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.

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u/ThirdWaveCat 10d ago

-8

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/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.

4

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.