Drivers just too damned quick to beep horns at cyclists

Raffles

I was gonna head out with the club this morning, but when my alarm rang at 07:15 I could hardly lift my head off the pillow :oops: . After lunch I headed out for a steady enough short 30 miler and had the comments id read here about the wars on our roads going round in my head. After about only 2 miles , a car behind started blasting the horn aggressively at me to get out of the way :shock: As he drove past I made eye contact , flipped him the middle finger and told him to eff off.

Just 2 friggin miles is all it took to come into conflict with a driver.

I think the roads are turning into a ticking time bomb with a short fuse. The ones who rant " no tax, no right to be on the roads" just take me to the fair :x Drivers, taxi drivers, bus drivers and lorry drivers seems to see cyclists as a bull sees a red flag. Accidents are occurring on a daily basis and the number of serious injuries and deaths have risen sharply. There are those of us who just love cycling, reduce pollution and carbon emissions by cycling and keep ourselves healthy and fit. There are also unfit , fat lazy b@stards driving along chewing big macs and churning out pollution from their exhausts whilst they shout at and abuse cyclists.

How long is it going to take before the fuse burns out and the time bomb goes off :?:

Joeblack

Yawn!!!!

Tbh you sound a bit like gaz the t*t "it only took me 2 miles" he beeped you flipped him off, your even, ask yourself this, do you think somewhere he's writing about this cyclist he saw today? No he has probs forgot about you already, I suggest you do the same.

Honestly this thread is only a cry for attention like a 5yo girl!!!

Rule5 bro rule5

john1967

yep you must have been doing something to upset the driver and blowing a horn is hardley abuse unlike your middle finger and foul language.

cougie

Youre best off just ignoring them. Gestures only rile them more. Keep doing it and you will have a driver trying to take you off your bike. I'm guessing you are a new cyclist ?

Neale1978

How long is it going to take before the fuse burns out and the time bomb goes off?

Not long if you give anyone the finger or tell them to 'f off' ?

If it happens again just keep riding and dont do anything.. Or give them a big smile and wave

diy

big smile and a wave . or shout "alright dave" make him think he knows you. He'll be thinking about you all day then

herb71

I beep at cyclists all the time. It's why my car has a horn.

The highway code says sound your horn to warn other users of your presence which is exactly what I do, especially when cyclists are riding two abreast. It's a courtesy to let them know I am there and am going to overtake when it is safe to do so. They are then aware of me and have the option to reposition themselves if they see fit. Sometimes this may mean moving to single file to make the pass easier, or it may mean moving wide to prevent the pass if they see a hazard I may not be aware of.

90% of cyclists know they have been beeped as a courtesy, not a threat and give a wave as I pass. I don't lose sleep about the last few 10% who give aggressive hand gestures because they don't understand proper use of the horn.

Gabbo

Herb71 wrote:

I beep at cyclists all the time. It's why my car has a horn.

The highway code says sound your horn to warn other users of your presence which is exactly what I do, especially when cyclists are riding two abreast. It's a courtesy to let them know I am there and am going to overtake when it is safe to do so. They are then aware of me and have the option to reposition themselves if they see fit. Sometimes this may mean moving to single file to make the pass easier, or it may mean moving wide to prevent the pass if they see a hazard I may not be aware of.

90% of cyclists know they have been beeped as a courtesy, not a threat and give a wave as I pass. I don't lose sleep about the last few 10% who give aggressive hand gestures because they don't understand proper use of the horn.

I've been sounded at once or twice, but I've never had someone blasting their horn at me. I personally would see that as a form of aggression in itself. I suppose it depends whether you use or abuse your horn...

dynamicbrick

I'm so tempted to start a thread of 'Cycled completely without incident all year', such is the frequency of these threads.

In fact, I can only think of one person beeping me this year - a Sainsbury's artic. He was some way back on an arterial route out of town which is a steady climb for 1/2 mile with parked cars on both sides and periodic traffic islands. My maximum speed up there is going to be 10-12mph. Lorry wouldn't be able to overtake without putting lots of people at risk.

Approaching the line parked cars at the bottom of the hill, I estimated I'd get to that section before he'd have a chance to get past me, so rather than have 40 tonnes off my back wheel and hold everyone else up behind him I slowed a bit to let him catch me, waved him past, and then tucked in behind for a bit of slipstreaming to regain my speed.

