Moron Motorists #3

[Mulger bill]

Carbon fibre knuckles are great attention getters.

QFT! I need another pair

[Gordonhooker]

I think some motorists can only do one thing at once.

I think that's being generous to some motorists. Mornings can get exciting along La Trobe St as you get both left and right turners going straight over the copenlanes without looking - and that's when there's not a lot of other traffic to worry about. Combine that with the cretin that likes to park his 428 wheelie bins in the lanes mid-week and the north side of La Trobe anywhere between Queen and Russell is not a fun place to be at times. I must admit I like the concept, but some people really need to learn what those lanes are for.

Bicycles? What bicycles? Those lanes are just there to pretty up the streetscape and make it look greener. Like fake grass.

notice how the bicycle also went onto the painted traffic island....

[GeoffInBrisbane]

Same here. Anything that gets close enough to touch get's "touched" if I can do it safely. Carbon fibre knuckles are great attention getters.

You got a product link?

[apsilon]

They're not strictly cycling gloves but they do the job. Mine are an older version of this:
http://au.oakley.com/products/factory-p ... ather-palm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note they don't have padded palms that a lot of cycling gloves have. I started using them on the MTB to stop the odd branch to the knuckles but now that I mostly ride cycle paths and roads I found they're still useful

About due for a new pair so I'm probably going to cut the fingers off the current ones then buy a new pair before next winter.

[Wakatuki]

I don't know if this is them but look interesting, even down to the oakleyesque pattern! http://goo.gl/sQDDnO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[apsilon]

They're fakes. There's heaps of fakes around. A mate has a fake pair. Materials are bit cheaper and of course the carbon fibre is actually plastic with the carbon fibre weave pattern printed on. My genuine ones have lasted me several years, I doubt the fakes would last anywhere near that but you could buy 5 or so fake pairs for the price of a genuine so......

[InTheWoods]

notice how the bicycle also went onto the painted traffic island....

What about it? You realise that is legal, right?

The island has single lines around it, not double. The cyclist doesn't ride in it for more than 50 meters. He uses it to enter a right turning lane. Therefore it was fine. Well it is in Qld anyway, for up to 50 meters. Rule 138.

[FuzzyDropbear]

Roundabout one would at least have copped a wallop to the window from me, or a visit to the cops with the video. That sort of thing really gets my goat. Got a nice left hook close call this morning by some stupid woman trying to go pick up some fast food for breakfast, so my tolerance for such things is even lower than normal. Morons!

Yup, the bang at the end isn't the camera, it's me thumping her boot (she didn't even react to that...). Note that the camera is mounted just to the left of the headstem so I'm a little further over than it appears. I actually usually ride right in the centre of the road there, but something felt off that day. I truly believe that if I were in the middle of the road, she would've run me over. Even when I was staring her through the passenger window, she just kept looking forward (possibly because she knew there wasn't enough room to her, but didn't want to admit it).

My latest thing to do if the car is going slow, because most of these cars have central locking, is to reach over, open the rear door and scream into the vehicle.... Scares the living stuffing out of the occupants.

I would visit the the cops, but I've been told by two different officers that "unless someone hits you, don't bother ringing" and "we have to deal with that sort of thing everyday when we drive around"

Yeah, the bike lane is a joke, but people are actually really good on that road and will give you plenty of space (unless it's just after a train comes in and then if you value your life you will GET OFF THE ROAD! )

[clydesmcdale]

Got spat at this morning. White commodore bogan didn’t account for the wind. Got himself I think, which was nice.

[GeoffInBrisbane]

Got spat at this morning. White commodore bogan didn’t account for the wind. Got himself I think, which was nice.

Gold!

[London Boy]

Roundabout one would at least have copped a wallop to the window from me, or a visit to the cops with the video. That sort of thing really gets my goat. Got a nice left hook close call this morning by some stupid woman trying to go pick up some fast food for breakfast, so my tolerance for such things is even lower than normal. Morons!

Yup, the bang at the end isn't the camera, it's me thumping her boot (she didn't even react to that...). Note that the camera is mounted just to the left of the headstem so I'm a little further over than it appears. I actually usually ride right in the centre of the road there, but something felt off that day. I truly believe that if I were in the middle of the road, she would've run me over. Even when I was staring her through the passenger window, she just kept looking forward (possibly because she knew there wasn't enough room to her, but didn't want to admit it).

My latest thing to do if the car is going slow, because most of these cars have central locking, is to reach over, open the rear door and scream into the vehicle.... Scares the living stuffing out of the occupants.

What you need is one of those little safety devices they issue if you drive on a mine site or similar. It's a wee device that has a seat belt cutter on one side, and a spring-loaded prong in the middle. Designed to shatter a window in case you need to get out.

Just press it to the window in question...

[Wakatuki]

Or a personal rape alarm, open door, pull pin, release noise grenade, shut door!
(This is obviously not recommend, they're expensive to replace )

[FuzzyDropbear]

Got spat at this morning. White commodore bogan didn’t account for the wind. Got himself I think, which was nice.

While funny, it still amazes me that someone actually thought "hey, there's some dude, I think I might spit on him"...

What you need is one of those little safety devices they issue if you drive on a mine site or similar. It's a wee device that has a seat belt cutter on one side, and a spring-loaded prong in the middle. Designed to shatter a window in case you need to get out.

Just press it to the window in question...

Or a personal rape alarm, open door, pull pin, release noise grenade, shut door!
(This is obviously not recommend, they're expensive to replace )

Ooo, I like both ideas That's got me thinking, surely there's some cheap option out there..

