Video: Birmingham cyclist pursued by road rage driver

dafyddp wrote:

I'm thinking of developing a mobile/web app that would allow road users to tag and identify video clips with registration numbers and reports 

http://rate-driver.co.uk/

ooldbaker wrote:

I frequently cycle up the A30 into Yeovil and at busy times there is a more or less stationary queue for 1/2 a mile and I can easily overtake 100+ cars. I often get someone who winds down the drivers window and calmly tells me that I shouldn't be overtaking or that it is illegal to be on the wrong side of the road or that it is dangerous. This is not road-rage in any way they are genuinely trying to be helpful.                  

I also commute on a different bit of the A30 in Bagshot that is a solid queue of traffic most evenings.  I tend to roll down the middle of the road keeping my eyes open for people turning across the queue, as people will assume that because another driver has left them a gap it is clear for them to cross the traffic without looking.

I often get people who drift to the centre of the road to try to block me and occasionally get comments while I'm waiting at traffic lights that I shouldn't be overtaking cars.

ooldbaker wrote:

[...]

I frequently cycle up the A30 into Yeovil and at busy times there is a more or less stationary queue for 1/2 a mile and I can easily overtake 100+ cars. I often get someone who winds down the drivers window and calmly tells me that I shouldn't be overtaking or that it is illegal to be on the wrong side of the road or that it is dangerous. This is not road-rage in any way they are genuinely trying to be helpful.                  

I'm thinking Babylon Hill from Sherborne? My commute is from the other direction, and tend to filter a similar queue along the Lysander Road. 

ooldbaker wrote:

I frequently cycle up the A30 into Yeovil and at busy times there is a more or less stationary queue for 1/2 a mile and I can easily overtake 100+ cars. I often get someone who winds down the drivers window and calmly tells me that I shouldn't be overtaking or that it is illegal to be on the wrong side of the road or that it is dangerous. This is not road-rage in any way they are genuinely trying to be helpful.                  

Which is why ALL drivers need to be compulsarily retested periodically, and the initial training being far more rigourous. How many drivers actually know the laws they have to abide by? How many drivers actually bothered to read the highway code in any depth when the learnt let along since?

flybywire99 wrote:

Fairly dangerous for drivers in the USA to do that to bicyclists. I know a lot of cyclists that have conceal and carry permits for their handguns and ride with them. An automobile is considered a dangerous weapon and directing one at a pedestrian or cyclist gives them the right to defend themselves with deadly force.

Surely nobody is stupid enough to ride around on a bicycle carrying a loaded firearm? Let alone taking the responsibility to escalate what would almost certainly be a bad tempered altercation with another road user to deadly force. Is 'road rage' unknown in the USA or is youtube lying? How many American citizens are shot to death each year over parking disputes?

Mungecrundle wrote:

flybywire99 wrote:

Fairly dangerous for drivers in the USA to do that to bicyclists. I know a lot of cyclists that have conceal and carry permits for their handguns and ride with them. An automobile is considered a dangerous weapon and directing one at a pedestrian or cyclist gives them the right to defend themselves with deadly force.

Surely nobody is stupid enough to ride around on a bicycle carrying a loaded firearm? Let alone taking the responsibility to escalate what would almost certainly be a bad tempered altercation with another road user to deadly force. Is 'road rage' unknown in the USA or is youtube lying? How many American citizens are shot to death each year over parking disputes?

Not sure of the year, but this was slightly eye-opening (although strangely not surprising)

http://www.safemotorist.com/articles/road_rage.aspx wrote:

Road Rage Statistics

The following statistics compiled from the NHTSA and the Auto Vantage auto club show that aggressive driving and road rage are causing serious problems on our roads.

• 66% of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving.
• 37% of aggressive driving incidents involve a firearm.
• Males under the age of 19 are the most likely to exhibit road rage.
• Half of drivers who are on the receiving end of an aggressive behavior, such as horn honking, a rude gesture, or tailgating admit to responding with aggressive behavior themselves.
• Over a seven year period, 218 murders and 12,610 injuries were attributed to road rage

MikeOnABike wrote:

The driver is "annoyed" because Brum Commuter filters past him at the lights at the begining of the film. That's the only logical explanation I can think of. Or he has that cat parasite thing.

