Wondering about "the hate" - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

pbanders · 12-31-2008, 06:35 PM

If you think there are a lot of haters because you own a Porsche, take up road cycling. It'll change your perspective.

dmcutter · 12-31-2008, 07:40 PM

++1 on that. I had 2 near misses in 30 miles yesterday afternoon. One moron almost rear ended a car turning left in front of me because he was so intent on passing me, and another idiot almost turned left across traffic in front of me-I got a separated shoulder last October when the same thing happened and I t-boned a minivan at 24 mph. I also got buzzed by an a-hole in a Cayenne yesterday. Damn Porsche drivers can be such pricks. I should wear a jersey that says "My Other Car is A Boxster"

Jaxonalden · 12-31-2008, 09:39 PM

Don't you bicyclist take this the wrong way but...when you all start paying registration fees and obeying the traffic laws like the rest of the vehicles (cars, trucks and motorcycles) that use the roads then maybe other drivers will respect you. I can't tell you how many times I've had bicycles pull in front of me at stop lights then run through them like they had the right. It's like they use the road and act like their abiding by the law and then brake the law and use the excuse that their just bikes.

If you don't pay road taxes (registration, gas tax, required safety insp.) or you're not required to take a test showing you know the rules of the road then you shouldn't be on the road.

BTW, do you guys carry vehicle insurance? Liability at least? Because if you run into someone and cause that vehicle to crash or someone gets injured, who pays?

Dmcutter,

"I also got buzzed by an a-hole in a Cayenne yesterday. Damn Porsche drivers can be such pricks." What's up with that?

vath2001 · 01-01-2009, 05:15 AM

Wow, I didn't know there were "haters" out there for bicyclist too?

I think I'm at the top of the most "hated list"..... I own both a road bike and a mountan bike, I own a sailboat (damn blow boaters) and I own a Boxster.

Can't we just get along?

dmcutter · 01-01-2009, 07:04 AM

Jax,

"I also got buzzed by an a-hole in a Cayenne yesterday. Damn Porsche drivers can be such pricks." What's up with that? That's called sarcasm...since I own a Porsche, one might think you would get that I wasn't really dissing Porsche drivers.

As far as licenses, road use tax, blah blah blah, I pay insurance and property taxes and outrages NC gas taxes for my Box, my Rodeo, and my motorcycle. My bicycle doesn't cause wear and tear on the roads and doesn't spew pollution into the air or consume fossil fuels. I obey traffic laws, and a bicycle is, in fact, by law, a vehicle subject to the same rules and rights as a motor vehicle.

I don't condone bicyclist blowing traffic lights-it's stupid and a good way to get killed. I ride as far to the right as practicable and when we ride in groups we don't bunch up and hold up traffic. I get buzzed by all kinds of pricks who think it's cute to see how close they can get to us, and I've been hit by a pick up truck's mirror at 50 mph. I guess all these a-holes don't have children that ride bicycles around their neighborhoods-I doubt they would condone motorists treating their kids that way.

Brucelee · 01-01-2009, 07:36 AM

No need to bash each other here.

There are clearly some bike riders who subject themselves to risk by their riding habits. It happens to all who frequent the roads. I see runners on the edge of the road when they have a perfectly safe sidewalk.

Go figure????

Tall Cotton · 01-01-2009, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbanders

If you think there are a lot of haters because you own a Porsche, take up road cycling. It'll change your perspective.

Dude, expect that in Phoenix - the worst city in the US for bicycle fatalities. I used to live in Chandler, scary.
As far as hate goes, it's everywhere. I've had M cars, muscle cars and rice cars (RX-7). Somebody is always gonna assume some bad character trait about you no matter what. I know everybody is looking at me in this Podunk little Georgia town I now live in when I drive the Box. It's just something you have to accept with the vehicle.
The cycling is great though...
Sam

vijen6 · 01-01-2009, 04:59 PM

Good question though.

If a bicycle hits you at a decent biking speed (assuming 24mph from earlier post) .. that is enough force to cause dent + dings to some panels or at the very least paint damage.

Who pays ? Your insurance ? Will your rate go up if its is this type of accident ? I am assuming its a `hit and run` or not at fault accident ?

