Hello everyone,

I found this site this morning after another trip to work where some idiot had taken it personally that I had overtaken them at traffic lights.

I don't travel far to work but I do encounter alot of stationary traffic at lights and roundabouts. I don't tear past the traffic while it is still moving like I have seen some 17 year olds on scooters do, I carefully and slowly pass traffic without it even being necessary to cross over into the other lane. As the traffic begins to move off I stop overtaking, and pull in behind the first moving car I encounter. I could get in front of a few more cars as they are only beginning to move off and are going very slowly but I don't to be safe.

What does happen, as happened this morning, is the last car I overtake, the one that has yet to move off, will see me pass them and begin to filter into the middle and think to themselves, "Right! he isn't getting in" and then begin to slam it in first and try and get right along side me to show their anger that I have had the audacity to overtake them while they have had to wait in the queue for 15 minutes.

It was a women that did it this morning (I'm sorry but it does seem to be the women who do it more often then men). I passed her and as I was doing so noticed that the next car was beginning to move off so gradually started to pull in. Next thing I know this woman's blue car was filling my mirrors because she was so close.

I got into work and decided to try and find out what would happen if she had clipped my back wheel as I had filtered back into the traffic bearing in mind that as she passed out of my vision her car was stationary.

I've had uncountable people pulling out of junctions in front of me because they have been oblivious to the fact that I was there and had people changing lanes without even checking their mirrors and I've only been riding for a year. All of this I expected. But I have been amazed at how many people will take it so personally when they get overtaken at traffic lights.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Has anyone actually been hit bacause of someone taking this attitude?

Yup. Someone deliberately drove into me, and someone else tried to kill Ex. There may be others, those just sprung to mind...

Annoying, isn't it?

I know exactly what you mean! It makes my blood boil!!

I have had this same problem a number of times!!! I really dont know how I've kept control of my emotions!?

One thing that cheered me up recently was a guy at Judo telling me about his day, he drives a white van ( he did not realise I was a biker until I got him onto the Judo mat)

he was telling me about his lovely brand new van and how a bike was trying to overtake him and he wouldnt let him through and that when the bike finally managed to get past he smashed the white van's wing mirror off and sped off....... he continued his story that he chased after him and managed to catch him up at the next lights so he cut him up!! lights went green and the biker went round the otherside and smashed his other wing mirror off!

My kinda friend, I've lost count on how many Pilkington glass mirrors I've mmm
smashed, well see it in this light, at least Pilkington is keeping people employed.

Riding a year and these things happen all the time, no matter where in the world
you are and its something you'll eventually be able to forsee, you'll see.

But I do agree its sad, why do they do it, I drive a car and a bike and when I see a
biker comming up I dont have a problem with letting them through after all lifes to
short to get stressed over someone, its your heart not there's

Peace.

Cheers

sign of the times unfortunatley, everyones in a mad rush to get anywhere, frustrated at the bike whos NOT having to sit in traffic etc etc.

i have to admit i'm like that in the car, hardly let anyone in from a side road, just cos the buggers never let me in, so i stoop to the same level. sad & pathetic i know.
i do of course always let bikes in-its the unwritten law, just a shame the pricks in cars dont see it that way.
when i rule GB, i'm going to make it compulsory for drivers to do CBT before they can aply for a prov driving license.

I would not advise anybody to go smashing wing mirrors. Although it could be tempting, I don't think it's the image that we should be projecting. It just gives these nutters an even more ingrained hate of bikers. Maybe you get away with it but somebody else further down the line could suffer because of it.


mwncimelyn, I've sympathy for you. It's something that can happen to any of us but it's probably worse in the traffic congested city centres. Many years ago in my yoof, I had a run in with a car at a roundabout. The car sped past me and blocked the junction of the next roundabout. Four or five blokes got out and shouted for me to give them a square go. I of course got off my mark because I am not daft and four/five against one isn't odds in my favour.

You've got to be careful about how you react to these situations. As a biker, you're vunerable. Don't put yourself at risk. People will pull out on you but you can make it happen less by positioning yourself on the road and putting yourself in a position were the driver at the junction sees more than just the top of your helmet, over the car.

In a car/bike close encounter, it's the biker who will probably come off the worst, so the car driver doesn't really bother about you. It means that you are going to have to go that extra mile to look after yourself.

Drivers are idiots.

What you forgot to say was that I wasn't in a car when I tried to kill EX!

It might just be me but I found Lorry Drivers (not a typo- Lorry Drivers) are probably the most considerate of the caged drivers.

Mate, welcome to the forum. as for your traffic problems its something we all encounter a lot of the time. i dont understand it either, like being abused by london bus drivers when they know and you knwo you are causing them no inconvenience whatsoever coz they are stationary in a four mile queue. Keep your wits about you, be careful and just keep on filtering. they might have to wait in traffic but at least they're not freezing cold and soaking wet like we are! Car drivers are like everybody else, some are good and some are complete arrisholes - sad thing is we only tend to remember the arrisholes!

