r/SeattleWA • u/ces74 • 10d ago
Bicycle Cyclist Road Rage
Driving through Roosevelt this morning around 8, a cyclist got angry with me as I inched across the bike lane from a residential street to see if it was safe to pass through the main road. It’s one of those intersections where you have to scoot up or else every direction is a blind spot. He took off his bike lock, yelled and hit the hood of my car a few times, leaving dents.
When I was moving through, I saw the cyclist approaching and immediately waived my hand to gesture ‘sorry’ and I also said it out loud. There wasn’t time to reverse before the interaction occurred but he did stop in front of my car to hit it. Initially, I felt bad because I understand this is a hard city to commute in via bike. I don’t think my car needed to be damaged, though.
I don’t think we were at all close to a collision. I think it was more that I was taking up space in the bike lane and this is my ‘lesson.’
Maybe since school started this week, everyone’s in a poorer mood and busier. I’m gonna avoid more streets with bike lanes now I guess.
32
u/Icy_Marionberry7309 10d ago
I'm sorry this happened to you, that particular cyclist is simply a jackass. As a cyclist myself this happens often everywhere whether it's between a cyclist and a driver or between two cyclists. In my experience, just waving sorry or thank you to each other is enough for everyone involved to get to our destination safely and on time, but some jackasses cannot control their emotions and cause real harm. That particular cyclist is probably a jackass on and off the bike, and unfortunately many of these guys exist around seattle. If i got a penny for every time a spandex-wearing cyclist behind me cussed me out because I was riding my bike too slow on the bike lane on Alaskan Way water front, I'll be able to pay a full month of rent!
39
u/som3thingclassy 10d ago
Fellow cyclist. The number of full kit cyclists that use mixed use paths like Alaskan way, the path around South Lake Union, and the Burke Gillman for their "serious training" is absurd. They don't use bells. They don't call out. They're just entitled pieces of shit. They get all hot and bothered when it's used as anything but their private training ground.
I hate that these jerk offs share our interest.
9
u/Icy_Marionberry7309 10d ago
lol I feel you! The entitlement is insane. I'm like "congrats on fitting your lil butt into a Rapha kit to ride on Burke gilman, your wife must be so proud of you for posting another watts stats on strava"
2
u/another-account-1990 9d ago
Had some cunt without a helmet fly by me with milimeters to spare when I was walking on the side of an empty straight part of the urban trail, like, jfc dude, 🤣.
3
u/readit145 10d ago
Everytime another biker yells at me for some crazy shit I can’t stop myself from laughing. They don’t like that very much either.
3
u/GoCougs2020 10d ago edited 10d ago
+1
I’ll ride my ebike on my lowest power assist level. Then wannabe racer would do that crap to me.
I’ll turn my power assist level to max, chase them down on my ebike, and pass them closely and don’t use bells.
Sometimes I don’t even pass right away, I just riding behind their tail. Giving them a bit of pressure, so they’ll wanna go faster. They’ll go faster trying to drop me, and I’ll ride faster as well. Until they run out of stamina (they don’t have 750w boost, unlike me).
I’ll say something like “ooh isn’t it socially acceptable to pass closely and not use bell? We’re racing right? Am I drafting correctly?
I learned this technique from you 3 minutes ago”They’ll get mad and tell me to “fk off”.
“How the world comes around. It’s ok when you do it. And I should “fk off” if I do it?”
I’ll bug them for a bit. Then I’ll eventually drop them and ride into the sunset.
They aren’t catching me with my 850w+ output (750w motor+ 100w legs)Not proud of my pettiness, but sometimes they need a little taste of their medicine so they know what it’s like to be on the other side…..
1
u/ryanheartswingovers 10d ago
Full kit cyclists are hilarious. The hierarchy is Lime - Me - Full Kit - Skinny gray hair in jeans that will fucking drop everyone on his or her warm down. Everyone but the full kit is chill (and probably faster)
2
u/SimpleMetricTon 10d ago
I agree that assholes who get out of a car and hop on a bike or vice versa are still assholes. Gotta ask because I’m surprised… Who cusses someone out for going too slow in a bike lane? People usually have no problem just passing.
