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.

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

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

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

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

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.).

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

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

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

From: (Zoot*Katz):

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

Hmmm, I wonder hou much thrust a Mini-Gun would develope..?

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