This week’s Clarendon Cycles column starts:
“Get off the !@#$%^& road!â€
“!@#$ you, I have just as much a right to be here as you do.â€
And so goes a rather sizeable proportion of most on-road cyclist/motorist conversations. It doesn’t accomplish anything, except perhaps raising the blood pressure of those involved and setting the stage for a more aggressive conflict the next time a similar interaction occurs.
It’s stupid, pointless, and childish.
And I’ve got a bit of experience with it. Â Click the link above for more.
Ricky Albores has thoughts in a similar vein.
J. Tyler Ballance
This road rudeness is indicative of a much larger societal issue.
People are insecure about their future so they are already on edge, we are still subject to some of the post 9/11 hysteria, the citizens are taught by the idiot box (TV) that ranting and screaming is preferable to civil discourse, and few community leaders provide a positive role model when discussing contentious issues.
I have found that riding with a short barreled .45 caliber pistol holstered in the small of my back seems to promote a great deal of civility among drivers, when I am out on the bike. The only drawback that I have encountered so far, is that the holster makes me sweat where it rests, and the weapon tends to collect moisture, so it requires more frequent cleaning.
warren
Every time I am in DC, I see cyclists running red lights and otherwise blatantly ignoring the rules of the road. Obey the rules of the road, and people are more likely to accept your right to be on the road.
MB
And every time I am on the road, Warren, I see drivers running lights and otherwise blatantly ignoring the rules of the road. So I really have no reason to expect that cyclists living up to a standard that drivers won’t will really make a difference in how drivers behave.
But hey, thanks for missing the point.
warren
A far higher percentage of cyclists than drivers run red lights and stop signs, and blow through crosswalks with pedestrians on them.
MB
[citation needed]
warren
I’d certainly like to see more citations for cyclists!
MB
In other words, you were just making things up.
http://washcycle.typepad.com/home/2008/07/the-myth-of-the.html
warren
On-campus at UCLA is not comparable to DC. Sorry.