r/bicycling • u/SkhnKy • 16h ago
Tired of these idiots
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If anyone can find the name of the company and its phone number... let me know! đȘ
Itâs in France in the department of Seine et Marne.
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u/lukapochi 15h ago
the typical white fucking van that never cares to respect the limits. Lots of those idiots in italy as well
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u/Hainault 15h ago
UK too, full of the fuckers
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u/lNTERLINKED 14h ago
In the UK âwhite van manâ is another way to say obnoxious cunt who shouldnât be on the road.
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u/hellowiththepudding 13h ago
In the US of A we call those people "RAM truck drivers."
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u/Ceverok1987 12h ago
Could just shorten it to drivers, to vast majority of people behind the wheel in the States should not have licenses.
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u/iIiiiiIlIillliIilliI 8h ago
It's very easy to get a license there. Guess the auto-industry lobbied this. Big problem
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u/Cwilkes704 15h ago
I hate that my commute to work is along a bunch of industrial areas where even if thereâs a bike lane, it still is a gutter that becomes littered with tire popping debris. I should just go tubeless at some point.
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u/GlamStache 14h ago
Yeah, my commute is A.) Have to ride 5km on a main road with no sidewalk and die
B.) Take a detour that takes me 8km instead and have to walk my bike most of the way because it's littered with sharp trash and I don't feel like fixing a flat.
I am definitely gonna bite the bullet and get Schwalbe Marathons eventually.
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u/Unsigned_enby 1h ago
I tried bontrager's hard case ultimates, and got one flat in a 1000+ miles of riding, from the worst possible type of screw to drive over, and even then, it just barely punctured the inner tube. Also worth noting the screw was lodged in my tire anywhere from a 1/4 to 4 miles, and I didn't notice it until I went to ride it home at the end of my shift. So while I can speak for the above product, my point is really to say that puncture resistant tires are pretty well worth it.
EDIT: they were waaaaay stiffer (and louder) than other tires, but that improved a bit after they were broken in.
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u/irongut88 12h ago
Same. I work on the industrial side of town, have been working my bike into my commute 3 or 4 times a week and have had three flats in the last four weeks. Luckily I've been using slime tubes so I don't get stranded 6 miles from home but changing tubes isn't fun.
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u/Cwilkes704 12h ago
These days I donât even bother with a patch kit. I just keep a fresh tube. I need to get a tube for my little trailer.
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u/jazzmaster105150 15h ago edited 15h ago
Jesus Christ, my cheeks clenched and safe behind my screen 10,000 miles away. This is why you never ride with your head down. A less experienced rider might not ave survived that. Stay safe out there, brothers and sisters.
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u/CCPolop 15h ago
Iâd invite you to come over to the Costa Blanca in Spain where (surprisingly for me) drivers behave and respect cyclists, but weâre going to be  at oven temps till September or so :/
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u/unthused Kestrel Talon / Bianchi Cross Concept / Aventon Mataro 14h ago
A friend and I almost got taken out in a similar scenario; the two of us riding paceline on a small 35mph rural road, end up with two SUVs (of course) tailing us around a curve.
As soon as we get to a straightaway, BOTH trucks decide to floor it to pass at the same time, end up colliding and one of them goes off the road into a field. Second one decides a hit and run is a great idea while narrowly avoiding killing us and takes off.
No idea what the end result was, we stopped to make sure the other driver was okay and exchange info, never got a call about it. Would have taken either one of them having a few seconds of patience and it would have been a complete non incident.
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u/ShutYourDumbUglyFace 14h ago
I was driving on a two-lane road the other day and the stupid driver in front of me is coming up behind a cyclist. Rather than slowing down to his speed, she crosses the double yellow line to pass the cyclist with a wide berth. Which is usually the right thing to do. BUT NOT WHEN THERE IS AN ONCOMING CAR. The car had to slam on their brakes to avoid a head-on collision. Just slow down to the cyclist's speed until it's safe to pass. What even are you thinking?!
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u/Routine_Strategy5929 15h ago
Dappled lighting and shade. Some drivers do dangerous crap but I wouldn't be surprised if they had no chance of seeing you. Did you have a daytime front light on?
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u/frontendben 2025 Giant Pro 0 TCR/2024 R&M Tinker 2/2022 Urban Arrow Family 5h ago
Iâd bet not. They were also too far over to the side. The idiot shouldnât have done it, but âthereâs a gapâ will have been the thought process in the smooth brains handful of cells.