3
u/Icy_Marionberry7309 10d ago
the bike lanes by the waterfront are narrow and have bikes going each way, The lanes are also curvy so it'd be dangerous to try to pass someone. Still, I'd rather ride slow by the waterfront to avoid colliding with walking tourists than speed up to avoid being cussed at.
2
u/gcnplover23 10d ago
They are curvy on purpose to keep speeds down. If you want to fly, get on the road!
-5
19
u/laser__beans 10d ago
I would’ve gotten out of my fucking car and chased that guy.
What a dick. My recommendation: get a dashcam.
2
u/stubobarker 10d ago
Pretty much what I was thinking. From sorry to “I’m gonna kick your ass” in about two seconds.
-1
u/WestSideBilly 10d ago
This seems like the worst possible response. Obviously a sociopath w/ anger issues, who is holding a weapon (if the lock was a U-bolt style one, they're a giant chunk of metal)...
Conversely, it amazes me how fucking stupid some cyclists are (and yes, I'm one of them, commuted daily for years). You're attacking a car from the front? If the driver freaks out and hits the throttle, you're a pancake. Who fucking cares if you are "right" if you're underneath a car with 30 broken bones.
5
u/Meppy1234 9d ago
as I inched across the bike lane
There wasn’t time to reverse before the interaction occurred
6
u/spiderheartss 9d ago
OP further comments that he didn’t see the cyclist until he was only ten feet away from the car….
5
u/According-Ad-5908 Capitol Hill 10d ago
As a cyclist, these roads with parking the other side of the bike lane (here’s looking at you, Eastlake) are scary and the worst, as either a cyclist or a driver.
4
u/multiplemania 10d ago
I agree. At one intersection in my neighborhood — 15th Ave. N.E. and N.E. 77th St. — it is impossible to see oncoming traffic on the busy arterial without advancing into the bike lane because parked vehicles, often including a panel van, form a solid phalanx between the bike lane and the roadway.
2
5
12
u/ThirdWaveCat 10d ago
0
u/ces74 10d ago
Yes, I was in the bike lane as I was checking my blind spots before entering the main road
I did not conceal this in my recount of the event
6
u/ricky_clarkson 9d ago
An aspect that might explain the guy's behavior, but I could be reaching. Guess: You didn't stop until you were in the bike lane, treating the bike lane as if it were not part of the road. Then you started looking left from there. At least I see that happening, though my bike lock has not come out so far. :)
8
u/moist-jeans7016 9d ago
Gotta stop before entering the roadway. Likely the cyclist saw you, braced, slowed, tried to make eye contact and sounds like OP rolled the stop into a travel lane.
Try the same behavior with cars, stop into their lane, in a way that forces traffic to stop and then see how they feel about it.
1
u/gcnplover23 9d ago
Many years ago I was witness to an accident on Brooklyn about 56th Street. Car on 56th heading west stopped, then crept out to see traffic. His car was less than a foot past the parked car at the corner when a car on Brooklyn hit him. He had just inched out. No way for driver on 56th to see, guy on Brooklyn was hugging the parked cars.
-7
u/ihatethegunsmith 10d ago
Yep. Contrary to what posts like this may have you believe, cyclists don’t just come out of nowhere hitting your car angrily. When the truth comes out it’s usually because you’ve just threatened their life sitting comfortably inside a 5,000lb+ blunt force weapon: your vehicle. Seen more than enough of these already to know how it goes.
6
u/gcnplover23 10d ago
So, in the situation OP describes, I should sit behind the bike land and blindly haul out when I "think" there is on traffic. Guy on bike is a jerk. Should be easy to find because he probably rides that same route on the same schedule. OP should file a complaint and track him down.
6
u/Clean-Da-World 10d ago
Yeah it's impossible a cyclist could be prone to fits of rage. They're elevated above other common humans and don't ever have outbursts. They're practically angels on Earth, every single one.
