Special Snowflake Stories

[ladyknight1]

I live in Florida, only an hour from Daytona Beach, which is a haven for bikers. We tend to travel the other direction during the weekends before and after Bikeweek and Biketoberfest. It can take miles to get to a point where a car can switch lanes, because some of the groups are so large and/or scattered in a single file line. This is few and far between, though. Most bikers I encounter are great drivers. I am very cautious around motorcycles, for the cyclist's safety and my peace of mind.

I will be buying a motorcycle in the next few years, and I will endeavor to be a courteous motorcyclist.

[Addy]

I'm sorry, I don't understand.  Not their responsibility?  Maybe not, but the bikers do seem SS to me, or at the very least inconsiderate.  I'm not challenging what you said, but I just don't see how the bikers were in the right.

I agree. Is it not common courtesy that, when you see another car indicate a lane change, you allow him to merge? What makes motorcycles so special that they have to stay in an uninterrupted line?  They do seem like special snowflakes to me as well.

[gramma dishes]

I'm sorry, I don't understand.  Not their responsibility?  Maybe not, but the bikers do seem SS to me, or at the very least inconsiderate.  I'm not challenging what you said, but I just don't see how the bikers were in the right.

I agree. Is it not common courtesy that, when you see another car indicate a lane change, you allow him to merge? What makes motorcycles so special that they have to stay in an uninterrupted line?  They do seem like special snowflakes to me as well.

I agree.  It's one thing when you have three, or six, or twelve motorcycles riding close together in a group and keeping up with each other so that they can be passed in a manner similar to how one might pass a semi or something.  But I have seen HUGE groups of cyclists riding together in groups of fifty or more and they're kind of all over the road.  If you need to get into the right lane to make your off ramp, you don't usually expect such a swarm of motorcycles in front of you that you're able to predict a mile or more back that you need to merge into the right lane that soon. 

If that's what was going on here, I think the cyclists were rude.

[Mental Magpie]

I'm not saying the bikers right by any means, but I don't think they were wrong, either.  Because of their size, motorcycles can be hard to see, so by driving in packs they increase their visibility.  To merge through the pack can cause a safety risk, so I can see why this would irritate the biker that yelled at the OP's DH.

It is not another driver's responsibility to make room for you between themselves and the vehicle in front of them.  It is your responsibility to make sure you can fit in that gap safely; if you cannot, you don't put your car there.  Can it be courteous to slow down to allow another driver over?  Yes, but not doing so does not make anyone rude.  How would it be any different if there were three or four semis in the right hand lane blocking the OP's DH from merging over?  If the gap between them was not sizably safe for the OP's DH to merge, what would he have done?  Merge through them or slow down to move in behind them?  With motorcycles, that safety gap needs to be a bit larger (hence why the biker was probably angry).  I just don't see how the bikers were SS; to me, it is no different than any other traffic.

[Coruscation]

The girlfriend of one of our contracted employees rang my BIL yesterday. She asked nicely what job he was doing and when BIL told her, she proceeded to verbally abuse him for letting her boyfriend do a job which involved working with other women. BIL told her firmly (probably, I admit probably not very politely), that if he ever received another phone call like that from her she wouldn't have to worry, he wouldn't have any type of job. He also explained this to the employee.  Employee asked that BIL tell her if she rang again that he was doing his main job which does not involve interacting with any women.

Apparently, she used to wait outside the gate for him to get off work each day so he didn't talk to female coworkers.

[buvezdevin]

Now I am not sure if I think in SS terms re bikers according to my boyfriend, or not - so just saying I *would* have thought it reasonable to expect a super large group of bikers (50 plus or whatever, which I know can happen during bike week) to allow for cars in left lanes to get over mid-bike pack in order to get to an exit from a highway.  My boyfriend, who is if anything more inclined than I am to see see things from other's perspectives was adamant on this one. 

As he is the biker, not me, I will just share that his immediate firm reply was, no, the bike pack does not need nor should shift or make rrom for other drivers to switch lanes, the car driver should either plan well ahead or go to the next exit.

As a non-biker, I would not have necessarily seen it this way, and will admit I am surprised.

Also, I offer this not to say it is the "right" view, just to say that at least one biker who is generally "over considerate" on many points does see this as an absolute.

[KenveeB]

As he is the biker, not me, I will just share that his immediate firm reply was, no, the bike pack does not need nor should shift or make rrom for other drivers to switch lanes, the car driver should either plan well ahead or go to the next exit.

Sorry, but that sounds like the epitome of SS-ness to me. Why are bikers so special that they don't have to share the road like everyone else? The bike pack is not the only one using the road, and their needs don't trump everyone else's.

[MommyPenguin]

And if it were a row of 4 semis in a row?  If they were so close together that somebody could not safely change lanes between them, and they were driving together and refused to move to let somebody in so he could exit?  That would be SS, too.  It doesn't matter what vehicle you are in, you need to be courteous to other drivers and allow them to change lanes when possible.  Yes, motorcycles are safer in packs.  But if you've got a group of 50, separating into two packs of 25 to let a driver exit doesn't diminish your safety all that much.  And if you force the driver to either push through you when you are trying to keep him out, or brake well below highway speeds (when he's not in the right lane), forcing drivers behind him to brake as well and increasing the chances that somebody isn't paying attention, then you're decreasing, not increasing, your safety level.  I think the motorcyclists in that story were SSs as well (and my husband has a motorcycle).  I think if your group takes up more room than a semi, you need to be willing to separate into several groups when necessary for travel conditions.

