Mini Rant - Nut case Drivers

I've been of the opinion for a while now that if people behaved the same outside of their motor vehicle as they do in them then the streets and supermarkets would be bloody carnage.

A van driver once wound down his window and shouted at me cos I looked at his van. I glanced across to check he wasn't going to lefthook me (there was a right turn just ahead) and he lost it.
Some people just have nothing joyous in their lives and need to vent. They are the losers.

I’ve been of the opinion for a while now that if people behaved the same outside of their motor vehicle as they do in them then the streets and supermarkets would be bloody carnage.

Black Friday then?

Could be a lot of things, from a general loathing of other humans to an early incident that you're getting the pent up frustration for. Not a lot you can do to get through to them in my experience, unfortunately.
I think you handled it extremely well though, and your lack of engagement with him might have even be the catalyst for some of the subsequent anger. Not worth the aggro!

As much as the guy is obviously a weapon, this isn't going to defuse the situation, it's an escalation: "He still wouldn’t shut up when all I did is repeat his company name and the reg plate back at him, and tell him he’s reported." Sadly best just to ignore and file it away as just another bell-end.

Some people have serious anger issues

Part of my road is a one way street, and a guy refused to reverse back the way he'd came when I pointed this out to him and refused to move myself. He was literally in a purple faced, spittle flecked rage at me for 5 minutes rather than just shrug and reverse up the road for 10 yards. Eventually when he did reverse back up the road, he got out of his car - ready to confront me, and I just drove past him. Too much coke too early in the morning. 

Given the level of weed I smell from passing cars/vans in the mornings, it's not helping calm some people. I'm glad my commute is mostly off road these days, only the occasional snappy dog or suicidal squirrel to deal with. It's just how enraged he became because I wasn't in the cycle lane.

The guy just went absolutely mental all because I wasn’t riding in a debris strewn cycle lane

Which is one of the reasons why I am not a fan of cycle lanes with wands. They will never ever get swept and it makes some moronic drivers believe that you are only allowed to use a narrow side bit of the road.

The fact that he kept getting stuck in traffic and you kept sailing past will have added to his frustration. I would have just smiled, possibly laughed.

I'd have completely ignored him. You can't reason with someoe who's unreasonable. Anything you say will just wind them up more, and they've already demonstrated they don't really care about your safety.

 I’m riding just outside of the lane as it’s covered in debris
I just cycle past him as he get’s stuck, and look at him
all I did is repeat his company name and the reg plate back at him, and tell him he’s reported

So you were not riding your bike where you should be, you were passive aggressive, and then wound him up even further.

you could have apologised and explained why you were not riding in the cycle lane. Cyclists give cycling a bad rep at times dont they

So you were not riding your bike where you should be, you were passive aggressive, and then wound him up even further.

He said in a legally incorrect and passive aggressive manner.... 😉

What causes drivers to suddenly lose it and become total mental at 8am in the morning ?

Late for work, been awake long enough to put pants on, half cut still from the night before.

So you were not riding your bike where you should be,

Objection.

So you were not riding your bike where you should be, you were passive aggressive, and then wound him up even further.

you could have apologised and explained why you were not riding in the cycle lane. Cyclists give cycling a bad rep at times dont they

Is this satire?

Personally I always stay in the bike lane when there is an obstruction in it. Even if it means riding over parked cars.

So you were not riding your bike where you should be

Yeah that's the problem with cycle lanes, people come out with nonsense like that.

So you were not riding your bike where you should be, you were passive aggressive, and then wound him up even further.

you could have apologised and explained why you were not riding in the cycle lane. Cyclists give cycling a bad rep at times dont they

The three cars who drifted towards me over the white line this morning while their drivers looked at their phones didn't stop to apologise to me. Should I hunt them down?

The majority of the adult public never ride bikes and don't understand why anyone would want to cycle to work or anywhere even, they just see cyclists on the road as weirdos getting in their way slowing them down.

Yeah that’s the problem with cycle lanes, people come out with nonsense like that.