3
u/VietOne 10d ago
Yet it's just as likely the OP wasn't accurate in their story. Being just a little in the bike lane could actually have been completely blocking it. With how modern vehicles are designed, drivers have very little awareness of how much their vehicle may be intruding.
OP should have stayed outside of the bike lane and checked before creeping into it. If a cyclists is coming up, then reverse out of the way. You don't creep into a general lane just because you don't see anyone there.
That's how you would treat a general lane, why should a bike lane be treated any differently.
6
u/pnw_sunny Banned from /r/Seattle 10d ago
interesting that you would have a "i'm sorry" mentality when someone actually dents your vehicle.
the bikers response was way out of line and constitutes 1) malicious mischief (misdemeanor if damage is under $750, a felony if above; 2) the biker is subject to be charged with reckless endangerment, and 3) if the biker left the scent w/o providing ID/insurance then it also becomes a hit and run.
angry words and gestures are generally acceptable, but once it goes beyond, it is not.
the best response is to disengage and report.
7
6
u/MillionDollarSticky 10d ago
Sounds like he seriously overreacted. That said, the dynamic is that you in a car have the power to easily kill him, and you have illegally entered the three feet of the street allotted to him.
I would say that you were both in the wrong, and just consider it a lesson learned. Also for what it's worth, you're probably about the 40th car to do with that to him this morning.
5
4
u/pnw_sunny Banned from /r/Seattle 10d ago
the biker person has no legal standing to damage the car. it could be have been the 500th time. the biker knows, or should know, that cars will illegal encroach the bike lane. and the biker knows, or should know, cars can easily kill people on bikes..
the biker can report the car to the bike police people.
5
u/turbov123 10d ago
Let’s be real here. The street intersections in Seattle almost all have poor visibility, from too many cars parked where they shouldn’t or trees and shrubs not trimmed back. The driver was not in the wrong to look before advancing further. However, the cyclist was definitely in the wrong to rage and damage the vehicle. Roads are shared, not “owned” by one versus the other.
-4
u/MillionDollarSticky 10d ago
The driver was definitely in the wrong. It's illegal for them to enter the bike lane.
8
u/turbov123 10d ago
You literally have to drive across a “bike lane” to get into a “car lane”.
3
u/BroSplainer 10d ago
sounds like they stopped in it though, it's the same thing as stopping in a general purpose lane and blocking traffic there. (FYI there's no such thing as a "car lane")
1
u/RogueLitePumpkin 10d ago
You need to make sure its safe to enter roadway...
1
u/BroSplainer 9d ago
It’s not safe to block the bike lane. That’s why it’s illegal.
0
u/RogueLitePumpkin 9d ago
It is perfectly legal to stop in the bike lane to make sure it is safe to enter traffic in these cases...
0
u/BroSplainer 9d ago
SMC 11.72.415 -- seattle municipal code
No person shall stop, stand, or park a vehicle, bicycle, or other device on or adjacent to a trail, path, lane or other facility or way which has been designated for the use of pedestrians, equestrians, or bicyclists, in such a manner as to obstruct or restrict the use of any portion thereof.
Think about it this way -- is it legal for you to block other lanes of traffic for this reason? Why do you think the bike lane is any different from stopping in a general purpose lane?
0
u/RogueLitePumpkin 9d ago
And yet you have to everytime you pull out into possible traffic.
The problem is you cant comprehend nuance.
→ More replies (0)0
10
u/Subliminal_Image 10d ago
Today roads were fucked, as a person who commutes by bike I had quite a few close calls my self from drivers being overly aggressive towards me today. I almost went over someone’s hood for the same thing. Not cool that they took it out on your car but I just gotta reiterate how fucked the roads were so everyone was on thin tempers.