Happy lorry driver tooted his thanks, happy cyclist didn't get mown down by lorry, happy car drivers behind lorry could pass me safely and weren't held up. Everyone was a winner.

cyclingsheep

The problem with a horn is that what the driver thinks is a friendly honk sounds exactly like the horn of another outraged driver. Maybe they should have two horns in cars with different sounds, one for friendliness and another for alarm/frustration?

Neale1978

cyclingsheep wrote:

The problem with a horn is that what the driver thinks is a friendly honk sounds exactly like the horn of another outraged driver. Maybe they should have two horns in cars with different sounds, one for friendliness and another for alarm/frustration?

Exactly.. 9 times out of 10 a horn is usually an uptight or vexed driver. An additional industrial sized honky horn mounted on cars would sort it

herb71

cyclingsheep wrote:

The problem with a horn is that what the driver thinks is a friendly honk sounds exactly like the horn of another outraged driver. Maybe they should have two horns in cars with different sounds, one for friendliness and another for alarm/frustration?

I don't really care what people think of me when I honk. At least they know I am there and what I am likely to do and my manoeuvre does not catch them by surprise. The same goes for pedestrians, if i think they have not seen me when I am about to turn left. If I can see they have seen me then I won't beep, and we are only talking about the shortest possible blast. I am sure people with even modest intelligence can tell when a horn is being used aggressively.

Neale1978

You are right but i'd like to think most riders know when a car is close without horns tbh

MountainMonster

Jesus, are roadies really that sad that we all just feel the need to whinge every time something happens on the road?

Neale1978

haha, yes.. Its almost as bad as moaning about a forum thread you dont like

Secteur

Raffles wrote:

As he drove past I made eye contact , flipped him the middle finger and told him to eff off.

Tit

charlie_potatoes

cyclingsheep wrote:

The problem with a horn is that what the driver thinks is a friendly honk sounds exactly like the horn of another outraged driver. Maybe they should have two horns in cars with different sounds, one for friendliness and another for alarm/frustration?

There are different ways of using the same horn.

A short bib to let another road user that you are there

A short bib-bib-bib to attract the attention of a pal/potential mating partner on the pathway

And the full on beeeeeeeeeeeeeeb which is used as a form of 'punishment'

I bet most of us drivers have used all these.

Cleat Eastwood

Herb71 wrote:

cyclingsheep wrote:

The problem with a horn is that what the driver thinks is a friendly honk sounds exactly like the horn of another outraged driver. Maybe they should have two horns in cars with different sounds, one for friendliness and another for alarm/frustration?

I don't really care what people think of me when I honk. At least they know I am there and what I am likely to do and my manoeuvre does not catch them by surprise. The same goes for pedestrians, if i think they have not seen me when I am about to turn left. If I can see they have seen me then I won't beep, and we are only talking about the shortest possible blast. I am sure people with even modest intelligence can tell when a horn is being used aggressively.

Thats the points isnt it - its all about common sense - on those windy days when you can't the traffic behind -especially on country lanes where you dont expect traffic- i'd rather a car beep to let me know its there than not.

binsted

I think its obligatory to beep your horn if you own a BMW............

BMW = Bikes Must Wait

arthur_scrimshaw

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

Herb71 wrote:

cyclingsheep wrote:

The problem with a horn is that what the driver thinks is a friendly honk sounds exactly like the horn of another outraged driver. Maybe they should have two horns in cars with different sounds, one for friendliness and another for alarm/frustration?

I don't really care what people think of me when I honk. At least they know I am there and what I am likely to do and my manoeuvre does not catch them by surprise. The same goes for pedestrians, if i think they have not seen me when I am about to turn left. If I can see they have seen me then I won't beep, and we are only talking about the shortest possible blast. I am sure people with even modest intelligence can tell when a horn is being used aggressively.

Thats the points isnt it - its all about common sense - on those windy days when you can't the traffic behind -especially on country lanes where you dont expect traffic- i'd rather a car beep to let me know its there than not.

+1 to this

I was out last weekend with my daughter on a narrow lane climbing a pig of a hill, car coming up from behind gave a very polite series of beeps to let us know they were there and given the circumstances (we may have been weaving a bit!) perfectly helpful?

