Motorists: please read

[arcadiagt5]

ecovelo  has an excellent piece on car drivers giving way to cyclists when they shouldn't. Executive Summary: Please don't.

"No matter how well intentioned, when we bend the rules by giving up our right of way, it is potentially confusing and even dangerous."

ecovelo 's piece is talking about 4-way stop signs which I think is a US phenomenon but the principle still holds. I had an incident like this recently that was potentially dangerous for the driver.

I was about to cross a dual carriageway where the median strip is wide enough to have it's own stop signs. On one commute I was pulling up to the stop sign when a car that was turning right across my path (ie turning towards my left) exited his stop sign, began turning, and then stopped halfway through the turn, exposed to oncoming traffic on his left, to wave me across.

Eeek! I was in no danger - safely stopped behind the white line - but this scared me a bit as I started frantically waving the driver to complete his turn.

Please, please, please, take the right of way when you have it and respect mine when you don't. I'll do the same for you and we'll all be the safer for it.