Tesla drivers have been overtaking (or at least rising to the level of) BMW drivers as the worst on the road.
Around here the worst drivers are mostly larger cars. Broncos, wagoneer, range rovers, etc. Tesla drivers sometimes try to get zippy, same as BMW sefan drivers, etc. But the larger car drivers are aggressive af, tailing you reeeeeeeal close for however long it takes before they can whip around you.
I don't agree. In fact, the Tesla drivers around me are some of the better drivers. I still hate Tesla though.
That has not been my experience at all. I guess we just need more data.
I know this is fuckcars, but that's not even a car thing - it's a human thing, and all the worse for it:-(.
The thing is, if you both were on a bike, the interaction would have so much less potential to have become accidentally deadly:-).
cars bring out the worst in people.
Yup. Ironically I think it's that feeling of pseudoanonymity that does it, which seems backed up by how people often behave online. It allows someone's true colors to come out, whatever they may be.
I think cars and car culture are inextricably linked to this kind of behavior, and it gets worse with bigger cars. People definitely can ride bikes like assholes but it’s less common-something about having zero barriers between a person and the world makes them less susceptible to acting like the world isn’t there.
Driving around in a climate controlled cockpit with surround stereo, splashing rain and mud on all those who they pass by, while laughing at "the poors" who cannot afford to drive or perhaps soon helicopter around everywhere. It definitely has an effect - bc Power Corrupts.
But it's not solely their fault - the fault is also (or even... primarily?) ours for voting in such a way that so much space is dedicated to these rich assholes, while leaving no room for ourselves.
Though also, I bet this asshole would have been just as douchy if both sides of the conflict here had been walking. So the car made the situation so much worse, rather than creating it.
This is normal day for a bmw driver.
“2 designated bike lanes”
Op had an option to not be in danger then. They were in the car lane to feel the drama.
So you're assuming the bike was in a car lane instead of a car trying to drive in the designated bike lane?
Considering the car was going 70 in a thirty it doesn't sound like he obeyed the rules of the road.
So you’re assuming the bike was in a car lane instead of a car trying to drive in the designated bike lane?
You're picking and choosing assumptions that suit your preference.
Considering the car was going 70 in a thirty it doesn’t sound like he obeyed the rules of the road.
Nor did the cyclist. Two wrongs don't make you right.
Nor did the cyclist. Two wrongs don't make you right.
Again there is no reason to assume the cyclist isn't in the bike lane or is breaking any kind of law. You just decided entirely on your own that they must be in the road.
I saw a car driving on the bike path just yesterday. Not even a bike lane, I completely separate path on the side of the road separated by a big ditch. They drove on the bike path to avoid traffic lights.
If we’re going by anecdotes, I saw a cyclist ignore a red last week and in the past month several ignore stop signs.
We aren't going by anecdotes. We are going by what's most reasonable to assume.
Reasonable to assume a cyclist that aren’t required to hold a license to be out on the road won’t obey road rules.
You're picking and choosing assumptions that suit your preference.
That's pretty rich considering you're assuming OP (on a bike) specifically mentioned two designated bike lanes, decided to ride in the road instead, then told all of us so we would know he's a jerk.
If they were riding in the road they wouldn't have mentioned the bike lanes at all so they looked like the "good guy"
"So I was stomping on some kittens right, then this guy cut in line at Walmart right in front of me! What a jerk"
Why would someone include the part of the story that made them the bad guy?
You are the one assuming whatever fits you're narrative the best. You must drive a BMW and are here to troll bike riders.
And where did they say the car drive in the bike lane? They didn’t. This is your narrative.
Op said they were on a bike. Op said there were two designated bike lanes. Ok said car nearly hit them.
One of two things must be true.
Car entered the bike lane. A thing that happens often.
Op was riding in the traffic lane instead of the two designated bike lanes, then posted about it, and specifically mentioned the two bike lanes they were not using for no reason other than to make themself look bad. A thing that doesn't happen often.
You see how short one explanation is compared to the other? Yeah the short explanation is probably what happened. It's the most likely explanation.
It does happen often. Many Cyclists often do not obey road rules. ‘Rules are for thee and not for me.’ And it’s hilarious you think anyone that entitled has any self observation enough to think they would look bad while doing so. Riding a bike should absolutely require a license to be out on the road.
And BMW drivers are well known for their courtesy on the road? Oh right even car drivers know people who drive bmws think they are special and do whatever they want.
Go home troll.
I’ve seen bmws get plowed by distracted drivers. But that’s the thing: Cars aren’t empty machines. They are operated by humans. As are cyclists, cyclists who should also practice the rules of the road.
