That said it comes down to courtesy and safety. Whether a car is driving slowly and impeding the flow of traffic or a bike is doing the same, it isn't safe. Yesterday when I was driving to work there was a guy on a bike that was blocking a lane of traffic. The road didn't have a bike lane and he couldn't ride far enough over to allow cars to pass. He could have ridden on the sidewalk. I thought the guy was an idiot, he was endangering himself and others by his actions.
To me it's just common sense. When riding a bike I don't want to tangle with a car because I will loose. I'll do everything reasonable to keep myself tangling with traffic even if my "rights" allow me to be an idiot.
I've only tangled with a car once, and while technically it wasn't my fault I realize I could have avoided it. I was at an intersection and when the light turned green I pedaled away. A car the pulled away slowly and I was right beside him. He made a right turn into me just after the intersection. I was in his blind spot and didn't see his turn signal. Fortunately he made a very slow turn so I just scraped my leg against the side of his car and didn't go down. A very loud F bomb got his attention.
Expect people to do stupid stuff and do everything you can to be safe.
Bikes do not generally belong on sidewalks. It's dangerous. Motorists are not expecting traffic moving at bicycle speeds on sidewalks. I'll opine that the bicyclist you mentioned was safer in the center of the lane (cars had obviously seen him and reacted.) How many times have you hit a slower moving vehicle? I am going to guess none. It's easy to avoid running over someone if you are paying attention. If a driver isn't payin attention and hits a slow moving vehicle, it is THAT DRIVER that was unsafe, not the slow moving vehicle. I will never stack traffic up behind me. I'll ease over and let it vent.
The accident you described is a right hook, and they are generally avoidable. In fact most of the accidents mentioned in this link are fairly easy to avoid. http://bicyclesafe.com/
The most difficult to mitigate is the rear end. Cyclist lane position is often the source of much frustration for motorists, but is also often used by bicyclists to mitigate risks.
We have a law that if a slower moving vehicle is impeding five or more vehicles, the vehicle needs to move over to let them pass. As it was the morning commute, there were more than five vehicles behind him. He was oblivious to this and could care not. There wasn't a single person on the sidewalk and he could have easily and safely ridden on the sidewalk to allow traffic to pass him.
Slow moving vehicles do cause risks. There is a big difference between sharing the road and trying to own the road.
If they cannot go a min speed they should stay off of the road,, Here in the Mnts you come around a curve and bam there is one at a crawl right in the middle of your lane.
Thank you!! If you want to claim your right to the road pay up like everyone else license and yearly inspection. They skate way too much on violations of the vehicle code. I see some who are trying to be courteous and give them the same respect, But too many are just arrogant a-holes. The bigger the group the worse the behavior.
Originally Posted by viking
Well for starters, they should have to be inspected, carry insurance, have a license plate visible just like a car or motorcycle being they want the equal rights and privileges to hog the road.
They should be ticketed for impeding traffic on roads with no shoulder and a double yellow line.
Most are gay like, they seldom obey traffic laws, in general they are a scourge to the safety of the motoring public.
If I am ever given a ticket on a bicycle, I will frame it. I have NEVER met a motorist who obeys every law. If I come to a stop sign and there is no traffic coming, I slow roll it. On my bike and in my car. I almost always slow roll right on reds. I travel over the speed limit every time I drive. I don't give turn signals when there's nobody there to see it. Don't we all break the law. How often is it that a cyclist breaks the law and injures someone. It's exceedingly rare. It happens thousands of times across this country with people in motor vehicles. Yet bicyclists seem to be the subject of so much scorn.
There are times I break the law on my bike and it actually benefits the motorists I share the road with. They probably don't even realize it.