I agree. Gives drivers the license to go full gammon. They can sometimes funnel into you into dangerously close pass situations etc in places where they've historically tried to squeeze a lane into a road that really doesn't fit and you just know the drivers are thinking 'well, I'm in my lane, he should ****ing be in his, the cycling ****'

I tend to take primary position, and smile and wave at everyone.

After a bit if too-and-fro with a diver a couple of weeks ago in a new Wales 20MPH zone, he got in front of me but then hit a queue for some temporary traffic lights. He could see me coming down the inside of the queue so purposely got wheel-scuffingly close to the kerb to cut me off. 

Shot a glance over as I overtook on the outside, (obviously!) I swear I never saw anyone so purple with rage. Luckily I turned off the main road before he caught me up again. 😁

As mentioned above, he probably hasn't had his morning jazz fag.

Given the level of weed I smell from passing cars/vans in the mornings, it’s not helping calm some people.

I have noticed this more and more of late, I'm sure a lot of the crazy and stupid driving I have seen of late is drug induced...

tell him he’s reported. On looking the company up, it’s a tin pot builders of two directors, so pointless. I’ve also mis-remembered the reg. 

Sod reporting to the company. See if they have social media with a photo of the van with reg, then report to police on their website.

Can't wait for AI/fully self driving cars. AI doesn't get stressed/drunk/distracted, and as a bonus, you might be legitimately allowed to get bladdered at some point in the future and get driven home (whilst you car has been out paying for its keep by taxi-ing people to the shops)

Cocaine - possibly.  Weed?  Unlikely

Can’t wait for AI/fully self driving cars. AI doesn’t get stressed/drunk/distracted,

Depends on the human weighting the algorithm for those difficult choices.

<IF AVOID=0 AND "COLLIDE" = HUMAN, ANIMAL, VEHICLE or CYCLIST, SET "COLLIDE" = CYCLIST> 🙂

tjagainFull Member
Cocaine – possibly.  Weed?  Unlikely

Dunno , my wife can't handle it, becomes mind blowingly paranoid about anything and everything . Pun intended.

Came upon a queue of cars waiting behind a bus at a bus stop cunningly situated right by an island in the road (so the cars couldn't get by). Of course Mrs Slow and I sidled up through the queue, between the bus and island, and went on our merry way. Two minutes later AMG Marc roared past foot to the boards to make maximum "I am annoyed" noise. My word, we were impressed by his show of power.

The three cars who drifted towards me over the white line this morning while their drivers looked at their phones didn’t stop to apologise to me. Should I hunt them down?

YES

You never know what's going on in other peoples lives, for all we know he could have found out last night that his wife is divorcing him, or someone in his family has just died, or hes had his van broken into, or hes been hit with a bill he doesn't know how he will afford, or hes suffering with mental health problems, or even a combination of any of the above.

Some people get sad, others when feeling sad get irritated and angry.

Or he could just genuinely be a prick with a hatred for everyone around him from not being given enough love and attention as a child, who knows!?

I always try to have benefit of the doubt and try to not let other peoples anger bother me too much, and will actively try to refrain from getting swept up into whatever situation or drama they're orchestrating. I like a nice easy quiet peaceful life so will often laugh and move on.

Personally I always stay in the bike lane when there is an obstruction in it. Even if it means riding over parked cars.

Understated trials skills bragging.

Horrible driver and those incidents can spoil your ride,  morning,  day.   Hopefully it doesn't. 

I generally curse and hold my breath when I see new bits of cycle path appearing.  So often poorly designed and so often a cause for road rage not a prevention!  We need proper driver education and behaviour change not more white lines and narrow lanes strewn with debris 

I’d have completely ignored him. You can’t reason with someoe who’s unreasonable. Anything you say will just wind them up more, and they’ve already demonstrated they don’t really care about your safety.

Agree, you are off to a loser from the start. I however find it hard not to react to them, feels like it is adrenalin based at the time.

As I rode along at the weekend, a line of 4-5 bikes came towards me with 2 cars behind them.  The car furthest back went to overtake the lot of them which meant driving head on towards me.  I stuck my arm out in the international shrugging gesture of "Uh?!?", in return he gave me the finger while bellowing through his windscreen.