Keep it upright, keep in front and put them and their idiotci attitudes behind you mate.
Keep safe and big respect to your observation skills mate.mate.

I've found myself having to filter quite a bit just lately, as the council in their wisdom have decide to dig a big fecking hole in the middle of my route to work.
up to tonight i've not had any problems until this hopeless little tosser on one of those sports twist and go wasp in a fecking jar scooters sees me filter and tries to do the same. so he comes flying past all the traffic then cuts across the front of me but be first in the queue.
he then tries to out accelerate everyone when the lights turn to green except the scoot is a gutless wonder with all the acceleration of a slug dragging a lead weight.
result? a big line of traffic doing about 10 miles an hour while he tries to get the thing moving. what's the point of this rant? if you're going to filter at least do it safely.

In a word, Jealousy. You are making progress and they are not.

One thing I often come across while doing interviews is the ‘lack of respect’ that car drivers have for bikes – is it because we are smaller and they think they can bully us with their size (and they do not see bikes as a threat to their safety?) Do they hate to see others enjoying themselves? Maybe they think the car is superior? To be honest I don’t know, but their attitude sometimes is a right pain in the ..

Hi M8


I know the feeling,,,,,


but I am with Bd on this, smashing wing-mirrors only makes you feel better at the time but probably causes more trouble in the long run.



Plus there are some nice drivers out there,and sometimes I am surprized by their gestures....

The other day a Truck driver let me filter through, he gesture to me from the window and let me by. traffic was on a stand still... very nice of him

and the other day a lady moved a bit to the side so I could get by...

so yes,there are lots of Bastards out there, but there is a number of nice decent drivers out there......


So as hard as it may be, Lead by example.....
Safe Riding

I must say in my experience with car drivers I agree many are selfish pillocks, but not all of them are. A few weeks ago I was on my way into work on the motorway in the very early morning (about 5.30), it was clear as day (though a bit dark) when I left but once I got onto the mway the fog closed in, I took it nice and slow, almost no traffic whatsoever but I didn't take it over 30 as I couldn't see far enough ahead of myself, then out of the blue I nearly went into the back of a car who had NO LIGHTS ON. In those conditions? Is he mad!? I pulled out and moved alongside him and made a flashing motion with my left hand to which he responded with a thumbs up and promptly turned his lights on, I overtook and that was that.

It stuck in my mind as I honestly expected him to either completely ignore me or do something stupid/suicidal. Returned my faith in 4-wheelers ever so slightly.

Karma and all that!! ok ok I do agree with you and BikerDave I suppose....... what about following them finding out where they live and smashing the cr*p out of their car???................

Seriously though I do agree with you on this one! Lead by example!!

Because the mincing barstewards have it in their heads that we're trying to scratch their precious little boxes on wheels as we go past. The fact that we'd come off and maim ourselves in the process doesn't seem to figure anywhere in their logic. duh....huh huh huh huh....Is that you mother?...we are mi glasses?!?!?!

Cheers everyone,

When you think about it, there are more good and respectful drivers than bad. On that same stretch of road you get people who see you coming and move over to the curb a couple of feet to let you by.

And I haven't smashed any mirrors off yet - though I've been tempted.

ive had a few ppl see me coming in the mirrors, move over, then swerve at me when im beside them. I actually once felt the front bumper touch my boot. bastards.....

Then again i once had someone turn right without indicating from the left lane .... reeeeaaly close one there - i waved my hand up no gestures though ... the fellow came out of the next turn and waved me down ... i stopped cuz i thought he was picking a fight but to my surprise he apologised a lot and admitted he didnt look in his mirrors and he's realy sorry and would i like to come round for lunch?!?!? i declined but i prolly wont forget that....

Not too long ago, there was a lovely, sunny day in Kensington and all the Ferraris were out in force, with their roofs down. The jewel-encrusted blokes in those Ferraris though they were the dog's b*llocks and then suddenly they found themselves stuck in traffic. Not so cool....

Me and a colleague of mine were on our way to the office. My mate rode ahead of me when we hit the same stationary traffic queue. One Ferrari saw my mate filtering and swerved hard into our filtering space. We still had plenty of room though. So as my mate passed him, he GRABBED the driver's expensive Oakley shades and we continued on our way!

He still has them and apparently they are quite good!

When I first started riding I found myself using hand signals that are not in the highway code - you know the ones, either with 2 fingers or with one finger.....

Till my daughter, who was a biker before I was, told me it's more effective to use a different hand signal - the one that says 'You're a w***er'. She said that the signals I was using make them mad, but the one she recommended makes them feel stupid!

Try it - you'll find that the fingers often cause them to sit on your tail and distract you - but the whole hand signal makes them feel stupid and they drop right back behind you!

LOL BikerGran.

I ride through London for my sins. I find that 99% of drivers are considerate to motorcyclists and will move over that extra inch that will allow you to pass. Every now and again you do get someone that doesn't want you to pass and may well aggressively block you way but they are rare.