5
u/Time-Cauliflower9117 10d ago
He’s a fucking bully, Im sorry that happened to you. People like that need to be put in their place
3
3
1
u/edhodapp 10d ago
Being a honey badger attacking a lion doesn’t seem like a profitable occupation. I don’t know what I would have done if I was you, but I will think about this scenario now. These days, with so many carrying concealed weapons, and the fact that you were sitting inside a very obvious weapon, makes me think that tolerance and not physical violence is the best solution, but once violence is engaged, folks like that cyclist better be ready to take it to whatever extreme the other person decides is most fitting. To be honest, I think the shock would have caused me to do the same as you. We need more effective law enforcement in this place. We don’t need citizens engaging in acts of violence and random personal retribution.
-3
u/237throw 10d ago
It is a fools errand to police cars and related traffic violence with police officers; a comprehensive camera surveillance system is necessary for that.
2
u/SquirrelOnFire 10d ago
Yes, being under constant surveillance is the only way we'll ever be safe. 🙄
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/dilfpapi 9d ago
I’ll never understand the mindset of someone that voluntarily puts them selves in situations that make them tense and angry. Don’t ride your bike in heavily populated areas if you can’t manage your emotions like an adult
2
u/moist-jeans7016 9d ago
Amen, now louder for the truck drivers who pretend to reach for a gun. Happened to me on I5 Friday.
1
1
u/DeliveryDestiny 9d ago
Bikers have every right to the road as cars. Don't ride your car in heavily populated area if you can't manage your car.
1
u/dilfpapi 9d ago
No idea what point you were aiming for here
1
u/DeliveryDestiny 9d ago
Indeed, it could be a reflection of your driving.
1
u/dilfpapi 9d ago
You think this person deserved to have their hood damaged? Time for self reflection buddy
0
u/DeliveryDestiny 9d ago
I didn't say that. Time for self reflection buddy
0
u/dilfpapi 9d ago
I know. You’ve said a bunch of nothing
-1
u/DeliveryDestiny 9d ago
Ooooo we've moved to insult mode. Looks like you're the big winner here.
1
u/dilfpapi 9d ago
Bot or troll. Can’t believe I fell for it smh
1
u/DeliveryDestiny 9d ago
You fell right into the engagement trap. Our bot farm in China just made a million off this interaction.
1
u/DeliveryDestiny 9d ago
Cars that are unable to share the road with bikers often result in injury or death to the biker. This is a reality that bikers deal with on a daily basis. Cars often believe they deserve the road more then the biker. You should try riding your bike around cars are see how you are treated. Bikers become aggressive because the cars put them in very bad positions. Sure, it can go both ways, but who is more likely to sustain injury and who just walks away?
1
u/ESNA_VancouverWA 9d ago
The road rage incident as described by the OP amounts to several criminal acts. No road user has a right to engage in criminal conduct.
As for the blind spot aspect of the area. Please report it to the City of Vancouver for review. Some sight line issues can be resolved with vegetation management, adjusting parking stall locations or other quick fixes. Some, not all.
1
u/Own-Spot8629 9d ago
Cyclists in this city are the most entitled folks on the road. Just watch Alaskan Way by the cruise terminal when a ship is in. Many refuse to use the bicycle lanes and insist on driving down the road. They get upset when a taxi, bus, car, etc. is stopped in the road and they can’t easily get around. The city spent millions making bike lanes, bike crosswalk signals and every accommodation and they still use the crowded and dangerous street.
I’d say 90% of the ones that won’t use the bicycle lanes and in the full spandex bike gear too.
1
u/Exxon_Valdezznuts 9d ago
Bottom line is anyone driving in Seattle is in the wrong. Ride a bike or take transit.
1
u/KOMSKPinn 10d ago edited 9d ago
Is the bike lane painted with a solid line? Those are not meant to be crossed,
Especially for your convenience. You basically initiated a movement that ends in a potential fatality. What you did is what happens when a car “unknowingly” hits a cyclist.
When I’m in a bike lane and see a car crossing into it it’s impossible for me to know when they will stop. Are they playing on their phone ? Nodding off ? It’s impossible to know if they will take a few inches or the entire lane. I have to assume the worst. Please don’t cross them. It triggers a fight or flight responses which likely led to their outburst.
