A message to all Cyclists.

[splayfoot1]

Dear car drivers

I was once hit by a car while riding my bike, therefore you are all terrible people and should all have your licenses revoked. Because the actions of the few clearly define the entire population.

 

[Spade Lead]

*ahem*

Get. Off. The. Road.

Am I the only one who is this pissed off about this?

Actually, at least here in America, the cyclist IS REQUIRED to ride in the street, AND HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY! You don't like it, get out of your car and become a cyclist yourself. It is a safety issue. Bikes are dangerous to be on the sidewalk, because people are walking there, and it is hard to maneuver out of the way of other pedestrians. In the street, cyclists have to follow the same traffic laws as a motor vehicle, and do their best to stay out of the way, as if they were in a motor vehicle. It makes more sense for a cyclist, which is capable of a good fraction of the speed limit, to be on the road, rather than the sidewalk, where innocent children and mothers pushing strollers would be scrambling to get out of the way.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

I know it's illegal for cyclists to ride on pavements and such, but goddamn is it a fucking stupid law. The reasoning is that they might hit pedestrians on the pavement, but on the flip side fucking CARS now have to move out of their way, often in to oncoming traffic. Really, it should be obvious which is more dangerous. And then you have the arsehole cyclists that just jump across multiple lanes of traffic, or continue on over a crossroads when the light is red. Hell I've seen some stupid people cycling up a damn bypass, with cars going 60+ past them having to move over.

And to you people saying stop driving; I'd love to, but I have to drive 100+ miles a day, travelling between 2-3 cities, in a van full of equipment, there is no other way for me to travel, get off your high horse.

 

[AwesomeWunderbar]

I don't mind sharing the road with cyclist, but there has to a be common ground for everyone that is going to use the road.

If you're riding a bike on the street, WEAR A DAMN HELMET. And that's not to make us feel safer, but to keep you cyclists safe. If motorists need to wear seat belts and motorcyclists need to wear helmets, then cyclists need to wear helmets.

Also, officers; if you see a cyclist on the road without wearing a helmet, FREAKIN' STOP THEM. Not sure if you care or find it necessary to enforce the law to everyone on the road for safety, but it clearly needs to be enforced.

Do all this and everything will be fine.

If your over 18 you don't have to wear a helmet. It's only enforced by law if you are a minor.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Tell the government. I'm only too happy to ride on the footpath, but unfortunately for everyone involved, I HAVE to be on the road. So poor little old you in your 4WD can just fucking wait to switch lanes because I'm not risking my leg for your sake and I'm not disobeying the law for it either. There are some stupid cyclists, sure. But stupid cyclists aren't going to kill motorists, stupid motorists, of whom there are far more, can and do kill cyclists. And you know what else? Stupid cyclists aren't going to kill pedestrians either.

Tbh, I'd rather we just had better bicycle lanes. But that's not going to happen.

 

[Talaris]

Dear Motorists,

Stop contributing so much to pollution and learn to ride a bike or catch a train. You probably don't need a private vehicle.

Thank you.

Dear cyclists, thank you for choosing a method of getting around that doesn't involve filling our air with poison.

I love comments like this. Of course I'll give up my car to bike to work. I'd love to bike nearly 100 km a day in -25 to -30 C weather. I agree city congestion could be rectified with more people using public transport, but please, do not paint us all with the same brush because some of us can't actually do anything but drive to work.

Obviously in your case it seems that you do need a car, thus making you one of the few exceptions. Though I would point out that unless you live and work really far from a train station, taking a train would faster and cheaper.

 

[Spade Lead]

Dear drivers,

Please don't throw firecrackers at me.

I have had so much shit thrown at me, like eggs and donuts. No fire crackers yet, but sometimes they'll honk the horn as they pass to make me jump. Har fucking har.

I feel your pain. I don't trust drivers in my town ages 17-34.

In every state I have had a license in, this is actually illegal. Honking your horn or throwing things at a cyclist to distract them is a serious fine here.

 

[Lost In The Void]

Dear Motorists,

Stop contributing so much to pollution and learn to ride a bike or catch a train. You probably don't need a private vehicle.

Thank you.

