This is probably half a pit, half a poll. But due to foul language, I’ll put it in the pit.
So yesterday I’m out for a bike ride and I’m rolling up to a red light on a 1 lane road with about a 2 foot shoulder.
At a red light, I’ll usually move up into the crosswalk and then zip through when the light turns green. There’s quite a line of traffic here, and I’m rolling past cars on the right. Well, as Im passing cars way back in the line, a car about 5 back from the intersection starts moving the front bumper of his car into the shoulder in an apparent attempt to cut me off – fuck that, in a CLEAR attempt to cut me off.
There was absolutely no reason for his action. Outside the shoulder was a little stone wall, and the driver wasn’t moving over to turn right at the light – he went straight through. He wasn’t just drifting forward, he was moving right, into the shoulder, after coming to a dead stop.
So, what the fuck? Any of you out there pull this asshole shit?
And I just post this one because it’s fresh on my mind. A few weeks ago a guy hit me in the neck with his gum while I was stopped in a left turn lane. And a month or so ago, two rednecks in a trans-am moving in the opposite direction threw something across the lane at me.
Anything you wanna get off your chest about bikers on the road?
Motorcycles or bicycles? I have nothing against either, although I hate it when a motorcycle startles me by coming up roaring out of nowhere from behind me. In either case, I do my best to give the rider extra room in whatever direction is needed. For example, I stay a little further back for a motorcycle than I would for a car and whenever I pass a bicycle in the bike lane I try to move as far left as possible to give it a little extra room. However, I do hate it when bicyclists think the rules of the road don’t apply to them and run stop signs and lights. I’ve almost hit a bicycle when I stopped for a three or four way stop, didn’t see a car anywhere, the bicycle wasn’t in my field of view, and then when I start all of a sudden there’s a bicycle there, having run the stop sign. Scares the hell out of me.
I don’t interfere with Bicyclists - I’m not a jerk - but I do despise them with every fiber of my being.
You see, it’s because of the town I live in. It consists of hills. Lots of hills. Bicyclists in this hilly town seem to want to take main thouroughfares - narrowish two-lane roads, with lots of curves, on which most cars travel at 30, 35 miles per hour - at about 10-15 miles per hour. It’s impossible to pass 90% of the time. One just has to crawl along at whatever pace the bicyclist dictates for five minutes, until one can see clearly enough to go around.
Then of course, a large part of the bicycling population are themselves jerks - following the rules of the road when it suits them (IE : travelling in the middle of the road, not the sidewalk) and ignoring them when it gets them where they’re going faster (ignoring red lights, stop signs - and often just pulling up onto the sidewalk and pedalling away.)
My view : You’re either a vehicle, or a pedestrian, NOT both. And since you can’t approach the speed limit on the main roads - you should either be a pedestrian, or limited to the side venues. I respect that you think you’re saving energy and pollution by pedalling, and it certainly saves you money - but that line of smoke-belching, honking four-wheeled contraptions that you’re holding up is more than making up for your environmental and economic savings.
The only complaint I have about bicyclists is the whole stopping thing. Driving a car, I’m required to stop at every red light I come across. And I have to sit there until it turns green, those are the rules. Bicyclists seem to feel that since they are foot powered, they can switch from being a vehicle to being a pedestrian when it suits them. It is downright rare for a bicyclist to wait at a red light when there are no other cars coming, generally when the coast is clear, they ride right on through.
I’m sure that bicyclists follow most traffic rules, but damn, breaking that red light rule is such an obvious thing, it’s hard to forget, and I think of bicyclists as rule breakers rather than responsible riders.
Now, if you’re talking about motorcycles, and you’re riding up on the shoulder during a red, I’d be pissed too. Stay in line with the rest of us. In a lot of places you could drive a car up on the shoulder too, and zip out in front of the first car, but we don’t do that, do we? They do those types of things in places like Brazil, and the traffic is nothing but chaos. Want to cruise up on the shoulder and make a right? Feel free. Going straight, stay in line.
Ditto what Cheesesteak said. I just wish they’d be on the sidewalks whenever possible. One of our main drags has a bridge over a railroad and has a nice wide sidewalk on the bridge behind the barrier. Invariably, instead of riding behind the barrier where I don’t have to worry about him and he doesn’t worry about me, they insist on riding in the traffic lane. Makes no sense to me. That plus this business of “I’m a vehicle when it suits me and I’m a pedestrian when it suits me” irritates me. But no, I wouldn’t deliberately cut one off out of spite.
