It was my 1st commute to work on my new Aurora today (my 1st ebike). Going was fine, but on the way back, approaching some lights, a car behind me overtook me and then cut back in and braked sharply for the red light. I filtered left near the pavement and into the cycle box at the front. I set off briskly and in to the bus lane, leaving the car stuck in traffic before he could get back in front. About a mile later he came past me and beeped his horn. I then filtered (safely) past him when he was in standing traffic on the dual carriageway.

 

The same driver wound his window down, and shouted that I am apparently a f*****g w****r!!!

 

After 4,000 miles commuting on a regular bike, I've never seen anyone get so wound up. I wonder if it winds drivers up more when you leave them without having to pedal? Or because you accelerate so much more swiftly that they can't get past you immediately. I hope I'm wrong about this. Am I? It tainted an otherwise very very enjoyable ride home.

Yes most definitely, not sure why but i think it pisses them off that you are faster and more mobile than them. I have had a few abusive comments at traffic lights but if the traffic is busy you can leave them standing.

I think it also winds other cyclists up. I shot past 2 mountain bikers going up North Bridge. They were doing about 6 or 7 mph, and on my normal bike I'd go past at around 10 mph. Today I was doing nearly 20mph!

 

Or maybe they'd be thankful for the pull they got from my slipstream as I whizzed past?

I think its because e-bikes just do not behave the way people expect a push bike to behave. I know it really winds drivers up as they expect to overtake you instantly. But if you shoot away and their average speed is only a few mph greater they get annoyed. Don't worry it does not happen that often and if thats all they have to worry about you should feel pity for them as life cant be to eventful for them

Frustration

 

I put most of it down to frustration, I think a some drivers have never had a powerful motorbike or car, you know, left school, got drunk no money or will to do anything else, girl comes along feels sorry for him, they get married have kids, then middle age crisis kicks in, finds himself frustrated thrashing nuts off of family car.

He was just jealous that you were able to filter through and needed to vent his frustration. I think he would have done the same whatever you were on. I do a lot of filtering on my motorbike and have found that most drivers never even notice I'm there. A few of them see me coming and try to give me more space to get through. Slightly fewer see me coming and try and block me (which makes me even more determined to get through). I guess that's human nature!

 

I've had a few drivers shout obsceneties over the years,when I'm on my motorbike, but normally they don't get the chance because they can never catch up. On a ebike they'll normally eventually catch me, so I suppose I should expect a few more: However, 'til now I have found most motorists to be very considerate. The only thing I've had is a couple cars going fast and deliberately close on open roads when nothing was coming the other way.

You always find the odd twat. It's life.

I think riding an E-Bike at 15 to 20mph changes both ours and their behaviour. I find myself riding a bit further out into the lane. Partly to avoid the potholes, manhole and drains. This forces the cars to wait a little longer and pull a little further out into the road. They then get a little confused about how much room they need to overtake when they only have a 10mph speed differential rather than 20mph. The end result is them sitting on your back wheel for longer than needed when actually there's plenty of room to get past.

 

As for the abuse, it's really strange how many really angry people there are driving cars. I've had the occasional similar experience on motorcycles. I think it's just life in general they're angry about and you're just a convenient target for that anger.

surely its because you had the audacity to wind your way through the stacked traffic, and end up in the box in front of him (once again:p) consequently in his mind holding him up and adding to his frustration..... you should wave and blow him kisses:)

I think there was something in the air yesterday, I had one guy stagger into the road in front of me and shout abuse when I shouted at him to wait, something similar happened a few miles further on to a car and then a shelf stacker in the supermarket offered to kick my head in because I pushed my trolley over some rubbish in his isle.

Moody Monday.

All I can say is don't do what I did last week. I pulled into the green box in front of traffic lights and failed to notice the driver behind me revving his engine madly because he was cross (I assumed he was warming his engine as it was a cold day). Of course at the green light he l did his best to run me off the road with his engine screaming all the way (whoever said it was safer to wait at a red?). Two miles down the road who should I come across but the same driver dozing away in a traffic jam. So I came along side his window and 'revved' my fake motorcycle engine - he was like a cartoon character that jumps out of his skin. It was at the same time highly amusing, satisfying and incredibly childish. Unfortunately he didn't see the funny side but if you cannot take it don't give it out. It certainly lightened my day.