Filtering seems very high up on the list of reasons certain drivers hate cyclists (and for that matter motorcyclists). Frequent a biker forum and there will be tons of posts about filtering. Of course on a motorcycle you tend to have heavy boots which can make more of a dent than a pair of Giros, and armoured gloves are surprisingly effective against wing mirrors.

I have a quarter-mile filter on my usual commute, most days someone will deliberately try to block me from going past, sometimes to the point of driving into the oncoming lane.

kil0ran wrote:

MikeOnABike wrote:

The driver is "annoyed" because Brum Commuter filters past him at the lights at the begining of the film. That's the only logical explanation I can think of. Or he has that cat parasite thing.

Filtering seems very high up on the list of reasons certain drivers hate cyclists (and for that matter motorcyclists). Frequent a biker forum and there will be tons of posts about filtering. Of course on a motorcycle you tend to have heavy boots which can make more of a dent than a pair of Giros, and armoured gloves are surprisingly effective against wing mirrors.

I have a quarter-mile filter on my usual commute, most days someone will deliberately try to block me from going past, sometimes to the point of driving into the oncoming lane.

...which is why we all choose to cycle rather than sit in a traffic queue.  Amazed so many drivers just don't 'get it'.

kil0ran wrote:

MikeOnABike wrote:

The driver is "annoyed" because Brum Commuter filters past him at the lights at the begining of the film. That's the only logical explanation I can think of. Or he has that cat parasite thing.

Filtering seems very high up on the list of reasons certain drivers hate cyclists (and for that matter motorcyclists). Frequent a biker forum and there will be tons of posts about filtering. Of course on a motorcycle you tend to have heavy boots which can make more of a dent than a pair of Giros, and armoured gloves are surprisingly effective against wing mirrors.

I have a quarter-mile filter on my usual commute, most days someone will deliberately try to block me from going past, sometimes to the point of driving into the oncoming lane.

I really can't get the issue, if i am in a car in a queue i will keep an eye out for *bikes, on either side coming up and if safe move to make their life easier, it costs me nothing and gives them a bit more room so why not????

kil0ran wrote:

MikeOnABike wrote:

The driver is "annoyed" because Brum Commuter filters past him at the lights at the begining of the film. That's the only logical explanation I can think of. Or he has that cat parasite thing.

Filtering seems very high up on the list of reasons certain drivers hate cyclists (and for that matter motorcyclists). Frequent a biker forum and there will be tons of posts about filtering. Of course on a motorcycle you tend to have heavy boots which can make more of a dent than a pair of Giros, and armoured gloves are surprisingly effective against wing mirrors.

I have a quarter-mile filter on my usual commute, most days someone will deliberately try to block me from going past, sometimes to the point of driving into the oncoming lane.

They're just jealous, is what I've always thought: motorists would filter past any line of stationary traffic if they could (look at the number of motorists which do jump queues).

kil0ran wrote:

MikeOnABike wrote:

The driver is "annoyed" because Brum Commuter filters past him at the lights at the begining of the film. That's the only logical explanation I can think of. Or he has that cat parasite thing.

Filtering seems very high up on the list of reasons certain drivers hate cyclists (and for that matter motorcyclists). Frequent a biker forum and there will be tons of posts about filtering. Of course on a motorcycle you tend to have heavy boots which can make more of a dent than a pair of Giros, and armoured gloves are surprisingly effective against wing mirrors.

I have a quarter-mile filter on my usual commute, most days someone will deliberately try to block me from going past, sometimes to the point of driving into the oncoming lane.

I've mentioned this on another forum and it would seem that a number of drivers are genuinely unaware that filtering is perfectly legal and that the responsibility is on the vehicle pulling off from standstill to ensure that there are no bikes (pedal or motor) filtering on either side.

I am not surprised by this, like when I asked a van why he was unloading in a mandatory cycle lane, he didn't realise what it was, nor that it was illegal to enter. Though of course that didn't stop him telling to go forth and multiply in the vernacular.

Driving does seem an awfully stressful experience, I'll continue to ride my bike as that is fun