Years of commuting on the motorbike has shown me that you see 10's of drivers on the phone every day, and life's too short to get stressed about it. At the end of the day if you happen to piss off a psycho, you're on a 10-15k or 200kg 2 wheeled object, they're in a 2000kg metal cage. If they decide to use it as a weapon it won't be them coming off worse...

Oh and 80% of them don't think they're doing anything wrong, a few words isn't going to change that.

Only when they've caused me to actually have to do an emergency stop. I get pretty angry when people actually endanger me...

there’s never a good time to be distracted while you’re driving

Indeed, but we were talking about stationary cars.

Some folk do like to look for stuff to get angry about.

Another scenario this weekend...

In the car behind a roadie on a long narrow road where NSL applies. TBH, I hate cycling along this road myself because cars don't have room to pass a bike and an oncoming car. But easily get to more than 60mph, so don't feel inclined to slow down behind a cyclist (or indeed can't slow down in time behind a cyclist). Horrible road.

Anyway, the roadie was wobbling quite a bit and only had one hand on the bars. I assumed that they were taking a drink as it's a decent downhill section.

As I overtook (with a large margin because of the wobble) my eldest in the passenger seat commented that the cyclist was on the phone, seemingly taking a selfie or even a video call.

Should I have hooted, banged on helmet, shouted at her to get off the phone?

I honestly don't think any of those would have made a difference to someone who was clearly so unaware of the surroundings that they felt able to wobble around one handed with no eyes on the road in that risky environment.

It's amazing how fixation makes us forget all common sense. It's like people who fall off a cliff / tall building trying to get the perfect picture. That final Instagram post must be pretty upsetting...

Should I have hooted, banged on helmet, shouted at her to get off the phone?

No, because it's not illegal.

At the end of the day if you happen to piss off a psycho, you’re on a 10-15k or 200kg 2 wheeled object, they’re in a 2000kg metal cage. If they decide to use it as a weapon it won’t be them coming off worse…

This is the key point and there are enough road rage types around for it to happen. Saying that, I have had a number of stand up rows with people after I 'waved' them down or stopped them from overtaking on blind corners and as others have said it just winds you up for the rest of the day and ultimately not going to change the behaviour of the driver.

Generally I find that life's too short so just crack on, it won't stop them doing it

However, if it's a rare situation where I lose my rag then maybe

Oh how I wish I could legitimately use the best response I've ever witnessed during a 'discussion' with a driver about their reluctance to put their phone down:

"I'm more than happy for us to continue this discussion tomorrow morning when I'm back in uniform, shall we say 8am at your house, or would it be easier for me to visit you at work?"

Turned a shouty angry man very apologetic and sheepish looking really rather quickly.

I used to shout at the bad driving and mobile use I saw while commuting but I don't anymore. The thing that stopped me happened one day near my house in Manchester. Riding along a 20mph narrow side street, parked cars on both sides of the road, a guy screamed up behind revving away while he was held up for ~30m then swerved at me as he passed when then was space again. I did the international sign for self love at him as he revved off. Round the next corner at a t junction he was waiting to turn. As I stop at the junction, he gets out, runs at me and grabs my bike and is very very angry! Swearing about how he's going to kill me etc, fake lunges to head butt me then runs into his car and speeds off. I'm not a hardman and this shook me up for a while. I now just assume crap drivers are nutcases and leave them to it

I used to shout, they normally dropped the phone and/or mouthed "Eff Off!" at me from inside the safety of the tin box, but I did have one woman tell me she was going run me down...

Ultimately I gave up as I'm more likely to get myself involved in unwanted fisticuffs than change anyone's behaviour. Now I simply concentrate on not being mown down by them, and quietly tut to myself...

Of course change is apparently coming as the Rozzers have a new gadget of their own...

However...

Thames Valley and Hampshire police have said the technology will not be used as an "enforcement tool".

So I'm not sure what the point of the trial actually is...

I used to shout at the bad driving and mobile use I saw while commuting but I don’t anymore. The thing that stopped me happened one day near my house in Manchester.

recently someone pulled onto a roundabout without looking. There was a bit of space and I adjusted so that I would go behind him. That done, I raised my left arm in a delicate hand gesture and shouted 'Pillock'! He suddenly clocked me, pulled an emergency stop and I slammed straight into the side of his car. I've had bruised ribs for 3 weeks now and if I hadn't had one hand off the bars I could've braked more and been going n% slower when I hit him.

Will be attempting to rein in the self-righteousness in future.

Ranting on the internet about law enforcement - tick
Drinking from a tinnie on public transport - tick

You are Diane Abbott and I claim my five pounds M&S Mojito.

Should I have hooted, banged on helmet, shouted at her to get off the phone?

No, because it’s not illegal.

Sort of beside the point, but I don't think many of us would think taking a selfie from a moving bike on a busy NSL road is reasonable, and on that basis there would be an offence i.e. illegal.

Cycling offences

But my point is that when people are that off the pace in their situational awareness (whether or not is illegal), any sort of rant or holier than thou lecture is unlikely to have a positive long term effect.

If their own mortal danger isn't enough incentive for them to ride sensibly, what is?

That goes for people on their phones in a car, on a cliff edge, on a bike, or whatever.

Cyclists can be clowns too.