I think cyclists need to obey the road rules just like motorists. A few weeks ago I was driving the 911 at exactly the speed limit for around the bays part of town. A group of about 40 cyclists caught up to me and started slipstreaming me riding about a foot behind the car. I thought that's their business and ignored them. One passed me on the inside almost skimming the mirror and another did the same on the outside. The next guy yelled through the window to either speed up of slow down. I yelled back to obey the road rules and carried on.

I had a wonderfull commute in this am. Calm, bluebird skies, 34 degrees and a couple motorists who acknowledged me and waited for me to pass before pulling out or turning in front of me.

Wow, I didn't expect so many incidents. I too have more encounters to share, each one involving me on my bicycle, or me in the car. I've seen it from both sides.

Drivers have become more and more ignorant of bicycle riders, driving their 2-tonne SUVs and jabbering on their cell phones (yeah, that's a generalization, but the point is they have become less involved in the driving responsibility). I've been hit head on while riding my bicycle, I've been pushed off the road, and even had someone pull over to try to pull me off the bike because I LITERALLY shook my fist (yes, my fist, not my finger) at him. (That one ended with him thinking he could kick my a$$. He ended up with a Speedplay cleat mark on his cheek and I took his keys!).

In light of this, I believe bicycle riders have gotten more aggressive as well. This may be a result of societal changes (same changes as drivers), or it may be a reaction. In either case, bicycle riders have changed (as a whole). They are more aggressive, and they use tactics that make them stick out and notice them more (which results in angry drivers as well). I wonder if bicycle related accidents have gone down due to this (not quantifiable prolly).

It's all in reaction to the lowest common denominator, unfortunately.

And, for the record, my specific incident was... It was 50 yards after a stop light in the middle of the day with a LOT of cars around. There was a 4 foot wide bike lane the cyclist did not use; instead opting to take up 25% of the lane. There was no reason for this, in my opinion. He was holding up traffic. My car is very small, so I was hugging the double yellow when he finally elected to use the bike lane (so there was at least five feet between he and I when I wen to pass at about 5mph faster than him. He spit WAY off to the side, just as I was passing. There was NO WAY he didn't know a car was there. My wife even rolled up her window for fear of him spitting on her!

If bicycle riders want to make the public aware of their presence by being obnoxious, then I'll happily make them aware of my presence by being obnoxious as well.

Now, on to the Pelican parts counter for 150 decibel horns!

Al

P.S. Bottom line, as another poster said, it's simply not worth taking a life or being sued over such things. A REALLY loud horn would be fun though!

headlight washers aimed to the right give a nice short blast. even better than w/s squirters.