Crappy Cyclists

No, the bugger was coming up beside me on the left, because the right side had a parked car.

I saw he was probably coming up that way, so I inched over to the left, which kinda made his bike hit the side of my truck when he got to it ....at which point he accused me of attempted murder, (seriously!) followed by accusing me of being an atheist (an atheist....really!)....this is all without me opening my mouth to say anything yet btw.

Incredible.

Apparently I'm "filled with hate" for calling him out on his illegal lane change and making sure he couldn't pass me on the left.

This is the first time I've been called a murder...and the first time I've ever been called a murderer-atheist! (what that has to do with anything, I still don't know)...it wasn't until after that I thought of opening my door instead.

Friggin' bugger.

I gave him a lecture on his illegally zipping thru traffic, but it's clear he wasn't listening to a word I was saying, and was more concerned with yelling out random, stupid sh*t like murder and un-christian.

I think anti-semetic was thrown in there too now that I think about it....the guy was a complete tard.

If god exists and he loves cyclists then he would not have allowed spandex to be invented.

HaHaHaHa

I still would've laughed.

Did he have an ipod plugged in? maybe he was listening to some evangelist preaching when he crashed into you .

As stupid as the incident was - I'm starting to have a real issue with this ' ipods cause bike accidents' that's hitting the media.

A couple of the recent accidents included quotes from RCMP that said ipods were a contributor. How? was the individual playing with the volume, looking for a song? When was the last time you heard " the car radio was a factor in the accident"?

ipods aren't a factor if you are riding correctly. The only way they become a factor is if you are trying to tune it while you are riding and aren't paying attention to where you are going.

odd. I was wondering about something completely related. How come its illegal to drive whilst wearing headphones? Wouldn't that mean that it should be illegal for deaf people to drive as well?

I think you read too much into my comment Norbert.

I wasn't implying that's what caused the incident...I was implying that's what introduced the religious tirade.

I have seen a couple of near-misses where the i-pod has been a factor. Where a vehicle was turning and a cyclist (and in one case a pedestrian) was "cluelessly absorbed" into whatever they had on their ipod...to which they only reacted when the vehicle honked their horn to get the attention of the ipodder.

I would never claim the ipod CAUSED an incident...but they can be a contributing factor as to the circumstances leading to one. Radios in cars do not completely drown out external noise...but an ear-bud placed a 1/2" from the ear-drum...pretty much cancels out other noises around...even at low levels. It's why there are laws in place against wearing radios with ear-buds (or headphones) while driving.

If you'd like to test it, get a pair of inexpensive ear-plugs and stick them in your ears while walking, driving, or riding your bike (please do it in a quiet area with little traffic) and see if your attention is different (it will be). Now imagine the same blockage of noise, but adding direct noise into your ear-drums covering anything else that may be happening around you.

Again...it's not a CAUSE of an incident...but it's a leading distraction that can be a factor.

Deank wrote:odd. I was wondering about something completely related. How come its illegal to drive whilst wearing headphones? Wouldn't that mean that it should be illegal for deaf people to drive as well?

Probably boils down to the original reasoning. Maybe the original law had something to do with walkmans and / or communication radios that people were always fiddling with - leading to distraction. In that case, then no it shouldn't be illegal for deaf people to drive. It also means the law is outdated. I can set my ipod on shuffle and constant volume when I leave = no distraction.

If however, the reasoning was that headphones impaired your hearing, the yes by the same logic it should be illegal for deaf people to drive, since their hearing is already impaired.

AGEsAces wrote:I think you read too much into my comment Norbert.

I wasn't implying that's what caused the incident...I was implying that's what introduced the religious tirade.

I have seen a couple of near-misses where the i-pod has been a factor. Where a vehicle was turning and a cyclist (and in one case a pedestrian) was "cluelessly absorbed" into whatever they had on their ipod...to which they only reacted when the vehicle honked their horn to get the attention of the ipodder.

I would never claim the ipod CAUSED an incident...but they can be a contributing factor as to the circumstances leading to one. Radios in cars do not completely drown out external noise...but an ear-bud placed a 1/2" from the ear-drum...pretty much cancels out other noises around...even at low levels. It's why there are laws in place against wearing radios with ear-buds (or headphones) while driving.

