Boone Drivers Behaving Badly - Part 1

As a commuter, I bike a lot. Almost every day I'm going and coming from somewhere. No matter if it's rain, shine, night or even snow, as long as the tires can get traction, I'm on a bicycle. It's been a fun and, at times, challenging hobby. It's also been great for reducing my energy use and saving money, well, sometimes at least for the latter, other times I wonder if I'd be a good candidate for "Hoarders." And it's a hobby that has been great for my health, I've lost over 20 lbs since I've started cycling. I'm slimmer, stronger and most days, I feel better.

But I'm not gonna lie, sometimes cycling scares the bejeebus out of me.

Roads are dangerous, especially busy roads in the peak of traffic. I try to avoid these at all costs and take the side roads, but sometimes it's the only way.

And from experience and the dings and scrapes along the way (fortunately not the "big one") I've learned that people are right - cars and bicycles don't mix. We cyclists should have our own bicycle lanes apart from traffic. Doing so would cut down significantly on the number of bicycle accidents and deaths each year. Unfortunately, funding gets in the way, and so often times bicycles and cars find themselves sharing the same road.

But somehow, most of the time, everything just works as it should. So long as everyone obeys the traffic laws, it seems like drivers and cyclists can get by just fine, especially in the heart of communities. While accidents can and will still happen - human error, poorly designed intersections, inadequate signage - we should all strive to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our community members.

Yet sometimes, sometimes, people just want to be jerks! Be it malevolence, sadism or the rusher who ends up putting us in danger simply to shed a mere few seconds from their commute times. Now let me be clear, out of 100 drivers I encounter on the road, 99 of them are saintly, safe drivers who just go on about their business. I appreciate you. You are made of the stuff that has made our community such a wonderful place to live.


The rest of this post is for that 1 percent. The jerks. The dangerous. Those who would rather trade my life for a few extra seconds of their time. Is your time really so much more valuable than another person's life? Think about that, trading seconds for lives. Could you stand to load a gun and shoot me where I stand? If not, then why do you choose to use your vehicle as if it were a weapon of destruction?

Today I'm fighting back.

Armed with a camera and the videos I've shot while riding, I present : Boone Drivers Behaving Badly. While I may not be able arrest you or even report you, if you're going to be a jerk and endanger my life, then I'm going to get you on camera and put your acts on display for the rest of the world to see you for who you really are. Here's our first batch of offenders:

10-13-2014

This driver passed me right after the Wendy's light going towards Appstate on 321. As he revved up his engine while he passed, I knew what was coming.

10-14-2014

I almost feel bad posting this one, but thought I should to point out one of the main reasons why accidents happen. This feller didn't see me coming down the road as he pulled out of his driveway. Please look both ways and watch for us. 

11-11-14

I'm sitting here in the middle of a turn lane and this guy decides it'd be a good idea to run the red light.

12-3-14

Probably one of the closest encounters that I've had on the road. This idiot decides to pass me and cross over the yellow line while there is incoming traffic, endangering all three of us!

1-12-15

I'm not entirely sure what this one was thinking, endangering themselves much more than me. Introducing the diagonal stopper.

1-13-15

Another close call. I'm signaling that I'm going to turn into the left lane on 321. As I start to make my turn, this one blows past me while crossing over the dashed white line, but still nearly hitting me in the process.

The Others

I wish I had video of some of the other more memorable incidences, but unfortunately, my camera wasn't recording for these:

• The motorist who blew through a stop sign at 40 mph on a blind left turn. Fortunately I was just a few yards back, but had I been a car going 20 or so, someone would've been T-Boned.
• The dumbass at Shadowline who thought it would be a good idea to try to drive around me while stopped at a stop sign until he noticed the video camera atop my head.
• The scariest bicycle incident of my life on 321 where the guy blew through a red light at ~30mph as he was appearing to stop and then decided to gun it through. Crossed over into oncoming traffic as well as the center turn lane around me because he thought I was about to make my left turn (and would have had the hairs on the back of my neck not first snapped to attention.)
• The girl who hit me at the intersection of 421 and 105 as I was crossing the crosswalk with my bike and dog in tow, costing over $250 in bicycle repairs.

Wrapping it Up

Moral of the story, please be courteous to your fellow commuters. You have to deal with us and we all have to deal with you, so let's make the commuting experience as minimally painful as possible. Bicycle commuters have to follow local traffic laws too, just the same as cars. That means if you can't drive your car on the sidewalk, then we can't drive our bicycles on it. But seriously, thanks to the majority of you out there who are courteous, I wish everyone were like you. Nevertheless, I have a feeling that this won't be the last post of Boone Drivers Behaving Badly.

Til next time, stay safe out there and enjoy the ride!