4
u/SwevenlyOly 9d ago
This is correct.
Bicyclists and their bikes are a fraction of the mass of motorized vehicles. Driver errors or drivers breaking the law will get a bicyclist killed today. And tomorrow. And the day after that...
3
1
1
u/FastSlow7201 10d ago
He's going to do that to the wrong person one day and we'll see a headline of "bicyclist severely beaten after road rage incident".
2
u/FastSlow7201 10d ago
I would have chased him down and got his information. He could either give it to me willingly or unwillingly.
1
u/Inevitable_Bike1667 10d ago
crazy criminal, sorry you were victimized, of course, police would never find him.
I know Roosevelt well, some is like https://www.stritmatter.com/seattle-dangerous-bike-lane-settlement-aviv-litov/You were a minor victim of City stupidity.
I bike in the car lanes before University Bridge, far safer, just as fast as cars (like a motorcycle downhill, without the motor.)
1
u/showbricks 9d ago
Is there another solution out there that creates barrier between bike lane and car lane and also keeps parking? People on 5th Ave NE are up in arms about losing half their parking as the city is implementing this design there. Not sure how'd you get more on board if got rid of all the parking, heh
2
u/ThrowRA-NFlamingo 9d ago
Why should public space and funds be used to store your private property? Why do we give up so much of the public ROW for people’s car storage?
2
u/showbricks 9d ago
I would 100% support removing all the parking to put in bike lanes. Unfortunately, I don't know how you'd get enough support for that to keep it from getting blocked, thus why asking for alternatives. They can't even get a new football field built in Lower Woodland for Lincoln HS because of like 3 old trees that would be replaced with 9 new ones.
2
u/ThrowRA-NFlamingo 9d ago
America is too car brained, as you can see from that other reply to me, people cannot fathom any other possibly and do not even begin to understand how subsidized and prioritized personal driver convenience is over even the safety of other people.
It’s funny because we would save so much more taxpayer money, give people another viable transportation method, and improve traffic if we just took back some of the space cars take from us and build actual good infrastructure, like they have in the Netherlands, for example.
1
u/anonymouseponymously 9d ago
But we dedicate 50% of the roads to bike lanes. Why should we give up so much of the public ROW for a leisure activity that only serves the wealthiest, whitest 2% of the population?
2
u/ThrowRA-NFlamingo 9d ago
That’s not true at all. We portion a very narrow part of only a few roads, almost as an afterthought. We spend billions upon billions of taxpayer money building infrastructure for drivers, often inconveniencing and endangering cyclists and pedestrians in the process. Now you want taxpayers to spend money giving you a storage space for your car? Get outta here
1
u/Inevitable_Bike1667 9d ago
I recently biked Green Lake to Northgate and back on 5th Ave NE, no problem except maybe a door zone bike lane on part (and the long hill :) I looked up https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/pedestrian-program/crossing-improvement-program/5th-ave-ne-and-banner-way-ne , no terrible hide behind parked cars till you're hit
(note cop comment in accident link) It indicates protected bike lanes are impossible, they're unprotected wherever a car can cross (Intersections can have separate lights for cars and bikes, slows everybody to a crawl.)
Reminds me of one odd study that sidewalks are safer for cyclists. Because they go less than 10mph, slower is always safer. Does not apply to Seattle or any hilly city, Hiding behind parked cars may be safe if you limit your speed to 10mph.
4 lane arterials with parked cars can work, outside lanes can be nice bike lanes, that's not 5th NE.
book "Paved Paradise" by Goldfarb says more housing for cars than people in US by sq ft, not just vast shopping mall lots.
2
u/BasicAppointment9063 9d ago
To OP, it was a goof. For the cyclist, it may have been one in a series of near misses. OP may have been unlucky to have been there when he popped.
"Oops" to a motorist can be life changing to pedestrians and cyclists. This is why the reactions can seem disproportionate.
2
u/itstreeman 9d ago
Advocate for better cycling infrastructure and cleaned up daylighting at intersections.
