ieatcrayonz Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 There are always arguments about whether certain things are rights. Most times people contrast "right" with privelege. Voting is seen by some as a right and by others as a privelege. This privelege can be lost by committing a crime unless you are Kobe Bryant or someone else famous. Other times people think something is a right whereas others simply do not. Health care is an example of this. Some think everyone should get it while others thinnk it has to be bought in one way or another. My question for you is slightly different. It has to do whether something is a right or a responsibility. There are probably many examples like mine but to me it is the best illustration. Let's say you are driving down a street in your car and approaching either a single bicyclist or mupltiple bicyclists wearing spandex and dumb looking streamline helmets. You need to take a right turn at the next intersection. By the time you reach the intersection you have passed the bike but if you turn you will impede its progress as the cyclist intends on going straight. Here is where the question comes into play. Probably 50% of people would say it is your right to turn anyway and force the cyclist to either stop or plow headlong into your car depending on distance and speed. The other 50% would say it is your responsibility as a citizen to turn. I am not torn because I don't like to see people hurt, but at the same time I guess if pressed I would agree it is a responsibility. Spandex does not give a person superior rights on the road. If a car was behind me when I was turning right, it would not try to cut inside me as I turned. Neither would a regular non-spandexed kid on a bike. It is usually the Lance Armstrong wannabes that do this crap. If people continue to defer to these morons they will get worse and worse. I say if these people know they are going to get hurt, they will start following the rules of the road and use logic in deciding where they travel. Think about it. If you plowed into a car, projectiled over it into the street, smashed up your bike, cracked your precious helmet, tore your yellow spandex, got hurt and had to pay for a dented car door, you would not do the same obnoxious thing the next time. If you witnessed your biking buddy doing the same thing, you might also learn a lesson. By not excercizing your right as a motorist you are making the roads more dangerous as the bicyclists get more bold. That is why I think it is your responsibility to enforce the rules of the road. Don't get me wrong, I don't think you should go out of your way to hit anyone, but you also shouldn't empower them. If you avoid hitting a rule breaker to "give them a break", you are actually hurting yourself, the bicyclist and to a degree society. What do you think?
stuckincincy Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 What do you think? I think of funny auto insurance claims: http://www.slinkycity.com/printview.asp?fi...nce-claims.html
tennesseeboy Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 pretty girl in spandex or heavy guy in spandex? I think it makes a difference.
ieatcrayonz Posted August 27, 2009 Author Posted August 27, 2009 pretty girl in spandex or heavy guy in spandex? I think it makes a difference. This is a slippery slope and those are the worst kind of slopes. All of us are created equally so I think everyone should be hit. What you do with/to the person afterward is an entirely different story.
Beerball Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 It is your responsibility to obey the rules of the road. Make the turn after signaling properly.
BuffaloBill Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 Why don't you extend your argument to pedestrians in a crosswalk? Do they not equally impede your ability to make a turn? Wouldn't life be easier if you could just play Deathrace 2000 and mow them down? You could even put little stickers on your car door to show the world how many kills you have. Not sure what you should do in this regard if you only injure the poor blasterds and not finish the job. Maybe a half sticker?
tennesseeboy Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 This is a slippery slope and those are the worst kind of slopes. All of us are created equally so I think everyone should be hit. What you do with/to the person afterward is an entirely different story. I disagree..pretty girls in spandex are created far more equally than heavy guys in spandex. I would brake for a pretty girl in spandex. Depending on the prettiness I might follow her for a bit. In extreme cases I might even whistle. I'd probably turn in front of a guy in spandex...after using an appropriate turn signal. That is my responsibility...braking and following is my right...whistling is my privilege. Her giving me the finger and telling to me to f-off is her right.
BuffaloBill Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 I disagree..pretty girls in spandex are created far more equally than heavy guys in spandex. I would brake for a pretty girl in spandex. Depending on the prettiness I might follow her for a bit. In extreme cases I might even whistle. I'd probably turn in front of a guy in spandex...after using an appropriate turn signal. That is my responsibility...braking and following is my right...whistling is my privilege. Her giving me the finger and telling to me to f-off is her right. responsibility Fixed
ieatcrayonz Posted August 27, 2009 Author Posted August 27, 2009 Why don't you extend your argument to pedestrians in a crosswalk? Do they not equally impede your ability to make a turn? Wouldn't life be easier if you could just play Deathrace 2000 and mow them down? You could even put little stickers on your car door to show the world how many kills you have. Not sure what you should do in this regard if you only injure the poor blasterds and not finish the job. Maybe a half sticker? Pedestrians typically have the right of way whereas the spandex mafia tries to assert rights that do not exist. Personally, I have not seen bands of pedestrians darting around dressed up like idiots and trying to cause havoc either. There is no joy in seeing people injured, but until bicyclists follow the rules the easy way, they should learn the hard way. It is the rule that is important to a society, not giving people in cute outfits special treatment. If they get hurt it is their own fault. I don't really like your idea of stickers on the car. It implies that people are going out of their way to hit bicyclists, which should not be the case. People should not go out of their way to hit bicyclists any more than they should permit bicyclists to ignore well documented rules. The stickers could be seen as a way of documenting ones defense of the law, but that should be handled by the police. When an injury occurs the police should be called to document it for insurance purposes and to ticket the bicyclist. The ticket would serve as the sticker. Any sticker on a car would be redundant IMO.