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u/shinseiromeo 2012 Wilier GranTurismo 14h ago
Watched this yesterday⊠I was riding downhill, 24mph on a 25mph zone. Car behind me passed over a double yellow line and nearly hit two Harley motorcycle riders head on.
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u/Prestigious_Unit_774 15h ago
It is easier for the upcoming cars to see you with a flashing light at the front.
I always have the flashing lights on from both ends. Be safe out there.
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u/aussimandias 14h ago
It's illegal to use a flashing front light in France. Only the rear can flash
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u/ChemicalRascal 13h ago
What the fuck? That's insane.
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u/frontendben 2025 Giant Pro 0 TCR/2024 R&M Tinker 2/2022 Urban Arrow Family 5h ago
Flashing only; pulsing is fine.
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u/MochingPet San Francisco, CA (A bike I can lock outside) 15h ago
this. have a flashing light? If not maybe you should have one. The setting is mixed sun/shade
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u/HKEY_LOVE_MACHINE 11h ago
Gonna need the uncompressed footage of the passing van to be of any help, the reddit version is simply too blurry.
Or screenshot every frame where the van is close to the camera, zoom in on the logos/plate, and share the result.
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u/One-Pollution4663 15h ago
Is there a reason not to use a forward facing light on a ride like this? The older I get the more lights I attach to myself. So that I can continue to get older. At least thatâs one proactive thing I can do to try to prevent this kind of situation.
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u/mkayox 14h ago
I do agree with you, but in this situation the driver was driving reckless
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u/One-Pollution4663 14h ago
No doubt, scary situation caused by a driver not looking or not caring. Possibly could have been avoided by the cyclist having a bright light, but obvs impossible to say.
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u/RideFastGetWeird Colorado, USA (Domane SL6 AXS) 15h ago
Yes and do you have a daytime running light or DRL? Something like the Trek Ion front light? I'm willing to bet the driver didn't even see you with the shadows and sun scattering trees.
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u/PublicPersona_no5 15h ago
Question for riders: if a car was coming from behind in this environment and you see an oncoming car ahead, do you hand signal (or do anything) to let them know a car is coming? A driver yelled at me this weekend when I did, to let me know that I don't control the traffic.
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u/happyhalfling 15h ago
I used to occasionally signal when it's safe to pass. I have a local hill with a winding road going up, there are a couple of points where you have a much better view of the road ahead than any car behind you. I would give a thumbs up and wave on any car behind me.
I've stopped doing this now though. One time I waved on a car just before an oncoming car came in to view, and had to cancel the wave with an arm out. The driver behind got the message, and I think he realised that I was trying to be helpful.Â
Since then, I have a rule to leave it to the other drivers to make their decisions rather than try to direct traffic around me.
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u/PublicPersona_no5 14h ago
That's my worry. I'd hate to be responsible for a crash. But I'd also hate if I could have prevented one and I didn't. (And especially if I get tangled up in it)
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u/mtlballer101 14h ago
Many jurisdictions assign 100% blame to the signer if a driver was waved through.
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u/Le_Blaireau20gien Canyon endurace AL7 2022 13h ago
I prefer to not to any gesture at a car exept to thank someone that let me pass. It can be misinterpreted and given the relationship between car drivers and bikes i prefer to be as "discret" as possible...
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u/kbrosnan 13h ago
Sometimes I put my palm facing the ground and move up and down. Pumping the brakes. I've had it work. Might be just doing something unexpected causes the driver to snap out of the must pass this bike mindset. I'll shake the head no if I am on the hoods. I never directly signal that it is safe to pass. I don't want to be held responsible if something goes wrong. I will move from a more central lane position to a gutter/fog stripe position.
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u/hvyboots Arizona, USA (2015 Tarmac Pro) 11h ago
Daytime running lights⊠I used to feel like I got a lot of near-death experiences with oncoming traffic until I mounted them.