I believe that most of the times I've had an incident with a driver I can accept some responsibility, certainly for any escalation. I also have found that if I have had a bad encounter, more often than not I'll have another during the same ride, and I'll put that down to my own aggression levels being raised.

john1967

MountainMonster wrote:

Jesus, are roadies really that sad that we all just feel the need to whinge every time something happens on the road?

Oh yeah right and MTB riders never whinge about other trail users and they are never rude or abusive towards fell walkers.

Herbsman

Raffles wrote:

I was gonna head out with the club this morning, but when my alarm rang at 07:15 I could hardly lift my head off the pillow :oops: . After lunch I headed out for a steady enough short 30 miler and had the comments id read here about the wars on our roads going round in my head. After about only 2 miles , a car behind started blasting the horn aggressively at me to get out of the way :shock: As he drove past I made eye contact , flipped him the middle finger and told him to eff off.

Just 2 friggin miles is all it took to come into conflict with a driver.

I think the roads are turning into a ticking time bomb with a short fuse. The ones who rant " no tax, no right to be on the roads" just take me to the fair :x Drivers, taxi drivers, bus drivers and lorry drivers seems to see cyclists as a bull sees a red flag. Accidents are occurring on a daily basis and the number of serious injuries and deaths have risen sharply. There are those of us who just love cycling, reduce pollution and carbon emissions by cycling and keep ourselves healthy and fit. There are also unfit , fat lazy b@stards driving along chewing big macs and churning out pollution from their exhausts whilst they shout at and abuse cyclists.

How long is it going to take before the fuse burns out and the time bomb goes off :?:

Don't cause aggravation and don't get into any confrontation. If any driver does anything like that just wave at them and smile. Try it, you will get more satisfaction.

Giving them rude hand signals just pisses them off even more, makes them more likely to treat the next cyclist they see like sh*t. Show them that you're better than them by not lowering yourself to their level.

Any driver who winds their window down and tries to say anything to you, either stop and let them carry on, or speed up and get away from them - don't enter into any bullsh*t with them, no matter what - it is not a game and you will not 'win' any argument with them even if you stay calm and reasonable. These people are sociopaths at best, psychopaths at worst.

teisetrotter

I have three reactions:
1. Ignore and get out of the way. They are the ones in the big hard metal thing rather than lycra
2. Smile, wave and apologise hugely ........... mostly it sinks into peoples heads that reasonableness is the only answer on these over populated islands and it takes the wind out of their sails as they then appear petty and ridiculous.
3. Blow the biggest comedic raspberry (preferably with thumbs in the ears waving fingers if you are not moving) for the same effect. But generally avoid doing this to white vans, bmw 3 series drivers or any driver with add on bits to their car.

I live in London and really I now just completely ignore anyone who gets annoyed or is aggressive on the roads (when in a car, walking or riding). Especially with the three classes of drivers above, the world won't change and they won't either.

I have better things to do with my life than worry and it is always nice to understand who are the prats in this world so you don't have to mix with them.

Hey, also people get out of the bed on the wrong side, don't know the high way code, get distracted ...... so I'll just chill and be happy.

diy

john1967 wrote:

Oh yeah right and MTB riders never whinge about other trail users and they are never rude or abusive towards fell walkers.

I must admit it you don't here it that much. There are normally 3 complaints:
- stopped mid trail to fix his bike
- would not let a faster rider pass on the trail
- had an argument with a bobble hat about why it is not illegal to ride on a footpath.

Don't get me wrong MTBers moan, but generally not about others. Its normally about why manufacturers are forcing us to buy bikes with wheels which are too big.

that is about all you'll here.

I would say I have only had one issue with a driver, that was a bus driver, but the other week I was passed by a bus driver who showed the utmost courtesy to me. We were hopping by each other as he occasionally had to stop. Each time I approached he waived me to pass and each time he passed me I thanked him for giving me space. Wonder if that was because the 1st time he passed me I flipped him a wave?

MountainMonster

diy wrote:

john1967 wrote:

Oh yeah right and MTB riders never whinge about other trail users and they are never rude or abusive towards fell walkers.

I must admit it you don't here it that much. There are normally 3 complaints:
- stopped mid trail to fix his bike
- would not let a faster rider pass on the trail
- had an argument with a bobble hat about why it is not illegal to ride on a footpath.

