# Sick and tired of bicyclists ignoring traffic law **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 13, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413 "2013-07-13T18:14:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/161 "2013-07-17T18:46:33Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > And why is that? > > I encounter dangerous dickery from cars practically every day. Shit that endangers my life. But if I were to post about these incidents you would be all ‘I don’t do that’ and everyone would agree. > > But a some cyclists bend rules and a few act like total asswads and they 'damage the image of the whole. > > I am amused you just outlined the disconnect I have been pointing out and still do not get it. Really? I’m not getting it? Wow. Anyway, glad you are amused. :rolleyes: I’m not here defending the motorists that you hate on. I acknowledge they exist. I can see from your point of view that _they damage the image of the whole_. So f’ing what? The fact that a few or some (or all, in Mr Miskatonic-land) drivers are bad drivers still doesn’t give asswad (your word, I’m keeping it though) cyclists carte blanche to do whatever the fuck they want to do. Running a red light to flee a crazy driver, sure, I can understand that. Running a red light just because being on a bike makes you a special flower? Nope ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/162 "2013-07-17T20:04:36Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Yes, I know, the Concern Trolls are concerned. > > But sorry folks, without any cyclists to counter the hysteronics the SBMD has a long tradition of threads turing into absolute hate-fests on bikers, invariably with several folks making suggestions that would restrict the rights of cyclists. Until the cooler heads come along and put things in perspective. In every single bicyclist-related complaint thread-turned-shitstorm that I have ever seen on this message board, things have gone south mainly because you–note that I am not talking about bicyclists in general here, I am talking about _you,_ **Mr. Miskatonic** – felt the need to toddle in, reach deep into your brownhole and smear up a stinky, persecution-complexy “dey’re gonna take ouwr bahks!” screed. Nobody in this thread hates bicyclists. We just hate you, you fecalphilic pedophile. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/163 "2013-07-17T20:34:56Z")
> [@colander](#): > > …“dey’re gonna take ouwr bahks!” screed. Not in the least concerned about that. No one will take away bikes. They unclog the roadways, they are a good tourist draw, and cops use them. COPS! And every single time an automobile driver deliberately clips or mercilessly mows down a cyclist in a fit of self-righteous rage, the sentence gets higher. It’d be a good idea for your kind to get used to sharing the road with cyclists. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/164 "2013-07-17T20:41:38Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Not in the least concerned about that. No one will take away bikes. They unclog the roadways, they are a good tourist draw, and cops use them. COPS! And every single time an automobile driver deliberately clips or mercilessly mows down a cyclist in a fit of self-righteous rage, the sentence gets higher. It’d be a good idea for your kind to get used to sharing the road with cyclists. Even if cyclists were all decent law abiding people, the attitude you display here would make everybody hate them anyway. Justifiably. ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/165 "2013-07-17T22:34:26Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Not in the least concerned about that. No one will take away bikes. They unclog the roadways, they are a good tourist draw, and cops use them. COPS! And every single time an automobile driver deliberately clips or mercilessly mows down a cyclist in a fit of self-righteous rage, the sentence gets higher. It’d be a good idea for your kind to get used to sharing the road with cyclists. what ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/166 "2013-07-17T23:28:58Z")
Old people like I remember when bikes were required to have licenses (sometimes little plates but also annual labels stuck around the frame), and cops would stop you for riding on the sidewalk if you looked older than a certain age. Or maybe I’m remembering an old episode of Leave it to Beaver. Come to think of it, I’m supposed to get a city license for my stay-inside cat. The vet said they were required to report his existence when I had him neutered, but I think I dissuaded them with a mutterance that might have been misheard to include “firebomb.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/167 "2013-07-18T11:44:46Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Really? I’m not getting it? Wow. Anyway, glad you are amused. :rolleyes: That is right. You still are not getting it, as you continue to demonstrate below: > [@](#): > > I’m not here defending the motorists that you hate on. I acknowledge they exist. That’s great! So what? What do you want? A cookie? > [@](#): > > I can see from your point of view that _they damage the image of the whole_. So f’ing what? Again you miss the point. Bad drivers never seem to lead to any image issues. If I start a thread bitching about drivers using cell phones while driving no one will disagree, but if I start saying that 90% of all drivers are doing it nobody is going to be convinced. If I say in the same thread that this behavior should mean we should restrict cars from roads, vote down highway measures, and other auto/driver restrictions people will rightly call it crazy. And yet every time we get a thread complaining about cyclists on the SDNB out come the broad brushes painting all cyclists as deadly scofflaws and bitching about the pittance spent on bike lanes. > [@](#): > > The fact that a few or some (or all, in Mr