Road Rage - Have you ever lost it?

Only time I properly lost it was when I raised my fist in an "about to punch you" gesture to a car I was pulled alongside at the lights. The offending driver had been glaring at me and beeping their horn (and rightly so, I'd been ever so cheeky- I had the audacity to beep my horn to alert them to my presence when they pulled out in front of me, nearly knocking me off) and stared forwards until the lights changed and I'd gone.

I'm normally good at keeping it (even when someone had me off), but if someone nearly kills me, then not only refuses to accept they've done something wrong, but also has a go at me, as if I've wronged them, I get incandescent with rage and lose it.

Out of character, but I suppose that's why it's a "rage", isn't it?

Originally Posted by Jabba

Not exactly, although I have been known to shout profanities at other drivers when I'm in the car. I suppose that it's a bit like having Turettes

Ha ha, good analogy! In the car, I'll often be talking to a passenger, stop talking mid sentence, narrowly miss a lunatic who has veered in front of me/pulled out, etc. bellow "you f****** p****!" at the top of my voice then calmly resume the in-car conversation as if nothing had happened.

My mother wasn't amused.

Originally Posted by Law

They probably didn't see you (they're not checking properly, blind spot due to the massive support pillars), I assume all cars never see me when I'm on my bike.

I generally assume the same, but it's a little hard to not see someone through glass unless you happen to be blind. At the time, I was coming perpendicular to them but a little in front. I made eye contact with the driver, but like you said, the were probably looking but not seeing.

I often find that drivers of said cars cannot hear me through my helmet when I'm shouting at them. So I've decided the best course of action is to just calm down and breathe......


.... yeah right, as soon as I can get my hands on one, I'm hooking up a massive fog horn to the SV and, if possible, rig up a PA system that I can use with my helmet. That way they can hear me tell them exactly what I think of them.

Either that or do what one of my "friends" has done. He has rigged up some pins and taped them to the outside of his boot. Anytime someone p*sses him off, he just gives them a racing stripe as he goes by. Sorted.

[Lissa]

The number of times we've had car drivers pull out on us, cut us up and generally act like ****s we're now beyond getting angry about it. Pete may ride very assertively and confidently, but he's not an aggressive person, and I've never seen him lose his rag with a driver. The most they ever get is a shake of the head or a sign to use their eyes from both of us. Let's face it, a bike is very vulnerable. A car used as a weapon will always win, and if you make a driver mad enough the end result could be fatal. Even if you get away with it, the next biker they come across may pay for your actions. Most drivers, to be fair, have the grace to look a bit shame-faced when you make eye contact and shake your head, and hopefully because you haven't reacted angrily they might just think a bit more next time.

Originally Posted by Jabba

Life-savers are well named, eh?

I've never EVER missd a life saver since. The incident happened about two years ago now (almost to the day!). Checking mirros to see what people doing behind you just isnt enough! I always do the shoulder check if i know someone is behind me (no point when im completly alone).

Mistakes are ok, as long as they dont cause too much injury to person and wallet, and aslong as you learn from them!

Matt

Something interesting...

A while ago i found some research (think it was in MCN so im not completly trusting of it!) that had found that people perceive smaller objects to be moving with less speed

e.g. If a motorcycle and a lorry are both travelling at 30mph (honest, officer), then the bloke in his mondeo at the junction is more likley to perceive the motorcycle moving slower, hence he (or she!) may think they have more time to pull out.

Of course, this is no excuse for the drivers that just dont look, which is the common cause of the types of accidents where bikers end up in the side of a car which has pulled out on them.

Matt

have had a couple of wing mirrors off/bent backwards but nothing any more serious

once on my old RS125 I was hit luckily didnt fall off and the bugger drove off, chased him, was very hyped up wanted to stop him and have a go but he wouldnt stop and I lost him. didnt even get the number plate.

[ethariel]

Ummmmmm...

Bad day at work today, got cut up by a to**er in a g*lf on the way home, took a deep breath, ignored it and filtered along to the lights (Red) and stopped, lo and behold he comes blasting down the bus lane and pulls right in front of me to miss a bus turning left going a good 20' over the line.

At this point i snapped, lights changed so i dumped the clutch, into 2nd and held my finger up nicely as i went straight past

the only camera on the way home at 40+

Bugger, waiting to see if that Nip is coming or not now.

Been doing the same bit of road 5 times a week on the way home for the past 2 years too !

Colin

PS The moral is, well you figure it out.

[northwind]

I get delayed road rage... When that woman drove over my foot, I only worked out what had happened as she drove off, so I only got one big belt on her roof. But it doesn't stick in my head badly, usually after someone does something particularily stupid I slow it all down for about 10 minutes afterwards to avoid following suit.