Ok I apologize for profanity in the post title but let me explain. I suppose I should consider myself lucky in the first place. I have not really had any problems bicycling around Boston/Cambridge except an almost dooring about a block from my apartment and the interaction today. To set the stage: I don't run red lights (sometimes yellow but rarely) I don't run over pedestrians, I don't travel at a high rate of speed, I have brakes and gears and I try not to act like an idiot, I am just going (or coming) from work leave me alone.
Apparently my interpretation of right-of-way laws must be out of date. Apparently you are always suppose to yield to the man compensating for something by driving a large pickup truck and turning left at an intersection. No matter what, you yield to the pickup driver. I must have missed this in driver ed/bike training. Needless to say I did not yield to the large truck who was trying to make a left turn at the intersection of Harvard and Brighton Ave.. I was going straight on with the green and he was turning across my path from the other direction. I was clearly being uppity wanting the right-of-way; clearly.
He stops and creeps forward, I slow down presuming he will be turning in front of me, no he does not. He clearly sighs and waves me through, yelling out his window to my back as I clear the intersection that I am a "fucking moron." My pathetic response "right-of-way buddy, come on" I am sure was lost in all the V-8 power rush rush I delayed him 6 seconds macho truck he was driving.
It is good practice to not play chicken with a pickup or a truck of any kind and usually a good idea to let them do their thing and hold back. However, in this case I presumed there was a car moving straight that was to my left in the auto lane, I was not looking in my mirrors but I did hear a car back there. I was not sure if he would yield or gun it across, which is why I slowed down.
Oh well, I was never in any danger we stopped maybe 30 feet from each other with a clear sight-line. I guess I will continue to watch out for large pickups which are clearly at the top of the yielding hierarchy, meaning everybody and grandma better yield to them or else.
In other news I saw a pedestrian almost get creamed by a Mercedes driver moving way too fast in central square while the pedestrian was crossing in the cross walk. The car came within a couple inches and the younger man in a suit smacked the trunk of the car a couple times before he continued on his way home (presumably). The driver did stop for a minute or two but then proceeded on. I am sure the driver was shaken up and likely not paying attention, but come on its central square. If you think you can do anything but look at where you are biking/driving/walking you really have another thing coming because that is just asking for trouble. The pedestrian did not have a helmet on, so clearly he was at fault. (No earphones either, nor was he on the phone/texting! Ok I take it back, clearly not a Cambridge pedestrian, must have been a foreigner)
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