Beeping cars...

Quoted post said:

Hello,

I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps thier horn to alert me of
thier presence. I mean, this is a road, I am used to cycling in
traffic! But thanks for the warning😉 !!!

What are your opinions on this. Am I the only one annoyed by it?

Cullen Carter

A well meaning "toot" is always okay with me.

An angry "get the F off the road" beep ... never.

Sometimes, it's difficult to differentiate between the two.

And sometimes, it's very simple.

Quoted message said:

Quoted post said:

Hello,

Quoted message said:

I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps thier horn to alert me of
thier presence. I mean, this is a road, I am used to cycling in
traffic! But thanks for the warning😉 !!!

Quoted message said:

What are your opinions on this. Am I the only one annoyed by it?

Quoted message said:

Cullen Carter

A well meaning "toot" is always okay with me.

An angry "get the F off the road" beep ... never.

Sometimes, it's difficult to differentiate between the two.

And sometimes, it's very simple.

it's probabally better just to raise your hand to wave "thanks" or "go
around" than anything else (including middle finger or fist); bike vs
car, car wins....let it go than provoke an incident that might ruin
your ride or more

email hidden said:

Hello,

I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps thier horn to alert me of
thier presence. I mean, this is a road, I am used to cycling in
traffic! But thanks for the warning😉 !!!

I appreciate a friendly toot from 30 yards behind, just inform me that
a pass is imminent. I DO NOT appreciate the jerks who deafen and
startle me blasting their horns right beside me!

Quoted message said:

Hello,
I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps thier horn
to alert me of thier presence. I mean, this is
a road, I am used to cycling in traffic! But
thanks for the warning😉 !!!
What are your opinions on this. Am I the only
one annoyed by it?
Cullen Carter

Cullen, I'm fine with a beep. I ride primarily on rural secondary
roads.
Let me cite the driver behaviour that boggles my mind.
Clear road, _no_ oncoming traffic. Overtaking car/driver approaches
from rear. I can hear them decelerating to say oh, 20 mph. They then
make this huge arc around me and resume previous warp command. ????
Back to topic. I always acknowledge a beep or courteous driving
behaviour with a polite wave, even when driving a motor vehicle.
Good post Cullen.

Best Regards - Mike Baldwin

I beep when POB's are on the wrong side of the road and when cyclists
block the road . I dont normally get beeped at because I ride the way
I as a driver expect cyclists to.

Quoted post said:

Hello,

I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps thier horn to alert me of
thier presence. I mean, this is a road, I am used to cycling in
traffic! But thanks for the warning😉 !!!

What are your opinions on this. Am I the only one annoyed by it?

Cullen Carter

Quoted message said:

Hello,

I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps thier horn to alert me of
thier presence. I mean, this is a road, I am used to cycling in
traffic! But thanks for the warning😉 !!!

What are your opinions on this. Am I the only one annoyed by it?

Cullen Carter

It is usually some mutt in a luxury car who's also talking on their cell
phone. Yeah, it bugs me.

Sr. said:

email hidden said:

Hello,

I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps thier horn to alert me of
thier presence. I mean, this is a road, I am used to cycling in
traffic! But thanks for the warning😉 !!!

I appreciate a friendly toot from 30 yards behind, just inform me that
a pass is imminent. I DO NOT appreciate the jerks who deafen and
startle me blasting their horns right beside me!

Exactly.

Beep, if you must from at least 30 yds. That gives me time to signal
I'm turning (for instance). I hear you, yet am not startled. After
all, I could fall off the bike and if you ran me over, think of the
mess it would make on your tires..

Beep to say 'hi' -after- you've passed me! :-)

Keep the 'beep' as short as possible.

When you do pass me, do it at a normal speed and when it's safe. Don't
continue the 'startle' by revving the motor, and flooring it.

After you pass, you do not need to go to the extreme right to show me
how far you had to travel to go around me.

Obviously, don't turn into your driveway 20 feet in front of me, or
slam on your brakes.

If you are going nowhere in a hurry, just wait a little, okay? We
might be neighbors.

See my opinion on this topic, posted to this newsgroup a few years
back, archived here: http://www.cyclingforums.com/archive/index.php/t-182611.html

Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Home of the meditative cyclist: http://www.bicyclemeditations.org
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Quoted message said:

What are your opinions on this. Am I the only one annoyed by it?

Cullen Carter

There I am, riding solo on this winding country lane with no shoulders. A
car comes up behind me and honks...and honks...and honks...and I am thinking
"What the #$%^ do you want me to do--dive off into ditch?" It was
definitely one of those drivers who thinks bikes have NO right to the roads
at all....

Pat in TX

Quoted post said:

Hello,

....

Quoted message said:

What are your opinions on this. Am I the only one annoyed by it?

Cullen Carter

Motorists in general tend to annoy me, but I'm old and crabby. (you
kids get outta here!)

I wouldn't worry too much about what motorists think, if they had half
a brain they wouldn't be motorists now would they. Yes, they are an
annoying lot.

