Two videos showing an incredibly close pass by a motorist and the following encounter between the driver and the two cyclists emerged this week.
The incident took place in Northern California. In the first video, an oncoming truck pulling a trailer overtakes the cyclists at high-speed. The second video shows the subsequent encounter between the driver and the two cyclists. The motorist defends his manoeuvre saying that they sould “get the f**k off the road.”
I agree. It’s a complete lack of consideration towards the cyclists. Another problem is that overtaking the cyclists, with or without incident, bears no risk whatsoever for the driver. None. If he had had to risk a frontal collision by moving over the left lane though that driver would have decided otherwise.
What no one has mentioned is the fact that the driver pulled over to wait for the cyclists…I doubt he stopped to apologize for nearly killing them.
I’m convinced that advising the cyclist to use the full lane would inevitably lead to a moron driver and even possibly this idiot, to just plough into the back of the cyclists and kill them both…… I ride my bike in the UK and if you take the centre of the lane, albeit for safety, the mentality of a lot of UK drivers is that you are deliberately trying to slow them down and you’re at the mercy of what crazy shit they’ll do next to get even.
And how the fuck are we to know if it’s a horse-trailer or a mini-cooper BEHIND us? Are you for real? You say you ride? WTF? I was raised on REAL, WORKING cow ponies. I know their value. Hell most of ’em I rode 30 years ago were worth 18 times your miserable soul just for putting the life of a horse over that of a human! Stay in Califonia. Don’t come to SE Texas or Houston. I carry when I ride. Pull some stupid shit like this BOZO did, and I’ll shoot out your radiator and let YOU walk and THINK about how insanely stupid you’re being about the value if HUMAN life!
To pedalling pony lady..stop or slow down for cyclists just as we cyclists when driving our cars/vans /trucks do when we come across a horse..yes we do manage to stop or slow it’s not rocket science get real and stop thinking of yourself ..we all need to share the road and be safe.. next time your riding mabe you would like to stop the horse and move over ooops no I forgot you wouldn’t want to get its feet dirty..bikes are made for the road horses are not..
Way to escalate an already bad situation!
What a hero alpha pair of bikers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not quite sure when a horse’s life became more valuable than a human’s. This guy’s arrogance typifies that of several horse riders I’ve met whilst cycling. I was riding with a mate along country lanes one day when we turned a corner and met 4 horses and their riders coming the other way. We are both very experienced cyclists and braked to slow down and my mate slipped on mud, clipped my rear wheel and fell over cutting his arm. The horse riders didn’t say a word but just carried on past us in the other direction with at one least one of them smirking. In the UK people will just about crash their own car to make way for horses but then a mile up the road they will practically run over a cyclist who they feel is holding them up. I love all animals but not some of the owners unfortunately.
Yep same here. Probably because they know a horse can hurt them and their car. Like all animals too but all too often, the horse is the intelligent animal saddled by an inferior being.
Now let me think about this as I am a Biker and Cyclist and a car owner aswell . The fact that the motorist waited up the road at the turn off means he knew he did something wrong or he would not have stopped . Watching the Video it was a fairly straight road . The Truck and Trailer came on two cyclists in Single file on the Road he honked his horn and then Passed out the two cyclists without crossing the DOUBLE yellow lines in the middle off the road . He did not try to slow down to give the cyclist the chance to pull over to let him past so he carried on anyway . Truck over cyclist Wins everytime . The cyclist was mad and should have kept his lips shut untill the driver talked first but he was angry as would I have been . The Motorist will win everytime because a bicycle offers NO protection against a Heavy Metal Vehicle . It was a close one for the cyclists . Can you cycle two abreast in America if so it is safer to do so as the Truck would have had to slow down if off course the Driver off the truck was a sensible Motorist . Bad driving happens every day , just because somebody can pass a driving test does not make them a good Driver or CYCLIST on the Road .
If they’d been in the lane they’d be dead now.
Horse lady, you’re full of crap. Your truck and trailer are equipped with brakes. You’re bound by the same rules as all users of the road. If you are in a hurry to get your horses some place because of their safety, you’ve abused them in some way. If they need to be pastured, you’ve had them in the trailer and/or on the road too long. That’s not the bicyclers fault. That’s you. It’s time to sell the horses to some one who will care for them properly.
Someone needs to be visited by the CHP. The moron driving the truck really has a problem.
It was a clear display of a vehicle bulling a cyclist. Period. It is amazing that anyone would justify the motorist here. The damage to that rider would have been horrific. Even more unfair is I am sure that the farmer would hope other motorists respect him and his trailer on the road. How would he react if I buzzed him in my car because he was going slow on a turn or pulling into a field. Motorists don’t realize that no matter the actions of a cyclist (legal or not) that the vehicle will win every time. Just turn your wheel a few degrees or just tap the breaks a little and everyone has a better day. If it were me, the driver would have been lucky to only get yelled at. I would have had to get pulled off that guy if I got buzzed like that.
Please yield to horse carriages?
Are you kidding?
If you seen an obstruction in front of you…whatever you are riding or driving, YOU yield. Would you tell a truck to yield because its taking up the road and traveling slow up a big hill?
