An old family friend hit and killed a teenager on a bicycle when he darted out into the street right in front of her - not even at an intersection - from between two parked cars right around dusk. It couldn’t possibly have been any less her fault, and there were absolutely no legal consequences for her. But that was probably 40 years ago, and she still has waking nightmares about it to this day.
I used to live in a college town that was overrun by irresponsible kids on bikes, and I made a point of not driving anymore than absolutely necessary. I can remember at least two occasions where I saw two cyclists collide with each other at a pretty good clip because neither was paying a damned bit of attention to what was right in front of them. So yeah, when I drive, I’m a little bit apprehensive of bicycles, and when I see anyone on a bike, I get just a little extra cautious. I have enough stress in my life. I don’t need the image of somebody I hit bouncing down the road in my head for the rest of my life.
Those car-related taxes are not enough to cover the cost of building and maintaining roads, let alone for traffic law enforcement. General tax funds are used to supplement them, for which cyclists pay their fair share. Not to mention that many cyclists are also car owners.
Another possible point of view is that each bicycle used for transport represents one fewer car on the road. Fewer cars on the road means money saved for road construction and maintenance. From that perspective, one could justify subsidizing the use of bicycles for transport, not charging for it.
Yes, cyclists scare the shit out of me. Most of the ones riding in Philly seem to obey traffic laws, but I admit that I’m not used to cyclist traffic and sometimes I’m not sure what the law is. I get especially nervous making right turns at traffic lights, worrying there is a cyclist in the bike lane next to me, and am constantly checking the bike lane as I drive. I have daymares about hitting cyclists all the time.
ETA - What is the law when a car is waiting to turn right and there is a cyclist wanting to go through the light? Am I supposed to wait for the cyclist to pass?
I’ve seen some cyclists do spectacularly dumb things, though. Once when I was in the left lane a cyclist straddling the middle line to my right suddenly jerked his bike in front of my car without even signaling or looking to see how fast I was going. I was going slow because he was already right in the middle of the goddamn road, but it amazes me how fearless these guys are.
I got a ticket a couple of years ago for cutting across the corner of a pavement (sidewalk). Annoying, as I am generally a pretty law-abiding cyclist and hate the people that run through red lights, because they lead drivers to tar us all with the same brush.
On this occasion, there were coned off roadworks which forced the traffic down to one lane. Rather than trying to squeeze through with the buses, I detoured up onto the pavement and around the corner into the next street, a distance of about 20 yards. Unfortunately, just around the corner were two policemen, one of whom was on his first week on the beat and being trained by a supervisor. :smack:
Of all the places that I have driven in a car, I would have to say that only two seriously worried me as far as bike riders: those are New York City and San Francisco. Bike riders in both cities almost seemed to be oblivious to the cars on the road and it should be illegal for them to have iPod earbuds in their ears while riding on the streets.
We don’t have much in the way of bike lanes where I live, but this is the way I do it: if the bike is stopped either right next to me or next to and behind me, I signal and proceed slowly, making sure he knows I’m turning to the right in front of him. If he has stopped next to the front of my car or a little ahead of me, then I wait for him to go straight before I turn right.
AFAIK you should enter the bike lane with your car ~200 feet before making the turn so as to prevent a bike overtaking you on the right while you wait to turn. I haven’t checked all states, so YMMV.
Another anti bike thread? Shit is it Saturday already?
I ride bikes. I also drive a car.
Do bike riders scare me? Most of them no. There is a small subset that either through a lack of knowledge, innate stupidity or two much recreational chemicals which I am not sure, scare the shit out of me.
In this subset are the riders that ride on the sidewalk (if they are over 10 years old)
Ride in the street the wrong way (The absolutely dumbest thing you can do on a bike)
And the brain dead hipsters that ride a cruiser bikes. They have no clue that anyone else is on the road, and just expect the world to stop for them.
And believe me as a law abiding bike rider (I stop for stop signs and red lights, and I signal) you have never seen a more pissed of person at the riders that don’t because a large portion of the people in cages blame me for what those assholes did.