Sooner or later, you’re probably going to experience road rage. And the rage may be coming from you.
You’re riding along, at peace with the world, minding your business and suddenly a car overtakes you way too close for comfort. You swear in surprise and adrenaline surges through your arteries. All of a sudden, you become a raging monster and you race to catch the car that’s stopped at the lights ahead to give them a piece of your mind.
However good it may make you feel to give the errant driver a spray, is it going to improve relations between motorists and cyclists?
A better approach could be to tell them they gave you a fright and to maybe give you some room next time. Take the moral high ground. Of course, even with a nice approach, you may get sworn at. Just back off, you don’t know how bad a day they’ve had, stewing in their “Ultimate Driving Machine”, maybe they’ve just paid $2000 for a service, are falling behind on repayments and have been crawling to work while listening to Newsquawk ZB. Just take down their numberplate and report them on the Police Community Road Watch website. You could call *555 but from experience, you’re left on hold and by the time you answer all the questions you’ll be late for work yourself.
You may also be on the receiving end of road rage too. Just ignore it and move on.
In relation to the number of drivers out there, there’s only a very small number of arrogant idiots. Take their numberplate and move on, you’ve had your one in ten thousand experience, the odds are you’ll have years before the next time if ever.
We need to share the roads with other vehicles, so encourage good behaviour. Acknowledge people who stop or give way to you and spread your good vibes.
Next time we’ll look at e-bikes and alternative bikes.
Check out the rest of the Commute by Bike series
- A series to help start your bike commuting journey
- Choosing a bike for commuting
- You and bike commuting
- What stuff do you need for bike commuting?
- Route planning for bike commuting
- Safety tips for bike commuting
- Motivation when you start bike commuting
- Pimping your ride for a bike commute
- What clothes do you need for bike commuting?
- Maintaining your bike for commuting
- Watch-outs for bike commuting
- Coping with road rage when you commute by bike
- Going electric or going alternative for your bike commute
- So you’re a bike commuter. What next?
