Cambridge is full of college students. Students are immortal.
Yes, that dread momentum keeps bicyclists from paying attention to what’s ahead of them. :dubious:
Thank you. News to me.
It makes a bunch of sense from the cyclist’s POV. But IMO a lot of the safety value is lost if the car drivers aren’t well-educated.
Yep. I live in a college town, and the “mature” bicyclists (including myself) wear bike helmets, have proper lights, and obey traffic signs and signals.
The ones who run stop signs, without a helmet, and ride at night with no lights seem to be college student age.
Actually I think you it will find the hipsters on their single speeds are the worst offenders. I say this as a guy that wears the full kit rides a racing bike and stops at every light.
Actually it’s Newton’s law. An object at rest wants to stay at rest. It takes the cyclist way more energy to get back up to speed from a standing start than it does to maintain speed. It seems like every time I stop at a red light (and I do stop at every one) I no sooner get a foot down than the damn light changes. ARRRG! The least it could do is stay red for 30 seconds and let me catch my breath.
Exactly. College students are immortal.
The idiotic belief that the light is sufficient to determine whether you should go is much more dangerous than ignoring the light and actually looking. How did the car turn up in an empty intersection?
On a bike, I don’t care about traffic laws. I care about not getting hit, not who had the right-of-way and was at fault after I’m crushed. I’m not stopping at a light when I can plainly see that no one is coming and can take the opportunity to put more distance between myself and cars. No license is required to ride a bike, so I couldnt care less if I get a ticket (so far though, it has never happened, AND I’ve never been hit). I’d rather pay a thousand tickets than obey unsafe laws and put myself at greater risk.
So you want them to be “vehicles” when at intersections and obey all vehicle laws, but when they legally occupy a lane–riding 2 abreast is perfectly legal in MA–they aren’t vehicles anymore and should scuttle away so your more-important life isn’t delayed? :dubious:
Plus they don’t dress or have proper asses to please you?
Why do people resent others exercising?
Oh lord, bicyclists!
I live in Colorado where bicyclists are more fit than you (after all, they are pedaling while you - you lazy arse - are riding in a car), more enivornmentally conscious than you (you bunch of wretched fossil fuel burning polluters), and therefore just so much better than you in every way. Ergo, why should such superior beings follow rules for the hoi polloi, unworthy, floor-wax sucking auto drivers? So what if those autos weigh a ton or two and could crush you like bugs? You’re so much more worthy in every way and can ignore them. Let the lowly bow before you!
(yes, I do feel better now, thanks for asking)
Seriously, though, they are everywhere here and they pay no heed to traffic laws, which are there to protect them as much, if not more, than they are me, the auto driver.
We have designated bike lanes and lots of signs telling motorists to watch for bicycles. Most do, although I’m sure there are exceptions. But to elaborate on a recent situation I encountered…I was turning left onto a one-way street from another one-way street. The intesection was a four-way stop. I had looked for other cars and pedestrians - nothing. But when I accelerated to make the turn, a bicycle came flying down the cross street, going the wrong way on the one-way street, turning directly in front of me going the wrong way onto the intersecting one way street. Never slowed down or hesitated. I drove up onto the sidewalk to avoid him. Fortunately, the sidewalk was empty or I probably would have hit the cyclist. And this kind of thing is soooo common.
Note to cyclists. I am happy to share the road with you, but please follow the laws. Cars aren’t agile, we can’t make sudden fine movements to avoid you when you suddenly appear somewhere you aren’t expected or allowed to be. If we hit you, we won’t likely be the one who gets hurt. It will be you.
(end of rant)
Yep. And if cyclists can get through when it’s clear, and “get out of the way,” it simplifies the traffic situation.
If I got toe clips for my gas pedal, would it be okay for me to ease through a red light?
No but if you replace the engine with pedals it would be OK
My name is Soul Brother Number Two, I am a daily bicycle commuter, and I run red lights on my bicycle. I have received three tickets for doing so. My last one, about 5 years ago, cost me 571 dollars. Each time I swear to myself I will stop doing it. I don’t stop doing it. I cannot bear, for some reason, to fucking stop at the light and put my foot down, and I won’t do it unless forced to by traffic flow. I realize that I am a scofflaw and a horrible person for doing this thing. As God is my witness, I can’t seem to stop.
In Texas, cyclists are often run over, or occasionally shot at.
In Colorado, they seem to be immortal.
Just this morning on my way to work at 5.00am when a cyclist blew right through a stop sign. I slammed my brakes and was able to stop about two feet from him as he pedaled by. He was riding an unlighted bike and dressed all in black.
Amen. I always think that if I didn’t slam on my brakes, I’d be teaching all our Undergrad Jay-Walkers (and Above-The-Law Fixies) more than they’ll learn in all their classes.
But I usually commute on my bike, and I’d like to apologize for all the bikers who feel like they’re ‘holier than thou’ and don’t have to obey traffic laws. (I’m not one of those…)
And I’d like to apologize for all the bikers who are all ‘holier than thou’ because we’re not burning fossil fuels. (I AM one of those…)
Those “fossil fuel” burners pay for your roads.
Bicycles pay no fuel taxes and I doubt any property taxes.
I do wonder why they are not required to have license plates.
I’m surprised. I heard police rarely ticket bicyclists because its not like they have a drivers license and they cannot just impound a bicycle if the rider does not have any id on them.
WBEZ recently posted a surprisingly reasonable article about cycling. http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/how-strictly-do-chicago-police-enforce-bike-traffic-laws-112992
Here’s the end:
I agree: let’s have some common sense. I’d be okay with an Idaho stop law for bicycles. It’s obvious that very few motorists (I happen to be one of them) come a true complete stop at stop signs or before a right turn on red.
Some cyclists think that cars should yield to them. Some cyclists think that pedestrians should yield to them. :dubious: Then again, bicycles really do need a paved surface (or at least crushed gravel), whereas pedestrians are okay with grass or even a dirt surface.
Fill out your Darwin Award application now so your survivors can just date it and mail it in (interested readers may want to read AnaMen’s entire post for context).
I think we’re going to have to change that, just for people like you. Besides, Chicago is increasing property taxes to meet police and firefighters pensions. Licenses for older cyclists and all bicycles would be a possible source of income.
Suit yourself. More income for the local government.
Sorry to bore you with the obvious, but it’s not the fact that they’re exercising. It’s certain aspects of the way they’re exercising. And leading questions do not endear you to anyone.