Dear cyclists, thank you for choosing a method of getting around that doesn't involve filling our air with poison.

I love comments like this. Of course I'll give up my car to bike to work. I'd love to bike nearly 100 km a day in -25 to -30 C weather. I agree city congestion could be rectified with more people using public transport, but please, do not paint us all with the same brush because some of us can't actually do anything but drive to work.

Obviously in your case it seems that you do need a car, thus making you one of the few exceptions. Though I would point out that unless you live and work really far from a train station, taking a train would faster and cheaper.

Yeah in my case I'm driving from a city to a small village an hour away from it, so yes I am an exception. Whether or not I'm an exception does not excuse the guilt tripping done by prior posters. Looking at any issue as black and white is the wrong way to go about it, the OP included.

 

[Broax]

In Portugal bicycles legally can drive on the road and obey the same rules cars/motorbikes do... Funny how things differ. In any case, I can't ride a bike due to a knee problem but I still have no problems with cyclists. I drive both car and motorbike (not at the same time) and I never had an issue with bikes.

Open letter for pedestrians: Please look both ways before crossing. Even if you're on a crosswalk you might have a sun glare behind you/be on my blind spot and even if you have the right to cross it doesn't mean you won't get hurt if I hit you. This applies strongly if you there's a truck/bus/etc or something blocking my view of the sidewalk. I hate it when someone jumps on the street and starts to run... -.-'

 

[Lizardon]

As someone who gets around mainly via car or public transport, may I just say that I've never had any problems with bike riders here in Perth, Australia. They use the designated bike lanes if there are any, and if not ride on the far edge of the road to allow traffic to pass them.

The only time I've heard people around here ***** about bikers is when a sport event or charity ride is held and some roads are closed off in the morning, which is a real petty thing to complain about really.

I've never encountered any bike riders who think that normal road rules don't apply to them. Some car drivers on the other hand...

 

[Rawne1980]

Dear Cyclists in the UK. I have no problem with you.

Dear "Sunday drivers" .... stay the fuck off the road.

You know the type, you're driving along and you suddenly come across a moron in the middle of the lane, you can't get past and that bugger isn't turning so you are stuck behind him. The problem is he's driving 10mph in a 40mph zone.

We call those Sunday drivers (no idea why).

And they annoy the fuck out of me.

 

[Spade Lead]

I know it's illegal for cyclists to ride on pavements and such, but goddamn is it a fucking stupid law. The reasoning is that they might hit pedestrians on the pavement, but on the flip side fucking CARS now have to move out of their way, often in to oncoming traffic. Really, it should be obvious which is more dangerous. And then you have the arsehole cyclists that just jump across multiple lanes of traffic, or continue on over a crossroads when the light is red. Hell I've seen some stupid people cycling up a damn bypass, with cars going 60+ past them having to move over.

And to you people saying stop driving; I'd love to, but I have to drive 100+ miles a day, travelling between 2-3 cities, in a van full of equipment, there is no other way for me to travel, get off your high horse.

Actually, no. In the case of passing a cyclist, you are required to wait until there is clearance to pass the cyclist without infringing on the oncoming traffic lane. Where I live, this isn't a problem, because cyclists are generally very polite, and do their best to stay out of the way, but even the ones who don't can be overcome with a little common sense and safe driving practices.

 

[lechat]

If your over 18 you don't have to wear a helmet. It's only enforced by law if you are a minor.

that is just retarded. i'm all for offering ppl the right to kill themselves if they want but in australia helmets like seatbelts are required at all times. also over here bike riders have the same rights as a car and MUST be on the road unless a bike lane is provided

it sucks coming around a corner to find some health or greenie nut doing 5k an hour that refuses to pull over for a split second into the shoulder forcing me to waste petrol snail pacing behind him but what i think is much worse these days are the motorized bikes that are all over the place, never once have i seen one obey the same road rules regular vehicles do and they are noisy as fuck

EDIT: what i hate most about bike riders is the bastards rock up to a red light then go cruise over to the pedestrian crossing and suddenly magically transform themselves into pedestrians and use the crossing. it's awesome that that you save yourself 30 seconds at the cost of all other drivers who have to wait for the lights to go through a crossing cycle but 2 minuets later i'm just gonna be riding your ass again

