Sunday, March 15, 2009

So Bad It Looks Good

The pass that happened 2 minutes into my ride Saturday was pretty bad, even though at first glance it doesn't appear that way. If you were able to look frame by frame you'd notice that there is a car in the oncoming lane. You can just see the shadow in one of the frames. He timed his riduculous pass so perfectly that you can't even see the oncoming car unless you watch the rear facing camera. The oncoming car, the minivan passing me and I all end up in the same section of road at the same time. I'm amazed no one was killed.


347 mjn from Bikesafer on Vimeo.

What's more annoying is after this idiot endangered 3 lives to save 10 seconds, he flailed his arms wildly toward the right side of the road, I guess meaning that I should not be on the road or I should have ridden myself into the ditch so he could pass me. I don't know if there will be enough on the video to convince the police to issue a citation, but the rear facing camera clearly shows the oncoming car passing at the same time that this guy passed me. I think the more appropriate ticket for this guy is not for passing me too closely, which he did, but for passing into oncoming traffic.

It was good to get back on the bike after a short trip to the land of Iron Chefs. Mrs. Bikesafer and I took "the boy" aka my nephew to New York for a long weekend. We ate at a couple iron chef's restaurants and saw all the tourist sites. Next time I WILL find a way to ride in the city.

4 comments:

Geisterbahnbesitzer said...

I appreciate your effort, but now you sound like a whiny bitch.

I´m an avid rider myself, so I know what is going on on the streets.

Jeff said...

Geisterbahnbesitzer,

How do I sound like a "whiny bitch"?
If you appreciate my effort, how should I continue that effort?

My whole "effort" is speaking out about idiot drivers who endanger cyclists. This guy endangered me AND the car in the oncoming lane.

What is wrong with speaking out about his actions and telling the authorities about it?
If the two cars had hit head on right next to me don't you think I would have been injured in the resulting crash? If there had actually been a crash would I still sound like a "whiny bitch"? I'm really interested in the answers to these questions. My goal in doing what I do on this site is to change the behavior of bad drivers, and if there is a better way to do that I'm all for it.
Bikesafer
Jeff

Geisterbahnbesitzer said...

Yes, a lot of car-drivers don´t leave enough space between bicycles while passing by. But in this particular video everything seems to be fine to me. There are way more dangerous situations.

Jeff said...

If you think that a minivan passing a bike into oncoming traffic on a 18-20 foot road with no shoulders is fine, you have a higher tolerance for risk than I do.

This driver was way too close to me and nearly caused a head on collision with the oncoming car. If my highlighting that behavior online makes me a whiny bitch, so be it.
I'd rather be a whiny bitch and potentially prevent this driver from putting others at risk in the future than remain silent and let him do it again with possible tragic consequences.