Don't get me wrong MTBers moan, but generally not about others. Its normally about why manufacturers are forcing us to buy bikes with wheels which are too big.

that is about all you'll here.

I would say I have only had one issue with a driver, that was a bus driver, but the other week I was passed by a bus driver who showed the utmost courtesy to me. We were hopping by each other as he occasionally had to stop. Each time I approached he waived me to pass and each time he passed me I thanked him for giving me space. Wonder if that was because the 1st time he passed me I flipped him a wave?

Very well said.

Just looking between the MTB General and Road General section you see a massive increase in complaints here. Most threads in MTB are about my bing, or related. The road section is full of whines about drivers, other riders and full of a holier than thou complex. The threads bout drivers get started almost a new one a day.i dont understand why the road section Is full of so many posts complaining. I'm just stating the difference.

diy

Because road cycling puts you in to conflict with other road users a lot more than mtbing?

MountainMonster

diy wrote:

Because road cycling puts you in to conflict with other road users a lot more than mtbing?

It does, that is true. But do roadies really feel the need to complain publically when someone beeps at them, overtakes them closely, or whatever else the conflict may be. Mtbers could complain about just as many things on the trail which cause problems, but you rarely see threads about it.

peat

Raffles wrote:

There are those of us who just love cycling, reduce pollution and carbon emissions by cycling and keep ourselves healthy and fit.

Please pull your head from your bottom.

Cycling doesn't add significantly more, but it certainly doesn't reduce it. We aint saving the planet.

Raffles

brettjmcc

MountainMonster wrote:

diy wrote:

Because road cycling puts you in to conflict with other road users a lot more than mtbing?

It does, that is true. But do roadies really feel the need to complain publically when someone beeps at them, overtakes them closely, or whatever else the conflict may be. Mtbers could complain about just as many things on the trail which cause problems, but you rarely see threads about it.

I think the issue for me is lack of Roadcraft by car and bike users. I am not infallibe, I know that, but 2 examples recently for me

1/ Yesterday, I swerved slightly to avoid a pothole on the old A13, which is now one of the runs into Lakeside shopping centre. The gentleman and his wife in his Kuga , EY12WYO, whilst offering me their horn were kind enough to show their appreciation in some form of hand puppetery practice (or at least that what they must have been doing)... all because he was more intent on trying to go past me than look at the road conditions.

2/ One of the guys who works in Evans, and I know races locally, leaving dressed up as a blacked out ninja on black single speed with the most piddly lights I have ever seen. He should know better, and I nearly knocked him off... I'll be telling him as much next time I see him! (sorry I may have brought up the lighting discussion here...)

Critch

brettjmcc wrote:

I think the issue for me is lack of Roadcraft by car and bike users. I am not infallibe, I know that, but 2 examples recently for me

1/ Yesterday, I swerved slightly to avoid a pothole on the old A13, which is now one of the runs into Lakeside shopping centre. The gentleman and his wife in his Kuga , EY12WYO, whilst offering me their horn were kind enough to show their appreciation in some form of hand puppetery practice (or at least that what they must have been doing)... all because he was more intent on trying to go past me than look at the road conditions.

....

Taking into account what other posters have said, may I ask why you felt the need to publish the model and full index number of the offending vehicle instead of stating simply "a couple in a car"? I am being slightly devilish so forgive me, but are you expecting them, or someone who knows them to read these forums and either start a discussion or personally identify these dastardly criminals from their index number? Maybe someone will recognise their index number and publicly berate them on Facebook on your behalf or point you in their direction?

I would perhaps not be able to remember all of an index number of a car from yesterday unless I wrote it down or tapped it into my smartphone, or had them on my helmet cam. Let it go. Next time blow them a kiss and ride on. If they slow and wind the window down for a discussion quote the Highway Code about allowing cyclists to avoid potholes. Then blow them a kiss. They would have forgotten about you within a minute unless you got out an axe and threatened them with it.

We get hung up on these things too much and then run to the forums. Okay therapy, I get it, but its all getting a bit silly. You will have close shaves, be forced to take avoiding action, face impatient drivers, face angry drivers, face very poor drivers. We all do. But lets not carried away with this tide of motorist hatred its doing nobody any good. 9/10 cyclists are also motorists (probably).