People who know me understand that I bike almost daily now. I let my car go about two years ago when I could no longer afford it, and I haven’t looked back. But it took awhile to become accustomed to riding in the Mt. Airy/Germantown/Chestnut Hill part of Philadelphia. Drivers rarely look for bicyclists, and as a result, many cars have come dangerously close to hitting me.
Drivers in Philadelphia make a habit of lamenting bicyclists; we can be annoying. Fox News points out some of the finer points here. It is difficult to ride down the street in South Philly with a cyclist beside your car. The streets are narrow, and as a former motorist, you can feel anxiety because you don’t want to hit the cyclist. But increasingly I have experienced a slew of issues with both motorists and pedestrians. These include parking in the bike lane to make a phone call, cutting cyclists off to make a right turn, honking at cyclists from behind, crossing the street against the line in the bike lane with a bike coming, not looking before stepping into the bike lane, and so on and so forth.
I want a mounted camera for my helmet because some days feels like I’ve taken my own life into my hands by riding a bicycle in this city. And after the incident this afternoon, I propose cyclists push the city to provide a place for cyclists to file a complaint against a motorist, if we are lucky enough to get their information. I have searched, and have not found such a research. I would be open to hearing what you have to say about this. I also want to hear about your experiences riding in the city, as I want to rely my experience from today.
I typically let people who are parked in the bike lane know to be more careful, particularly when they are opening the doors or they pull in front of my bike and stop, posing an immediate danger to my well being and violating the law, as well. I don’t write the law, or do I enforce it. But I do know the liability falls on the motorist for such careless driving. I don’t have a horn, so letting people know they need to be more mindful is my way of sounding an alert. I typically don’t cuss with this situation, though I have been known to do so. I’m not perfect. But today, I’m trying to do better, and when the car pulled in front of me and stopped, I passed him and told him to be more mindful. He followed me up Pine Street, pulling in front of my and slamming on the brakes. He tried to clip me with his door when I pulled around him. He again sped up and then rolled down his passenger side window, he screamed obscenities at me while he was weaving toward me with his car. Finally, he pulled around me again, and when I passed him, he called me a fucking bitch and said he called the cops.
Next time, I will stop to get the information. Next time his face will be circulated throughout social media. But for now, just so you know, if you are riding up Pine Street in Philadelphia today, make sure to watch out for late model gold-colored Acura or Lexus, four door, driven my a violent old white guy with male-patterned baldness and whispy white hair. Please feel free to post your experience.
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