Seemed a strange way to say "I'm sorry for not paying attention and sending 2 tonnes of metal towards your face".

You never know what’s going on in other peoples lives, for all we know he could have found out last night that his wife is divorcing him, or someone in his family has just died, or hes had his van broken into, or hes been hit with a bill he doesn’t know how he will afford, or hes suffering with mental health problems, or even a combination of any of the above.

Some people get sad, others when feeling sad get irritated and angry.

Or he could just genuinely be a prick with a hatred for everyone around him from not being given enough love and attention as a child, who knows!?

I always try to have benefit of the doubt and try to not let other peoples anger bother me too much, and will actively try to refrain from getting swept up into whatever situation or drama they’re orchestrating. I like a nice easy quiet peaceful life so will often laugh and move on.

I came here to write this.

Despite it being incredibly hard sometimes, I now just don’t engage, and make sure anyone driving in such a manner is in front of me where I can see them.

I may be right, but I’m the more vulnerable one and my kids would like me to come home. No engagement of any form from me is ever going to change someone else’s driving.

No engagement of any form from me is ever going to change someone else’s driving.

That is true.

Giving driving 'feedback' is akin to 'your cock's too small' or 'your wife's ugly as sin and only stays with you out of charity' or some such. It's not constructive and almost certainly won't help the situation. Unless you're really good at fighting and have a force field around you, best to chill the fkc out and let the fin de cloche (©Cougar) get on with being a prize twit.

What causes drivers to suddenly lose it and become total mental at 8am in the morning ?

Getting up too early or not enough sleep or got kicked out from the bed or simple time pressure.

No engagement of any form from me is ever going to change someone else’s driving.
That is true.

Giving driving ‘feedback’ is akin to ‘your cock’s too small’ or ‘your wife’s ugly as sin and only stays with you out of charity’ or some such. It’s not constructive and almost certainly won’t help the situation.

All this.

I used to engage, but it's pointless and I once had a prize weapon stop the car in the road after I had done the feedback thing and then he went after me on foot in a stupid chase down some pavements and into a carpark. Just chill and let the dicks be dicks. It's their problem.

There is something about white van drivers though. I generally have near zero problems with drivers in and around Glasgow. The last two arseholes were both white van men.  First one overtook on a blind bend/summit causing an oncoming car to brake to prevent a head on crash.  The other one I was going round a roundabout and had to swerve to avoid being wiped out by a white van entered the RAB without giving way. and would have knocked me off if I hadn't. I'm convinced he saw me but just didn't care and was relying on me avoiding him.

And don't start me on cycle lanes. A few sections of road I used to used regularly have been ruined by Covid era seperated cycle lanes which are now debris filled puncture magnets.  The best urban cycling

conditions IMO are share bike/bus lanes.  No cars or vans and the bus tyres sweep the crap off.

I'm sure it's related to the number of cyclists in the area.

Twenty years ago, Cambridgeshire was the same. Now (almost) every driver is very cyclist aware, courteous, sensible. Not all, but the exceptions are so rare that it's quite surprising when it happens. Every type of vehicle - BMWs, audis, white vans, buses especially, seem to be very much better than before.

But it takes years, and it's not easy, and quite a few cyclists have been killed along the way.

@irc

Oil!! I'm a cyclist; mtb and road; and I have a white van, a Renault Master I'll have you know! I take great offense at that judgemental remark! 🤗

So you were not riding your bike where you should be, you were passive aggressive, and then wound him up even further.

you could have apologised and explained why you were not riding in the cycle lane. Cyclists give cycling a bad rep at times dont they

TBF cycle lane use isn't compulsory, and the OP has no responsibility to explain anything to Billy bellend in his Van.

Do you really think he's going to get a reasonable and nuanced debate out of some windmill who's tried to carve him up a couple of times already in a company vehicle?

Road raging drivers are just another flavour of the "professionally offended" just at a different point on the spectrum, what they really need is a good chat and a hug...

