I've never actually been assaulted (had a few close shaves, though)
but I've noticed that car drivers seem to have become much less
patient now than they were, say, ten years ago. As an experienced
cyclist, I know that I have to ride assertively to protect my little
bit of space on the road, but I also have to be conscious of
inadvertently winding up the person in the metal cage; you just never
know if they are under the influence, or have a baseball bat in the
car for the express purpose of intimidating other road users that they
disagree with. (Yes I've seen that).
Pop over to France and the natives there are very courteous to
cyclists; they don't mind being held up a few seconds while they wait
for a safe overtaking opportunity. When that sort of situation happens
here, one is often shouted at or hooted at as they overtake.
Just the other day, I was turning right off a main road and a car was
waiting to turn right onto the main road: my right of way of course.
The wating car started to pull out. I could not tell if the driver had
seen me so I went onto both brakes ready to do an emergency stop. The
car continued to pull out so I slowed down and was then close enough
to see that the driver almost certainly had seen me. The car was then
half way across the road. As I rounded the junction I mentioned to the
driver that it was my right of way (in a loud voice because they had
all their windows shut) and the car behind the errant vehicle shouted
at me that I should have been signalling!
Now how do you deal with that sort of attitude? Apart from the fact
that it was my right of way whether or not I was turning right, I was
correctly positioned at the crown of the road so I could only have
been turning right (and I had signalled prior to moving to the centre
of the road). Of course I've just realised, the cager obviously
expected me to have three arms so that I could emergrncy brake and
signal at the same time...
- Mike
feeling better now