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Post by skarhed on Feb 28, 2007 0:14:15 GMT 8
Thought I'd share this story for the biking community. I went on my usual Thursday niteride with my friends over at Baywalk last week with everything went on as usual. Enjoyed the sights and sounds or what Roxas Blvd. has to offer. As the night went on and time came to head on home, we went our separate ways and as we were headed home along Taft Ave. a gray lite-ace van suddenly pulled up along side our group and singled me out with the driver suddenly spurting out “Ang yayabang ninyo ah! Akala ninyo kung sino kayo nasa gitna ng kalye, gusto nyo pag sasagasaan ko kayo!” (Who do you think you guys are? In the middle of the street? I’ll run you all over!) Surprised, I replied: “Ako? dehins naman ah! Bakit naman?” (Me? I’m not, how come?) Truth of the matter is, we where riding along Taft Ave. underneath the LRT next to the barriers and Taft at that time, around 12:30 AM, has almost no cars passing by. Not wanting to start anything, my reaction to the driver was very passive as I noticed his face was flushed red from being intoxicated. Also fearing for the safety of my co riders as we had female companions too. So with my passive reaction to the guy, he was sorta surprised, as I didn’t call his bluff or whatnot, so he just sped off. It was only later that my other friends told me that the person was reaching for what was supposed to be a gun. To think about it, if I had reacted differently, maybe things would have gotten violent, worse, someone ending up hurt. Oh well, I’ll just charge this to experience…
Moral? Well, when biking around the Metro, just be wary of everything you see and do and if you could stretch yer patience with other people a long way.... a really looooooong way. ;D
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Post by Kevin on Feb 28, 2007 0:24:01 GMT 8
Never argue with idiots, they just drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.
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Post by skarhed on Feb 28, 2007 0:43:21 GMT 8
Hehehe so true Kevin! So true!
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jacklero
Free Rider
Haha! Mine is longer!
Posts: 226
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Post by jacklero on Feb 28, 2007 0:45:49 GMT 8
So many crazy driver stories to tell, no time to write but one thing is for sure...a driver who is also a cyclist have a lot more respect for two wheelers than one sitting his/her lazy ass inside the car all the time. Just a though...always carry something you can defend yourself with just in case you get into a hissyfit (I carry a taser or pepperspray sometimes), whenever possible avoid confrontation. And keep in mind as a cyclist you are classified as a pedestrian (as there are not that much specific governing/superceeding laws related to cycling) and in this country pedestrians always have right of way (that is why if you are driving a motor vehicle and you run over a jaywalking pedestrian you will still face the legal burden after all driving is a priviledge walking is a right) .
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mzmn
Free Rider
elo?
Posts: 251
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Post by mzmn on Feb 28, 2007 8:49:24 GMT 8
... in this country pedestrians always have right of way (that is why if you are driving a motor vehicle and you run over a jaywalking pedestrian you will still face the legal burden after all driving is a priviledge walking is a right) . Whoa! Is that true? As a driver, I've always respected pedestrians and cyclists (moreso now that I'm biking again). So even if a pedestrian is jaywalking (which is a violation), a motorist (while not committing any other violation) who injures that pedestrian is automatically liable?
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jacklero
Free Rider
Haha! Mine is longer!
Posts: 226
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Post by jacklero on Feb 28, 2007 9:24:29 GMT 8
mzmn - yup this is all so true, more so if the pedestrian dies or seriously injured. You would notice the "driving is a priviledge that could be revoked by the state..." clause plastered on the wall of LTO offices. The driver is automatically liable because the pedestrian has first "right" of way in a public area. Failure to comply with first right of way resulting to injury constitutes a violation of a right which superceeds a priviledge
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mzmn
Free Rider
elo?
Posts: 251
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Post by mzmn on Feb 28, 2007 11:34:44 GMT 8
Ah well.I always give pedestrians and cyclists the benefit of the doubt and never steer too close to them. But it worries me nonetheless. I have a small car, but it has a BIG HORN!!
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jacklero
Free Rider
Haha! Mine is longer!
Posts: 226
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Post by jacklero on Feb 28, 2007 12:09:54 GMT 8
mzmn - yup most pedestrians change vectors too easily so a margin of safety is always useful... I used to twist the window washer outlets on the hood in the opposite direction so that when a pedestrian would not move even after incessant honking I would squirt washer fluid. ehehehe bad driver.... bad.
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Post by Ben Dover on Feb 28, 2007 12:23:26 GMT 8
it was me ef...i was just making fun of you guys...i was surprised you didnt recognize me so i just took off.
;D
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truetemper
Free Rider
Di bale ng Tamad... Wag lang Pagod
Posts: 247
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Post by truetemper on Feb 28, 2007 20:40:03 GMT 8
another violent drivers story here we go last sunday on our usual afternoon ride to macamot bingangonan-cardona, on our way home going down, there's tricycle driver that is drunk and our fellow bikers did overtake on him. the tricycle driver was pissed off and he ran after us up to the highway and blocked our way and i think he wanted to punch us. thank goodness he has somebody with him and stopped him. and i told my fellow bikers to not mind him at all.
so we left to go home then when we were at the highway of binangonan, there he goes again. he followed us and waited for us on the other end. so i told my fellow bikers to turn around and instead of going his way we just took the road going to the town proper of binangonan.
i was just able to control my temper from the first time that he blocked our way. if not, he’ll be badly beaten up. i just told myself that he's just drunk anyway and it'll be a sure pity to beat him up and just basically to avoid trouble. well we just have to take the long ride home and instead of fighting the drunken driver.
patiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatience patiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatiencepatience
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jacklero
Free Rider
Haha! Mine is longer!