Ah, road interactions are a way of life, have been for forever, you just have to put it to the back of your mind or it just eats away at you and annoys you for a while.

Weirdly i've had more bad interactions with other cyclists or pedestrians (dog walkers mainly) on cycle paths around Bristol (B2B & Ring Road), than on roads with car drivers, angry people are all around us!

I've had that before, the 'cycle lane' was so narrow, my handle bars were wider than it, so I have to ride on the line or slightly beyond it.

Never mind drain grids, debris, pinch points for traffic islands and cars parked on it.

what they really need is a good chat and a hug…

By a Grizzly Bear! FTFY

They are running late. Because they spent too much time on the shitter, reading Daily Mail inspired anti cycling posts on Facebook.
Buts it's ok, they can make up the 12 mins late that they are running by driving like a wgbe for the entire 12 minutes journey.
And they will only be a minute late, in their tiny minds , till you appear in front.
Qué full on rantification. Flipping Gaylord on a bike , riding in the road instead of the cycle path my taxes pay for. Flipping waste of millions of pounds putting in all these cycle lanes no one uses. That money would be better spent fixing pot holes so all the cars benefit. Etc .
It's probably not far from the truth. So you become the target of his apoplectic rage and off he goes

So you were not riding your bike where you should be, you were passive aggressive, and then wound him up even further.
you could have apologised and explained why you were not riding in the cycle lane. Cyclists give cycling a bad rep at times dont they

#facepalm #rollseyes #shrugs #shakeshead

Road raging drivers are just another flavour of the “professionally offended” just at a different point on the evolutionary tree…

FTFY 😁

Which is one of the reasons why I am not a fan of cycle lanes with wands

Magic cycle lanes are the worst.

Regular commuting by bike in many cases is probably safer than irregular cycling because you're riding at the same time each day along with other people making their regular commutes so we become recognised and expected, and we all just want to get to work and home again safely. Still get a gew ****s through the week, but shrug.
At least that's my experience when I've cycled along the same roads at irregular times of day suddenly seems like there's lunatics everywhere trying to more me down!
This isn't the city obviously, but from village to town, b roads and lanes.
Also yes the smell from weed is very obvious from vehicles.

The equilibrium is back in balance today. Let out of side roads by at least five drivers, some even where I had no priority - i.e. coming off a bridleway. Said hello to all my usual morning dog walkers and to some less known ones - one collie dropped his ball in front of me when climbing a steep hill - think he wanted to play. And nodded to my usual fellow cycle commuters. Weather a bit rubbish but, hey ho. 

I think TJ has it.
Cocaine, I really didn’t know but last week after another altercation with a driver I was talking to Jnr who was at home on reading week.
He’s just started Uni so his first foray into the real world and his reply was the same. “Coke Dad, everyone is on it”.
I think he’s right. Most of the idiots who have little regard for my safety are of the same demographic, thirty something’s driving vans or pickups, most probably high and ultimately, dangerous!
As someone above has already posted, smile and wave is a great strategy.

You do wonder about drugs and the extensive use - I've lead a sheltered life in this respect, never tried any nor had friends that were social users. The amount of vehicles I smell weed coming from is incredible, and it's all sorts, from people carriers full of kids, exec saloons, white van men and chavs. Given smoking is banned in company vehicles, you do worry that no-one checks vans or sticks to works drug policy.

What @bensales said. Fin du cloches gonna fin du cloche. Me on a bike? Knife at a gunfight. Go home, in one piece.

Also, more credit to @FunkyDunc for a class piece of satire.

Lastly, you should see the same drivers when presented with a Sunday Drivin' Elderly Driver doing 29.5mph in a 30mph limit. Anger isn't reserved for cyclists.

You never know what’s going on in other peoples lives, for all we know he could have found out last night that his wife is divorcing him, or someone in his family has just died, or hes had his van broken into, or hes been hit with a bill he doesn’t know how he will afford, or hes suffering with mental health problems, or even a combination of any of the above.

That doesn't remove them of their obligation to not kill fellow citizens and I feel that making excuses on their behalf is simply condoning their behaviour.

