Well, a happy cyclist, is difficult to photo a smiling driver.
Forgive me, if this sounds a bit New Agey, but, I can’t help observing that a happy motorist is a good motorist; but unfortunately, the happy motorist is quite a rare specimen.
There are times, when you are cycling and you get an unexpected bonus. One of these occasions is when a motorist stops / slows down to give you lots of space, the car could have squeezed past. But, when they stop and smile, you really appreciate it. They may wait just for 5 seconds, but, it can really make your day. Drivers who are patient and considerate often smile. Drivers who squeeze past and beep their horn at the smallest provocation look about as miserable as anything.
Road users invariably are in a rush, they have bottled up frustration and it seems that a cyclist on the road can be the last straw which pushes them over the edge. We can get so worked up and stressed, that even the inconvenience of having to slow down slightly below the speed limit makes us miserable. So motorists squeeze past, and can be ready with a range of on demand expletives to inundate anyone who might have the audacity to complain.
It is not just a phenomenon of motorists, it is any road user, any human being – we are all prone to taking out frustrations on other people.
The impatience of road users is not something that can be easily changed – when has human nature ever been easy to change? But, when you are patient, when you can give way and wait cheerfully, the whole experience of driving / cycling becomes more enjoyable.
A little more patience can make a big difference to a more enjoyable and less stress free environment.
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