 

[J Tyran]

Cyclists should get off the road, not that I hate cyclists I was one myself for nearly a decade. Its just simply no longer safe. In London its carnage, huge numbers of cyclists are getting killed mostly by people that have no business behind the wheel of a vehicle in the first place. Others are getting killed because frankly they are shit cyclists that failed to grasp they are a squishy piece of meat amongst multiple tons of fast moving metal. (Do not mistake my bluntness for lack of sympathy)

There is also a huge lack of understanding and trust between drivers and cyclists, both sides have valid arguments about each others behavior.

Ultimately the Government needs to act and build more cycle lanes and make roads more cycle friendly, there are some various experiments in urban road design that accommodate drivers and cyclists well and their nature makes them more aware of where other road users are and what they are doing.

 

[renegade7]

A bicycle is a road vehicle. It is more dangerous for a cyclist to be on the sidewalk, and illegal.

 

[Spade Lead]

Dear Cyclists in the UK. I have no problem with you.

Dear "Sunday drivers" .... stay the fuck off the road.

You know the type, you're driving along and you suddenly come across a moron in the middle of the lane, you can't get past and that bugger isn't turning so you are stuck behind him. The problem is he's driving 10mph in a 40mph zone.

We call those Sunday drivers (no idea why).

And they annoy the fuck out of me.

They are out for a cruise about town on a nice day off, wasting time enjoying the sights. It is a term originating back in the days of cars first gaining popularity, and still being a novelty, so people used to consider a "Sunday Drive" a treat. Then again, my Mom and I still did this when I was a teenager, so I don't know that it has actually stopped being popular. (I promise, we never did less than the speed limit, but we also usually drove 30 - 40 miles away down to Laguna Beach or someplace nice like that just to get out of town.)

That said, I have this problem all the time, people doing 30-35 in a 45, 30 in a 50, whatever, as if there aren't speed limit signs posted everywhere letting you know what the speed limit is. Also, people making left turns from the driving lane, instead of from the provided central turn lane. Also, the law in a lot of states, but not enough, is that if you are not passing you are supposed to be in the right hand lane, and the left is for people who are passing only. When I am on the freeway, and there are no cars in front of me, even if I am doing 10 over the speed limit, I drive in the right hand lane as much as possible because God knows there are enough drivers going faster than me, even if I can't see them right this instant. This is of course designed to prevent two cars doing ten under the limit from causing traffic to bind up behind them. Even in states where this isn't a law, it is still considered the gentlemanly thing to do.

 

[Sunrider]

ITC: How DARE you criticize something I prefer?! TO THE CLIFFS!!

That goes for both sides here.

 

[Rawne1980]

They are out for a cruise about town on a nice day off, wasting time enjoying the sights. It is a term originating back in the days of cars first gaining popularity, and still being a novelty, so people used to consider a "Sunday Drive" a treat. Then again, my Mom and I still did this when I was a teenager, so I don't know that it has actually stopped being popular. (I promise, we never did less than the speed limit, but we also usually drove 30 - 40 miles away down to Laguna Beach or someplace nice like that just to get out of town.)

Ahhh, thanks bud.

Never did know where it all started. My dad used to call the Sunday drivers when I was a kid but never asked why.

Just assumed i'd find out one day and never did.

 

[Littaly]

Rage against cyclists is unfortunate. I can understand it, I don't have a whole lot of experience with driving, but even with the little I have I can relate to what frequent drivers are saying about bicyclists being in the way.

And yet, traveling by bike should be encouraged, not discouraged. It's better for the health and infinitely better for the environment, getting rid of bicycling is definitely not the right way to go.

The way I see it, at least the way it is where I live, the fault is not the drivers' or the cyclists', but rather the roads and lanes that are moronically designed. We should travel more by bicycle, but in order for that to work we need an infrastructure that supports it.

Those are my two not-entirely-thought-through cents.

 

[Arakasi]

As a motorcycle rider I am in the comfortable position of not being on either side of this little war. (Or both, depending on how you look at it)
Though admittedly, some bikers are obnoxious, just like some drivers are.