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I gave a Prius a love tap today while riding my bike. They pulled right into the bicycle crossing without looking and then continued to only look the other way

I gave a Prius a love tap today while riding my bike. They pulled right into the bicycle crossing without looking and then continued to only look the other way for an opening in traffic to pull out. So I stopped, got off my bike, tapped on their door a couple times to make sure they knew they were blocking the bike lane, and then went around. Pretty much any time I can tap on a vehicle that is pulled into the bike lane or cross walk I do just to let them know that they are driving poorly. Not anything that will leave a mark, just enough to get their attention. I usually end up doing this two to four times a week. Most of the time it seems to me that the offending drivers are in pretty poor physical shape. So I've just kind of chalked their driving behavior to be due to their lack of experience using the bike trails and sidewalks.

XenophileJKO 7y ago
I have the opposite problem. I live right next to a bike path with a dedicated traffic symbol and around here bicyclists seem to think they don't have to follow traffic laws. Specifically the issue is running red lights and not stopping at stop signs. It's not "optional" for bikes in California.
- really3452 7y ago
  That's not the same type of problem though. When vehicles behave this way they maim and kill the pedestrian or cyclist. When a cyclist does it usually results in hurting themselves and causing property damage to the drivers vehicle. Example: A couple of years ago my mom was bicycling on the bike path near her home. There was a driver stopped at a stop sign. They were stopped behind the bike path crossing which they are also supposed to yield to but never saw her coming down the bike path. Instead they were searching the on-coming traffic for an opening to cross the intersection. My mom thought she made eye contact before starting to cross but apparently the driver never saw her. Just as she started crossing the driver saw an opening and gunned their vehicle crashing into her bike and throwing her. She ended up needing to get knee surgery due to that. And that doesn't even start to get into how most stop-lighted intersections are not designed for bicycle use. Many stoplights that I end up at are weight sensitive meaning that there is no way for me to trigger a green light to go straight or make a left hand turn without first crossing the right turn lane, pushing the cross walk button (if it exists at all) and then crossing back to the left hand turn lane.
btrettel 7y ago
I have mixed experiences tapping on cars to get drivers' attention. Most drivers will react okay, but there are a few who'll freak out about you touching their vehicle. Lately, if I'm close enough to touch their vehicle I'll first wave and/or politely say to move out of the way. If that doesn't work, I'll tap a few times on their window.

XenophileJKO 7y ago

I have the opposite problem. I live right next to a bike path with a dedicated traffic symbol and around here bicyclists seem to think they don't have to follow traffic laws. Specifically the issue is running red lights and not stopping at stop signs. It's not "optional" for bikes in California.

really3452 7y ago
That's not the same type of problem though. When vehicles behave this way they maim and kill the pedestrian or cyclist. When a cyclist does it usually results in hurting themselves and causing property damage to the drivers vehicle. Example: A couple of years ago my mom was bicycling on the bike path near her home. There was a driver stopped at a stop sign. They were stopped behind the bike path crossing which they are also supposed to yield to but never saw her coming down the bike path. Instead they were searching the on-coming traffic for an opening to cross the intersection. My mom thought she made eye contact before starting to cross but apparently the driver never saw her. Just as she started crossing the driver saw an opening and gunned their vehicle crashing into her bike and throwing her. She ended up needing to get knee surgery due to that. And that doesn't even start to get into how most stop-lighted intersections are not designed for bicycle use. Many stoplights that I end up at are weight sensitive meaning that there is no way for me to trigger a green light to go straight or make a left hand turn without first crossing the right turn lane, pushing the cross walk button (if it exists at all) and then crossing back to the left hand turn lane.

btrettel 7y ago

I have mixed experiences tapping on cars to get drivers' attention. Most drivers will react okay, but there are a few who'll freak out about you touching their vehicle. Lately, if I'm close enough to touch their vehicle I'll first wave and/or politely say to move out of the way. If that doesn't work, I'll tap a few times on their window.