[SDCBC] Drivers not cars, was Re: Don't be rude to cars - PLEASE!

[Jim Baross]

Small point maybe but loose/misuse of terms tends to feed the 
unexamined fear-of-traffic approach to bicycling, IMHO. It is 
daunting to think that bicycling in traffic is like being alone in an 
arena fighting for space against cars. In that scenario, bikers lose, 
right? But, that's not the real world of traffic.

Yes, motor vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, etc.) are big, powerful, 
scary, fast, etc. but they are not (yet) self directed. People direct 
them. It is unlikely that any car will notice you being rude to it... 
although I had a Studebaker that seemed to be able to sense my moods...  ;-)

Drivers choose how to act and react. Cars just react.
Drivers care. Cars don't.
Cars don't cut you off. Motorists do.
Cars don't even exceed speed limits unless someone directs them to.
Cars don't (usually) fail to signal or yield or, well, any number of 
things. Drivers do - often.
(Cars do introduce problems - pollution, etc.- but their operation is 
by people.)

I suspect that being rude or nice to cars isn't the message that Tom 
intended to convey. How about, avoid agitating people operating 
powerful equipment since they may strike out at you or the next 
bicyclist they can.

Unfortunately, sometimes just being out there "in the way" legally 
and even riding as courteously as you can will set off some 
(thankfully very few) drivers.

Jim (can't train cars, just drivers) Baross

>Tom Yager wrote:
>>
>>[...]  A jacked up White F-150 truck pulled
>>into the bike lane behind me, almost hit my rear wheel, honked his horn, and
>>then swerved past me nearly hitting me with his side mirror.  He then pulled
>>back into his lane and drove away.
>>
>>I wish both of these people were put in jail, but I ask myself; why is this
>>happening?   There could be many reasons, but I sense that other bicyclists
>>have probably pissed them off in the near past.  [...]
>>_______________________________________________

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