Cycling & bikes - When to honk at a bicyclist

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When to honk at a bicyclist

Dear fellow Bellevue residents:

I ride every day through our city to and from work. Despite what some
Seattleites say, this is a great place to ride. But lately, Bellevue
motorists have been honking at me. I'm not quite sure why this has
happened -- maybe the election is getting people worked up? Anyway, I think
I need to review with you all when to honk, and when not to honk, at a
bicyclist.

When not to honk:

1. When you just happen to be passing by the bicyclist. Believe me, I was
aware of your Esclanade a long time before you even thought about honking.

2. When I am at or in the intersection. Initially, I can accelerate faster
than a motor vehicle in an intersection. I am not slowing you down any more
than if I were in a car. So chill.

3. When I am going approximately at or above the speed limit. Yes, you might
want to go 40 mph down the hill by Phantom Lake, but the speed limit is 30.
If I am descending the hill at 32 mph, I am going to be in front of you. You
wouldn't honk at a car more or less obeying the speed limit, would you? So
why honk at a bike?

4. When I am going the same speed as the rest of traffic. So, we're going
down Eastgate Way at 30 mph and the speed limit is 35. So you honk at me.
But LOOK, there's a Metro bus in front of me. The reason why you and I are
both going 30 mph is because the bus is going 30 mph. Even if I somehow
miraculously vaporized at your honking, the Metro bus is still going to be
in front of you going 30, and you aren't going to going any faster. Got
that?

When to honk:

1. When someone is facing imminent death, and you think that honking might
somehow avert a fatal accident.

2. When you're my good friend, and you want to catch my attention so we can
wave at each other. (Hi Kathy!)

3. When you want me and probably everyone in the immediate vicinity to know
that you are a complete, brain-dead, total, doofus.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I hope to never hear from you
(except those good friends -- you may continue to tootle so we can wave at
each other) again.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Excellent post, Claire. Thanks.

-Emily

When to honk:

1. When someone is facing imminent death, and you think that honking might
somehow avert a fatal accident.

2. When you're my good friend, and you want to catch my attention so we can
wave at each other. (Hi Kathy!)

3. When you want me and probably everyone in the immediate vicinity to know
that you are a complete, brain-dead, total, doofus.

4. When I am stuck behind 3 riders who are completely unaware of conditions
around them, and one is occasionally straying into the opposite lane, making
it impossible to safely pass them. A friendly "tootle" on the horn brought
them back to reality.

Chris Neary

"Science, freedom, beauty, adventu what more could
you ask of life? Bicycling combined all the elements I
loved" - Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh

"Chris Neary" wrote in message
...
When to honk:

1. When someone is facing imminent death, and you think that honking
might
somehow avert a fatal accident.

2. When you're my good friend, and you want to catch my attention so we
can
wave at each other. (Hi Kathy!)

3. When you want me and probably everyone in the immediate vicinity to
know
that you are a complete, brain-dead, total, doofus.

4. When I am stuck behind 3 riders who are completely unaware of
conditions
around them, and one is occasionally straying into the opposite lane,
making
it impossible to safely pass them. A friendly "tootle" on the horn brought
them back to reality.

Chris Neary

"Science, freedom, beauty, adventu what more could
you ask of life? Bicycling combined all the elements I
loved" - Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh

Right on, Chris!

Cyclists are so often their own worst enemy. I can't stand the way some
riders behave on club rides -- with no consideration for other users of the
road, whatsoever. Of course there are tons of bad drivers out there who
don't respect cyclists. There are also bad cyclists out there who don't
respect motorists and that's quite dangerous, too.

Flame on.

Bob C.

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 21:26:09 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
wrote:

Dear fellow Bellevue residents:

I ride every day through our city to and from work. Despite what some
Seattleites say, this is a great place to ride. But lately, Bellevue
motorists have been honking at me. I'm not quite sure why this has
happened -- maybe the election is getting people worked up? Anyway, I think
I need to review with you all when to honk, and when not to honk, at a
bicyclist.

When not to honk:

1. When you just happen to be passing by the bicyclist. Believe me, I was
aware of your Esclanade a long time before you even thought about honking.

2. When I am at or in the intersection. Initially, I can accelerate faster
than a motor vehicle in an intersection. I am not slowing you down any more
than if I were in a car. So chill.

3. When I am going approximately at or above the speed limit. Yes, you might
want to go 40 mph down the hill by Phantom Lake, but the speed limit is 30.
If I am descending the hill at 32 mph, I am going to be in front of you. You
wouldn't honk at a car more or less obeying the speed limit, would you? So
why honk at a bike?

4. When I am going the same speed as the rest of traffic. So, we're going
down Eastgate Way at 30 mph and the speed limit is 35. So you honk at me.
But LOOK, there's a Metro bus in front of me. The reason why you and I are
both going 30 mph is because the bus is going 30 mph. Even if I somehow
miraculously vaporized at your honking, the Metro bus is still going to be
in front of you going 30, and you aren't going to going any faster. Got
that?

When to honk:

1. When someone is facing imminent death, and you think that honking might
somehow avert a fatal accident.

2. When you're my good friend, and you want to catch my attention so we can
wave at each other. (Hi Kathy!)

3. When you want me and probably everyone in the immediate vicinity to know
that you are a complete, brain-dead, total, doofus.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I hope to never hear from you
(except those good friends -- you may continue to tootle so we can wave at
each other) again.

Hehehe.. around here, I don't mind it if someone gives a quick beep to
warn me, in the event that I'm too far out in the middle of the road-
i e to avoid a big pothole or ditch. THat's not unusual around here
with the crappy roads.

However, I was on a ride a couple of weeks ago and some shmuck scared
us with a long, angry blast, just so he could speed past us and stop
at a stoplight. A i flipped the bird and received he same from his
kid- he was a typical fat cat in a big luxury car, picking up his
rug rat daughter from private school. When we stopped to inquire about
why he honked, the rug rat yelled, "you were taking up the whole
road!" Right- while he's in the luxury bus.One of my buddies told the
fat cat that he;d wait for him to take off when the light changed and
then write down his license because he was speeding and a menace.
Judging by the physical shape of both drivers, i doubt either one of
them walks anywhere, let alone ride bikes. When we started up again, a
group of young women in a vminivan passed by us and cheered and waved
at us in support.

Anyways, the moral is: THAT type of honking does nothing but scare the
crap out of us, and it also seems idiotic to screeeech past us just to
stop at a stop light.

On Thu, 14 Oct 2004 07:27:17 -0500, Zippy the Pinhead
wrote:

it also seems idiotic to screeeech past us just to
stop at a stop light.

No. First one to the red light wins.

That's me, then, since I can go past him and the three in front while
the light is red :-)

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

"Claire Petersky" wrote in message ink.net...
Dear fellow Bellevue residents:
When to honk:
2. When you're my good friend, and you want to catch my attention so we can
wave at each other. (Hi Kathy!)

Claire, I love you more than my pick-up truck, but people getting
their friend's attention with their car horn is a pet peeve of mine.
I can't tell you how many times I have been driving along and a driver
in a car close to me blew his horn to hail a friend. I immediately
start looking around trying to determine what I am being warned about.

I just took a look at the Florida driver's manual and it suggests that
you tap on the horn when passing another vehicle. I remember that
being a common practice when I was a kid in the country back in
Kentucky, but the only place I see it anymore is in rural South
Georgia near where I live.

Claire, did you ever consider the possibility that the person blowing
the horn may think you are a hottie and he is trying to pick you up?
;-)

Dick Durbin