I remember one morning, at least a decade ago, I was trying a new
route to work and I was going down Campbell for a couple blocks... the
traffic was very heavy, just as I was fixin' to turn right off of the
3-laner onto a more pleasant street some yahoo gives me the horn - to
which I reply with the bird. Then I notice that it is a familiar
looking vehicle, "isn't that Alex' dad?" I ponder all the way down the
hill - it seemed reasonable as I'm only about 4 miles from home. But
that was years ago, back when I just waved my finger at 'em... Now I'm
much more certain of my targets before I let fly, but then again I'm
packing a heavier load too.

I'm sure everyone has had one like this gal out in Plano way back when
I worked at EDS: On a two lane road (two lanes each direction with a
median and yes, I'm taking one of 'em:-) with nobody but her an' me
she comes up behind me and honks, I wave (all the fingers)... she
honks again, I wave again, this cycle repeats like four times, a car
passes us both in the other lane... I slow to a crawl and start to
weave like a drunk in a mustang, finally she moves over and goes
around. She's on something stronger than mother's little helper to
get this whacked out, but ya can't shoot 'em just for honking no
matter how much better society would be without them.

Cullen Carter said:

I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps their horn to alert me of
their presence. I mean, this is a road, I am used to cycling in
traffic! But thanks for the warning😉 !!!

Quoted message said:

What are your opinions on this. Am I the only one annoyed by it?

It's condescending and insulting in most events, unless it is truly a
tap on the horn giving a minimal bip rather than the irate rude one
second blast that suggests the bicyclist should evaporate.

I find that most auto horns are sounded when I ride with riders who
insist they have the right to ride in the traffic lane even when there
is an adequate shoulder with a good surface. That behaviors is as
obvious to drivers of motor vehicles as the one second honk is to
bicyclists. It's brash body language that sends unpleasant massages.

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/6.1.html

Jobst Brandt

Quoted message said:

Cullen Carter said:

I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps their horn to alert me of
their presence. I mean, this is a road, I am used to cycling in
traffic! But thanks for the warning😉 !!!

Quoted message said:

What are your opinions on this. Am I the only one annoyed by it?

It's condescending and insulting in most events, unless it is truly a
tap on the horn giving a minimal bip rather than the irate rude one
second blast that suggests the bicyclist should evaporate.

I find that most auto horns are sounded when I ride with riders who
insist they have the right to ride in the traffic lane even when there
is an adequate shoulder with a good surface. That behaviors is as
obvious to drivers of motor vehicles as the one second honk is to
bicyclists. It's brash body language that sends unpleasant massages.

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/6.1.html

Jobst Brandt

I experienced a newer one last week called 'the Left squeeze'.

Entering an old railway tunnel 20 feet long from a stop sign right at
the tunnel entrance (the visibility on approach is poor), I started
into the tunnel.

Approaching me from the other direction was a driver who had already
done a 'rolling stop' at his sign. Instead of hesitating a moment to
let me get through the tunnel he tried to get as close to the wall on
the driver's side as possible without hitting , as if he wanted me to
scrape the wall (to my right) with my elbow or handle bars to get
through.

Fortunately I found a narrow patch closer than he was willing to
squeeze me into and made it through in about 2 seconds before he could
steer into the wall. Must have been frustrating for him in his
suv-truck, since it was hard for him to see how close his high fender
was. Thus he couldn't execute the full squeeze in time..

Most drivers will stop and wait in a pre-tunnel ante way where the
road starts to narrow from two lanes, then in 1-2 seconds, I wave and
being through, they enter from their side.

The city made it worse in this narrow tunnel by building a very high
curbed sidewalk on one side making a nearly 2 lane tunnel into 1.25
lanes. The sidewalk is too tall to jump if you're on the side walk
side on your bike, also. You'd have to do the jump dismount and haul
and hope the driver didn't decide to jump the walk to get at you.
Yikes. 🙂

Quoted post said:

Hello,

I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps thier horn to alert me of
thier presence. I mean, this is a road, I am used to cycling in
traffic! But thanks for the warning😉 !!!

What are your opinions on this. Am I the only one annoyed by it?

Cullen Carter

A short beep to alert me to the presence of overtaking traffic never
bothers me. I've beeped like that to warn cyclists when I've been
driving and about to overtake them. It really isn't any different than
a cyclist on a MUP ringing a bell to warn other path users. The long
horn blast that says, "Get out of my way", is another story and would
be akin to a MUP cyclist using an airhorn to clear the path in front
of them- totally unnecessary and downright rude.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Bob said:

Quoted post said:

Hello,

I love it [sarcasm] when a motorist beeps thier horn to alert me of
thier presence. I mean, this is a road, I am used to cycling in
traffic! But thanks for the warning😉 !!!

What are your opinions on this. Am I the only one annoyed by it?

Cullen Carter

A short beep to alert me to the presence of overtaking traffic never
bothers me. I've beeped like that to warn cyclists when I've been
driving and about to overtake them.

