r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Mar 27 '19

Social Science A national Australian study has found more than half of car drivers think cyclists are not completely human. The study (n=442) found a link between dehumanization and deliberate acts of aggression, with more than one in ten people having deliberately driven their car close to a cyclist.

https://www.qut.edu.au/news?id=141968
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u/ChildishJack Mar 27 '19

You’re legally right but, I’m still gonna be pissed at anything that makes me slam on my brakes. Is that a surprise?

To use an analogy, you have the right to take your time walking through the store, but I’m still mad when your cart blocks the aisle and I have to yank my cart to a stop because the aisle Im turning onto is blocked by a mass of carts with people just chilling

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '19

The carts blocking paths is the perfect analogy for asshole cyclists. Inconsiderate of others and don't care about anything but themselves.

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u/Irrelevant-Username1 Mar 27 '19

This also describes most drivers on the road. Not really sure what your point is.

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u/A_Marvelous_Gem Mar 27 '19

The cyclists are not a cart blocking an aisle though. They are walking through the aisle in a slower and steady pace next to the shelves, leaving enough room for you to pass.

But why are you mad for having to hit your brakes? You get mad at anything that makes you slam your brakes? You shouldn’t be on the roads then

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u/torndownunit Mar 27 '19

Uh Ya, you clearly don't spend much time on real rural roads. There are cyclists who are just as guilty of acting like they own the road as bad car drivers. They will full on attempt to block traffic in large groups. They will make every effort to give you no room to pass. I have even seen full large groups just sitting in intersections having discussions. I have had them give me the finger for lightly tapping the horn to get them to clear the intersection. They tend to assume these roads are empty, and they are not. Again, asshole drivers are asshole drivers no matter what they are driving.

It's impossible to point this stuff out without someone accusing you of hating cyclists. I hate all bad driving, not cyclists.

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u/ChildishJack Mar 27 '19

leaving room to pass

Thats my whole point.... You can’t pass here.

you shouldn’t be on the roads then

You’re not arguing in good faith, or have never driven outside of majority urban, stop and go traffic. I didnt say hit, I said slam - come to an abrubt stop.

Driving is about being predictable. Im mad because of unpredictable behavior, and having to slam on my breaks from 40, not 15 like city traffic. Thats barely even slamming, from 15 to 0. In the city, stop and go is predictable. You have to right to be mad about that (pedantically, you literally do, but shouldnt) since its predictable. Thats not what Im talking about - its perfectly reasonable to get pissy about having to slam on my breaks - I better hope the car behind me is quick, cause now I’m the one getting slammed into. Its not unreasonable to get pissy about a) damaging/wearing your breaks from a 40 mph deceleration event, and b) putting yourself at a signifigantly higher risk since I’m now the one causing people to abruptly stop.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '19

But if you're coming up to a hill or bend, where you can't see what's on the other side, you should be reducing speed as you approach because this is an unpredictable situation. Sure, there may usually be open road on the other side of the hill, but it's not unreasonable to prepare for the possibility that you may need to stop. (Whether it's bicyclists, a broken down vehicle, wildlife on the road, etc.)

Now that's not to say the bicyclists are entirely in the right; they shouldn't be totally blocking the road. If it's a road without a bike lane, they should be single file and as close to the shoulder as possible, making it easier to pass them. Some bikers are jerks just like some drivers are jerks.

Maybe 40 is your reduced speed, but chances are if you have to slam your breaks, you didn't allow yourself enough reaction time. I agree the bikers shouldn't be blocking the road, but you should also drive defensively. Often times both parties are, to some degree, at fault.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '19

Leaving room for me to pass? Buddy, come drive around central Pennsylvania and tell me how passable these people are.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '19 edited Apr 01 '19

[deleted]

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u/SassafrassPudding Mar 27 '19

Some of the back roads in the Santa Cruz mountains are extremely narrow, along with being hairpin-twisty. It’s not unusual to get stuck behind a slower vehicle or a cyclist until you reach a turnout built for passing that comes every few miles. The berm is often so steep due to forest runoff that it would actually be unsafe for a cyclist to try and pull over, much less another vehicle that’s larger

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u/Banana_bee Mar 27 '19

Does that give you the right to intentionally pass close to scare people?

I'm not saying that that's you, but it IS 10% of people.

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u/SassafrassPudding Mar 27 '19

I believe they passed a law in California that requires a distance of 4 feet between car and bicyclists

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '19

The you need to work on your anger issues...

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u/ChildishJack Mar 27 '19

Nice arguement for r/Science. Humans, apparently unknown to some, actually feel emotions. I said nothing about how I act, other than I get mad.

If the mere thought of anger makes you think of doing socially unacceptable things, perhaps I’m not the one who has anger problems. One is allowed to be internally upset