Ok, I’m done. After braving the city traffic on my bike for 7 years, I am packing it in. The reason? The air-head bimbo who pulled alongside me waiting at a red light, leaving about 5″ between her car and my bare leg, so close I could feel the heat from her red Honda Civic engine. I don’t want my last conscious pain-numbed view in this life to be of that stupid kitten sticker on your stupid bumper. What kind of an adult has a sticker of a kitten with a bow? I guess someone with the driving skills, maturity and intelligence of a 12 year old, or a brain-dead dummy, whose zoned-out driving turns her vehicle into a deadly weapon. Good thing I got your license plate number and, hey cool, will ya’ look at that, the RCMP station was right around the corner. I hope your fine was as least as much as those fancy shades you were sporting. There are too many of you self-centered simpletons out there, whipping by me on Brunswick and Gottingen and Sackville every morning. Takin’ the bus from now on. —The woman you ignored
This article appears in Jul 31 – Aug 6, 2014.
I’ve been wondering for years why anyone would be dumb enough to bike around this city, given the calibur of driver and the paved goat trails. Only took ya seven years to catch on, better late than never tho!
its crappy that people have to take their lives in their hands when trying to cycle.
Wow, 5″. Call the cops. Awesome, one less asshole on the road who can’t ride in traffic, and I’m not talking Hello Kitty.
Hey OB — you cycled the roads for 7 years and are just now packing it in because some bimbo in a Honda stopped her vehicle too close to you at a red light? Either I’m missing something here or this is a complete over-reaction.
I’ve been cycling full-time for 10+ years (winters included); this after 15 years of driving motor vehicles and motor cycles in Halifax. I have also lived in or been exposed to other cities such as Toronto, Montréal, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. The one thing I note as being a major differentiator between Halifax drivers and drivers from other locales … is that Halifax drivers are just too damned “polite” making it dangerous for others on the road.
Pop Quiz
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Scenario – you are motoring along Quinpool – one of the top 10 worst streets for jay walking in Canada (Quinpool is worse than Granville in Vancouver) – the driver notices someone trying to jay walk to the liquor store by Crappy Tire.
What should the driver do?
Be prepared to brake in anticipation of jay walker avoidance but continue moving along (nothing here folks). The jay walker will get across when it’s “safe”.
What the driver should not do:
Stop the vehicle and gently wave the jay walker across the street. I have seen this on nearly every street in HRM (oops Halifax and its suburbs) including the Bicentennial Highway.
Take Away: Stopping a vehicle in the middle of a roadway is illegal.
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Aside from the obvious sub-bitch of “Jay Walking”, drivers need to keep their vehicles moving in a safe and orderly fashion. Displaying predictable vehicular intent within the confines of the “Rules of the Road” will help all other vehicles (motorized or pedaled) … and pedestrians … be safer on our city streets.
Back to OB — a driver crept up too close to your leg? Don’t be stupid, get in the middle of the lane so that the driver would have to wait patiently behind you. If you hug a curb, the car driver will assess you are letting them pass and “hug” you. Own your piece of the road, pedal legally and by Grabthar’s Hammer, make sure you are visible.
Blinking lights (fore and aft) in the middle of the day will save your life.
Maritimers are not friendly. They are fucking nosy.
5″ while riding is one thing, but stopped at a fucking light? Give me a break. And yeah, assholes who stop to let ‘people in’/turn left onto a street in front of them/cross the street at a non-intersection need to be gassed in their fucking vehicles. I’ve almost been run over a few times because some asshole on the inside lane of a 2 or 4 lane street stops to let someone turn in front of them, assuming traffic to their right will automatically realize what the good natured maritimer is doing and stop as well. Fucking tits, all of them.
don’t give up yet, we need you to die for the cause
Why do people always say they took license plate numbers and reported them to the cops. 99% of the time, they were never reported, and even if they were, there is no evidence unless you have a witness. The cops at best might go talk to her, but certainly in this event you just described, there were no tickets issued I’m sure.
+1 for goPro’s
don’t ride without one.
whereas i feel for you OB, to counter your complaint i saw two bikers this morning on my commute dart across traffic from a right lane, threading the needle between bumpers without signalling mind you, and cut across the median line to get to the other side of the road. I also saw two not stop for stop sign while driving past lined up cars (on the right side). say something to them in the regards of smarten up and you get nothing but heat back from them(bikers can do no wrong i get it) as far as reporting the license plate goes, you obviously dont know how the system works. You call in a license complaint and if its first offense by that person its a warning, unless you have irrefutable video evidence of the vehicle, license plate AND driver at the time of the offense. if you get back on your bike start wearing a go pro on your helmet and if you are lucky to get all that info, then the ticket can be issued. If they fight it and you arent at court though…total waste of time.
Good! One less tree-licker polluting the streets!
It is my understanding that – as a driver – I have to give a cyclist a 1 meter buffer.
However, there is a double standard that allows a cyclist to pull up next to me at a red light without having a 1m buffer.
In my opinion, if a cyclist can pull up to me at a red light, I can pull up to him at a red light. If he doesn’t like that, then he should take the lane, in which case, I’ll be more than happy to stay behind him.
If you can’t tell the difference, having it explained to you isn’t going to help.