[CuriousParty]

Yes, I think the bikes should be subject to the same expectations as other vehicles, and I for one would expect another vehicle, on seeing my lane shift signal, to adjust their speed to allow me to move as needed. I certainly do so for other drivers, and not out of simple courtesy either - I assume if someone needs to get over they need to get over, and impeding their progress is both rude and foolish, and increases the likelihood of any number of bad outcomes (an accident, rage driving, etc).

It seems to me like the bike packs are thinking of themselves as one big vehicle, which may be fine for smaller groups of 5-20 but 50+? No. No other vehicle can monopolize a half mile or more of the road.  It is rude (in my opinion) and unsafe.

[Dindrane]

One other aspect to the groups of bikers thing is that vehicles on the road are expected to leave a certain amount of distance between themselves and the vehicles ahead of them, so that they are capable of stopping without hitting other vehicles.

Maybe that expectation gets ignored under some circumstances, but I don't think it's unreasonable for a driver to assume they will be able to pass/merge a group of people traveling in the right lane within a few minutes, without major adjustments to their own speed.

Aside from that, letting in a driver who has signaled he wants to be in your lane is the courteous thing to do, if you can do it safely. It's not always practical, and it's often not required, but it's always courteous.

[Darcy]

The girlfriend of one of our contracted employees rang my BIL yesterday. She asked nicely what job he was doing and when BIL told her, she proceeded to verbally abuse him for letting her boyfriend do a job which involved working with other women. BIL told her firmly (probably, I admit probably not very politely), that if he ever received another phone call like that from her she wouldn't have to worry, he wouldn't have any type of job. He also explained this to the employee.  Employee asked that BIL tell her if she rang again that he was doing his main job which does not involve interacting with any women.

Apparently, she used to wait outside the gate for him to get off work each day so he didn't talk to female coworkers.

Oy vey.

[Rohanna]

And it's so unfair in a way, because when women are like that to their partners it's often written off as "just jealousy"- but if a man were like that it would be more likely to be called what it is, a form of abuse.

[Elfmama]

The girlfriend of one of our contracted employees rang my BIL yesterday. She asked nicely what job he was doing and when BIL told her, she proceeded to verbally abuse him for letting her boyfriend do a job which involved working with other women. BIL told her firmly (probably, I admit probably not very politely), that if he ever received another phone call like that from her she wouldn't have to worry, he wouldn't have any type of job. He also explained this to the employee.  Employee asked that BIL tell her if she rang again that he was doing his main job which does not involve interacting with any women.

Apparently, she used to wait outside the gate for him to get off work each day so he didn't talk to female coworkers.

Oy vey.

Wasn't there someone on here a few years ago who said that she didn't want her DH talking to other women at work, beyond the bare minimal needs of the job?

[jedikaiti]

What fun! Let's block traffic on a busy freeway and show off some stunt driving, film it, and post it on YouTube and Facebook for all to see!

For some reason, the Highway Patrol is not amused.

Sideshow stunt shuts down I-880 traffic in Oakland

What about the group of bikers who blocked the LA freeway so one of them could propose to his girlfriend?   I would not have been amused.  From what I understand, LA traffic is bad enough without something like this happening. 

Another one about SS motorcyclists.  DH and I were driving on a three lane highway in the middle lane.  About a half mile before we get to our exit, we notice a herd of bikers in the right lane.  DH puts his signal on that he wants to get in the right lane.  There must have been at least 50 bikers with no end in sight and nobody letting him in.  Right before our exit, DH sees an opening big enough and he fits in and gets off the highway.  One of the SS bikers yells at us because we dared to change lanes to get where we needed to go.  It is very SS to take up the whole road and not let others in.

Just for the record, I have nothing against motorcyclists, DH owns one.

Sorry, but I have a feeling the biker was yelling at your for cutting in their line, which can pose a safety risk.  Why didn't your DH slow down a little to wait for them to pass so he could change lanes behind them?

Well, he signaled his desire to merge a half mile ahead of their exit, there was a LONG line of bikers, and none letting him in - what was he supposed to do, come to a complete stop?

They're supposed to just make a gap and let him over?  That's not their responsibility.  Even slowing down by 5 MPH would get him behind them, so no, not a complete stop.  Planning ahead is also a good idea; I doubt they just appeared out of nowhere.  The OP's DH no doubt knew he was exiting, he should have planned accordingly instead of merging through a line of bikers (again, because of the safety risk).

Are you sure only 5mph would have  done it? When someone says "with no end in sight" I take that to mean that there's no end to the bike parade on the right in sight, and they're at least keeping pace with him!

[jedikaiti]

The girlfriend of one of our contracted employees rang my BIL yesterday. She asked nicely what job he was doing and when BIL told her, she proceeded to verbally abuse him for letting her boyfriend do a job which involved working with other women. BIL told her firmly (probably, I admit probably not very politely), that if he ever received another phone call like that from her she wouldn't have to worry, he wouldn't have any type of job. He also explained this to the employee.  Employee asked that BIL tell her if she rang again that he was doing his main job which does not involve interacting with any women.

Apparently, she used to wait outside the gate for him to get off work each day so he didn't talk to female coworkers.

I hope BIL told Employee that he is NOT Employee's messenger service!