Oblivious 2 Ton Wheelchair Operators

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workathome
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Oblivious 2 Ton Wheelchair Operators

Post by workathome »

Just curious if anyone had a particular approach to oblivious drivers/operators of 2 ton motorized wheelchairs? I imagine with the bikers, this must be a common occurrence - or is it something that doesn't bother you?

I can't help thinking "if this person just loosened the grip on their steering wheel slightly, they would plow through me without the vehicle even slowing down"

We live in a closed suburban neighborhood, and twice now a neighbor has driven past fast (that is, from my perspective, without attempting to slow down and going 25 mph in residential area) within a few feet of me while walking, immediately after waving. So there is clear acknowledgement of my presence. My only thought is they must be very oblivious to what they're doing. Like status quo bias or something? I approached the neighbor on the second occurrence and told them it scared me. He seemed very taken aback and offended/upset. I'm not sure what else to do? Is it an extremely common occurrence? Do you say something or let it go?

So far my strategy has been to "let it go" as no other choice was possible, the wheel chairs tend to go much too fast to catch up to on foot.

jacob
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Re: Oblivious 2 Ton Wheelchair Operators

Post by jacob »

I gave some advice on this previously in a blog post and a few people didn't seem to get it, but here goes.

What you want to do is to _project_ an image of risk to the drivers to make them keep their distance. Essentially you want to tell the drivers that they have someone in front of them they better keep their distance to.

When walking you can dangle something into the road, like a walking stick or a bag or a body part (I prefer the stick---you can even put a led blink light on if you really want to step it up). If you're on a bike, when they're 150ft (15 seconds?) behind you, swerve slightly as if you don't know what you're doing projecting the image of an amateur and they'll pull further out.

Obviously you need to pay attention to what you're doing to avoid getting run over. Also use common sense.

KevinW
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Re: Oblivious 2 Ton Wheelchair Operators

Post by KevinW »

You also have some control over avoiding or minimizing these incidents. Try to scout out alternate routes that take you through quiet neighborhoods. I've found industrial areas are better than commercial or residential since most drivers are professional truck drivers who are less likely to misbehave. Road manners and congestion are better oustide of peak rush hour, so travel outside rush hour if you can.

Also it can be reassuring to lookup statistics on collisions between cars and bikes or pedestrians who are following traffic rules. It's rarer than you might think.

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Sclass
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Re: Oblivious 2 Ton Wheelchair Operators

Post by Sclass »

Great topic.m @kevin good tip about recon. A good route with bike trails can smooth out a bike commute.

I used to be an avid mtb and road biker as a student at Stanford. It was a bike Mecca there. Huge campus, no cars. Your feet would die if you tried walking.

In the recent past I've actually gotten scared of riding my bicycle. I live in Mountain View CA which is pretty bike friendly but I still feel the bike lane is just a line painted on the road. When I ride my Harley I see all the nervous commuters rushing to get to work and rushing to get home and they just do dumb things with glowing smartphones in their laps. It's actually gotten worse.

How do I deal with 2 T cars? I drive a 3 T full size Mercedes S class to the bike trail and ride myself silly out in the woods or marshland. Thule rocks!

I know, it's weak. I can count right now without thinking too hard, five (no six) friends who died in bicycle accidents. Three were under twenty. I know it's not a perfect world and I love my bicycles. But I'm sad to say I'm scared to ride on the city streets. Dang, I really need some fun exercise too.

jacob
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Re: Oblivious 2 Ton Wheelchair Operators

Post by jacob »

Certainly, if this is part of a standard commute, definitely scout it out (google satellite is good for this) and rather go 1 mile further than cross the suicidal-bridge-interstate-on ramp grinder on a bike.

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Sclass
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Re: Oblivious 2 Ton Wheelchair Operators

Post by Sclass »

Okay, that was too negative. In fact, I think I'm going to ride to the library tomorrow. I hate living in fear. :|

Here is something I've tried. Last year I exercised on my bicycle at 6am in the morning to avoid the crazy commuters. I installed one of these on my bike. It has a very bright Cree LED in it with a lithium ion battery. The whole thing cost me only $35 shipped from China. It must be less now. It has a burn time of over an hour and it has this annoying strobe setting that may be useful during the day. You can certainly see this 5W light during the day - it is annoyingly bright.

Image

Some red cellophane on a second one would make a really annoying flashing taillight.

Oh yeah, a second tip is to ask other bike commuters in your destination area how they get in. I've been shocked at how many bike tunnels and shortcuts through business parks friends told me about that I didn't know existed.

sshawnn
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Re: Oblivious 2 Ton Wheelchair Operators

Post by sshawnn »

I have been riding my bicycle a lot more in my area of late. I am VERY disappointed in the traffic and disregard for cyclists. Two years ago I rode a lot on the same roads and I think it has deteriorated drastically since then. Definitely more texters.

My best tip is to not give up the lane. In other words, don't hang out on the side of the lane and let cars squeeze past on a two lane road. If you feel uncomfortable holding up traffic, pull over to a stop and let cars pass. Giving cars a way to nudge past you and sqeeze you onto the berm can end in disaster myriad ways.

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