If you'd like to test it, get a pair of inexpensive ear-plugs and stick them in your ears while walking, driving, or riding your bike (please do it in a quiet area with little traffic) and see if your attention is different (it will be). Now imagine the same blockage of noise, but adding direct noise into your ear-drums covering anything else that may be happening around you.

Again...it's not a CAUSE of an incident...but it's a leading distraction that can be a factor.

Oh, I didn't read your post that it was the cause of the accident.

I just don't agree that they are a contributing factor unless you're busy fiddling with them. Cluelessly absorbed = not paying attention. That's a rider error, not due to ipod.

I ride both with and without ipod depending on the mood. and to be honest, doesn't make a bit of difference. I get more noise cancellation from the wind than I do from my ipod.

I'm just worried that there is going to be an accident on a major street where the car driver is clearly at fault, yet it gets blamed on the cyclist just because they were wearing an ipod.

Any damage to your truck?

JTF wrote:Any damage to your truck?

Aside from some white paint (I would assume from the bike's handle bars) which leads to a pretty large scratch, not much.

It is "just a truck" but still...it gets my wife all upset. (lol)

And no, this fella was not wearing any earphones of any kind.

FWIW, I rode to work for a summer (I only ride to work in the summer) with ear phones. I knew at the time it was illegal to wear earphones while driving a car/truck, and assumed it was also illegal (if not, at least questionable practice if not done properly) while riding a bike. If not, it would only be a matter of time until it was.

My strategy wasn't to listen to my tunes, but to listen to the radio. No skipping tracks, finding play lists or any of that distracting stuff. I just parked the station on the morning show of choice, and put on my headphones, and my mp3 player (non ipod) in my pocket.

I used headphones, not ear-buds! My headphones were the wrap around back style, which worked really well with my cycling helmet. I felt ear-buds would block out too much of the surrounding traffic noises.

With my headphones on, I would only set the volume to where I could hear what was being said, and what tune was occasionally being played, but I could still hear the sorrounding traffic as well.

That "was" my method.
I haven't ridden in to work yet this year, if/when I do, I don't think I'll be wearing the headphones at all, especailly considering what St. Norberter said above...it appears that "ipods" are going to be targeted, at least by the media and others. I've seen the same thing showing up in recent cyclist/crash reports.

When I ride, I have an earpiece in (bluetooth to my mp3 player).

It's only in one ear, (my right) so I can hear traffic coming up beside me.

I just bought a bell to warn others around me I'm coming through, and I'm looking for a helmet-mount mirror, as I've found quite the need for it when around traffic.

^ Screw the bell.

Buy an airzound air horn. 121 db - those things are great - not only do they get the attention of pedestrians, they get the attention of drivers too!

a helmet mounted laser might be a better idea.

AGEsAces wrote:When I ride, I have an earpiece in (bluetooth to my mp3 player).

It's only in one ear, (my right) so I can hear traffic coming up beside me.

I used to do that. I don't notice the difference between one and two earbuds. But I have the volume turned down pretty low to begin with.

yeah...but an airhorn is a pain to fiddle with when riding...and means i have to take my hand off the bars.

i was looking for an electric "horn" i could mount on the frame and just push a button, but couldn't find one where I was shopping.

AGEsAces wrote:i was looking for an electric "horn" i could mount on the frame and just push a button, but couldn't find one where I was shopping.

Princess auto sells this one!

http://www.princessauto.com/truck-trailer/truck-accessories/truckmiscellaneous/8237802-oogah-horn

AGEsAces wrote:yeah...but an airhorn is a pain to fiddle with when riding...and means i have to take my hand off the bars.

i was looking for an electric "horn" i could mount on the frame and just push a button, but couldn't find one where I was shopping.

Actually the airzound sets up pretty good. The air reservoir mounts to the underside of the top tube with velcro. There is a tube connecting the reservoir to the horn that is mounted on the handlebars with a quick release. Don't have to take your hand off the handlebars at all to use it - and most cases when I use it, my hands are on the brakes, so I have mounted it where I can hammer it with my thumb.

Umm...$50? are you nuts?

Plus..a 12VDC battery...my bike is heavy enough with my 300lb ass sitting on it )

i was looking for something more like $5-10...and that people would be less likely to try stealing when i park the bike.

I paid $19 for my airzound.

It's not her...the woman hit was in her mid-20s (according to CJOB)

and MizP is too old to be out at 2AM

Thanks for the replies guys, I don't listen to CJOB, only able to get info from the web news.