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Bumper Sticker = Bad Driver?
Drivers who personalize their cars take it personally. Beware of the
bumper sticker.. That's the unexpected conclusion of a recent study by William Szlemko of Colorado State University in the Journal of Applied Psychology, reported in the Washington Post June 16, 2008. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...T2008061502199 or http://tinyurl.com/5w8uwy "Drivers of cars with bumper stickers, window decals, personalized license plates and other "territorial markers" not only get mad when someone cuts in their lane or is slow to respond to a changed traffic light, but they are far more likely than those who do not personalize their cars to use their vehicles to express rage -- by honking, tailgating and other aggressive behavior." It does not seem to matter whether the messages on the stickers are about peace and love -- "Visualize World Peace," "My Kid Is an Honor Student" -- or angry and in your face -- "Don't Mess With Texas," "My Kid Beat Up Your Honor Student." The personalizing of the vehicle might be seen as territory markers. "The more markers a car has, the more aggressively the person tends to drive when provoked," Szlemko said. "Just the presence of territory markers predicts the tendency to be an aggressive driver." The implications for bicyclists are obvious -- aggressive drivers are bad news. The problems are equally obvious -- very seldom do we get a look at a vehicle's bumper until it has passed us. |
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#2
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Bumper Sticker = Bad Driver?
On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:54:52 -0500, "ZBicyclist"
commented on: \ http://tinyurl.com/5w8uwy \ The implications for bicyclists are obvious -- aggressive drivers are bad news. The problems are equally obvious -- very seldom do we get a look at a vehicle's bumper until it has passed us. hmmmm, I have stickers on some of my bikes. The "cars suck!", "fukenkarz" and "any idiot can drive" stickers are quite clearly right back in those drivers' faces. If my sticker is more aggressive than theirs are they more or less likely to attack me? I'm not worried about the trixter-hipster-fixters who take offense at the "one less fixed gear" sticker on my Xtracycle. -- zk |
#3
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Bumper Sticker = Bad Driver?
On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:54:52 -0500, "ZBicyclist"
wrote: aggressive drivers are bad news. The problems are equally obvious -- very seldom do we get a look at a vehicle's bumper until it has passed us. uhh, uhhh, I just remembered my friend Luke yesterday relating a bumper sticker he saw once while hitch hiking. It was on the front bumper and read "Think Fast Hippy" -- zk |
#4
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Bumper Sticker = Bad Driver?
In article ,
Zoot Katz writes: On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:54:52 -0500, "ZBicyclist" wrote: aggressive drivers are bad news. The problems are equally obvious -- very seldom do we get a look at a vehicle's bumper until it has passed us. uhh, uhhh, I just remembered my friend Luke yesterday relating a bumper sticker he saw once while hitch hiking. It was on the front bumper and read "Think Fast Hippy" The guy I get rides to work with has a bumper sticker on his '97 Mazda 323, that says I {heart} Jesus. One day while going to work we encountered a car ahead of us with a bumper sticker that said: "Honk If You Hate Scientology." My driver guy practically made love to his horn button over that one. I might have encouraged him. shrug A little. cheers, Tom -- Nothing is safe from me. I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca |
#5
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Bumper Sticker = Bad Driver?
Zoot Katz wrote:
On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:54:52 -0500, "ZBicyclist" If my sticker is more aggressive than theirs are they more or less likely to attack me? Don't worry, they're unlikely to look up from their latte more than the necessary amount to curse your existence. They certainly aren't paying enough attention to actually read anything on your bike. I'm not worried about the trixter-hipster-fixters who take offense at the "one less fixed gear" sticker on my Xtracycle. Heh, I got a complement on the same sticker on my Xtracycle today when I was picking it up from the shop. I also got equal amounts admiration and exasperation for my delcheapness/del thrift at: 1) Attaching my commuter bike to the Xtracycle by just tieing the front wheel down into the freeloader bag [1][2] 2) My 'bungie cords', which consist of a couple tubes that failed badly enough to be unusable. They make good ties down though. [1] "I sell the Tres Bien you know. In stock and everything." [3] [2] It actually works really well, the only weird part is the ticking off the freewheel behind you when you're pedaling. [3] He was serious, yet also joking, Alex is awesome. I'm so glad they're my local shop instead of Velo (which was my old option). They're closer, have better mechanics, carry used parts, do cargo bikes, know me well enough to tell me just to grab a tool off the bench if I need it, better music, have a nice lounging area, have music events, a nicer more casual atmosphere, more beer, and prettier girls. -- Dane Buson - "We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?" -Lee Iacocca |
#6
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Bumper Sticker = Bad Driver?