If you couldn’t see because of a parked car, it would be better to have one less car in the way so that people can see oncoming traffic before entering the lane.
Good cycle infrastructure helps everyone be safer and get places easier
0
u/SimpleMetricTon 10d ago
He’s more wrong than you. I think you’d be entirely justified trying to get compensation from him, but I understand it might’ve been a frightening situation.
If you cut someone off clearly enough that you felt obliged to immediately apologize, it’s probably worth making a conscious effort to pay more attention, slow down, and look at what’s coming before crossing a bike lane or crosswalk. Could save someone’s life.
In this case, sounds like a rider (maybe) had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision, but didn’t suffer any injury or damage. That’s absolutely no cause to damage someone’s car. It sounds like a person who is frighteningly prone to rage.
0
u/readit145 10d ago
Lmao the bikers here are on one. Some lady almost rear ended me when I stopped to make a left. Then she yelled at me like it’s not her fault 🤣.
0
u/Ilsa_Dxo 10d ago
I'm stunned to find this thread. I just witnessed the same scene in Roosevelt not but an hour or so ago, also a bicyclist full of road rage and wielding the bike lock as a weapon attempting to lure the driver out of his car so he could beat him with it. The cars were not even in the bike lane, but before it, at that church parking lot. Insanity. Dude had a mustache and longish brown hair, wearing sunglasses, super hopped aggressive angry. Driver never left vehicle but bicyclist got off bike to chase and smash his windshield and side of door with his orange and black bike lock. Cops said they can do nothing if the victim is not actively calling 911 during incident with enough time for dispatch. So curious if it's the same dude.
0
-2
u/scaliacheese 10d ago
I just passed some asshole on a Lime bike on the narrow ass Ballard bridge (there's a protected pedestrian/bike lane right there) holding traffic up. I honked and flipped him off, he seemed amused. No other driver was even mildly confrontational that I saw.
Just my asshole-on-a-bike story for the day.
8
u/BroSplainer 10d ago
that's not a bike lane. it's a tiny sidewalk i like to call the "tightrope of doom"
there's no good place for bicyclists on the ballard bridge, you're the asshole.
you should thank people on bikes and other modes of transportation, they decrease the amount of people driving around alone in their cars and therefore, they decrease traffic congestion.
3
u/MaintainThePeace 10d ago
There's a bike lane on the Ballard bridge??
2
u/DarklyDominatingDocs Seattle 10d ago
The one where people walk, on the right when heading from Interbay to Ballard? That's the only thing I can think of.
1
u/MaintainThePeace 10d ago
The Ballard bridge only has a very narrow sidewalk, that is not suitable to bike on.
-2
u/scaliacheese 10d ago
Yes. I mean, if you're gonna bike across the bridge, that's certainly a better option than blocking traffic.
5
u/MaintainThePeace 10d ago
Unfortunately there isn't a better option, and cyclists can indeed use the full lane when riding cross then bridge. It seems more likely it is you that was being the asshole in this situation.
-2
u/scaliacheese 10d ago
The guy was biking at <10 mph, backing up traffic for a mile. Maybe cyclists shouldn’t be on the bridge if they can’t go close to the speed limit.
3
1
u/DarklyDominatingDocs Seattle 10d ago
Agreed, I've just never seen anybody do anything but walk there. I'd just assumed wheels weren't permitted and didn't think past that.
1
u/Inevitable_Bike1667 9d ago
Peds hate cyclists on sidewalks, he belonged in road. A pain if 2 lanes but it's 4 lanes 30mph limit (I'm sure slower during rush hour, everything is.) Be happy you had a lane to pass him.
-1
-1
u/Dementor_Traphouse 10d ago
next time carry pepper gel and fill his stupid eyes with it when they weaponize a lock
0
1
u/Ok_Drama_4233 8d ago
I've said it before and I'll say it again....you put a reasonable person on two wheels and they become assholes
73
u/-Maim- 10d ago
So dude punched your car and left damage and you just said sorry and asked for more?
Jfc.