If you want an 'entertaining' drive, get behind a bike on Hwy 66 between Klamath Falls and Ashland, OR. Only a fool would ride a bike on it but Ashland is yuppieland and there are plenty of fools there.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
That said it comes down to courtesy and safety. Whether a car is driving slowly and impeding the flow of traffic or a bike is doing the same, it isn't safe. Yesterday when I was driving to work there was a guy on a bike that was blocking a lane of traffic. The road didn't have a bike lane and he couldn't ride far enough over to allow cars to pass. He could have ridden on the sidewalk. I thought the guy was an idiot, he was endangering himself and others by his actions.
To me it's just common sense. When riding a bike I don't want to tangle with a car because I will loose. I'll do everything reasonable to keep myself tangling with traffic even if my "rights" allow me to be an idiot.
I've only tangled with a car once, and while technically it wasn't my fault I realize I could have avoided it. I was at an intersection and when the light turned green I pedaled away. A car the pulled away slowly and I was right beside him. He made a right turn into me just after the intersection. I was in his blind spot and didn't see his turn signal. Fortunately he made a very slow turn so I just scraped my leg against the side of his car and didn't go down. A very loud F bomb got his attention.
Expect people to do stupid stuff and do everything you can to be safe.
Bikes do not generally belong on sidewalks. It's dangerous. Motorists are not expecting traffic moving at bicycle speeds on sidewalks. I'll opine that the bicyclist you mentioned was safer in the center of the lane (cars had obviously seen him and reacted.) How many times have you hit a slower moving vehicle? I am going to guess none. It's easy to avoid running over someone if you are paying attention. If a driver isn't payin attention and hits a slow moving vehicle, it is THAT DRIVER that was unsafe, not the slow moving vehicle. I will never stack traffic up behind me. I'll ease over and let it vent.
The accident you described is a right hook, and they are generally avoidable. In fact most of the accidents mentioned in this link are fairly easy to avoid. http://bicyclesafe.com/
The most difficult to mitigate is the rear end. Cyclist lane position is often the source of much frustration for motorists, but is also often used by bicyclists to mitigate risks.
Cycling on a sidewalk can be dangerous, but often much less so than in the road.
If a road is narrow with no shoulder and a side walk is available, a cyclist is far better off on the sidewalk if he cannot keep up with the pace of traffic. The thing is, he will now have to contend with pedestrians who are moving at a much slower pace and moving erratically.....just like the cars in the road have to deal with cyclists.
I won't say I won't take the sidewalk to help motorists out, but I will avoid it as much as I can as it is less safe than traveling with traffic in the lane. There have been quite a few studies done on this. You are right that a cyclist dealing with pedestrians on a sidewalk is similar to a car dealing with bicyclists on the road. Can you think of one critical difference?
I want them to obey the rules (laws) of the road just like automobiles must do. In Oklahoma we have a traffic statute that mandates bikes must ride single file as close to the edge of the road as possible and one that require motorists to pass bike by at least 3 feet if safe to do so. The bike riders in my area insist on riding 3 or 4 across and can't be bothered to move to single file even when I honk to let them know I am coming up behind them. They also do not stop for stop signs or signal turns. That behavior pisses me off to know end.
That said it comes down to courtesy and safety. Whether a car is driving slowly and impeding the flow of traffic or a bike is doing the same, it isn't safe. Yesterday when I was driving to work there was a guy on a bike that was blocking a lane of traffic. The road didn't have a bike lane and he couldn't ride far enough over to allow cars to pass. He could have ridden on the sidewalk. I thought the guy was an idiot, he was endangering himself and others by his actions.
To me it's just common sense. When riding a bike I don't want to tangle with a car because I will loose. I'll do everything reasonable to keep myself tangling with traffic even if my "rights" allow me to be an idiot.
I've only tangled with a car once, and while technically it wasn't my fault I realize I could have avoided it. I was at an intersection and when the light turned green I pedaled away. A car the pulled away slowly and I was right beside him. He made a right turn into me just after the intersection. I was in his blind spot and didn't see his turn signal. Fortunately he made a very slow turn so I just scraped my leg against the side of his car and didn't go down. A very loud F bomb got his attention.
