If you have cycled for any duration, you will have been the victim of aggressive, bad mouthed motorists / pedestrians. This is not a dig at ‘motorists’ People who drive are not somehow ‘worse’ than people who cycle. It is just a reflection that in society, some people lose their sense of perspective and vent their anger and frustration to whoever might cross their path.
Some motorists will shout at you / beep their horn for no good reason. There is also an added level of intimidation because a driver feels secure behind his metal box; a cyclist is well aware of his own vulnerability.
There are different approaches to dealing with road rage.
- The first is to argue back and try and explain why they are in the wrong. Invariably this leads to rising tempers.
- The other approach is to ignore them completely.
To ignore road rage requires a cool temperament. We might feel that this is a weak option because we are somehow ‘acquiescing’ to their bad behaviour. However, there are good reasons to treat them with silence.
- They are looking for conflict, when you respond with cold indifference, they feel foolish. There is no energy for them to feed off.
- If they are angry, they will not listen to reason anyway.
- There is the possibility that the initial road rage could exacerbate and they could get physically aggressive. Lycra shorts presents little protection against an SUV driven at 30mph. Our personal safety is always more important than trying to change the behaviour of people who don’t listen to reason anyway.
- Arguing with them will make you feel frustrated.
There is a story about the Life of the Buddha worth sharing. The Buddha was visiting a certain town. Some critics aggressively attacked him. The Buddha remained silent for the duration of this invective. When the critics had disappeared, his disciples asked him why he had not responded to the slanderous accusations. The Buddha replied. “If someone tries to give you a gift, but, you refuse, who does the gift remain with?” The disciples responded, “they will remain with the person trying to give the gift. The Buddha then said. “It is the same with negativity. People try to give you their negativity. But, if you don’t accept it means it stays with them. In other words, people’s negativity becomes their own punishment. We can easily choose to ignore the negativity and therefore, we avoid all it’s poison.
This is the theory of dealing with road rage. In practise, it might be more difficult to maintain a stoic silence. But, the approach definitely has its merits. It is something I try to pursue.
The other thing which really infuriates them is to say nothing, but, take out a mobile phone camera and take a picture of their number plate. 
Dealing With Road Rage when You Are in the Wrong
Yes, it really does happen, that just occassionally it is we who are in the wrong. In this case, there is no harm in eating a bit of humble pie, and raising your hand in acknowledgement of the mistake.
Cyclists often only have themselves to blame for their injuries by not wearing cool bike helmets. Not long ago, I witnessed an incident involving a cyclist and a motorist. The cyclist was cycling the wrong way along a one way street and the motorist was was approaching a junction that intersected this one way street. Rightly? or wrongly the motorist did not look right as she pulled out (why should she? After all you woulbn’t expect to see a moving vehicle emerging the wrong way, would you? Of course the two inevitably met in what was quite a nasty incident. The cyclist effectivly broadsided the front of the car and proceeded to bounce across the bonnet and onto the road. His bike was, in the process run over and was rather badly damaged. what then followed amazed me. The driver sat in her car and just shouted a load of abuse at the slightly injured cyclist as he was picking himself up. She the just DROVE OFF, yes she didn’t even get out of the car to check if the poor man was ok? Now it doesn’t matter who was in the wrong here, just that surely anyone who has knocked over be it a cyclist or a pedestrian with their metal box must at least enquire as to the wellbeing of their victim. The cyclist had a nasty cut to his head and suffice to say, wasn’t wearing any any head protection.
Thanks for helping with my homework
one time me and my friend were on a bike ,we were on a route we’d never been on before and we had to keep on looking at the map and we were at small country junction (there were bearly any cars) we leaned our bikes on a wall and were looking at the map (standing in the side of the road) when this huge 4*4 came REALLY fast round he corner and nearly knocked my friend down ,then he opened his window and started sayig things like why were we stoped and why were we standing in the middle of the road,and then he said a few choice words and whizzed away and we just carried on but after tht we are really careful about were we stop to look at the map
Emily
I have learnt over the years that the best thing to do is keep quiet, unless its really serious. Since becoming a parent, I’m conscious of danger on a bike
On a bike we have no protection what so ever. I also try and avoid the dangerous parts of town if at all possible. Does anybody else have difficulty with roundabouts or is just me?
