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Originally Posted by MetroMPG
Sad to say I had an "incident" with a car on the weekend - first one in years and years. I was on my junk town bike:
The incident was your basic "getting cut off by an overtaking car making a right turn" situation. No contact or anything. I just had to take evasive action and did some yelling.
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The evasive action is fine, your yelling is excusable. Your not understanding the rules of the road isn't.
I too, ride a bike. But I expect motor vehicle drivers to do stupid things (such as not see me or care to) and I will do anything to avoid them. I never think or say or act like "I have a RIGHT" to be in this lane. Being dead right is usually that: maybe you will be dead right - but with the emphasis on being DEAD.
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The driver must have seen me, since she gave me a comfortably wide berth as she was overtaking. But then made her turn before her car's back wheel was even past me!
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Yes, she is now in front of you. That is IMPORTANT. You didn't say whether she had her turn signal on. But even if she didn't, you as an experienced cyclist (to be charitable in assuming that) and being a slow(er) moving vehicle, you should know better than to tangle with a motorized one - let alone think that you need not yield to a vehicle that has passed you,
and is now in front of you.
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I suppose I could have been occupying my entire lane, as the road leading up to the intersection is pretty narrow. But I wasn't. Fortunately, vehicles move pretty slowly through this area.
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She had already passed you
and was in front of you.
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My afterthought: I should have at least got her license plate number to report her to the police.
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Oh, really? For what? For your immature demand that she must drive slower than YOU? Maybe you actually should speak to the police and they can advise you about safer driving habits. For you, on your bike, also must observe the rules of vehicular traffic.
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Adrenaline, however, just made me want to yell at her instead of thinking of the bigger picture.
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That attitude is at the least immature, if not downright childish.
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Fortunately her sunroof was open, so I'm quite sure she at least heard me.
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Feel better now for having vented?
To paraphrase a similar sentiment: "There are old bicyclists, and there are bold bicyclists. There are no old, BOLD bicyclists."