Impatient drivers

[si_owen005]

Hi everyone,

This evening I was riding home from my mother in laws after a very heavy down pour.

I’m a very very new rider (only done CBT and theory so far) so I was taking it extremely careful around the wet roundabouts. It was a daunting enough experience and then to add to that I had a car driver almost touching my back wheel on their horn! What is that even about?!

Anybody got any advice on how to deal with that sort of situation ?

Just to be clear I was being careful and cautious, I wasn’t being unnecessarily slow.

Thanks.

[raesewell]

As you get more experience you will speed up and it shouldn't be a problem. Get as much practice as you can.

[megawatt]

Pull over and let the tvat passed.

[mikestrivens]

As above

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Ride as you feel safe. I'm happy to let idiots past when it is safe for them to overtake but that is different from being bullied into the side. One of the skills of learning to ride is to hold your lane and ride in such a manner as other road users know you are confident of your space. When I learnt to ride (on the back of a dinosaur) they called it dominating your lane.

It's not about being aggressive, but it is about being assertive.

As a novice rider you will be giving signs to other road users that you lack confidence and then the same idiots who will crowd a learner driver will do the same to you.

It's is fine to give them room to pass when it is safe to do so but don't get into habit of riding near the kerb or you'll create a space cars will try to pass you when it isn't safe.

You are right to be cautious on roundabouts in the wet as there is so much diesel spilt on them that in the rain it's like riding on black ice.

One of the joys of being on two wheels is when said idiot passes you you only have to wait for the next traffic queue to filter past them again.

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

This evening I was riding home from my mother in laws after a very heavy down pour.

I’m a very very new rider (only done CBT and theory so far) so I was taking it extremely careful around the wet roundabouts. It was a daunting enough experience and then to add to that I had a car driver almost touching my back wheel on their horn! What is that even about?!

Anybody got any advice on how to deal with that sort of situation ?

Just to be clear I was being careful and cautious, I wasn’t being unnecessarily slow.

Thanks.

.....so with "L" plates and this ar*ehole is hassling you? Unfortunately, not unbelievable these days. I would invest in a pair of moto-x boots with steel toe protectors.....

[Justarn]

Just stop on a straight, jump off, jump to bonnet and kick his windscreen out, drive off;-)

[someone]

Pull over and let the tvat passed.

 

That.

As a learner the lesson here is to realize just what some people are like. Even if you are going at the speed limit, you still encounter some people who think it does not apply to them behaving the same way.

Just remember you are not doing anything wrong, they are the one with a problem, but only you can protect your own safety. You are much better having people like that far in front of you than behind you, so at the first safe opportunity let them pass.

[Throttled]

I would not specifically pull over to let them passed, that may act as an encouragement to the driver to bully others out of their way.

I would ignore them (avoid road rage incidents) and ride cautiously until they go away.

[megawatt]

I wouldn't give in to bullies, I usually just slow right down to piss them off. But I wouldn't advise a new rider to do the same.

[geofferz]

Never once had a problem when I was on plates. Maybe Sussex drivers are nice.

[mikestrivens]

Never once had a problem when I was on plates. Maybe Sussex drivers are nice.

 

ditto for Manchester - L-plates or otherwise, never had a problem with other road users.

[JRH]

Never once had a problem when I was on plates. Maybe Sussex drivers are nice.

 

Nah, that's 'cause you are one of the best drivers in Sussex.

[Hoggs]

I had a knobhead up my arse the other day then hooned past me at 50 in a 30.

I don't have L plates - Some people are just knobheads!!

Don't let them distract you from what's going on in front, if you want to turn into a side road or layby to let them past do so. As above don't get into the habit of riding by the kerb and don't let one person ruin your riding enjoyment

[someone]

I don't have L plates - Some people are just knobheads!!

 

Not in Sussex or Manchester, apparently.

I do not share Throttled's faith that doing nothing means they will suddenly turn into good and courteous drivers and never bother anyone else either. Certainly I am not going to sit there until they run into the back of me if I have to brake, or drive me into a kerb as they try to overtake before a traffic island (well it was a parked car when it almost happened to me) or similar.

But what si_owen005 encountered has nothing to do with L-plates or even bikes. That sort of person would equally sit on the tail of a car and pull dangerous manoeuvres against other drivers too.

[Throttled]

I meant make them worse than they already are. They will always likely be dickhead drivers.

When on L plates and my YBR125, I got tail gated and beeped at by an arctic lorry. I went slowly between traffic lights on a round-a-bout, I think too slowly for him. I just rode normally and lost him.

[Bungleaio]

People are dicks, don't worry about it mate as your experience on the road increases you'll get better and you'll see all sorts of crap driving.

[Hoggs]

I don't have L plates - Some people are just knobheads!!

 

Not in Sussex or Manchester, apparently.

 

 

London has enough to go round, I'll send some up

[mikestrivens]

I’m sure that we have plenty of knobheads up here it’s just that they haven’t bothered me.

[Phill]

It's funny when people overtake me on a single carriageway while doing 60, and half a mile down the road they're stuck in the queue(it's brilliant to know where the congestion hot spots are!) I just wave them goodbye while i'm filtering past them! .

It doesn't happen that often to be tailgated while riding, when it happens i just light up my brake light with the rear brake and they back off, the issue is when i'm stopped at lights or junctions, they come really close and i usually look back at them over the shoulder so they know that it's a bit too close.

[Guest]

Some sensible advice here but I would add the original question presupposes that such people can be expected to act in any way predictably and therefore a strategy can be used to deal with this type of stupidity. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Stupid people drive, and mentally ill people drive, They are all unpredictable and very very dangerous.

There is no way of dealing with them in the same way that there is no way of dealing with a rhinocerous. One cannot reason with a crocodile. Get the hell out and let them kill themselves further up the road.

[newbiker90]

Hi everyone,

This evening I was riding home from my mother in laws after a very heavy down pour.

I’m a very very new rider (only done CBT and theory so far) so I was taking it extremely careful around the wet roundabouts. It was a daunting enough experience and then to add to that I had a car driver almost touching my back wheel on their horn! What is that even about?!

Anybody got any advice on how to deal with that sort of situation ?

Just to be clear I was being careful and cautious, I wasn’t being unnecessarily slow.

Thanks.

 

1: Ignore them

2: Keep calm

3: Do not get distracted, focus, and carry on riding at YOUR pace not THEIRS.