Unfortunately there are going to be some people who come across some real nutters who will get even more agressive by ignoring them or cycling off. On those occasions it may pay to admit to being wrong although you were right, say they are right (not in a patronising way!) and apologise and say you won’t do it again.
This may also risk backfiring with a real psycho who is hell bent on damaging you, but some of these characters really need to be told that they are right and you are wrong…and indeed you may be wrong and can’t admit or see it yourself.
Lewis, you were under the speed limit, but you were going too fast! For me the right speed is the speed in which you can stop when the unexpected happens!
If I am going past park cars no way would I want to be doing 25mph on a bike. That said if you were not on a hill thats a great pace!
I have problems every now and then with really inconsiderate drivers who cut you up, pull out on you, beep at you, etc. A few months ago a woman driving a people carrier came from behind me and tried to turn left into a street that I was across the entrance to. As if I wasn’t even there. I braked in time and she continued (as if she would have stopped if she’d hit me) on her way. Recently I decided that there must be a percentage of people who drive like t***s on purpose in the hopes that they might antagonise somebody.
The worst, I must say, was when I was cycling home from work at half 11 at night. Out of nowhere a woman wearing all black, waddles out into the road from between two parked cars. I shout, brake and swerve to avoid her, but end up clipping her anyway before coming off my bike (thank God I was wearing a helmet!). My first act was to ask if she was okay (worried about her, despite being in pain) to which she (still standing in the middle of the road and absolutely fine) replied with “What were you going so fast for!?”. She insisted that she had done nothing wrong and the accident was my fault for cycling too fast (25 mph on a 30mph road). I was not impressed.
I always get so frustrated and angry when things like this happen, but I think now I will take aboard the teachings of Tejvan and the Buddah and let them stew in their own poison. Good post
Well, down here in South Africa, road rage is a bit more serious. Some people have guns and serious mental problems relating to their time in the oppressive old South Africa.
Really mean.
The best thing to do really is to disable their vehicle and get away as fast as possible! lol.
Great article btw!
I’ve been practising this for years and just ignoring stupid people and threats.
I’ve also waved if I had made mistakes and waved thanks to anyone letting me out.
Just ignore the people who act stupid and enjoy your ride/drive/walk/wheelchair etc
The worst case of pedestrian rage I have experienced occurred when I was slowly passing a man wheeling a baby in a pram. The cycle path was several meters wide, and he was walking in the centre of the path. I passed slowly as far to one side as I could, whereupon he moved the pram over to my side, apparently aiming to block my way. I passed him slowly (just) whereupon he said I should have rung my bell. (why I should have done this when he was clearly not in my way is beyond me). I asked him, ‘was the path not wide enough for him’, whereupon he said he had right of way and whatever he did cyclists had to give way. He then began ranting that all cyclists were the same, and at the end of the conversation threatened physical violence. I thing the only answer to this sort of rage is not to interact with ANY pedestrian who makes any comment. You can never tell what their mental state is, and even if they look perfectly harmless, they can potentially be a physical threat – these days they may even be carrying a knife. A cyclist is vulnerable to anyone trying to knock them over. Very scary thing to happen on an otherwise peaceful cycle ride.
I was once told that I wasn’t a human being because I cycled around a woman walking her dog (slowly of course because for purely selfish reasons I have no interest whatsoever in hitting anything while cycling) on a bike path in a park where there was a foot path right next to it separated by a 2m strip of grass.
According to her ‘logic’ human beings stop for dogs whenever they see them. It ended up with her telling me to go back to my own country.
Her boyfriend next to her was very quiet. Some people are just mentally deranged and being on a bike seems to trigger them somehow.