Pulling out of the driveway the first predator I worry about is
the Potential Bike Thief. Usually people on foot are neighbors
(and benign) but who knows what unfriendly eyes are in those
cages driving by?
I try to wait for a break in traffic, and the risk from this
type of PBT diminishes quickly with distance from the house
(although others lurk around my destination).
But soon there are Cages Waiting to Pull Out From Side Streets.
These ground dwelling menaces are everywhere and potentially
lethal. When they're around I ride with two fingers on
the front brake lever.
Riding up the main drag, I sometimes encounter the dreaded
Lost Tourist. This particular beast drives deceptively slowly,
but can't be trusted in the least, because it's capable
of abrupt maneuvers without the least hint of warning --
they're almost always more focused on figuring out where they are
than on paying attention to other traffic.
A closely related species is the Timid New Driver, who is equally
dangerous. They typically drive very slowly, backing up traffic
for blocks, and are often the indirect cause of accidents when
impatient drivers trapped behind them try to pull out and pass.
Then there is the Distracted Driver. With cell phone, coffee,
text messaging, noisy kids fighting in the back seat, an in-law
like Ethel Merman, etc, this well-known threat can wreck havoc.
The Right Turn Cruncher waits to turn right, but looking to his/her
left for a break in traffic. When one comes along the Cruncher is liable
to start the turn without checking what's in *front* of it and thereby
rear ending your bike if you happen to be there.
A more exotic hazard is the Unstable Truck. Rarely seen, but
occasionally it does happen that an overloaded/speeding/wind-blown truck
can tip over. Tall cement trucks are particularly dangerous due to their
fluid, ****fting loads which can momentarily alter the center of gravity
enough to cause an upset. Best given a wide berth.
Drunk Drivers are a deadly menace of course, but curiously there is
a compensating predictability about their threat; it's greatest at
Night Owl hours, especially on weekends but less at other times.
Also there tends to be less traffic on the road when they're at
their worst, such as 3:00 am on Saturday morning. It helps if they
mistake your single headlight behind them for a police motorcycle.
The Backing Up Van Driver typically can't see a bike behind him and is
a low speed threat that mostly causes damage to property (ie, yours).
That's all I can think of at the moment but I'm sure there are
lots more. Additions to this list are invited.
Sean_Q_
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