Expect people to do stupid stuff and do everything you can to be safe.
Bikes do not generally belong on sidewalks. It's dangerous. Motorists are not expecting traffic moving at bicycle speeds on sidewalks. I'll opine that the bicyclist you mentioned was safer in the center of the lane (cars had obviously seen him and reacted.) How many times have you hit a slower moving vehicle? I am going to guess none. It's easy to avoid running over someone if you are paying attention. If a driver isn't payin attention and hits a slow moving vehicle, it is THAT DRIVER that was unsafe, not the slow moving vehicle. I will never stack traffic up behind me. I'll ease over and let it vent.
The accident you described is a right hook, and they are generally avoidable. In fact most of the accidents mentioned in this link are fairly easy to avoid. http://bicyclesafe.com/
The most difficult to mitigate is the rear end. Cyclist lane position is often the source of much frustration for motorists, but is also often used by bicyclists to mitigate risks.
Cycling on a sidewalk can be dangerous, but often much less so than in the road.
If a road is narrow with no shoulder and a side walk is available, a cyclist is far better off on the sidewalk if he cannot keep up with the pace of traffic. The thing is, he will now have to contend with pedestrians who are moving at a much slower pace and moving erratically.....just like the cars in the road have to deal with cyclists.
I won't say I won't take the sidewalk to help motorists out, but I will avoid it as much as I can as it is less safe than traveling with traffic in the lane. There have been quite a few studies done on this. You are right that a cyclist dealing with pedestrians on a sidewalk is similar to a car dealing with bicyclists on the road. Can you think of one critical difference?
I can think of several. Though I will stipulate that I'm not much for laws. I prefer common sense.
“Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die.”
Many road cyclists are not actually commuting, they are training. That is a big reason they do not utilize sidewalks or get out of the way when the situation would warrant them to do so. It would "interrupt" their training/ride.
That is the type of selfishness that gets one the label of inconsiderate azzwhole.
“Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die.”
Wife road for years. I did for a few, and realized it was too dangerous out there where we ride rurally.
She rode benefits, races, tri's, bi's etc....
I finally convinced her to quit, and ride only in parks and such because most bike riders in rides have no respect. They think they own the road. And someone will swerve to miss a group and end up hitting my wife that refused to ride in groups(funny she was once flagged for drafting though--- I'd have told that ignorant official a few things and left the stupid race... my wife drafting... yeah right but I digress)
Bikes around here, generally speaking are ok in the country. the riders that ride on our 2 lane roads without shoulders watch the rear, and move over or stop depending on traffic.
OTOH 2 years ago when we were called to an involved structure fire, there was a big ride in town. THe bike riders at the intersection would NOT yield ROW to our fire engine. While still putting on my gear I did manage to speak to the group out the window while putting my SCBA on....
The arrogant ones ruin it for the rest. Like Carolyn said, it was as bad as being in a run with Rick Perry, he'd stop anywhere and block the run for a photo op.... WTF, run or GTF out of the way, we could care less you are governor of TX....
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
If you take pleasure in riding a bicycle on Route 2 through the state of Montana, you are an idiot.
Dave
Why is that Clark? It runs parallel to an interstate. I would think all the traffic in a hurry would be on the interstate. I examined a long stretch on google satellite and it was generally straight with wide lanes and a small stretch of shoulder. I would imagine that there are places it goes through mountain passes where the sightlines are limited and the road narrows.
Edit. Yep, I'd avoid those passes. Beautiful road, beautiful scenery, but too tight in some of those blend bends.
Craziest cycling accident I ever heard of was when a local kid was killed when a car that was passing him struck a deer. The deer went over the top of the car and struck the kid in the head, killing him.
“Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die.”