Miskatonic-land) drivers are bad drivers still doesn’t give asswad (your word, I’m keeping it though) cyclists carte blanche to do whatever the fuck they want to do. I never said it was. Find me where I said that and quote please. In fact what I have said is the opposite: the alleged misdeeds of cyclists is being used as an excuse to hate, marginalize, and in some cases oppress cyclists. In the grand scheme of things, the fury and hatred aimed at cyclists for running stop lights is way out of proportion. This does not mean that I approve of cyclists running lights, it means that I find the hate-fests these ‘actions’ start are ludicrous in the face of other issues in the the transportation world. So some bikes cross a light at a red light? Do I approve? No! Do I think its as bad as a car doing the same thing? No! Do I say it is OK because cars do bad things? No! Do I think that impatient drivers exacerbate cyclists doing this? Yes! Do I think some cyclists would do it anyway? Yes! But overall I find the rage and fury from drivers over cyclists crossing red lights to be much overblown, and the the resulting hate-fests that these threads turn into to be ludicrous in the face of transportation safety issues that are much more crucial. Let me put it this way. The actions described above are actually legal in one state of the US. Look up ‘Idaho Stop’. Now understand _I do not really approve of this law_ (lest you start building another strawman to rape) as I am a vehicular cyclist, but I do like that fact that it spells out the issues much better than most of the cycling laws on the books (most bicycle laws in the US are written completely ass-backwards - which I doubt helps cyclists obey the law). But the law is there and thus far Idaho is not a scene of bike-pocolypse. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/168 "2013-07-18T12:51:11Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Again you miss the point. Bad drivers never seem to lead to any image issues. What? I could link to news story after new story after opinion article after video link till we are all sick of clicking. The distracted driving public is not in question here. I’ll type it slowly so you can follow. Many drivers are distracted, incompetent, and should not be on the road. Others suffer from road rage and drive aggressively. There, we agree. I never said this wasn’t the case. > [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > And yet every time we get a thread complaining about cyclists on the SDNB out come the broad brushes painting all cyclists as deadly scofflaws and bitching about the pittance spent on bike lanes. Never once have I bitched about what is spent on bike lanes. I would gladly vote for a SPLOST to build more bike lanes. I would think that would be a win/win. The problem with how my local community does bike lanes is they must not have asked cyclists where they should build them. One major road project in my community added over 20 miles of bike lane. In the 5 years since it was built, I’ve probably seen a grand total 0f 20 or less bikes using it. However, a curvier semi-residential street nearby practically has a frigging peloton zooming around most weekend mornings. And, IDAHO? Seriously, Idaho? We should all model our urban planning laws after a state where the largest city barely cracks 200,000 residents. I see where Bicycling magazine named Boise one of their top 50 bicycling cities. Funny that the picture they chose to use shows [cyclists on the sidewalk.](http://www.bicycling.com/ride-maps/featured-rides/30-boise-id) Furthermore, looking at the picture, these are more casual riders, it would seem. In my experience, riders like this are LESS likely to be the asswad (thanks for the perfect word) cyclists. ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/169 "2013-07-18T13:32:23Z")
> [@Anise](#): > > Bicyclists are required to OBEY TRAFFIC LAW, just like cars. They are legally required to stop at stop signs and red lights. But they do NOT do it here. Literally 90% of them (and I have been keeping track) sail through stop signs and zoom through red lights, totally ignoring cars. I am one of the FEW drivers who ALWAYS pays attention to what bicycles are doing. You should come to Ireland, everyone does it here - it’s national sport here. They are not even driving on the right side of the road. I’m still wondering sometimes; why they even bother putting indicators in them cars here. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/170 "2013-07-18T14:21:24Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > What? I could link to news story after new story after opinion article after video link till we are all sick of clicking. The distracted driving public is not in question here. I’ll type it slowly so you can follow. Many drivers are distracted, incompetent, and should not be on the road. Others suffer from road rage and drive aggressively. There, we agree. I never said this wasn’t the case. Again, you miss the point of what I am saying. I want you to explain how bad drivers manage to not reflect on drivers as a whole. A few bad drivers and people don’t talk about repealing right-on-red laws. Yet somehow a few cyclists get all cyclists painted with the broad brush of cyclist being misbehaving assholes, and then the hate-fests begin. I’ve explained this several times now. You keep going back to thinking I am trying to convince you that drivers can misbehave. That is not what I am trying to do. > [@](#): > > Never once have I bitched about what is spent on bike lanes. I would gladly vote for a SPLOST to build more bike lanes. I would think that would be a win/win. The problem with how my local community does bike lanes is they must not have asked cyclists where they should build them. No, but plenty of others do so in these threads and you aid them by enabling their hatefests. > [@](#): > > One major road project in my community