 

On a more serious note I don't think these things happen very often. I can go for weeks when most driver are courteous and we all make reasonable allowances for each other. Of the drivers that don't behave I cannot work out if they are just having a bad day or always drive like that.

 

By the way I have just used this form today Metropolitan Police Service - About the Met to report a van driver that deliberately swerved through a large puddle to soak some pedestrians. Well both the driver and his companion thought it amusing - I will wait and see what comes of it.

I think there was something in the air yesterday, I had one guy stagger into the road in front of me and shout abuse when I shouted at him to wait, something similar happened a few miles further on to a car and then a shelf stacker in the supermarket offered to kick my head in because I pushed my trolley over some rubbish in his isle.

Moody Monday.

 

when I lived in London the 1990s during the last economic recession I'd encounter this all the time, and a fair bit of racism too. I didn't even ride a bike then. I expect it is still bad in London and other big cities.

Yes we are going into shall we say different times, and there are going to be a lot of angry people out there. Up to their eyeballs in debt, credit cards maxed out, interest rates on the way up and inflation running riot. I am for one starting to watch any valuable stuff now as before it had no worth as all people had to do was flash a credit card, but thankfully they days are over. Personally i have no sympathy for them as no one forced them. But as previously mentioned during the last recession some people were angry, my personal opinion is this will be worse.

 

I would buy a very good lock for your bike as soon it might become quite a prized target.

Edited January 11, 201115 yr by overlander

And it isn't even full moon yet.

Ask anyone who (as I do) works in a hospital environment and you'll hear that bad/angry behaviour increases at that time!

The word lunatic is apposite................

Clive

I'm surprised I've never had abuse from any drivers. The worst was a group of youths in a car who pulled alongside me, put some tunes on and expected me to headbang with them. I did ask the young man driving what speed he was doing, said he needed 22mph just to keep up with me! Then another car in the convoy started beeping at me, the bloke assumed I was going to the city centre to find women, so I just agreed with that! Also asked me why I was riding that piece of s***!

 

I have told a bus driver to **** off once, for tailgating me and not even giving me a chance to make my turn. To be honest, every single day I see a cyclist banging on a car or bus window swearing at the driver, or sticking fingers up at them, or threatening to call the police on them. I found some of those incidents amusing, especially the cyclist who called a bus driver the W word, and the driver was foreign and asked him what it meant!

when I lived in London the 1990s during the last economic recession I'd encounter this all the time, and a fair bit of racism too. I didn't even ride a bike then. I expect it is still bad in London and other big cities.

London was fine, that all happened in the suburbs or in Kent!

London was fine, that all happened in the suburbs or in Kent!

 

The bit of London I was mostly in was SE London, I suspect the West End is "safer" merely because of the sheer amount of cops/rentaguards/CCTV around mostly to guard property rather than people being friendlier there. in the same way some parts of Ipswich in early 2007 became virtually crime-free because of all the cops still parked everywhere from the serial killer investigation..I remember hearing about the TSG being called to manage the crowd at Christmas shopping in Sainsburys in the West End, around 1990.

 

That said, small towns can be equally bad. I used to see the same in Reading too, and during rush hour and in crowded areas Ipswich isn't too pretty either. I'd be surprised a shop worker would be brazen enough to threaten a paying customer with physical violence, whether or not it was a wholly empty threat - especially as the interaction would be on CCTV, though voice is not normally recorded the agressive body language would be obvious.

 

At least in the shops/businesses round here the management watch their staff closely enough to prevent this happening...

 

Getting back to ebikers and drivers reaction, ironically I find cycling in Ipswich is safer than anywhere else.

 

Occasionally people might sound the horn at you and a few young groups are abusive but its far rarer to encounter anything bad. I do get the impression some drivers are angry at the speed you do because its enough to hold them up but too fast to easily overtake, and I've also noticed younger cyclists looking somewhat enviously at my machine (which is why I am as careful about locks here as I would be in London).

I do tend to pedal along enthusiastically most of the time,often at close to lycra biker speeds,so it is not so obvious that im riding an electric bike and i have had no problems yet,i have seen some electric bike riders crawling along the road uphill without giving any assistance at all (usually seems to be powabyke and thompson riders),i think somebody freewheeling uphill in the middle of the road would annoy me too, if i had a low powered bike or just wanted to to take it easy i would get on the pavement out of the way.