18-inch close pass from a lady in a Tesla.
Me: you passed me way too close
Her: you need to share the road!!!! You need to ride close to the side!!!
Write this on my tombstone when the next asshole kills me:
YOU DO NOT NEED TO STAY TO THE RIGHT WHEN THE LANE IS TOO NARROW TO SHARE
I caught up to her at the light (obviously, it's a Friday afternoon in Toronto and #CarsRuinCities) and said "you shouldn't be driving if you don't know the rules." She told me I was wrong and drove away, I stood on the sidewalk and cried from frustration and rage.
This is like an everyday normal thing, but it always shocks me how callous people are. She passed me that close on purpose, to teach me a lesson, and does not care AT ALL that it scared me and could have hurt me. She is driving a death machine and she thinks she is right.
@mbonsma I'm glad you weren't hit by them. And I imagine if they *had* struck you, it would have been your fault as far as they were concerned for being in the way.
There is something very strange about driving in a vehicle that makes people more aggressive that they nominally would be. No idea how to fix that other than #BanAllCars. <sighs>
@mbonsma In Massachusetts we just got a state law for this. 4 foot pass required of all 'vulnerable road users' (legal term) includes pedestrians, micromobitily, horseback riders, etc. Not that the public knows it yet. The signs haven't been distributed yet.
@mbonsma Even MassDOT was suprised that drivers thought 'share the road' meant cars first. I think the 'share the road' signs are coming down.
@mbonsma in my city they started putting up signs 'forbidden to overtake bicycles' on narrow roads to avoid that kind of situation. Of course it's only necessary because drivers don't know the rules like you said. It is actually forbidden also without extra signs, just because narrow.
@mbonsma I always find Teslas the most ironic when I see their drivers break laws because they were supposed to be some kind of advancement in self-driving technology, making things safer for road users but instead the safety features are turned off and they're almost always driven by yet another rich douchebag who is part of the true stereotype that the more expensive the car, the bigger the asshole driving it.
@casseagull @mbonsma
Our neighbours have a Tesla, which sounds like a Jetson's mobile. And they always make short trips and I was literally wondering if they ever trip chain.
I cannot speak to their ability to pass people on bikes properly....
@ladybugspicnic @casseagull @mbonsma sutcliffe drives a Tesla…
@mbonsma Glad you’re ok.
@mbonsma
This. Unfortunately there's a shitload of people like that out there, I've met my share and doubtless will continue to do so till one day one of the asswipes hurts or kills me.
I really should get cameras for the bike
you can get bike cameras that look just (and also work as) extra LED lights - even having a couple of LED torches as point light sources (as well as your wide front light) can discourage close passes as drivers *think* they might contain cameras (even if they do not)
@mbonsma once I was passed by a red Honda CRX and it’s side view mirror went UNDER my handlebar. Thankfully I was riding a mountain bike because the car would have hit me if I’d been on my road bike (which has drop bars).
This was at 9am on a Sunday on an empty road that was 3 lanes each way. Plenty of space to avoid me but most drivers just don’t give a damn.
@mbonsma I'm so sorry. I don't know how we going to get through to these people.
@mbonsma these people have brain rot. i’m so sorry!
@mbonsma When people do that to me and I catch up to them (and I always do) I will touch their car in a way that makes noise but does not damage the car and of course they always freak out. But I'm supposed to be cool and calm about someone causing me bodily harm.
@mbonsma
I hate these people.
@mbonsma my experience is the more you try to stay to the right, the more the drivers think they can crowd **even closer** to you. It’s a lose-lose situation for bikers no matter what.
@mbonsma I hate this for you. I swear to god we need driver retesting every time people renew their license. Driving is a privilege, not a right.
@mbonsma I need this in all Asian languages for completely different reasons 
@mbonsma What a jerk 
Cities needs to be made more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.
@mbonsma everywhere i know in europe motorists must pass 1,5 metres to the side of cyclists… does canada/ontario have no such statute?
@wolfofthewisp oh we do, but it's not enforced and apparently the rules are not generally known.
@mbonsma I’m so sorry you had to deal with that. I wish car drivers understood the risk they put cyclists in.
1m from the curb. I'll bet you were closer than that.
(I don't think my post was clear, so I'm editing it )
I'll bet you were closer to the curb than you need to be, and they were being ridiculous