Chef Jim Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 How do we get them to obey the traffic laws? Run the !@#$ers over. "Ooops sorry, you shouldn't have run that red light." What really bugs me is here in SF they think the sidewalk is for them too. They fly by pedestrians on the Embarcadero sidwalk when there's a clearly marked bike lane on the street. I hate those smug mother effers.
BUFFALOTONE Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 I am a bicycle rider and feel that is the best way to get exercise and stay motivated. I obey all traffic laws when riding on the streets. I am guilt of running through a stop sign at half speed when in neighborhoods. Should I get a ticket for it? That is up to John Q Law. On a sad note I lost a friend to a bike accident over the weekend. She was obeying all traffic laws and riding on her side of the designated street. The guy driving the truck claims he never saw her. There has to be some equal ground for all of us to share the road. I agree that sometimes when riding in a pack we can be annoying to be behind but please take caution in driving when you see a biker or a group. Give them some extra room to maneuver just in case. I have had a lot of near misses while riding in the bike lanes and its scary as hell. That is why I stay strictly in the neighborhoods.
DC Tom Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 What's the point of traffic laws for bikes? Just last week, I and two other drivers almost killed a guy on a bike who was riding on the wrong side of the road in the middle of the lane, then passed a car making a left turn on the left, then cut in front of me from my left to make a right turn...and then had the gall to give me **** because I wasn't "sharing the road". Saw another guy on a bike Sunday ride through a red light across six lanes of heavy traffic at Connecticut Ave. and Beach Drive. Hey, dumbasses..."sharing" works both ways. The majority of you - probably 75% - are good about it. You in the other 25%...you blow off the traffic laws, and from now on I WILL hit you.
BUFFALOTONE Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Just last week, I and two other drivers almost killed a guy on a bike who was riding on the wrong side of the road in the middle of the lane, then passed a car making a left turn on the left, then cut in front of me from my left to make a right turn...and then had the gall to give me **** because I wasn't "sharing the road". Saw another guy on a bike Sunday ride through a red light across six lanes of heavy traffic at Connecticut Ave. and Beach Drive. Hey, dumbasses..."sharing" works both ways. The majority of you - probably 75% - are good about it. You in the other 25%...you blow off the traffic laws, and from now on I WILL hit you. I agree with ya. I see some A-holes who just dont give a sh*t. It is beyond dangerous and you never ride against traffic, that's just retarded. I only ride on major roads if there is a bike lane for me and to run red lights is plain stupid. I live in South Fla, and the mix of 90yr olds and 17 year old is scary in itself.
Chef Jim Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 I am a bicycle rider and feel that is the best way to get exercise and stay motivated. I obey all traffic laws when riding on the streets. I am guilt of running through a stop sign at half speed when in neighborhoods. Should I get a ticket for it? That is up to John Q Law. On a sad note I lost a friend to a bike accident over the weekend. She was obeying all traffic laws and riding on her side of the designated street. The guy driving the truck claims he never saw her. There has to be some equal ground for all of us to share the road. I agree that sometimes when riding in a pack we can be annoying to be behind but please take caution in driving when you see a biker or a group. Give them some extra room to maneuver just in case. I have had a lot of near misses while riding in the bike lanes and its scary as hell. That is why I stay strictly in the neighborhoods. What is wrong with these two statements? That's like me saying I obey all traffic laws, I just drink and drive on country roads when there is no one else around. Sorry about your friend.
BUFFALOTONE Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 What is wrong with these two statements? That's like me saying I obey all traffic laws, I just drink and drive on country roads when there is no one else around. Sorry about your friend. I have a stop sign at the end of my street that is 3 ways, i can see if someone is coming by at least 30 yards. So I know if I have to stop or not. Didn't think I had to explain that.
Chef Jim Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 I have a stop sign at the end of my street that is 3 ways, i can see if someone is coming by at least 30 yards. So I know if I have to stop or not. Didn't think I had to explain that. Oh that's right, it's been awhile since I've been to your neck of the woods. I forgot about that three way stop. So you only obey the traffic rules some of the time. I get it, but you really should have said that instead of that you follow them all the time.
KD in CA Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Enforcement against law breaking cyclists should be stepped up by a factor of ten. At least. Not only do they put their own lives at risk, they put others in harm's way. Drivers will instinctively slam on the brakes or swerve to avoid hitting law breaking cyclists, which can directly lead to an accident. It's a two way street of course. Drivers who don't respect the right of way of cyclists should likewise be heavily fined.
RkFast Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Oh that's right, it's been awhile since I've been to your neck of the woods. I forgot about that three way stop. So you only obey the traffic rules some of the time. I get it, but you really should have said that instead of that you follow them all the time. Cycling and traffic laws are a weird dynamic. Cyclists do have to obey the rules, but UNLIKE when driving a car, to the extend you obey them is MUCH more dependenent on conditions and time of day. To use Tone's example, if youre riding through a nice quiet neigborhood on your way home, a cyclist is NOT going to come to a full stop for every stop sign. That would be pointless. A good cyclist will come to an intersection like this, look both ways, determine that the road is clear and keep going. If there is a car there, s/he may slow down and yield or keep going, depending on the action of the car. Its actually the same with red lights. Youll come to a light, slow down, look both ways and if traffic permits, go through it and if traffic doesnt permit, stop. To illustrate this...I go down a VERY busy road on my morning rides. At 530AM on my way out when the road is very very quiet, I wont stop for lights or stopsigns...just as I approach, make sure traffic is clear and keep right on going. But on the way back at 830AM in the middle of rush hour, its a whole different ballgame and Im MUCH more in tune with the cars and stop lights and Im very careful to "follow the traffic signal rules" and what not. I cant speak for the fools who ride on sidewalks, against traffic or just blow through lights without looking. Obviously, there is no place for that. But cyclist's rode rules are governed MUCH more by traffic conditions at the time and not as much by the rules automobiles are governed by. One thing thats a peeve of mine...this notion by cars that I have to get to the shoulder. No....share the road. I dont see you driving your car in the shoulder, dodging roadkill, tree blowdown, dirt and garbage. Dont expect me ride my bike in that crap.
