Which is worse

Flyingbogey

The two most regular dangerous occurrences for my commute are:

The annoyed motorist who intentionally for whatever reason tries to scare you

The bad driver who is oblivious to your presence or the havoc they cause.

They are both a menace but which if either is worse. I have had plenty of experience with both but i think the one that will get me in the end is the 2nd one. I only survive meetings with them because i have recognised the danger and taken action. One of these days i wont see it coming. The 1st i reckon could do more harm but at least they know what they're doing...

rjsterry

I think I tend to agree. As the former driver has a specific aim in mind (albeit an unreasonable one), he is slightly more predictable, whereas the latter is likely to be lost in their own little world.

kelsen

IMO, the 2nd type is worse by a mile. If you're oblivious to your mistakes, then you never learn from them. At least if someone is trying to intimidate you, you would hope that they're still exercising a degree of self control to avoid being arrested/scratching their vehicle!

flimflam_machine

Flyingbogey wrote:

The two most regular dangerous occurrences for my commute are:

The annoyed motorist who intentionally for whatever reason tries to scare you

The bad driver who is oblivious to your presence or the havoc they cause.

They are both a menace but which if either is worse.

Brilliant article here:

http://www.ecotopia.com/webpress/stupidity/

To precis: "A stupid person is a person who caused losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses."

This is in contrast to a "Bandit" who causes other people loss so that they can gain something.

As per your suggestion, it's argued that it's much better to deal with a bandit than a stupid person because, although the bandit's actions are nasty, they are still rational and so comprehensible. A stupid person's actions are dangerously unpredictable because there is no reason behind them at all. So the driver who's trying to knock you off for his own amusement is at least in some way predictable whereas the simply incompetent driver is the real danger.

MadammeMarie

For me the most dangerous is the first one. This would be someone with very nasty feelings towards cyclists who is in charge of a letal weapon, that he/she can use and get away with whatever thanks to our lax attitude to murder on the roads.

kurako

MadammeMarie wrote:

For me the most dangerous is the first one. This would be someone with very nasty feelings towards cyclists who is in charge of a letal weapon, that he/she can use and get away with whatever thanks to our lax attitude to murder on the roads.

Come on MM. How many people intentionally run over cyclists? You're in far more danger from the incompetent and/ or negligent.

The cabbie or WVM trying to put the sh!ts up you is unlikely to actually hit you. The lorry driver on the phone (or hungover) or bus driver who overtakes and then pulls in to stop at a junction is far more likely to make you go squish.

Aidy

How about the first type, but the type with no kind of spatial awareness or vehicle control?

I've had a few who end up smacking their wheels against the kerb in an attempt to squish me. I feel a bit sorry for their alloys.

CiB

? How can a thread titled 'Which is worse" have existed for over a day without this:

There's only one way to find out. Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. <cue ads>

Which is worse? Intrinsically neither, if you base their relative values on the outcome rather than any percieved intent or lack of. Doesn't matter who runs you over or how right you were in the first place, if you're in a heap on the floor it's bad. Doesn't really make a difference how you got there.

In the end tho you'd have to say Mr Annoyed is worse - there's a fighting chance that you won't be in his way when the red mist hits him. Mr Useless is a potential menace whenever he's out & about and therefore more of a danger.

noodles71

The first one normally gets free service on their vehicle by my D-Lock while I make a quick U-Turn if they keep on with it.

The second one most of the time I anticipate and gets a loud shout.

Depending on the effort expended I'd say the first is harder to deal with but as other posters have said, most likely the one to really do you in is the second.

Where do the bus drivers who think they have passed you when you no longer appear in front of them or beside the front door come into this? Are they just stupid, or deliberate maniacs when they then push you into the gutter and/or their waiting passengers? I'm pretty sure taking out their mirror causes more paperwork and grief from their superiors than a written letter of complaint......