That said it comes down to courtesy and safety. Whether a car is driving slowly and impeding the flow of traffic or a bike is doing the same, it isn't safe. Yesterday when I was driving to work there was a guy on a bike that was blocking a lane of traffic. The road didn't have a bike lane and he couldn't ride far enough over to allow cars to pass. He could have ridden on the sidewalk. I thought the guy was an idiot, he was endangering himself and others by his actions.
To me it's just common sense. When riding a bike I don't want to tangle with a car because I will loose. I'll do everything reasonable to keep myself tangling with traffic even if my "rights" allow me to be an idiot.
I've only tangled with a car once, and while technically it wasn't my fault I realize I could have avoided it. I was at an intersection and when the light turned green I pedaled away. A car the pulled away slowly and I was right beside him. He made a right turn into me just after the intersection. I was in his blind spot and didn't see his turn signal. Fortunately he made a very slow turn so I just scraped my leg against the side of his car and didn't go down. A very loud F bomb got his attention.
Expect people to do stupid stuff and do everything you can to be safe.
Bikes do not generally belong on sidewalks. It's dangerous. Motorists are not expecting traffic moving at bicycle speeds on sidewalks. I'll opine that the bicyclist you mentioned was safer in the center of the lane (cars had obviously seen him and reacted.) How many times have you hit a slower moving vehicle? I am going to guess none. It's easy to avoid running over someone if you are paying attention. If a driver isn't payin attention and hits a slow moving vehicle, it is THAT DRIVER that was unsafe, not the slow moving vehicle. I will never stack traffic up behind me. I'll ease over and let it vent.
The accident you described is a right hook, and they are generally avoidable. In fact most of the accidents mentioned in this link are fairly easy to avoid. http://bicyclesafe.com/
The most difficult to mitigate is the rear end. Cyclist lane position is often the source of much frustration for motorists, but is also often used by bicyclists to mitigate risks.
We have a law that if a slower moving vehicle is impeding five or more vehicles, the vehicle needs to move over to let them pass. As it was the morning commute, there were more than five vehicles behind him. He was oblivious to this and could care not. There wasn't a single person on the sidewalk and he could have easily and safely ridden on the sidewalk to allow traffic to pass him.
Slow moving vehicles do cause risks. There is a big difference between sharing the road and trying to own the road.
I lived in AK for a while and loved that law. I will always find a way to keep from stacking traffic up behind me. The RVers up there in AK didn't seem to care too much about that 5 vehicle rule. They are a heck of a lot harder to go around than a bike too.
Wife road for years. I did for a few, and realized it was too dangerous out there where we ride rurally.
She rode benefits, races, tri's, bi's etc....
I finally convinced her to quit, and ride only in parks and such because most bike riders in rides have no respect. They think they own the road. And someone will swerve to miss a group and end up hitting my wife that refused to ride in groups(funny she was once flagged for drafting though--- I'd have told that ignorant official a few things and left the stupid race... my wife drafting... yeah right but I digress)
Bikes around here, generally speaking are ok in the country. the riders that ride on our 2 lane roads without shoulders watch the rear, and move over or stop depending on traffic.
OTOH 2 years ago when we were called to an involved structure fire, there was a big ride in town. THe bike riders at the intersection would NOT yield ROW to our fire engine. While still putting on my gear I did manage to speak to the group out the window while putting my SCBA on....
The arrogant ones ruin it for the rest. Like Carolyn said, it was as bad as being in a run with Rick Perry, he'd stop anywhere and block the run for a photo op.... WTF, run or GTF out of the way, we could care less you are governor of TX....
One of the few things I can't stand are elitists. It seems certain groups seem to have them, not naming all but cyclists, fly fishermen, traditional bow hunters, greenie hikers, etc.
If they cannot go a min speed they should stay off of the road,, Here in the Mnts you come around a curve and bam there is one at a crawl right in the middle of your lane.
I ride a bike alot, but I stay off of the roads.
Never outdrive your line of sight. You should never go so fast that you can't react to a hazard around the bend or over the hill. It's dangerous and dumb.
