Truly horrifying and oh-so-very sad, Pete.
I am both interested and dismayed to see such changes have hit New Zealand. This video could have been made about things I see on my own daily rides here in my Oregon city, as cars often don't leave enough room when passing -- or even seem to see me. It is particularly scary when cars cross the white line onto the shoulder. When I see it happening in my eyeglasses-mounted rearview mirror, I will sometimes leave the road for the ditch as the car roars past where I was moments before.
I am really careful to follow all bicycle traffic laws, ride as far to the right as possible, and am careful to stop completely at stop signs and signal my turns so I can be as predictable as possible to stack the cards in my favor. I also wear my bright high-viz clothing and readily concede my deserved right of way if it means I'll be around to ride another day. I've conceded a lot of my rights at times, but have always been glad I did. I don't want to be "dead right" and know I will always come out the loser in a car-bike collision.
As for confronting motorists...I rarely do. If a "road rage" incident is sparked I will again come out the sad loser.
The main problem here for drivers and cyclists is either ignorance of the applicable traffic laws or failure to obey them, making for unpredictability in the traffic stream. I think the core problems revolve around being distracted, in too big a hurry, and a general lack of empathy for the plight of others. Due to economic woes that make for a lack of court funding, we have little if any police traffic-law enforcement here, and that has led to all road users becoming more careless.
I keep telling myself the majority or drivers and riders must be doing pretty well else I wouldn't be alive to write this. Still, it only takes a few bad apples to make the whole lot appear rotten, and I have to admit some cyclists' behavior borders on asking for it -- blowing stop signs, weaving in and out of traffic, baiting drivers, lane-splitting, riding the wrong way against traffic, all risky behaviors that increase the chance of problems with the best of drivers and give cyclists a bad name in the eyes of many. Similarly, driving distracted or impaired or full of rage presents the most frightening of hazards to even the most responsible cyclist who isn't protected by layers of steel and airbags.
I think it comes back to a generally higher level of impatience and anger than we've seen previously, perhaps fueled by greater stressors and pressures including overscheduling and impatience. Most of all, I think it comes back to a lack of empathy and compassion, a failure to put oneself in the place of another. Usually, no matter the attitudes going in, at least two lives are ruined by the events of a moment, and that's the greatest tragedy of all. I ride and I drive, and I'm feeling greater unease in both roles -- traffic is bad and getting worse. Several near collisions due to other drivers while I was behind the wheel left me shaken last week -- an illegal left turn, running a red light, and one person turning wide out of a parking lot and coming head-on at me for a time in my own lane. Yikes!
I'll still ride, but I'm being ever more careful as I cross the major intersections near my home; these have been named the worst in the area for frequency and severity of traffic accidents...and I have to go right through them to reach the open countryside beyond.
Best,
Dan. (...who longs for the days when he truly enjoyed driving and could fully relax and de-stress on the bike)