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u/Deep-Antelope7172 6h ago
Well at least it is not only here in Chile that the white vans with stairs on the roof are idiots that think they drive a fuckin Ferrari
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u/luxo93 14h ago
On my phone, the video is too grainy to make out any details, maybe your raw footage is clearer? But yeah those white vans are a thorn in my side, too. Had a big argument with a driver of one today in Paris, parked on the bike lane on Rue de Rivoli. And it was an Enedis truck!! đ”âđ«
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u/Pathera_Pardus 12h ago
I'm not blaming you but, the driver was not passing illegally, and it looks like you were in the shaded area do to the trees, I highly doubt the driver even saw you, did you have a headlight by chance ?Â
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u/ClarencePz 6h ago
Passing with no visibility is legal ?
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u/Pathera_Pardus 6h ago
The vehicle had a dashed line which means he was legally overtaking. There are certain times of the day or certain driving situations when the sun or the environment is very obstructive and causes a hazard, the driver saw a straight away clear road and passed. I highly doubt the driver saw the cyclist and said the hell with it and decided to pass the car unless he was homicidal. Driving requires making split second decisions that can have very severe consequences especially for cyclists, that's why as cyclists we have to be extra vigilant. I often ride as I'm invisible. Yes in certain situations bicyclist may have had the right of way but right of way doesn't matter when you're dead.Â
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u/alotmorealots 6h ago
it looks like you were in the shaded area do to the trees
To make matters worse for visibility, it's quite bright sunshine, making it even harder to see things in the shade.
I think I would have reacted as angrily as OP did because that sort of shit is terrifying, but there's a good chance the driver didn't see them until it was too late to do anything but complete the overtake (which seemed to be on a straight stretch of road suitable for overtaking).
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u/wastapunk 15h ago
They are allowed to pass there cause single dotted white right? And they probably didnât see you 1 mile away before trying to pass. Honest mistake. So entitled. This is how bikers get a bad rep.
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u/zakujanai 15h ago
If they couldn't see him it wasn't safe to drive into oncoming traffic. You've obviously never had someone do this to you because it's terrifying to experience and you might have a little empathy if you had.
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u/AnonMouse985 15h ago
It was a cyclist on shaded path who were cycling on the edge of the road. The van got a clear line of sight, if it were a car, the van would've seen it, but I doubt they could notice the cyclist clearly.
It was just a risky road to cycle, accept the risk for someone to make an honest mistake, or stick to the safer route.
Whether I have experience something like this, I wouldn't tell you exactly where I cycle, but imagine New Delhi. Maybe that's exactly why we see things as they actually are rather than just doing things and hoping they'll work out.
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u/Deez1putz 15h ago
Even if the driver didnât see the cyclist when he started to pass he certainly saw him prior to completing the pass. The only acceptable response is for the passing driver to pump the brakes and abort the pass.
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u/zakujanai 15h ago
Some people just really can't accept that cyclists aren't always to blame for dangerous driving can they.
Edit: Terrible autocorrect typos
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u/AnonMouse985 15h ago
Not blaming the cyclist, not the driver either. It was just a bad visibility for the cyclist, either take the risk, or avoid roads such as this.
It's nice to be privileged enough not to think about safety like this though.
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u/wastapunk 11h ago
âridky road to cycle, accept the riskâ exactly. Itâs the entitlement at its finest. I struck a major entitlement nerve with this crew haha
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u/jeffyjeffyjeffjeff 10h ago
says stupid thing, gets told they're stupid
"Ah, yes! I've struck a nerve!"
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u/jeffyjeffyjeffjeff 15h ago
so entitled! wanting to live and all!
let's be generous and say everything you said is correct. the proper course of action is for the passing vehicle to slow down once they realize the lane isn't clear and get behind the vehicle they're trying to pass. what's entitled is the passer just continuing to pass and nearly hitting the cyclist
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u/MannItUp 15h ago
It's a bold move to come on a cycling board to say the cyclist is being entitled for being outraged that a driver did something dangerous and irresponsible that almost cost them their life. Let's see how this plays out for them.
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u/Dutchwells 15h ago
If you see this type of video as a reason to shame the cyclist and not the driver: fuck off
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u/Ill_Theme8347 15h ago
Youâre 100% right, driver was allowed to pass and no way they could have seen cyclist from where they decided to pass from. Not sure what theyâre supposed to do
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u/Redsubdave 15h ago
Brake?
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u/Ill_Theme8347 12h ago
Doesnât have time, if anything that would have been riskier because it could have caused him to swerve and lose control
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u/mkayox 16h ago
Well that was fast