Work from the government and police to improve this behaviour is useful - although forcing someone who does a close pass to ride ten miles along the A59 at 8.30am on a wet morning would be my preference - but going "oh, they're going through a crap time so it's fine for them to drive like a knob" is not the way forward.

Removing the BIK exemption for those turd coloured Nissan pick-up trucks would be a good start too.

The sad thing is, some people are just like this. You can go through most of your life mostly avoiding the sort of people you don't like without huge effort. Apart from in your car (or vaguely fit people doing car-like trips by bike), the distances travelled and the closeness of everyone in the UK mean everyone is "sharing" the road together.

People who think they are the main character and everybody else is an obstacle; people angry with everything and unafraid to voice opinions on it; people who coast through oblivious; poeple who think cocaine and a fight is a good friday night. I quite successfully avoid these people, but they could easily be in the car behind me.

you’re riding at the same time each day along with other people making their regular commutes

I dunno, there are so many people driving cars, it'd be a miracle if you saw the same one twice... Having said that I did recognise this noisy gas guzzling piece of garbage black & green (Nissan?) thing this morning. Have seen/heard it once before and saw it twice today, once when I passed him sat in a queue and then about 15 mins later when he caught me up. His 200whatever BHP and 500dB exhaust did him the world of good.

His 200whatever BHP and 500dB exhaust did him the world of good.

But so what? Some people like spending money on their car toys. I'd presume its an MOT fail in waiting, if genuinely that badly done. I can't get excited about the idea of stopping the fun of the 0.1% of population who want to put a daft exhaust on their car. The world has bigger fish to fry.

Back on topic, did this driver try running you off the road and shouting abuse or throwing bricks at your bike?

Had it on the way to work, wasn't on pavement mixed use bit as it's badly surfaced but close pass even though it's a two lane road then red faced screaming about not using the cycle path. He was apoplectic even though it made no difference to his journey and he was actually just now sitting at traffic lights. 

Anger isn’t reserved for cyclists.

Can confirm. Yesterday's drive to Edinburgh was OK; driving home was like the wacky races at times from cars & vans and that wasn't even on the ring-road! Weather was atrocious. Rain bouncing off the tarmac. Visibility extremely poor. Still had a Porsche WP sat on my back bumper as I passed a couple of lorries. Just passed the front bumper of the lorry and lights flashing, then horn blaring as they went past me. I'd pulled over by this point and then they swing in front, hit the brake pedal, then straight back out into the outside lane. There are some odd people in this world.

What do you expect, you don't pay "road" tax for your bike, so why should be able to ride your bike on the road only meant for motor vehicles. Stick to your lane, if it's full of debris, go home and get a broom and tidy it up. If cars are parked on it, get off your bike and walk it on the pavement and then get back in the lane once clear.

People have places to be, don't get in their way. If they are in a bad mood, it's everyone else's fault and we should bend over backwards for their dangerous driving, remember it's a god given right to drive a car or van.

You do wonder about drugs and the extensive use – I’ve lead a sheltered life in this respect, never tried any nor had friends that were social users.

Same. It's featured so little in my life that it honestly never crossed my mind as an issue. The "bad kids" at high school were on B&H, not class As. I vaguely know a few friends-of-friends who are heavily chemically enhanced but within my own direct circle there's a couple of stoners and that's it. If any of my friends are coke hounds, well, they've hidden it well.

Forget the nutcase drivers, its the nutcase pedestrians you also need to watch out for.

Toro on flashing is pretty bright, but they still walk right out in front of you without even so much as a sideways glance.

And always on a Sunday.(drivers included) What is it about this day in the week that has so many incompetent people out and about.

And always on a Sunday.(drivers included) What is it about this day in the week that has so many incompetent people out and about.

I've never understood this either. Go into ASDA at 10 to 4 on a Sunday and it's like a low budget reboot of Cocoon. WTF are pensioners doing the other 6.9 days of the week that necessitates buying two months' worth of shopping at that time? When I retire I'm doing my shopping at 11:30pm on a Thursday, it'll be fantastic.