added over 20 miles of bike lane. In the 5 years since it was built, I’ve probably seen a grand total 0f 20 or less bikes using it. However, a curvier semi-residential street nearby practically has a frigging peloton zooming around most weekend mornings. Bike lanes are often poorly designed or in bad locations. Especially the first generation of lanes. If the cyclist are not using the lane there is probably a reason for it - I doubt they are using the residential just to piss you off as you imply. > [@](#): > > And, IDAHO? Seriously, Idaho? We should all model our urban planning laws after a state where the largest city barely cracks 200,000 residents. A city that if moved to Oregon would be the second largest city in that state. Even a city that size will have traffic issues. Like I said. I do not personally approve of this law, so I will no defend it beyond saying that its implementation has not resulted in the bikepocolypse as some seem to think is happened or will happen. In the end the bitching about cyclists crossing red lights is hallow complaint made way out of proportion to the danger it causes. There are a host of much more threatening behaviors and safety issues that we can use our energy on. But people love to get their mad on, and cyclists are an easy target to marginalize & hate. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/171 "2013-07-19T11:04:44Z")
> [@](#): > > I am one of the FEW drivers who ALWAYS pays attention to what bicycles are doing. I’ll stop at two-way signs when I am NOT required to and the other direction should be stopping, and it’s 100% because I know that a bicyclist will NOT stop. Then the driver behind me is in danger of causing an accident, because neither one of us was supposed to need to stop! You know, you should stop trying to live inside the heads of every bicyclist you see and pay attention to the road. BTW putting on the brakes at an intersection in which you have the right of way… pretty damn dangerous, and illegal. And the person in danger of causing that accident…would be YOU! so start practicing what you preach okay? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/172 "2013-07-19T17:27:26Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > And, IDAHO? Seriously, Idaho? We should all model our urban planning laws after a state where the largest city barely cracks 200,000 residents. I see where Bicycling magazine named Boise one of their top 50 bicycling cities. Funny that the picture they chose to use shows [cyclists on the sidewalk.](http://www.bicycling.com/ride-maps/featured-rides/30-boise-id) Irrelevent. These cyclists are not breaking the law as Boise (and Idaho) permits riding a bicycle on the sidewalk in a safe manner. If you’d read the short paragraph under the picture that caught your ire, you would have realized that Bicycling Magazine considers Boise a better place to ride due to its 22-miles of greenway trails as well as extensive single-track trails (for mountain biking) just outside the city. That rating doesn’t seem to have anything to do with what **Mr. Miskatonic** was referring to, which was the Idaho stop law that allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs when safe to do so: a law which, as a cyclist, fully support. However, even that is beside the point, as the Idaho stop law does NOT permit cyclists to blow through red lights, which is always a bad idea. To be thorough, though, a law permitting cyclists to ride through red lights, after stopping and only when deemed safe, would, IMNSHO, be more reasonable given that traffic light infrastructure doesn’t usually serve cyclists well or at all. > [@](#): > > Furthermore, looking at the picture, these are more casual riders, it would seem. In my experience, riders like this are LESS likely to be the asswad (thanks for the perfect word) cyclists. What gives you that idea? Given the location (Boise) and type of bikes (mountain bikes), they probably ride a lot more often than casually. Note that they are also all wearing helmets, a sign of a rider that has, at a minimum, considered safety aspects of riding. IME, riders who flout traffic laws and safe riding practices generally do not wear helmets, do not ride expensive or specialized bikes or equip with cycling accessories, and are usually going the wrong way. Unlike the riders in the picture you linked. If I had to guess, I’d guess, given the age of the participants, it’s a snapshot of a Safe Ride to School group with adult guides to ensure safety or a youth group headed out for a recreational ride on Boise’s greenway. Casual riders? What’s your definition of casual with regard to using that label on a cyclist? ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/173 "2013-07-19T18:17:45Z")
Hey Brown Eyed Girl, welcome to the thread here at post #170 plus. You’re taking my dig at the bikers in the Boise pic far too literally. Reading some of the previous pages would have made that clear. Secondly, I totally disagree with your statement that asshole bikers are less likely to wear helmets. Actually the type of rider we are discussing in this thread is the Lance wannabes in full spandex, titanium alloy unobtanium whatever bike, with bonus points for wraparound Oakleys and obscure bike sponsor logos plastered on their torsos. Most likely wearing a helmet. But surely a flashier one than those folks in the picture. Those are so, ugh, plain looking. Also don’t think I’m taking a shot at Boise. Never been there but I’m sure it’s a wonderful city. Seriously, I’m not being facetious one bit. I was just taking another poster to task for using it as an example when we are debating bicycling laws. Not sure what works in Boise works in a large metro area. I live in a city of 5 million plus, and in the past I’ve lived in a city similar sized to Boise. There is a significant difference in the “tone” on the highways, of both cyclists and drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/174 "2013-07-19T18:28:51Z")
