Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/07/12/drivers-who-dislike-cyclists-d.html
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TLDR: Asshole drivers drive like assholes.
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They also found that the social dominance of vehicles means they have a far higher degree of lethality over “alternative” transportation like biking or walking…
You don’t say.
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A theory I’m working on: when someone claims that someone else wants to take away their X – regardless of whether that claim is a fantasy – they are saying it because they know for a fact that X should be taken away from them.
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Maybe these drivers are simply raising their fist-of-truth in the face of fake transportation. 
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That’s beautiful, man. Seriously. That seems to pretty much nail it exactly.
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I’m particularly fascinated by the helmet paradox. Without a helmet, a bicyclist is more visible to drivers, and therefore safer. Yet when out of their cars, people who drive just love to rail against suicidal idiots who dare ride a bike without safety gear!
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You can draw a direct line from this to motorcycle riding. The callus assholes I have run into over the last 50 years is astounding.
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Is it the social dominance that makes cars more lethal, or is it the 4000 pounds of metal travelling at 60 miles an hour?
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I mean, cyclists that don’t pay attention are a bane to other cyclists. I’ve been personally far less bothered by this while driving around. And while cycling around the city myself, mostly the cars that bug me are the ones who decided they could get away parking in the bike lane (forcing me into traffic).
When I go out for a cycling workout, the worst people on the Chicago lakefront are by far the rent-a-bike people.
They usually are inexperienced bikers, which means they take up a huge amount of the lane, and wobble around unpredictably. They are usually talking to other people in their group, or listening to headphones. (often taking up more than half the bike path, and almost never hear you when you tell them you’re going to pass, “On your left!”)
Drives me insane.
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Disturbing but unsurprising, as a bike rider.
I think you’re on to something… that would make for a very interesting study, because I think you could actually prove it.
This is indicating that drivers who think bicyclists should have to wear helmets aren’t seeing them either way. A study I saw indicated that with bicyclists without a helmet, drivers were more careful driving around them, though.
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Also wearing a helmet drastically decreases fatalities and serious injuries. As a rider you really want to be wearing one, but if someone feels like a badass and wants to ride without one that’s their choice (if their local laws allow for it) but i hope they’re an organ donor at least.
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Why not both?
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Makes sense. Sounds like the psychology of priming to me.
you don’t have to be riding anything human powered
I’ve been riding a scooter for a couple of months and it happens there too
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I was going to say. The two may not be unrelated.
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I’m impressed at how much damage that bicycle wheel did to the car.
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Phrasing!
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I have a theory it involves perception of risk. We evolved by paying attention to things that we perceive as a risk and ignoring things that we perceive as not to be a risk. In general bicycles are not a risk to cars. Helmetless riders are perceived as being risk takers and therefore might be a risk so more noticeable.
I have another theory. My theory number two, which is the second theory that I have. ; )
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