Road Rage Cyclist

[CheneyWalkDriver]

I was in an Uber yesterday afternoon, waiting to get on to Albert Bridge. Traffic was barely moving (due to the protests). My Uber driver was trying different routes to get us moving. When we finally had a clear path, we managed to move ahead a bit. Traffic was looking worse further ahead and he asked me if I was ok to turn around and take another route. He looked left and right and did a careful U-turn. We went on ahead slowly and crawled to a halt as we rejoined the traffic. A few minutes later, a very angry cyclist banged into the car from the left side. He either deliberately banged into the car in anger or was riding so fast, he lost his balance and fell into the car. He then proceeded to bang against the passenger window, shouted at the driver, abused him, banged on the window a few more times and rode away. The driver kept asking what was wrong. He just kept getting called names. The driver then told me that this was now a daily occurrence. He has cameras to protect himself because if he makes a mistake, he risks losing his licence and his livelihood. I am clearly still very much affected by the incident. It was verbal abuse and it was very intimidating. I was just glad my daughter wasn’t with me - I was on my way to pick her up. I swear that cyclist was nowhere in the line of sight when we turned. The only thing I can think of is that the car was stopped quite close to the pavement kerb, which meant there wasn’t much space for the cyclist to squeeze. I don’t drive, but I don’t know if the Uber driver was in the wrong to have stopped so close to the edge. Even so, there was no justification for the anger and abuse. It was vile. I think the poor driver sensed I was upset and was telling me it was ok and that he was sorry I had to see that! I was feeling terribly sad for him the rest of the afternoon - I didn’t think he was at fault. I would like to think the cyclist was having a bad day and I hope he is ok.
I can’t also shake off the nasty feeling that there may have been an element of racism in the act of abuse. The cyclist was a white male. The driver was a black male in Uber type scenario - no one in the passenger seat. That made me even more sad. I hope I am wrong - maybe that cyclist would have shouted at anyone in his path at that point. We were just unlucky to be in his path. Convinced me that this city is not fit for cycles. I also think cyclists should need a licence and should be docked points every time they jump a light.
Thats all.

Cyclists don't just bang on car windows for no reason.

They do if they’ve cycled into you when you’re stationary and they weren’t looking, so they’re embarrassed and take it out on you. I have a great video from my rear dash cam; I was stationary at traffic lights and a cyclist came up behind me in the middle of the road, head down and one hand pushing buttons on his bike computer. He cycled right into the back of my car, then started screaming and shouting at me (after looking and seeing that I was a small woman) and started bashing my car. So, they do.

Was there a cycle lane on the left of the road that the Uber driver turned into?

That would be my guess. If you don't drive or (especially) cycle, you may not have noticed the driver U-turning into it and cutting up the cyclist. Cyclist is unlikely to have done it for nothing - it massively shakes you up when something like that happens on a bike.

Also the cyclist could have been in the cars blind spot meaning the Uber driver might not have seen him

You are so right. It should be fine for drivers to knock cyclists off their bikes, or force them into unsafe situations to avoid being knocked off. That'd learn them. Cyclists should realise that drivers and passengers in cars are IMPORTANT and someone who's not in a car should fuck off and die.

He has cameras to protect himself because if he makes a mistake, he risks losing his licence and his livelihood
And that is SO unfair. A driver makes ONE mistake, only kills or maims ONE person, and they get punished for it! You should be allowed to kill at least 3 cyclists, pedestrians or other road users before there's any punishment at all.

When your life has been endangered by bad driving, fight or flight kicks in and the anger may have been a result of your cyclist being scared witless by your taxi.

Or the cyclist was a knob.

There are idiots behind wheels and on two wheels. However, it's the ones behind the wheel who are dangerous and can kill.

It is a common problem that drivers fail to see / look out for cyclists on their left.

It sounds to me that a cyclist was very scared by a close call and had just seen his life flash before his eyes. He thus reacted to his extreme fright with anger and was looking for some recognition from the driver to what had occurred but the driver was oblivious.

Passengers in cars are not more important than cyclists. That was not my point. My point was on the abuse. Being scared or being upset when cycling / driving doesn’t mean you lash out.
The car was stationary for a good few minutes before the banging. So the cyclist hit a stationary car. If the car was in a cycle lane - driver was at fault. But surely there was no need for that much abuse? By all means get off the cycle, get the driver’s attention and tell him off - but to call him names, keep banging on the window? How is that helpful?

Something has obviously happened
i cycle and people pulling out cutting you up is a daily if not weekly occurrence
he probably has zero tolerance

not sure I’d be shouting rasicm though

"He either deliberately banged into the car in anger or was riding so fast, he lost his balance and fell into the car."

And how fast do you consider "too fast", given that a measly 20mph is cracking pace for an average cyclist?

"I swear that cyclist was nowhere in the line of sight when we turned."

He didn't drop out of the sky. Sounds like your driver didn't check his blind spot.

I commuted by bicycle in London for more than 20 years. I made a point of being a courteous cyclist. I always stopped at red lights. I never used the pavement. I had more near misses than I can remember - by far the worst culprits were branded private hire vehicles (Addison Lee being the worst of the worst). Second and third worst were vans and black cabs.

Some cyclists are dickheads, yes. But I know who I'm most at danger from when I'm on the road (or pavement).

Presumably this happened in RB Kensington And Chelsea? It's an absolute shitshow for vulnerable road users. Years behind the Eastern boroughs for decent cycling infrastructure.

Being scared or being upset when cycling / driving doesn’t mean you lash out.

Doesn't it? I do tend to lash out when someone scares me, it's pretty instinctive. What do you think the correct response is when a driver tries to kill you?

In my experience, drivers don't generally acknowledge cyclists or pedestrians who wish to offer polite and constructive feedback about jumping red lights at pedestrian crossins, driving over zebra crossings while there are pedestrians on there, mounting the pavement to get round cyclists they deem too slow, etc. And when those things happen, they tend to cause my adrenaline to increase as I am fucking terrified, so I react badly. I still don't think I am the person in the wrong, in those scenarios...

I had an elderly pedestrian client almost killed by a cyclist (he was on a crossing when he was hit). Cyclists can be really dangerous (obviously in lesser numbers than cars vs pedestrians / cyclists).

I wouldn't fancy an altercation with a bike but I'd take my chances with a cyclist over a driver.

Between 2005 and 2015, on average, there were three pedestrian fatalities per year due to collisions with a cyclist and 67 seriously injured per year. For motor vehicle collisions during the same period, on average, there were 439 pedestrian fatalities per year and 4,864 seriously injured casualties per year.

For a more direct comparison you can look at people killed or seriously injured (KSI) per million hours travelled. The average rate of pedestrians KSI from motor vehicle collisions was 0.59 pedestrians per million hours travelled in a car or van and 0.22 pedestrians per million hours cycled.

By this point he may have had several interactions with dangerous or careless drivers on that trip alone, and many of them may have put his life at risk.
Some cyclists, like some drivers, may just be ragey people and he may have been out of line. But you may not have noticed a dangerous thing that the Uber driver had done, which is likely unless you're cyclist yourself, as many drivers just don't understand the roads from a vulnerable road users perspective.

Drivers don’t get punished for killing people, it’s rare they get sent to prison, they might do if they were drunk or on their phone but if not they’ll often go unpunished

@NoWordForFluffy
ive yet to see a cyclist do this, when they do you’ll convince me of the danger in proportion to a driver

Oh, they do.
Frequently.

If they are banging on your window then you probably just scared the shit out of them

If you don't know why you are a real problem /dangerous driver