On Jun 16, 6:54*pm, "ZBicyclist" wrote:
Drivers who personalize their cars take it personally. Beware of the bumper sticker.. That's the unexpected conclusion of a recent study by William Szlemko of Colorado State University in the Journal of Applied Psychology, reported in the Washington Post June 16, 2008. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...08/06/15/AR200... or *http://tinyurl.com/5w8uwy "Drivers of cars with bumper stickers, window decals, personalized license plates and other "territorial markers" not only get mad when someone cuts in their lane or is slow to respond to a changed traffic light, but they are far more likely than those who do not personalize their cars to use their vehicles to express rage -- by honking, tailgating and other aggressive behavior." It does not seem to matter whether the messages on the stickers are about peace and love -- "Visualize World Peace," "My Kid Is an Honor Student" -- or angry and in your face -- "Don't Mess With Texas," "My Kid Beat Up Your Honor Student." *The personalizing of the vehicle might be seen as territory markers. "The more markers a car has, the more aggressively the person tends to drive when provoked," Szlemko said. "Just the presence of territory markers predicts the tendency to be an aggressive driver." The implications for bicyclists are obvious -- aggressive drivers are bad news. *The problems are equally obvious -- very seldom do we get a look at a vehicle's bumper until it has passed us. This is interesting - I have a small car i don't use much, but it does have tons of bumper stickers on it. The only thing is, all of the stickers have something to do with bicycling(brand names, Share The Road, etc.). |
#7
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Bumper Sticker = Bad Driver?
Zoot Katz wrote:
hmmmm, I have stickers on some of my bikes. The "cars suck!", "fukenkarz" and "any idiot can drive" stickers are quite clearly right back in those drivers' faces. If my sticker is more aggressive than theirs are they more or less likely to attack me? I'm not worried about the trixter-hipster-fixters who take offense at the "one less fixed gear" sticker on my Xtracycle. I really think Zoot needs some fake machine gun mounts on his ride to get the attention of motorists so they know this cyclist has "'tude"! A twin 50 "stinger" mount off a rear rack and perhaps "package guns" off a front rack. Some simple PVC piping wrapped with larger diameter piping with holes cut in it to simulate the cooling shields and painted black would do the trick. Of course a reflex sight mounted on the handlebars would result in no "cagers" giving him any grief!!! SMH |
#8
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Bumper Sticker = Bad Driver?
On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:04:45 GMT, Stephen Harding
wrote: I really think Zoot needs some fake machine gun mounts on his ride to get the attention of motorists so they know this cyclist has "'tude"! A twin 50 "stinger" mount off a rear rack and perhaps "package guns" off a front rack. Some simple PVC piping wrapped with larger diameter piping with holes cut in it to simulate the cooling shields and painted black would do the trick. Of course a reflex sight mounted on the handlebars would result in no "cagers" giving him any grief!!! Tom and I have discussed a tail-gunner set up for the Xtracycle. Putting a rear facing tractor seat on the deck and moving the passenger pegs backwould be easy. The bags hold the belt-fed ammo. To create some plausible deniability the "gun" would have to serve some higher purpose. Perhaps it could be called a decorative video camera housing. It could also conceal an mp3 player and amplifier blasting Flight of the Valkyries. Maybe a little synthesiser so you could make helicopter and machine gun sound effects. -- zk |
#9
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Bumper Sticker = Bad Driver?
I really think Zoot needs some fake machine gun mounts on his
ride to get the attention of motorists so they know this cyclist has "'tude"! You know, waving a fake gun is generally a really bad idea. Take a tip from Hiro Protagonist, and carry a katana. -- mac the naïf |
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