Stupid People!
Discussion
Riding to work this morning, stupid taxi stops at a red light (no indicators on), he's just overtaken me, so must know I'm there, just by his rear bumper on the inside and the passenger opens the door right in front of me, I stop (and clearly should have screamed at him, but didn't), then he gets out, shuts the door with his back to me and stands in the road right in front of me to pay the cabbie!
I just say, 'er excuse me you idiot, do you think you could get out of my way?' and he just gives me a load of abuse for not pulling out around the cab and that I should give way to pedestrians, even if they have just jumped out of a cab right in my path and are in the road!!! A**ehole!
Why do people feel the need to suddenly shout and scream first thing in the morning?
I just say, 'er excuse me you idiot, do you think you could get out of my way?' and he just gives me a load of abuse for not pulling out around the cab and that I should give way to pedestrians, even if they have just jumped out of a cab right in my path and are in the road!!! A**ehole!
Why do people feel the need to suddenly shout and scream first thing in the morning?
JRM said:
Riding to work this morning, stupid taxi stops at a red light (no indicators on), he's just overtaken me, so must know I'm there, just by his rear bumper on the inside and the passenger opens the door right in front of me
Firstly, were you not expecting the cab to stop at the red light?Secondly, is it not likely that the passenger decided to take advantage of the stop to jump out early and therefore the cab driver wasn't necessarily planning to overtake and then drop off right in front of you? The passenger wouldn't necessarily have known you were there and certainly wasn't expecting to speak to you - often people who are surprised react in an aggressive/defensive manner (especially when addressed as "idiot" by a total stranger).
Thirdly, what exactly was the problem with simply passing the cab on the right?
In summary, yes it was annoying for you but surely just a day-to-day occurrence when commuting by bike and therefore to be expected / taken in your stride?
pdV6 said:
Firstly, were you not expecting the cab to stop at the red light?
Secondly, is it not likely that the passenger decided to take advantage of the stop to jump out early and therefore the cab driver wasn't necessarily planning to overtake and then drop off right in front of you? The passenger wouldn't necessarily have known you were there and certainly wasn't expecting to speak to you - often people who are surprised react in an aggressive/defensive manner (especially when addressed as "idiot" by a total stranger).
Thirdly, what exactly was the problem with simply passing the cab on the right?
In summary, yes it was annoying for you but surely just a day-to-day occurrence when commuting by bike and therefore to be expected / taken in your stride?
1) Yes I do know cars stop at red lights! What I wasn't expecting was the passenger door to swing open right in front of me. If the taxi was letting someone out it might be a good idea to actually pull over and indictate left, rather than stopping where people would expect you to just be stationary waiting for the lights to change.Secondly, is it not likely that the passenger decided to take advantage of the stop to jump out early and therefore the cab driver wasn't necessarily planning to overtake and then drop off right in front of you? The passenger wouldn't necessarily have known you were there and certainly wasn't expecting to speak to you - often people who are surprised react in an aggressive/defensive manner (especially when addressed as "idiot" by a total stranger).
Thirdly, what exactly was the problem with simply passing the cab on the right?
In summary, yes it was annoying for you but surely just a day-to-day occurrence when commuting by bike and therefore to be expected / taken in your stride?
2) I didn't say I thought the cabbie was at fault for the door opening, just that he could give people some sort of warning by indictating and people getting out of cabs might want to check nothing is coming. I didn't have a go at the cabbie, just the idiot who opened a door in the road without looking.
3) When there is stationary traffic, it's quite reasonable to move along a cycle lane that is clear and pass it on the inside, that's why you see short cycle lanes next to traffic lights!
And as for a summary, actually, no most peope aren't stupid enough to open a door in traffic without looking fortunately and most people do look out for bikes - there are enough of them in central london in the morning. Plus, given that he was clearly being dangerous by his actions, no I don't think I should have left it alone and taken it in my stride, next time he may have opened the door and knocked someone clean off, hopefully now he'll think about it when he gets out of a cab.
pdV6 said:
Secondly, is it not likely that the passenger decided to take advantage of the stop to jump out early
Still lacked the common sense to look before they opened the door or take in the fact that they'd just passed a cyclist. Unfortunately it is just an example of people not showing any consideration for their imediate environment. Regardless of whether there was a cycle lane or not.Quite frankly, you should have punched the stunt in the head, taken his change in lieu off or your inconvienience and pedalled on.
It reminds me of that stupid advert on TV about a motorbike rider riding past 'the car that never moves, the shop that never closes' etc only for some idiot to open the door without looking and the rider smashing into a lamppost. Then the ad implies it was entirely the riders fault.
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