NO…you’d either wait or pass when it’s safe…so how is this any different.
Cyclists have the same rights to use roads as cars.
#idiot.
What absolute bollocks. Please stop driving, you have literally no clue what you’re doing
The clear lack of education by some commentors here is why “Bikes may use full lane” verbage is becoming so important.
I really think someone is missing the point here, the driver was too close, how the hell can the cyclists “pull over” when they were already riding on the far right. The dickhead knew he had done the wrong thing but tries to put the blame on the cyclists. Amazingly if it had been a horse & rider the driver would have slowed down and given them a wide berth.
I find it interesting that the first words out of the cyclist mouth are a string of profanity but it is the drivers reaction to the verbal attack initiated by the cyclist that is the headline. It is not clear from the video what the road conditions were from the drivers perspective to clearly assign responsibility for this near miss. From the available information (The POV of the Cyclist) I can see either or both parties being at fault. But what the video shows quite clearly is a verbally abusive cyclist attacking the driver and then attempting to physically intimidate him. As a cyclist I am ashamed of this rider and this publication for trying to twist this into a story. Also where is the rest of the video? I would like to see several more minuets of footage that might tell us about what was occurring prior to that pass. Why did the driver stop? It seems likely that he wanted to talk with the cyclists not be cursed at and intimidated by them.
^^ What Bicyclists Belong in the Traffic Lane said.
I imagine if your partner was almost killed by an inconsiderate redneck you’d not open up with a “Hello good sir and how are you this fine day?”
I guess I missed the part of the video that shows the drivers POV or an over the shoulder shot on the biker or even another few moments of footage so we could get an idea what the road was like for the 1/4 mile a trailer towing truck might cover while doing the speed limit.
I get that people are mad but based on the evidence, as presented, I can not side with the cyclist. The riders were out of line. That much is clear.
Tomales Petaluma road approaching twin bridges road. Road is flat and straight with no visual obstructions.
The cyclist also had a rear facing camera. The motorist had changed lanes to pass then swerved back due to oncoming traffic. If you do not have space to make a clean pass – you wait.
straight flat road? then he wouldn’t have had to change lanes if you were both riding the shoulder…what justification do you have for “taking the lane” ?
No really. You don’t need the driver’s POV. That was way too close. That would’ve meant instant death. And he was in a truck that sits up higher, so he could see far enough down the road to see the oncoming traffic. The correct response would’ve been to slow down and not endanger the cyclist. However, he was too important to not threaten someone’s life. And let’s be clear: That’s exactly what it was. A threat on someone’s life.
If you don’t think so, I’m driving a 15K lb RV around the country right now. Come on out and let me pass you at 60 miles with only a foot between us and you tell me how it feels?
The cyclist showed amazing resolve not to go to fisticuffs.
I think he was pretty calm considering the circumstances. The cyclist refrained from getting physical. Also the speed limit contrary to popular belief is not etched in stone on those speed limit signs. You can get a speeding ticket while travelling below the posted speed limit if it is deemed you were travelling to fast for conditions. Most speed limits are based on whats safe for the majority of drivers in ideal conditions meaning a well tuned sedan with good brakes on a dry road. If the person is drving a large truck and trailer is driving on wet roads or in low visibility then going the speed limit or slightly below can still be considered speeding and subject to a speeding ticket.
Well said pedaling pony lady.
Well, it’s clearly time for California governor Jerry Brown to pass a boatload of new regulations. That’s what they like in California. The problem, of course: Which side will benefit the most–bicyclists or horse haulers? Perhaps Gov. Brown will come up with a Grand Plan to build a statewide road system for bikes. Nuthin’ but bikes (and bike pilots). Cost won’t be a problem–simply jack up all tax rates. That’s another thing folks in California submit to in order to further implement their socialist utopia.
But seriously… Bikes, cars, and trucks moving together on small roads will always be a problem . I’m not sure what the solution is. Not sure at all.
The number of cyclists using those back roads us quite small, that’s why the truck driver was probably clueless about giving space. He was a total idiot.
Guess you should move on over to a political forum to make angry rants, no?
I am astounded that a person would justify the drivers actions.
Would you expect a horse and rider to quickly move over to the side of the road to let you continue driving at a fast pace? So fast that would stopping would cause you problems?
Perhaps you shouldn’t travel faster than is safe for the conditions of the road and that of your vehicle? If there was a large object laying in the road you could not avoid, what would be the consequence?
If the drivers can not control their vehicles in a safe manner then they should not be pulling a trailer. If you can’t see what is ahead then adjust your speed so that you can control your vehicle. Just because you have a trailer with horses in it is no excuse to drive like a fricking idiot.
Is the driver blind? He had to of seen the bicyclists on the road? What would have happened if there was a vehicle broke down or a police offer with a vehicle stopped? How about if there were a horse and buggy on the road?
Stop making excuses for these careless drivers who think they own the road, they don’t own the road. The pickup truck driver is an idiot and should not be pulling or driving.
I would have taken a picture of his license plate and sent the video to the State Police. He needs to be stopped before he hurts someone.