Stop signs, too. The other day I passed a cyclist, pulling slightly into the second lane to allow him some room, got up to the stop sign and stopped, waited my turn, and just as it was my turn, this shit for brains blows by me on the right without even slowing down. Now what if I’d swerved, or if I was turning right without using my signal, or if I was an asshole and decided not to give him room the second time? I did give him room, but I also slowed and told him stop signs applied to him too. That’s seriously aggravating. Ah well, I got an excellent view of his middle finger out of all that. Jerk.
Sometimes I’ll run a red, but you know what, that’s not really a concern of yours. That’s just you being petty. You can run it too. If a cop sees me, I can get ticketed just like you. I’m not being an asshole TO YOU like the guy trying to block me.
That said, keep this in mind: usually I’ll run a red to NOT to be an asshole.
If we’re at an intersection where there’s a “right turn only” lane on the right, and a THRU lane next to it, I’m legally supposed to be in the THRU lane. If I wait until the light turns green, I don’t accelerate as fast as you and I will be holding you up. If I run the red, then move onto the shoulder on the other side of the intersection, it doesn’t hold you up at all. If I run reds (which I rarely do) this is why 95% of the time.
Also, on narrow roads, I do my damndest to get over as far as I safely can to let cars go by and will even slow down during a wide stretch to let them through. If there’s an unavoidable jam, I’ll sprint my legs off to try to keep traffic moving.
BobLibDem, sidewalks are not for bikes. Roads are. I never ride on a sidewalk.
Hey Trunk the driver who cut you off shouldn’t have done that, but I kind of see his motivation. On a 1 lane road with a narrow shoulder, it is a bit stressful to pass a cyclist, giving them enough room as well as watching for oncoming traffic. So maybe this guy already passed you earlier, and now he will have to do it again because you pulled up front at the red light. I know I don’t like to have to pass a cyclist twice on a narrow road.
Dude. Biking on the sidewalk is dangerous, illegal and very stupid.
Sidewalks are for pedestrians, and pedestrians shouldn’t have to dodge bikes. Unlike drivers and cyclists, who know that they need to pay attention all the time or risk getting mushed, pedestrians aren’t always looking out for fast-moving vehicles to dodge, and nor should they.
Cars turning out of intersections or driveways certainly aren’t expecting bikes, and it’s a very common cause of accidents for a bike to crash into someone turning onto a sidewalk - a driver who’s looking into the road for oncoming traffic and isn’t expecting a full-speed vehicle on the sidewalk.
Going over/under bridges (or other places where the road is narrow and there’s no shoulder or other escape route) I always, always take the road, because if I am on the sidewalk, going at cruising speed, and I encounter a [pedestrian/other cyclist/person with stroller/etc] I will have to take some quick evasive action which will certainly put me, them, and oncoming traffic, in danger.
If I ever do have to go on the sidewalk (there’s a particularly dangerous intersection near me that threatens life and limb every time - whether you are on foot, bike, blades, car, streetcar, bus … it is slightly less terrifying on the sidewalk) I go at the speed that the pedestrians are going.
I’ve got no problem with bicyclists.
But just like automobile drivers and motorcycle riders, there are a few rule-breakers that make it worse for all of us.
I think it seems that bicyclists get a higher share of the negativity because, in additional to those bike-riders who are actual assholes, there are many younger riders are out there without a full working knowledge of the laws or a healthy respect for moving vehicles.
This is a pet peeve of mine. If you are on the sidewalk, behave like a pedestrian and walk the thing. You are moving too fast on a bicycle for safe operation on the sidewalks. You’re more likely to hit a pedestrian or another obstacle and the fact that you are moving fast when you enter the crosswalk just means that you will have that much more opportunity of being hit by the driver that checks the crosswalk to the right, checks left, and then begins their turn.
I ride my bicycle on the roads all the time (part time commuter) and I obey the traffic rules to the same extent that I do in my car. The blocking thing, if you ask me (and I’ll just have to assume that you did), is bull. Given half a chance, that same person would likely pull up in the right lane and try to beat the first car in line across the intersection. That little thing happens all the time. No need to single out bicyclists for that.
