Moron Approaching

I got something to say here. To the drivers of vehicles on the streets of Victoria, get your heads out of your collective asses.

It’s not that hard to be a safe driver, and yet, there are lots of examples of stupidity by careless and clueless drivers. Since I am now a regular cyclist this trend scares me, and I know it scares Sox too.

My Friday commute home was a prime example of what makes me irate. 3 incidents in a 10 minute ride.

The first was as I was climbing a hill on Esquialt Road and approached Tyee, an SUV passed me with their right turn blinker on. No big deal since there was lots of room for them to get past me and make the corner. Stupid lady driver stops and looks back through her vehicle at me. She was wanting me to pass her on the inside. I had to stop and wait on the uphill. Why do people think this is a god idea? Pass a cyclist then stop on a busy road to let the cyclist pass them? Yeah, good idea moron.

The next incident was by a cab. Again on Esquimalt I approached Dominion the stupid taxi driver started to pass me with his turn signal on, I saw this and began to wonder. Sure enough cabbie turns in front of me, cutting me off, forcing me to grab the brakes. I yelled at him, something along the lines of “what the fuck are you doing”. One of the fares in the cab then gave me the finger. I was pretty displeased by that act, so I read the plate, and started reciting it over and over the rest of the ride.

The last incident was at the 4 way stop by my house. When it was my turn to go I noticed another car aproach the stop. Before I knew it they were taking a left turn to end up in the same direction I was going (I was going straight). I yelled Hey at the lady, and she didn’t react. I yelled again and finally she looked over and was shocked that I was there (she ended up driving down the center of the road for a bit).

In none of these incidents was I in any real danger but this is only because I was on the lookout for these moronic episodes. I just hope my luck won’t run out. All it will take is one slip up by me or someone else, and I will have a much more somber post here.

If you drive, please be aware of cyclists. Don’t do stupid things around them. Give cyclists the room on the road they deserve. Don’t pass a cyclist that is approaching an intersection. Slow down a little and let them have the right of way. It won’t cost you any real time on your trip, but it will cause less stress for the cyclist. Share the road. There is plenty of it out there for everyone.