# Fuck drivers/pedestrians who endanger cyclists and a fuck you to those who ride dangerously as well. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 27, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451 "2011-07-27T00:39:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/41 "2011-07-29T05:03:46Z")
A “fixie” has a single, fixed, gear without a freewheel. You know how, on a proper bike that was not prepped for the Six-Days races of 100 years ago, allows you to stop pedaling and you still keep moving forward? This is because of something called a “freewheel,” attached to every other bike for a century. Fixie riders (correct me if I’m wrong, because I’m not 😉 ) are, to a rider, hipsters with little, if any, regard for anybody else on the road because they can barely stop, they wear black at night, and do not use lights because they are FAR too cool for it. Nearly killed a few last winter, but I was more aware of them than they were. It’s as close to Suicide by Other Driver as I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/42 "2011-07-29T07:39:23Z")
> [@Dave\_Hartwick](#): > > Or maybe it’s gibberish like the rest of Jaledin’s bullshit. Go wipe the stain off your mouth, cager wannabe. Get seated very firmly and go terrorize someone who won’t end your reign with your machine of death with a machine of sorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/43 "2011-07-29T12:38:05Z")
> [@CatherineZeta](#): > > A cyclist who hits a pedestrian is generally held accountable in the same way a motor vehicle is, unless the pedestrian is clearly at fault. Just within the last month, a pedestrian here in Toronto got serious head injuries when they were hit by a cyclist going through a red light and the wrong way on a one way street. The cyclist was charged with either reckless or dangerous driving. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/44 "2011-07-29T15:09:13Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > A “fixie” has a single, fixed, gear without a freewheel. You know how, on a proper bike that was not prepped for the Six-Days races of 100 years ago, allows you to stop pedaling and you still keep moving forward? This is because of something called a “freewheel,” attached to every other bike for a century. Fixie riders (correct me if I’m wrong, because I’m not 😉 ) are, to a rider, hipsters with little, if any, regard for anybody else on the road because they can barely stop, they wear black at night, and do not use lights because they are FAR too cool for it. Nearly killed a few last winter, but I was more aware of them than they were. It’s as close to Suicide by Other Driver as I’ve seen. Big controversy in Portland when the city tried to force them to have brakes on their bikes. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/45 "2011-07-29T20:12:34Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > You guys should just make the cars culpable for any thing that goes wrong, that way the bikers can do what they want and the car drivers know they should watch out 😃 That sounds like a good idea to me, and there’s been a movement towards that here in the UK. After all, if you decide to drive a two-ton, four wheel death machine you have to take a bit of responsibility for the inherent danger you pose to the public, a danger not presented by a push-bike. I tend to just ignore the laws when on a push bike. If there’s a big empty pavement and a narrow crowded road I’d have to be an idiot to obey the law and stay on the road. > [@sh1bu1](#): > > I probably wasn’t clear. He had a sticker on his bike citing the law that bikes may occupy a full lane. Good law. The problem is that bikes do not extend the same courtesies to cars. Bikes will ride right beside my car, on both sides, in my lane. If you are not in a bike lane and try and pass me on the right there is a good chance you will be hit when I turn right. Ditto on the left. And double ditto if you decide to wind through traffic and cut in front of cars. You want a vehicle less than two feet across to pretend to be as wide as a car and sit in traffic like a mug rather than taking advantage of their natural ability to slip through? Well, if you’d be happy to have them pedal at their normal speed down the middle of the lane and not let you past, then fine. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/46 "2011-07-29T21:02:18Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Fixie riders (correct me if I’m wrong, because I’m not 😉 ) are, to a rider, hipsters with little, if any, regard for anybody else on the road because they can barely stop, they wear black at night, and do not use lights because they are FAR too cool for it. Oh noes! You are wrong! 🙂 Lots of us roadies use them for training, commuting, etc. There is a large proportion of hipster douches, but not all fixie riders are hipsters. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/47 "2011-07-29T21:41:30Z")
Wait, wait. Fixies _don’t_ have brakes? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/48 "2011-07-29T21:46:20Z")
> [@Jaledin](#): > > Go wipe the stain off your mouth, cager wannabe. Get seated very firmly and go terrorize someone who won’t end your reign with your machine of death with a machine of sorrow. Yeah, that’s not doing much to show that you’re \*not \*talking gibberish. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/49 "2011-07-29T23:45:15Z")
Seems clear to me. The person who insulted my authentic frontier gibberish is, I believe, an ass-eater, and an aggro who dreams of his bicycle becoming a machine of war, like a car. I play the role of little Israel, trying to stay alive and remember those fallen in tears. None of this would be a problem if people would chill the eff out when operating a vehicle. Cheech or Chong, or Pee Wee Herman, in their respective vehicles, are awesome. Ray Jardine is awesome on his feet. They can all be awesome together, but only if those carrying the means to inflict damage and who bear, prima facie, the intention of acting upon an aggro impulse chill the hell out and simmer down. And be quiet: I ate another three mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/50 "2011-07-30T00:08:44Z")
> [@DeptfordX](#): > > Wait, wait. Fixies _don’t_ have brakes? Some don’t. It’s advisable to have at least a front brake though, as riding brakeless is about as dangerous as it sounds. Fixie riders can stop, but there are always those sudden stops one has to make for which brakes come in handy. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/51 "2011-07-30T02:48:17Z")
> [@DeptfordX](#): > > Wait, wait. Fixies _don’t_ have brakes? Fixies _can_ have brakes, purists just don’t want them to. Part of it is weight, but it’s more about looking cool and having a clutter free bike without cables and brake levers. Fixie riders say they can stop just by using the pedals. Remember, there is no freewheel. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451/52 "2011-07-30T02:52:01Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > Fixies _can_ have brakes, purists just don’t want them to. Part of it is weight, but it’s more about looking cool and having a clutter free bike without cables and brake levers.\*\* Fixie riders say they can stop just by using the pedals.\*\* Remember, there is no freewheel. Also brick walls, trees and other inanimate and animate objects. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-drivers-pedestrians-who-endanger-cyclists-and-a-fuck-you-to-those-who-ride-dangerously-as-well/590451.md?page=2)