Trunk, I think the people you’re talking about are just assholes in general that enjoy being jerks in any situation where they think they can get away with it. You’re on the losing side becasue they’re srtoounded by a large hunk of metal and you’re not. People just suck sometimes.
I don’t have a problem with bikers unless they’re on the sidewalk making pedestrians jump out of the way, or ignoring stop signs, traffic lights etc. Someone on a bike riding up the shoulder is perfectly fine in my book.
One huge problem (in Toronto, anyway) is that nobody - cyclist or driver - seems really clear on the rules. There are some situations that are just ambiguous, where if only we were all on the same page there wouldn’t be nearly so many problems.
For instance, you are a driver who wants to make a right turn at the intersection, and the bike lane beside you is very busy. Of course you put on your signal. Now. Do you wait in your lane for a break in bike traffic, thus holding up the car traffic behind you? Or, do you pull over into the bike lane, confident that the cyclists will see your intention and pass you on the left?
This situation will only end well with luck, or if everyone is following the same rule book. I have looked for such a rule book and haven’t found one. Even the best-intentioned and safest drivers and cyclists can put each other in danger.
And re: running red lights - I agree that sometimes it’s the safest option. If we’re sat at the light, you in your car and me on my bike, and the intersection is clear, I will usually go through. This is because (although I don’t know you personally) I know that quite a lot of drivers make turns without signalling, and if you do in fact want to turn right and don’t see me, I’ll be mush when the light turns green. This is a great risk that I would rather avoid. (If you don’t believe it’s a real risk, ask any city cyclist.) Plus, I am all too aware that cyclists make some drivers very nervous. So, I think it’s best for all concerned if I just get out of your way, so you can make your turn (or not) at your leisure, without a cyclist in front of you.
Motor car drivers seem to blame everyone else for their own failings, and lose patience with any other motor car driver who makes an error, yet will demand patience from others when they make their own mistakes.
Its not that motor car driver dislike cyclists alone, they dislike every other vehicle on the highway.
There are people out there who don’t believe that bike lanes make biking in cities safer. They present numerous ambiguities that are hard to resolve at intersections. Whereas in “bike lane free” cities, people just operate as if bikes are other cars.
Not to mention the problems with peds and roller bladers in bike lanes.
I don’t know what the statistics say about bike lanes. I think they help prevent bikers’ biggest fear – getting hit from behind – but that actually comprises a small percentage of bike-car accidents.
Bike lanes can make things worse at intersections, where the majority of bike-car accidents happen.
Well, there you go, proof that cyclists really don’t care about traffic rules. I’m glad to know that my dislike of cyclists isn’t misplaced. The cyclists around here (NYC, delivery capital of the US) don’t follow any rules at all, lights, one way streets, sidewalks, they go whereever their bikes can fit to make their run. I guess since I could theoretically drive my car the wrong way down the street and blow red lights without running people over, it would be fine for me to do so as well.
cadsave, blowing a red light on a cycle isn’t a mistake, it’s a choice, and they choose to do so outrageously often in comparison to other vehicle drivers.
One of the east-west routes in the city (Harbord, for those who know Toronto) is a minor artery for cars, and has a bike lane, few major intersections, and is pretty level, so it’s used by many, many cyclists. It attracts people who don’t bike in the city very often, and who think that because it’s a bike lane it must be okay to go very slowly on the left-hand side of it, or swerve around without checking their shoulder, and do otherwise dangerous things. I guess they feel that because they’re not going very quickly, and they’re in a bike lane, that they’re safe.
I avoid it during rush hour, and when I do take it I usually end up in the car lane because I don’t feel safe in the bike lane (of course, the cars don’t seem to like me being in their lane - especially because they are also forced to dodge the stupid cyclists in the bike lane - so there you go).
Well, there you go. Cheesesteak actually dislikes people just because they don’t care about traffic rules.
Can we take a poll about who speeds? Who does rolling stops at secluded stop signs.
Go ahead. It doesn’t mean I’m going to indiscrimately dislike drivers who have done nothing else to me.
However, what you’re doing will most likely upset the flow of traffic which is kind of being an asshole. Me, riding through an empty intersection doesn’t do that. It just upsets people who think that somehow my running a red light is getting one over on them.