Posts: 226
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Post by jacklero on Mar 13, 2007 21:49:57 GMT 8
I just wonder how drivers would behave around a cyclist with a "baby (armalite)" on tow... ehehehehehe
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Owie
Urban Assaulter
URBAN RAIDO
Posts: 95
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Post by Owie on Mar 15, 2007 14:47:45 GMT 8
Yep, it was right, just not to confront with the bastards just to avoid arguments, at least you showed up to be professional not like them.
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trailblaster
Free Rider
another one bites the dust!
Posts: 273
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Post by trailblaster on Mar 15, 2007 15:05:32 GMT 8
yeah.. just lower your voice and bow your head down like a loser, then when his car is a bit far from you.. shower him with stones!!! ;D just kidding!
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xtian
Bike Commuter
RIDE TO THE FULLEST!!!
Posts: 50
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Post by xtian on May 8, 2007 2:03:54 GMT 8
well i guess that would be the best thing to do..just stay low..
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Post by dropkilamhon on Aug 22, 2007 3:57:20 GMT 8
on my experiences, i have met many abusive drivers like those.. i don't argue with them, instead i just stay low.. until their far from me and give them a hand ,,/,, Ü
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Post by anthrax76 on Aug 22, 2007 9:31:13 GMT 8
biked to work today and it just sucks because i'm almost near the office when i came across a lame brained driver.
i was on the road near the on-going construction of st. luke's here in the the fort. that road has the option of going only left towards market market or right to edsa/kalayaan. so i was weaving along since it's a stop until i got to the front of the line, the big maroon van is signalling that it's turning left.
i got in front since the cars are all piled up going to market market. if the traffic is going to move it's going to be the turning to the right since the cars going to market market has filled up the lane up the the part of jollibee.
the friggin driver is inching towards me, he's like a foot away from my rear tire. I moved about another foot forward but afraid of getting hit by vehicles to market market. the bloody driver is revving his engine an still inching towards me. the traffic guy doesn't mind though, he's waiting for the lane to clear. i looked at the driver and he was signalling me to proceed to turn left and hurry up doing it. aaargh, all the vehicles going to edsa are speeding at at least 40kph and the traffic guy is not even signalling us to turn left because of the cars not moving.
when the lane going to market market was slowly moving, the traffic guy gave the edsa bound lane the signal to stop. i didn't even wait for the signal to turn left. i gave the finger and sped across towards the no entry zone (no entry for motorized vehicles due to on going construction).
haaay, anyway, i still saw the van but he was heading to Bonifacio high street. sad thing is, i didn't get the plate number.
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Daimler
Free Rider
carpe diem, baby...
Posts: 382
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Post by Daimler on Aug 22, 2007 15:36:11 GMT 8
the finger would do it... he'll spend all day wondering why he wasn't able to retaliate... even just giving a finger to you... believe me... just hope and pray that your path will never cross with that lame-brained driver's path again...
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Post by wcoastbo on Aug 28, 2007 4:53:22 GMT 8
For the most part I've had uneventful experiences with drivers. There has been the occasional one finger salute, screaming at me as the car races past, honking, I even had coins thrown at me (they missed). Last Thursday night, as I was riding through town after the traffic died down, a BMW 7 series accelerated past me at 50mph and was just inches from my handlebars. Every time a driver buzzes me, I can never catch them at the next light and they're gone.
This time the driver turned into the Four Seasons Hotel just a block down the street. I stomp on my pedals to follow him and arrive just as he pulls up to valet parking. The valet gives me a funny look as I stop beside the driver's side door, wanting to know what I was doing there with my funny outfit and racing bike. I wave him away and point at the BMW beside him.
I tried to slow my breathing (I had just sprinted to catch the car) and mellow my nerves (I still had adrenaline pulsing through my body and my blood pressure was still high from reacting to near collision by a car). As the driver exited the car I said in as calm a voice as possible "Excuse me, sir. But I didn't appreciate you buzzing my at high speed. I truly felt that you put my life in danger." The driver was young, probably early 30's, very stylish dressed and groomed, obviously had lots of money. He could have been an athlete or minor celebrity, but I didn't recognize him in the dark.
His reaction was "Oh, I didn't realize that I was so close to you." My retort was "Well, sir. You only missed my handlebars by inches and you were traveling at a high rate of speed." After a short pause, he says "I apologize." I accepted his apology and asked him to be more careful and considerate. I don't know if our interaction will change how he drives when cyclists are on the road, but he'll at least think about the fact that any of them can catch him and willing to confront him.
My advice when confronting a driver... be calm, yet assertive. you never know what the other driver is capable of. lucky for me this incident happened in Beverly Hills, not in the bad part of town. I had witnesses nearby, in case the driver got violent. I would not have approached a car at night if this was in the hood. I'm glad I caught him and said something or I would have been pissed off the rest of the night.
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Post by ice on Jun 19, 2008 16:17:42 GMT 8
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