Monday, May 12, 2014

Scaring Motorists

Back in January, I mentioned how sometimes I feel bad when accidentally scaring walkers and joggers.  You know, you glide silently by them, passing with plenty of room but startling them. Oops, so sorry.

Every once in a while I give a motorist a scare just by riding along, minding my own business and following the rules of the road. A car starts to pull out or turn in front of me, but then suddenly I register on the driver's warning system.  I'm stopped at an intersection, and a car starts to cut the corner.  They're parked on the wrong side of the street, and they pull out when suddenly they see me heading straight for them. You can see the look of surprise on their faces, as they really didn't look before they turned or entered the roadway.

Just last night a guy drove through an uncontrolled intersection without looking or slowing down as I was approaching it.  It was only when he was in the middle of the intersection he decided to look my way.  He saw me and practically jumped.  Luckily, on a bike you have a wide field of vision and are (usually) going slower than motorized vehicles, so I saw him long before and was prepared.

I don't feel so bad about scaring motorists.

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