ieatcrayonz Posted August 27, 2009 Author Posted August 27, 2009 I disagree..pretty girls in spandex are created far more equally than heavy guys in spandex. I would brake for a pretty girl in spandex. Depending on the prettiness I might follow her for a bit. In extreme cases I might even whistle. I'd probably turn in front of a guy in spandex...after using an appropriate turn signal. That is my responsibility...braking and following is my right...whistling is my privilege. Her giving me the finger and telling to me to f-off is her right. Any person who rides around in spandex ignoring rules should be made to pay attention to the rules. If that is via hitting them, so be it. Their looks do not matter. I would have thought by now you'd have learned that women like this, pretty or not, should be avoided in your personal life. Life has enough headaches without having a pushy broad around all the time. It is off topic for this thread, but if you want some attention from a woman like that, you are better off hitting her than following her. She can just pedal away if you are not willing to hit her. If you are, she may hurt her head and become delusional which could give you a shot
BuffaloBill Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 Pedestrians typically have the right of way whereas the spandex mafia tries to assert rights that do not exist. Personally, I have not seen bands of pedestrians darting around dressed up like idiots and trying to cause havoc either. There is no joy in seeing people injured, but until bicyclists follow the rules the easy way, they should learn the hard way. It is the rule that is important to a society, not giving people in cute outfits special treatment. If they get hurt it is their own fault. I don't really like your idea of stickers on the car. It implies that people are going out of their way to hit bicyclists, which should not be the case. People should not go out of their way to hit bicyclists any more than they should permit bicyclists to ignore well documented rules. The stickers could be seen as a way of documenting ones defense of the law, but that should be handled by the police. When an injury occurs the police should be called to document it for insurance purposes and to ticket the bicyclist. The ticket would serve as the sticker. Any sticker on a car would be redundant IMO. According to Indiana law you are in the wrong: The Law 9-21-8-37. Exercising due care and proper caution for pedestrians, persons propelling human powered vehicles, children, or confused, incapacitated, or intoxicated persons.--Notwithstanding other provisions of this article or a local ordinance, a person who drives a vehicle shall do the following: (1) Exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian or a person propelling a human powered vehicle, giving an audible signal when necessary. Guess you can yell at the spandex clad army and use that as your defense
Dante Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 I can't stand the cycler's around here. They don't obey any of the traffic(Stop signs). Go right through them. I guess if I nailed one of them I would be at fault. We have beautiful special bike lanes for the aholes but they barely stay in them. Riding the edge so you still have to go into the next lane to avoid. Overall just a bunch of fuggin schmucks.
Beerball Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 (1) Exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian or aperson propelling a human powered vehicle, giving an audible signal when necessary. Guess you can yell at the spandex clad army and use that as your defense So, you signal, sound your horn and turn. They are behind you anyway, it is their duty to stop.
ieatcrayonz Posted August 27, 2009 Author Posted August 27, 2009 According to Indiana law you are in the wrong: The Law 9-21-8-37. Exercising due care and proper caution for pedestrians, persons propelling human powered vehicles, children, or confused, incapacitated, or intoxicated persons.--Notwithstanding other provisions of this article or a local ordinance, a person who drives a vehicle shall do the following: (1) Exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian or a person propelling a human powered vehicle, giving an audible signal when necessary. Guess you can yell at the spandex clad army and use that as your defense Why didn't you look up the law for operating a bicycle? Plus in the scenario I painted, I would not be colliding with the person propelling a human powered vehicle, they would be colliding with me. I am not saying cars get to ignore rules. I am saying that bicyclists shouldn't either.
BuffaloBill Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 Why didn't you look up the law for operating a bicycle? Plus in the scenario I painted, I would not be colliding with the person propelling a human powered vehicle, they would be colliding with me. I am not saying cars get to ignore rules. I am saying that bicyclists shouldn't either. So let's say there is a slow moving car in front of you and you are wanting to make a right turn ahead. Do you get to pass the car on left swerve in front of the slow moving car to make your turn and have an appropriate expectation that the other driver should come to a stop to allow you to turn without colliding? Just because you elect to drive faster does not make your actions in this scenario proper nor legal. The same holds true for the spandex army. You have no right to improperly pass them and cut them off because you think they should stop simply because it is more convenient for you.
DC Tom Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 I disagree..pretty girls in spandex are created far more equally than heavy guys in spandex. I would brake for a pretty girl in spandex. That's the really tricky question. Do you brake for the pretty girl, because she's pretty? Or do you brake for the heavy guy, because he's likely to do more damage to your car?
DC Tom Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 So let's say there is a slow moving car in front of you and you are wanting to make a right turn ahead. Do you get to pass the car on left swerve in front of the slow moving car to make your turn and have an appropriate expectation that the other driver should come to a stop to allow you to turn without colliding? Most people in DC think so.
BuffaloBud Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 I take it some cyclist looked at you the wrong way today. BTW, I ride by bike to work every other day.
tennesseeboy Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 Any person who rides around in spandex ignoring rules should be made to pay attention to the rules. If that is via hitting them, so be it. Their looks do not matter. I would have thought by now you'd have learned that women like this, pretty or not, should be avoided in your personal life. Life has enough headaches without having a pushy broad around all the time. It is off topic for this thread, but if you want some attention from a woman like that, you are better off hitting her than following her. She can just pedal away if you are not willing to hit her. If you are, she may hurt her head and become delusional which could give you a shot Yes...but I would have to hit her extremely hard to make her so delusional that I had a shot, probably causing severe injuries or death. I'd feel bad about that and she'd have to be extremely pretty for me to consider her a possible shot after she was dead or incapacitated. I'll take the vicarious pleasure of a whistle and a carefree "f-you" accompanied by a friendly one-finger gesture, thank you very much.
Beerball Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 I take it some cyclist looked at you the wrong way today. BTW, I ride by bike to work every other day. Do you stop at STOP signs?
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