I ride a fair bit. I’m guilty of ignoring stop signs, stop lights, one way streets and pedestrian paths when it would inconvenience me to do otherwise. Why? Because the chances of getting stopped and the punishment if stopped are negligible around here. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/175 "2013-07-19T19:33:28Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Hey Brown Eyed Girl, welcome to the thread here at post #170 plus. > > You’re taking my dig at the bikers in the Boise pic far too literally. Reading some of the previous pages would have made that clear. Secondly, I totally disagree with your statement that asshole bikers are less likely to wear helmets. Actually **the type of rider we are discussing in this thread** is the Lance wannabes in full spandex, titanium alloy unobtanium whatever bike, with bonus points for wraparound Oakleys and obscure bike sponsor logos plastered on their torsos. Most likely wearing a helmet. But surely a flashier one than those folks in the picture. Those are so, ugh, plain looking. No need for that snide opening remark. That’s just douchey. I’ve been mostly following this thread along from the OP, though this is my first post, and this has been, for the most part, a one sided affair, and one that doesn’t seem to worth the effort to join, given the level of vitriol directed at cyclists. Also, he broad brush of the OP, and much of the subsequent bicycle bashing suggests otherwise - that there’s been a singular type of rider that has earned the scorn. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/176 "2013-07-19T20:19:31Z")
eta - Meant to add that to **leftfield6** - and I realize that you have been pretty fair in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/177 "2013-07-19T23:37:29Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > No need for that snide opening remark. That’s just douchey. Know what, you’re right. I’m guilty of posting that in a rush and didn’t go back and read it to see how it would come across. I did not mean that to sound so snarky. My apologies **Brown Eyed Girl**. I think all that needs to be said in this thread has been said, and a few things that probably shouldn’t have been said. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/178 "2013-07-20T06:44:42Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Know what, you’re right. I’m guilty of posting that in a rush and didn’t go back and read it to see how it would come across. I did not mean that to sound so snarky. My apologies **Brown Eyed Girl**. > > I think all that needs to be said in this thread has been said, and a few things that probably shouldn’t have been said. I’ll accept your apology and add that I’ve read the whole thread. As a cyclist, my impression is that the thread is a massive generalization that paints cyclists as a general rule, especially those that ride expensive bikes and specialized clothing, as a bunch of law-breaking, egotistical, maniacal, hazards to puritanical automotive society. It’s kind of offensive, really. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/179 "2013-07-20T11:38:22Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > I’ll accept your apology and add that I’ve read the whole thread. As a cyclist, my impression is that the thread is a massive generalization that paints cyclists as a general rule, especially those that ride expensive bikes and specialized clothing, as a bunch of law-breaking, egotistical, maniacal, hazards to puritanical automotive society. It’s kind of offensive, really. I ride an expensive bike, wear specialized clothes, and even wear those funny shoes that are hard to walk in. According to some people I am public enemy number 1, yet when I ride I obey all the laws, stopping at every red light and stop sign. Speaking as a car driver I would much rather drive near a riders in Lycra on spendy road bikes. These guys ride lots and have a pretty good idea of what they are doing. The riders that scare the fuck out of me are the hipsters that bought a brand new single gear fixie last week. For the most part they have no clue. On and just for the record my hatred for riders that break the rules is about 100X what yours is. Why? Because I know for a fact that when you in your cage see one brain dead biker riding the wrong way down a street it will become all bike riders in the next pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413/180 "2013-07-20T12:00:57Z")
I think it’s important to remember that cyclists often have to weigh the rules against their own safety. When cycling you can’t really trust other road users to not drive into you the way you can in a car. It’s just a single anecdote, but once I was at a junction on a bicycle, waiting for a gap in the traffic so I could turn. A car, hoping to do the same, just drove right into the back of my bicycle, sending me flying over the handlebars into the traffic I was waiting for. That didn’t just endanger me but the other traffic too. We’d all have been better off if I’d have just broken the rules and cycled on the pavement (sidewalk) for a minute. Many will break rules and put themselves and others in danger, but (personally) if I break rules while riding a bicycle, it’s because I judge that it’s not going to affect anyone else and will possibly make me safer. For the other rule-breaking, I’d blame the lack of any real training in cycling. Lastly, I do think there really is an element of unreasonable resentment in _some_ who criticize cyclists. “What makes cyclists so special that they can exercise and not pollute at the same time? Do they think they’re better than me?” It reminds me of the ire vegetarians get from some people who really are not affected by someone else’s diet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-and-tired-of-bicyclists-ignoring-traffic-law/663413.md?page=10)