DrDawkinstein Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Cyclists who dont follow the rules of the road is one of my pet peeves. I dont mind being stuck behind someone on a bike who is following the rules, nearly as much as I hate it when I see people riding on the sidewalks or the wrong way down one-way streets, or flying through stop lights. I go out of my way to pay extra attention to cyclists, for the sake of their own safety. Yet most of them will tell me to "F*CK OFF!" when I turn the corner to my one-way street and almost kill them as they fly down our hill, going the wrong way.
Britbillsfan Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Same **** over here. I walk to work (keeps me from getting too fat) and 95% of cyclists I see are breaking the law. Wrong way up one-way streets, cycling on the pavement, going through red lights. Bugs the hell out of me.
BUFFALOTONE Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Oh that's right, it's been awhile since I've been to your neck of the woods. I forgot about that three way stop. So you only obey the traffic rules some of the time. I get it, but you really should have said that instead of that you follow them all the time. Right, forget you haven't been down here in a while.
inkman Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Living in the community that I do, with access to the canal path and sidewalks (yeah I ride on them) abundandt, I don't ever ride in the street. Since we have a lot of Lance wannabees bkiing around it impacts me as well. I was coming to an intersection where I was making a right, a biker was slowing down to cross the intersection. He was on the shoulder of the road and I had reached the intersection 2-3 seconds prior to him. So I proceed to make my right hand turn, fully aware he was there, slowing down and not yet to the point where we would have intersected. He starts flailing and bitching like I cut him off, even though I was through the intersection before he had one tire in it. Am I at fault?
RkFast Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Living in the community that I do, with access to the canal path and sidewalks (yeah I ride on them) abundandt, I don't ever ride in the street. Since we have a lot of Lance wannabees bkiing around it impacts me as well. I was coming to an intersection where I was making a right, a biker was slowing down to cross the intersection. He was on the shoulder of the road and I had reached the intersection 2-3 seconds prior to him. So I proceed to make my right hand turn, fully aware he was there, slowing down and not yet to the point where we would have intersected. He starts flailing and bitching like I cut him off, even though I was through the intersection before he had one tire in it. Am I at fault? What you did wrong was assume he was going to stop. You did have the ROW, but since you both got to the intersection at the same exact time, you, as well as the cyclist, assumed "the other guy" was going to yield.
inkman Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 What you did wrong was assume he was going to stop. You did have the ROW, but since you both got to the intersection at the same exact time, you, as well as the cyclist, assumed "the other guy" was going to yield. My truck weighs > 3000 lbs, him + bike < 200 lbs. Sounds like he needed to yeild. On the rare occasion I come to an intersection (on a bike), I always stop a make sure no vehicle coming from any direction has any chance of coming near me.
BUFFALOTONE Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 My truck weighs > 3000 lbs, him + bike < 200 lbs. Sounds like he needed to yeild. On the rare occasion I come to an intersection (on a bike), I always stop a make sure no vehicle coming from any direction has any chance of coming near me. Exactly. You are not supposed to sacrifice the law for bike or car. If there is a vehicle in my way or I know they are going to stop or turn I will always play defensive as if the person has no idea I am there and most of the time they don't.
RkFast Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 My truck weighs > 3000 lbs, him + bike < 200 lbs. Sounds like he needed to yeild. You just illustrated my point. You assumed "the other guy" was the one who needed to do the yielding. No, you werent wrong, per se..but you were not driving defensively. And not for nothing...a bike moving at 20MPH on tires with a half inch contact patch doesnt exactly stop on a dime. You lock up a road bike's rear wheel and you might as well be on roller skates. Again...you werent "wrong"....you just assumed that the other nimrod knew what he was doing. First rule of driving, right? Dont assume the other !@#$ isnt an !@#$.
Beerball Posted October 20, 2009 Author Posted October 20, 2009 You just illustrated my point. You assumed "the other guy" was the one who needed to do the yielding. No, you werent wrong, per se..but you were not driving defensively. And not for nothing...a bike moving at 20MPH on tires with a half inch contact patch doesnt exactly stop on a dime. You lock up a road bike's rear wheel and you might as well be on roller skates. Again...you werent "wrong"....you just assumed that the other nimrod knew what he was doing. First rule of driving, right? Dont assume the other !@#$ isnt an !@#$. How does a bike go from a complete stop to 20mph in the middle of an intersection?
inkman Posted October 20, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 And not for nothing...a bike moving at 20MPH on tires with a half inch contact patch doesnt exactly stop on a dime. You lock up a road bike's rear wheel and you might as well be on roller skates. Had he been moving that fast I would have waited for the tool to pass through the intersection, but I passed him going 15 mph decelerating into my turn like he was standing still. I'd be shocked if he was going 3 mph. He was just an arrogant ass who thinks everyone should cater to his little bicycle rules.
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