Waving cyclists through stop signs when it's not their turn is not "helpful." It's confusing, frustrating, and puts us in harm's way.
Are you waving at me? Are you swatting at a fly? Are you trying to fling a booger?
I don't know!
So I'm just gonna sit here and wait my turn while you get your shit together.
@DrTCombs But I wish I had some better to communicate about it, since I *know* I appear impatient sometimes, and I know that many of these folks are trying to make space for bikers and that's not a bad motivation. If only more people drove with their windows down and at a slow speed.
@marcprecipice @DrTCombs Direct contact is important, and tinted car windows certainly do not help. If you’re able to make eye contact it is a lot easier to determine the intent of the other person. Side note: being able to make eye contact when on a bike allow the city of Groningen to put up signs like this.
I think you can guess the meaning without knowing Dutch…
@jeroenvanbergen @DrTCombs I experienced eye contact as being far more useful when biking in Amsterdam than I do when biking in Berkeley. I'm not sure why, exactly, but it seemed like drivers there were more interested in establishing that contact. (I had to translate the sign to really understand it!) I do think this is one of the concerns with so-called self-driving cars; no eyes to connect with.
@marcprecipice @jeroenvanbergen Yeah, I think eye contact means a lot more when you're biking in a place with a functioning safety culture. Where I am, eye contact can just as easily mean "I'm going to run you down" as "Hi, you go first."
@DrTCombs @marcprecipice Yes, I suspect that is mostly a cultural thing: how to interpret certain gestures or behaviour. Rules give clarity and if everybody follows them situations are supposed to be clear. Deviating from the rules creates confusion and even danger. It also depends on how confident you are in traffic.
@DrTCombs Are you waiting for me or did you just get distracted by your phone at that stop sign?
@DrTCombs I agree with this 100% and I also wish I had a better way to communicate to drivers what is going on for me on a bike in these cases. Berkeley drivers want to defer to bikes a lot! And I appreciate the sentiment! I just don't want to roll the dice that I've misunderstood or they're saying something else and now a collision is my fault since I didn't have legal right of way. I try to wave them on and then look away so I can't see whatever they might do to say "No, you first.”