WTF are pensioners doing the other 6.9 days of the week that necessitates buying two months’ worth of shopping at that time?

Current pensioners (shuffly old ones not newly retired active ones) spent most of their life with no sunday trading. Probably still a novelty for them.

And always on a Sunday.(drivers included) What is it about this day in the week that has so many incompetent people out and about.p

Sunday drivers used to be a phrase used for poor driving (is it still used?):

Some people get a cheap laugh breaking up the speed limit
Scaring the pedestrians for a minute
Crossing up progress driving on the grass
Leaving just enough room to pass
Sunday driver never took a test
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west

Once Upon a Time in the West - Dire Straits.

Where did the term Sunday drivers come from?
 The term Sunday driver is derived from a practice of early automobile owners. In the 1920s and 1930s, many car owners did not depend on their automobiles for transportation. Taking a leisurely and largely aimless drive in the country on Sunday afternoon was a form of entertainment, as gasoline was cheap and abundant.  Drivers who indulged in this practice were in no hurry, enraging other drivers on the road who were trying to get somewhere. The term Sunday driver became a popular epithet.

It’s not just when you’re cycling. I had an absolute throbber get very vexed and yell at me for not giving way to my left at a roundabout. I just shouted “to the right you ****wit” and carried on my merry way. They are everywhere and appear to be multiplying.

I t’s not just when you’re cycling. I had an absolute throbber get very vexed and yell at me for not giving way to my left at a roundabout. I just shouted “to the right you ****” and carried on my merry way. They are everywhere and appear to be multiplying.

They are rife here in Torquay, to the point where you have to double check they are not going to pull out, on every single roundabout !

Go into ASDA at 10 to 4 on a Sunday and it’s like a low budget reboot of Cocoon. WTF are pensioners doing the other 6.9 days of the week that necessitates buying two months’ worth of shopping at that time?

That’s because the Post Office is shut on a Sunday. They like to go en masse around lunchtime , just to hold up everyone else , who are trying to get something done quickly in their lunch break

I had one nutter actually use his car to force me to stop on the M4, the bloke got out of his car and totally lost it, standing on the motorway screaming and shouting, he was a dead ringer for the bloke off the Mr Muscle ads, he looked about seven stone wet, I just sat there chuckling.

I think this morning was the worst I have ever seen for some reason. In just a 10 mile ride I had 2 close passes and 3 overtakes going into blind corners (one of which were I was in a very primary position - i.e. riding in middle of road as was 30 metres from corner yet car squeezed by giving me less than a metre of room)

Last two days have been fine, but the traffic, my word it's been bad - doesn't affect me as I whiz past these bits on a properly segregated cycle path.

I tend to take primary position, and smile and wave at everyone.

An approach to life which is hard to argue with.
Rico, Private is going to ride last man....!

catfoodFree Member
I had one nutter actually use his car to force me to stop on the M4

I had similar a while back but it wasn't a motorway, a 30mph residential area. I was coming clos to where I needed to turn right and coming the other way was a chav chariot doing about 60mph and taking off over the speed bumps. So I thought I'd nip out in front of him -knowing I could easily do it but close enough to give him a bit of a panic. As I looked in mirror after making my right turn I saw him shoot passed the turning I'd just made, then he reversed back and turned left after me. He then overtook me on a hump back bridge, no way to see if anything was oncoming, he swerved in front of me, stopped and got out the car. What I saw was a skinny little child dressed in a hoody, hood up, doing some kind of Yo-Rap pointing dance thing in front of my car. I had the music on quite loud so had no idea what he was prattling on about. Anyway halfway through his act the lights changed so I just drove round him and carried on my way. Most odd and quite funny I thought 😂

I had to drive to the office yesterday rather than cycling - it just reminded me why I hate being stuck in traffic and driving to the office - cycling is a so much nicer way to cover the 9 miles into the city centre, admittedly I can't drive down the canal and river side paths.

You have Adam Tranter on your side in the West Midlands (and by extension the Mayor). I’ve just seen him on LinkedIn exhorting people to use the police portal to report bad driving.

Here