To me it make sense to require bicycle insurance for everyone using the road. (sidewalk doesn't count so joggers and pedestrians are still exempt)

pbanders · 01-01-2009, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vijen6

Good question though.

If a bicycle hits you at a decent biking speed (assuming 24mph from earlier post) .. that is enough force to cause dent + dings to some panels or at the very least paint damage.

Who pays ? Your insurance ? Will your rate go up if its is this type of accident ? I am assuming its a `hit and run` or not at fault accident ?

To me it make sense to require bicycle insurance for everyone using the road. (sidewalk doesn't count so joggers and pedestrians are still exempt)

All runners use the sidewalk where you live? Pedestrians never cross the road? Must be different from my community.

I have no problem with cyclists carrying insurance, it'd help the many cyclists I know who were hit by uninsured drivers (or hit-and-run) pay for their hospital costs and rehabilitation, as well as equipment loss. Or in some cases, perhaps pay for their funeral costs. I'm pretty sure it would cover a dent in a car or two, also.

Yeah, maybe when I start paying for that insurance (on top of the five cars I already pay on, plus the $2M umbrella policy I'm carrying, plus my two homeowners policies and my personal medical insurance) and pay for registration (which might run $20, considering my 914 costs me $25 a year), and I obey traffic laws to the same degree as the zillions of cars I see every day who speed, change lanes without signaling, run red lights, drive unsafely, etc. (I actually try to ride more safely than that), then while I'm riding safely and legally in the bike lane, those guys wearing wifebeaters who throw full beer cans at me, flick cigarettes at me, hang out their windows screaming and cursing bloody murder at me, and try to run me down will suddenly start respecting me as a road user.

Somehow, I'm not counting on it.

BTW, if I run into your car and I'm at fault, and I dent it, I'll be glad to pay for it. And if I wasn't, you can take me to civil court. And if you see cyclists breaking the law in your community, call the cops. I've seen at least a dozen group rides effectively shut down by the cops after people rightfully called to complain about illegal behavior of the riders.

vijen6 · 01-01-2009, 11:24 PM

All the more reasons for the cyclist to carry their own insurance I think. Their personal injuries can be a lot worse than the damage to the car, although it is their choice to use a `dangerous` mode of transportation. When a motorcyclist on a street bike gets killed, the general consensus is that he was probably doing something stupid and that extra risk comes with the territory. Why should it be any different than for cyclist ?

When you get into an accident with me, yes you might be injured or killed, but (assuming the accident wasn't my fault) does that mean I should have to pay for my own damages?

Just seems like a good idea to make cyclist insurance mandatory as with car / motorcycles. If you already have 5 cars, then you are cycling for fun. There's plenty of biking trails that you could make use of to not have to worry about commuting cars and ****************************s on the road with beer cans and cigarettes. If you choose to use the public road, then you should `pay to play` and carry insurance. Besides, looking at the prices of some bikes nowaday ($2k+), wouldn't you want to protect that investment too ?

I work in SF, and I used to bike daily to school, so I do deal with this issue and not just speaking out of my ass.

But this is just my opinion. Sorry to steer this off topic.

vath2001 · 01-02-2009, 05:26 AM

Wow.
I used to think cyclying was a eco friendly means of transportation and recreation. But I now I see them for what they really are.. eco terrorist, heck bent on controlling the roadways and harrassing the good natured drivers of America. What I saw a groups of riders are really gangs of two-wheeled punks, wearing colors taking over diners for breakfast gatherings.

Thanks for the clarification. Never again will I give way to a bike, but force him off the road before bounces his head across the hood of my car in an attempt to scratch it. And then I'll ask him for his insurance card as he bleeds on the side of the road.

I ride, and I fear.... fear every car, from Porsches to Pontiacs. I recognize the tonnage rule: He who has the most tons... wins. And I also know that when I ride, I can't use my cell, text, eat Burger King and apply make-up.

So much for my rant.

Gougoushu · 01-02-2009, 05:57 AM

In the month that I've had my ten year old, fixer-upper boxster, I've been getting all kinds of reactions along the lines of it being a rich person's car. "I didn't know you were doing so well!" and the like.

I respond with "you mean this pile of junk?" [after all the repairs it has needed, I feel that way sometimes] Also I tell people, what I've spent on this car is less than what a new Nissan Sentra costs -- would you think the same of that?