Tuesday, February 19, 2013

When you honk your horn...

...I am judging the shit out of you.

Especially when I'm riding in the dark, 40F rain on my home from a long day at work.  You have to be able to see me.  You actually proved that you can see me by honking, and passing with plenty of room.  I've got one Planet Bike Superflash Turbo (known to cause discomfort at about 200 ft) on my helmet, and another Superflash classic on my left pannier.  Now let's count reflectors.  One on the rear rack.  Reflective piping and stripe on jacket.  Reflective, rear facing stripes on both panniers.  Reflective accents on shoes and both pant leg elastic bands.

You are a dick. 

If for some reason you can't see me or you don't feel comfortable passing a cyclist in the right third of the lane with a center buffer lane between you and periodic oncoming traffic, they should take your license away and flog you with a seatbelt for thinking that you are safe behind the wheel of a multi-ton weapon. 

Perhaps you haven't changed your windshield wipers in three years.  This is a more common problem than one might think.  There is also the buildup of 3-4 years of plasticizer sublimated from the plastics from your car interior.  What your lungs don't filter out gets deposited on things like the inside of the windshield.   This is something one needs to clean off at least a couple times a year if not more.  Surprising this isn't covered in drivers training courses considering how much it impairs vision at night.  Imagine a thin layer of dirty vaseline. 

Suck less car drivers.  You should be embarrassed about getting basic car safety tips from a guy without a car. 

The next time you pass a well lit, responsibly riding cyclist and think of laying on the horn, think for a second - Why am I such a douchebag?  Then lay on the horn anyway because douchebags don't think.  Who does this smug prick on a bike think he's kidding?

1 comment:

Tony C said...

Or perhaps you are a co-worker and this was intended as a friendly honk. Oops. It's a bit louder on the outside of a car. Still not a good idea useless you're 500 ft back and you convey a light double tap. Best to just wave as you zip by. Since you're camouflaged by a steel and glass box, I'm unlikely to recognize you. Somewhat difficult to share a human scale greeting from the inside of a moving car.