Have you ever been walking across the street when a driver turned into your path and almost hit you? How did you respond? Did you lash out verbally or dare to lay hands on their precious vehicle?
In Episode 107, we ask: Is It Worth It To Confront Drivers?
@TheWarOnCars I once got my foot ran over by a person turning right in San francisco, when he was trying to beat the crowd of pedestrians when the light turned green.
I've settled on: "an angry look, with a firm head-shake"
It doesn't get attention every time, but it does communicate, and it maintains the high-ground. More importantly for me, it does not model "ineffective shouting-venting" to my child.
He was a motivator for me to reduce my angry outbursts which I don't think won arguments with the offender, nor the by-stander.
I'm grateful I don't have too worry (very much) about drivers with guns.
@TheWarOnCars Really enjoyed this episode. Good takeaways. Have a useless GoPro I will mount on bike as a totem. Will equip bike with #sillyString in the water bottle holder. Will never use a #paintball gun, because it is a gun. Could have used some silly string this morning.
@TheWarOnCars re: the tragic story about the mother who was almost hit in a crosswalk, I’ve seen a few drivers do that thing where they make an effort to find a chance to scold their almost-victim and I think it’s because that’s the one way they can avoid taking responsibility. Focusing on lights or vests lets them wall off all of those unpleasant thoughts about perhaps operating their vehicles legally and instead say “if they’d done that, I wouldn’t have had the shock of almost killing them!”
@TheWarOnCars I've been teaching my son that this behavior is simply a form of bullying. The way many drivers behave would not be acceptable outside of a vehicle. If someone in the supermarket is in my way, can I plow through them? Why not, when I'm bigger than they are?
In Minneapolis, I actually succeeded in kicking a car that was turning left, at an intersection where I'd witnessed many close calls (including involving a blind pedestrian). Satisfying, but just one car, one time.
> driver turned into your path and almost hit you?
I've had a number of close calls like this, but only twice has the car made contact.
Riding my bike - no intersection but the corn field made a blind curve. He locked up his brakes and by the time of contact was so slow it did nothing but knocked me off the bike. He got out and apologized.
> How did you respond?
No harm, no foul. He was in the wrong, but recognized that and it WAS an accident
@TheWarOnCars when we lived in NZ my wife kicked a car. The driver rolled down her window to tell my wife off and I thought she was going to drag them out of the car and murder them.
It was glorious.
@TheWarOnCars I gestured incredulously to the police officer guarding the construction zone who proceeded to do nothing about the person who ran the red 🫠
@TheWarOnCars last week I was halfway across the road when a van rounded the corner at speed. It did not slow and narrowly missed me. When I reached the pavement I waved "slow down" and the guy, still driving, leaned out his window and was shouting back at me.
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