As a fellow cyclist myself , I am disappointed by your intellect on this one.
You're trolling.
Basically you're saying "sometimes cyclist don't follow traffic rules"
As you're justification why OP must've been in the road instead of the bike lanes they specifically mentioned. It's nonsense.
You have no argument, you just don't like people riding bikes because you once saw a guy not following rules on a bike. Give me a break. Why are you here if you only want to defend cars even when the evidence clearly shows the car was at fault? Why are you here if you want to exclusively blame cyclist for every bad thing that a driver does?
You're trolling. Go home.
Op had an option to not be in danger then. They were in the car lane to feel the drama.
That's you making a wild leap to blame the bike.
I'm using what's called occums razor. Op mentioned the bike lanes. Op didn't say anything about being in the main road.
It's more reasonable to assume they were using the bike lanes they mentioned. It's unreasonable to assume they were in the road and only mentioned the bike lanes to us in order to make themselves look bad. That doesn't make sense.
I love the drama of getting hit by cars on the way to pick up my kid
So you admit you don’t use the designated bike lanes
Treating bikers poorly is not just a U.S. thing, I’ve seen it the EU too, pretty nasty interactions. Drivers should be heavily fined for endangering people in more vulnerable situations.
Edit multiple people saying losing driving privileges, I think it usually works that way for repeat offenders. If someone does it once and the fine deters them then mission accomplished
When I lived in Calgary I almost got hit at crosswalks jogging with my dog countless times. By the time I moved away I was ready to throw the fuck down every time someone almost killed me or my dog (unless they gave me some sign that they were apologetic, which was very rarely). wtf is wrong with these people? Watch for people not in fucking cars, there’s crosswalks and bike laws for a reason, there’s other people doing shit in the world than just you. And I am not above breaking your mirror off your vehicle if you piss me off.
I could have written the exact same paragraph even though I live on the other side of the planet. It's crazy how universal this shit seems to be.
https://bimmerlife.com/2020/10/31/study-bmw-drivers-are-the-rudest/
BMW drivers are the worst. It's science.
BMW lost any enthusiasm from me when they introduced subscription car features. I think they did it before anyone else.
Now I'm happy to think of BMW as full-throated supporters of the German Reich.
As someone who does enjoy cars, fuck BMW owners, they are always the stupidest, angriest, pettiest drivers on the road. I wouldn't invite one to my wedding.
I'm just saying this because yesterday I drove behind a BMW M5 driver who was the exact opposite of an aggressive driver. They were so cautious and considerate of others around them I actually took notice. Broke my world for a moment, I expected them to be a jerk but nope. It was a welcomed weird.
ESH IMO, the "Not gonna let them pass me crowd" is almost as dangerous as the wreckless driver crowd. Just let them pass, if you feel they are breaking the law then report them accordingly.
Stop taking the law into your own hands, it's dangerous.
It's a one lane one way street, there's nothing to let them pass though. They were just driving responsibly from the sounds of it.
on a single file one-way side street with 2 designated bike lanes. He was furious that I wouldn't let him speed past him
The description is weird, but it sounds to me like there's 1 lane for cars and 2 (narrow) bike lanes on either side and the biker was in the middle to prevent him from passing
They were just driving responsibly from the sounds of it.
That may be so, but pulling to the side to let an aggressive driver pass you is the smarter choice. Especially on a bike. Bike vs Car faceoffs usually don't end well for the biker.
You may have missed the part where the driver of the BMW “hopped the curb” “at 70”. I have some doubts about the speed, but if you’re going over a curb at speed to try to pass someone, you’re in the wrong.
No, the group of people who don’t kill any people with their vehicles is not “just as dangerous” as the group who kills 25,000+ people/year
Anybody have experience adding a dashcam to their bike? I wonder if documenting these cases could help start change
Go on 'The Youtube', there are thousands of videos of bicyclists with dash cams in hairy situations.
There's an app for that - it's called, succinctly, "dashcam for your bike". They sell clip-on phone holders for your bike and do some image stabilization in the video they record, and have integration so you can report people/items blocking the bike lane to the local infrastructure. Would recommend.
The BMW comes with the special edition highway code has that extra rule at the end.
I didn't think it was true until I was a passenger in one and the driver - whom I previously thought to be a semi-sane human - missed the motorway junction that we wanted; this is no problem at all for BMW, it has hazards and a reversing gear . . . genius!
Can confirm. Just walked the Camino and everyone I talked to had a bad experience with BMW drivers. The brand is like a dickhead magnet.
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