C'mon, Bob, you really don't think they've seen you long before that?
Plus, too close if you're just about to overtake them. I expect more
out ofyou.

Quoted message said:

It really isn't any different than
a cyclist on a MUP ringing a bell to warn other path users.

Well, ring a bicycle bell in your bedroom at 2am and then Ioot the
horn on your car, same place, same time. You can tell me if there's a
difference in 'startle factor' by how quickly your wife hits you with
a shoe. ;p

Quoted message said:

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A short beep to alert me to the presence of overtaking traffic never
bothers me. I've beeped like that to warn cyclists when I've been
driving and about to overtake them.

C'mon, Bob, you really don't think they've seen you long before that?
Plus, too close if you're just about to overtake them. I expect more
out ofyou.

I have to say that I see absolutely no need for any beeps, short or
otherwise. To do a beep indicates you think there is no way the cyclist
could absolutely know you're behind them. I have ears; I know you're there
even if I don't look at you.

Pat in TX

The Six Million Dollar Mans says

Quoted message said:

I have to say that I see absolutely no need
for any beeps, short or otherwise. To do a beep
indicates you think there is no way the cyclist could
absolutely know you're behind them. I have ears; I know
you're there even if I don't look at you.
Pat in TX

DiDiDiDiDiDi......

Probably most drivers, even in Texas, are unaware of your Bionic
capabilities Pat. To counter your "to do a beep indicates you think
there is no way the cyclist could absolutely know you're behind
them"...I've been "beeped" and have a noted the driver giving a _"thumbs
up"_ approval. I've been "beeped" by drivers with bikes on their roof
mounted racks I've been "beeped" when the wind in my ears was the only
thing I _was_ hearing until I was "beeped".
To have not only an incredible awareness of the surrounding
environment but the ability to know the mindset of approaching motorist
is absolutely phenomenal.
May I ask, do you have night vision as well?

just regards - Mike Baldwin

EasyCompany said:

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:41:41 -0700 (PDT), Bob <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A short beep to alert me to the presence of overtaking traffic never
bothers me. I've beeped like that to warn cyclists when I've been
driving and about to overtake them.

C'mon, Bob, you really don't think they've seen you long before that?
Plus, too close if you're just about to overtake them. I expect more
out ofyou.

Sometimes, especially in the case of overtaking two or more cyclists
riding together, I know they really *haven't* seen me just as I know
there have been times when I've failed to notice traffic approaching
me from behind. Wind noise, dodging potholes and debris, watching
cross traffic, or simply just hammering hard are just a few reasons
that can happen. Lacking 360 degree peripheral vision, no one can be
100% aware of everything around them in a 360 deg arc and humans
simply aren't built that way.
BTW, you're misinterpreting what I mean when I say I'm "about to
overtake" if you think that automatically means I'm too close. Proper
overtaking doesn't start when you're on someone's rear wheel (or rear
bumper in the case of a motor vehicle) but well before then. Since
I've never gotten any surprised responses I guess I must not be *that*
close.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Pat said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A short beep to alert me to the presence of overtaking traffic never
bothers me. I've beeped like that to warn cyclists when I've been
driving and about to overtake them.

Quoted message said:

C'mon, Bob, you really don't think they've seen you long before that?
Plus, too close if you're just about to overtake them. I expect more
out ofyou.

I have to say that I see absolutely no need for any beeps, short or
otherwise. To do a beep indicates you think there is no way the cyclist
could absolutely know you're behind them. I have ears; I know you're there
even if I don't look at you.

Pat in TX

I don't beep every cyclist, just those that appear oblivious to my
presence or who seem unaware of the concept of holding a line. I don't
mind if I'm wasting my effort because it really isn't all that
difficult to tap on the horn button.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have to say that I see absolutely no need
for any beeps, short or otherwise. To do a beep
indicates you think there is no way the cyclist could
absolutely know you're behind them. I have ears; I know
you're there even if I don't look at you.
Pat in TX

DiDiDiDiDiDi......

Probably most drivers, even in Texas, are unaware of your Bionic
capabilities Pat. To counter your "to do a beep indicates you think
there is no way the cyclist could absolutely know you're behind
them"...I've been "beeped" and have a noted the driver giving a _"thumbs
up"_ approval. I've been "beeped" by drivers with bikes on their roof
mounted racks I've been "beeped" when the wind in my ears was the only
thing I _was_ hearing until I was "beeped".
To have not only an incredible awareness of the surrounding
environment but the ability to know the mindset of approaching motorist
is absolutely phenomenal.
May I ask, do you have night vision as well?

just regards - Mike Baldwin

Jeez, aren't you the cute one! When I am riding on a road of several lanes,
nobody beeps at me. It is only when I am riding on a two lane country road
that this happens. As a result, when riding on such a road, I pay attention
to my surroundings. You just might try doing the same. You'd be surprised
how that helps!

Quoted message said: