[stephankrasner]

My friend Shelley just had a run in with an angry driver who apparently hates bicyclists in the SF bay area. I had heard of this happening before, but never to someone I know. This article: http://www.missionmission.org/2011/05/3 ... -at-large/ was posted about the incident.

According to the article these hit and run a******s are repeat offenders specifically targeting cyclists. I think the spur in violence against pedestrians is due to the pressUre and frustration over continued high cost of fuel.

I'm wondering if this is only a problem in areas with heavy bicycle use like the Bay Area and Portland? Bicycling has been my main mode of transportation since high school, even back then there were jerks who do things like intentionally splashing road slush in the winter.

[Fishman]

Not sure this is peak oil violence. Car/ bicycle war is more longstanding. Now the question arises, will there be preportionally more as more of us hit the road on a bike due to fuel costs?

[dinopello]

I'm wondering if this is only a problem in areas with heavy bicycle use like the Bay Area and Portland?

Bicycles are in a constant battle for acceptance in Arlington, VA - where we have very heavy bicycle useage. Cars hate them because they slow them down, and create another "moving hazard" to look out for. Bikes aren't so popular with pedestrians either if they are riding on the sidewalks (which is legal, although bikes are supposed to yield to peds on sidewalks). Everyone just has to learn to get along.

[stephankrasner]

Not sure this is peak oil violence. Car/ bicycle war is more longstanding. Now the question arises, will there be preportionally more as more of us hit the road on a bike due to fuel costs?

I don't think this was a momentary lapse of judgement. The guy who hit my friend was a serial offender. You're right though, that oil may not be the key factor. It's also pretty extreme to want to risk killing someone with your car just because they are going too slow... I've seen similar, less violent kinds of road rage against people who drive at the speed limit to save money (or are too old) on the freeway, but never to the point where they want to hit them or go on a serial hitting spree to spite slow drivers. Maybe people see bicyclists as a threat to their driving lifestyle somehow?

I do think that this will become a problem as more people ride bikes, Especially in suburban areas where there are fewer riders, traffic lights, and speed regulation.

[Plantagenet]

The safest thing is to create lanes reserved only for bicycles. This is a cheap and easy "fix" cities like San Francisco could do right now to encourage people to get out of their cars and onto bicycles.


Special lane reserved for bicycles in Copenhagen, Denmark

[Fishman]

Steph, sorry for your friend. I have strongly considered biking in but one person I know had a hip replacement, others have been hit. I like the reserved lanes idea and plan on letting my local legislatures know, saves money, potentially improves health of folks, few downturns.

[Beery]

It can only get worse before it gets better. Oil prices will definitely make drivers angrier. Currently, the culture favours the car, and that's not going to change at $5/gallon or even $10/gallon.

I live in Silver Spring, MD, which is probably about average for the US in terms of bike-friendliness. My bike has been my sole mode of personal transport for 40 years. In that time I've figured out ways to reduce the amount of road rage I see from other road users. Unfortunately, most of the best tricks are pretty unintuitive: ride in the road, well out from the curb. Be visible and appear fearless and they leave you alone. It's the curb-huggers and the sidewalk-riders that the bullies tend to target. Bullies always go for those who appear weak or timid. Ride confidently and they tend not to bother you. In 40 years and over 20,000 miles I have never once been knocked off my bike by a car.

Luckily the real psychos - the ones willing to use their cars as a weapon - are very rare - and the ones who will go so far as to actually try to kill you are even rarer. Much more common are the honkers and yellers - they make lots of noise, but it's all show. And cycling is still safer than driving. So it's best to keep things in perspective.

Sadly, the current push is to remove bikes from the roads, and bike lanes, bike paths and laws that force cyclists to use them (as well as laws that are seen as giving cyclists special treatment) all play into the hands of those who want to bully cyclists. These laws reinforce the idea that cyclists don't belong on the road, and they make drivers think that government is spending motorists' tax dollars on cyclists.

But in the end, we have the advantage. Every year there will be more bicycles on the road and fewer cars. Eventually we'll be back where we were in 1895, with most vehicles on the road human-powered and laws that favour us. We're not only seeing peak oil, but peak automobiles too.

And remember, we're vehicle operators, not pedestrians. We belong on the roads that cyclists like us, not automobile drivers, built over 100 years ago. If any cyclist feels scared on the road, he/she can go to a confident cycling lesson - the League of American Bicyclists gives free courses in every state. I've taken their League Certified Instructor course, so I've learned how to cycle confidently and how to teach cycling. Their courses are really pretty good.