This would be cool, but it would probably scare them so much they'd run over someone else , I just like the video clip they have......
Sound Grenade

[bychosis]

Off to work, could hear the red car behind me gunning it to get past MGIF I guess. The stupid little speed humps cause drivers to be unpredictable so I'm a little cautious. They lane split, veer left to avoid etc. This time the ute had driven over two in the lead up so when he indicated to lane split through them prior to his lane change I figured I'd be right to slip past on the left. Only Mr red stupid wagon had to get in front cutting off the ute, so Mr ute decides to avoid the hump to the left into my path, fortunately I wasn't beside him at that point. I had to make a point and get in front over the last hump, the bike is always quicker over the last full width hump and I usually end up braking behind cars.


Edit: As per usual the GoPro makes it look a lot less close than it was

[VRE]

^^^ You've clearly got a deathwish. I would have stayed much farther away from those idiots.

[bychosis]

Until the last minute, they weren't idiots. Without the red wagon rushing up the ute would have been no problem. I also knew there was plenty of space in the parking lane for me.

[jasonc]

This would be cool, but it would probably scare them so much they'd run over someone else , I just like the video clip they have......
Sound Grenade

too expensive. need something that you can drop in their car. so $1 ea max.

[Gordonhooker]

notice how the bicycle also went onto the painted traffic island....

What about it? You realise that is legal, right?

The island has single lines around it, not double. The cyclist doesn't ride in it for more than 50 meters. He uses it to enter a right turning lane. Therefore it was fine. Well it is in Qld anyway, for up to 50 meters. Rule 138.

Yep sure do, my comment was a response to the comment about the car driving on the painted island... Not the original post.... Driving so close shows the cage driver was a moron...

[jules21]

too expensive. need something that you can drop in their car. so $1 ea max.

sometimes the answer is staring right back at you

[Mulger bill]

What are you suggesting that the bottles be filled with Jules?
Something "small" perhaps?

Shaun

[jasonc]

http://www.fishpond.com.au/Toys/36-Stin ... 7138663191" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[il padrone]

Until the last minute, they weren't idiots. Without the red wagon rushing up the ute would have been no problem. I also knew there was plenty of space in the parking lane for me.

Don't blame the red wagon driver. There was two full lanes available and he made a perfectly legal, clear pass. The nut in the 4WD ute made his choices where he could have simply slowed for the speed hump.

I live not far from streets with these sort of humps. It is simple to maintain your line and any traffic about to overtake must just has to deal with it. However I would never attempt to 'left-pass' a car that was ahead of me and slowing for the speed humps. Don't get sucked into suicide.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Until the last minute, they weren't idiots. Without the red wagon rushing up the ute would have been no problem. I also knew there was plenty of space in the parking lane for me.

Don't blame the red wagon driver. There was two full lanes available and he made a perfectly legal, clear pass. The nut in the 4WD ute made his choices where he could have simply slowed for the speed hump.

I live not far from streets with these sort of humps. It is simple to maintain your line and any traffic about to overtake must just has to deal with it. However I would never attempt to 'left-pass' a car that was ahead of me and slowing for the speed humps. Don't get sucked into suicide.

Spot on. I wouldn't be criticising the wagon driver as a bad driver based on that video. Psychosis, on the other hand, seems to rely far too much on matters over which he has no control. I'd rather that you ride for many years longer Pychosis.

(Note that the short focal length of the camera makes those distances between rider and vehicles in front look considerably greater than they actually are.)

[jules21]

this video of a road rage incident between a number of motorcyclists on a group ride and a motorist is getting heavy rotation at the moment.

the reaction to it by authorities and media is interesting to me. when i first saw it, i thought the road rage was against the bikers. but overwhelmingly, others are assessing it in the reverse manner.

a news reader (2nd video on that page) says that a biker cut the driver off, causing him to drive into the rear of the bike. i don't think so. to be clear - the bikers were being complete cretins. but it seems the driver just may have given the rider a nudge when the rider tried to slow him down.

the news reader claims that the bikers then attacked the motorist, or his vehicle. this (in the initial incident, not the later one where the driver clearly was attacked) isn't shown in the available footage, so it's unclear where that information came from. is it possible that the driver took off after deliberately nudging the biker, breaking another rider's legs in the process?

i'm not interested in defending the bikers here, as they are behaving like outlaws. but what troubles me is the apparent willingness of observers - including senior police - to misrepresent, or at least take a heavily biased view - of the facts, in favour of one party over another. that to me has relevance to us.

(note: it would be useful not to start a raging argument on who to blame here - it's the different ways the incident was perceived by different people that interests me)

[InTheWoods]

(note: it would be useful not to start a raging argument on who to blame here - it's the different ways the incident was perceived by different people that interests me)

I'll stick within that. Solely going from the video, I perceive that a motorbike rider pulled barely in front of the 4wd and slowed down without warning (seriously, who needs a range rover in NY but I digress). Its not obvious to me that the driver deliberately hit the bike, maybe he didn't brake quite as fast as he needed to. That could be deliberate, or it could be accidental as it wasn't expected.

I can't really see what happens with the next part.

The 4wd is stopped and surround by a million motorcycles. If I was American, in America, where everybody seems to carry guns, and I was in that situation I don't know what I would do... If they started trying to get into my car or tried to get me out of it, I suspect I'd try to drive away even if that meant driving over some motorbikes. Doesn't mean I'd try to hit a person with the car but if I feared for my life, I might try to nudge past. But I dunno, its hard to judge what you'd do in a situation without actually experiencing it. It would also depend on whether I had deliberately nudged the bike or not - if deliberate I might be more open to taking my beating...