A message to all Cyclists.

[Z of the Na'vi]

I just have one question.

How is it safer for cyclists to be in the street than on the sidewalk? It has been stated in this thread that it is to protect the safety of people walking on the sidewalk. Couldn't the cyclist, who is clearly the faster one in this hypothetical situation, simple ride in the grass/dirt/area directly on either side of the sidewalk as he approaches the pedestrians on foot, and then return to the sidewalk once the way is clear?

It seems like a rather simple solution to me. That way everybody is happy. Cars don't have to worry about bikes, and cyclists don't have to worry about cars.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

What I can't stand is when cyclists have a way to be out of the way of motorists but don't take it. There is a "state road" that I have to drive on occasionally that is frequented by cyclists because it is used for an annual bike race, so people practice on it.

The thing I can't stand is that a majority of the section I drive has a shoulder, but those dimwitted cyclists even though they have a shoulder to move over on if a car comes up behind them, they don't. So what if the shoulder 5% less smooth compared to the main road. Move over or become a pancake.

 

[Launcelot111]

Dear cyclists,

Don't treat red lights as suggestions and stop signs as nonexistent and we're fine.

Oh, also if you're on a poorly maintained rural road full of blind curves and hills and you're just biking for the hell of it, it would be better for everyone involved if you chose somewhere else for your fun.

You're braver than I am for biking everywhere, but don't cross the line between brave and reckless.

 

[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.

Up here, it's all mandatory.

But hey, if you're willing to spill your brains because you're too lazy/insecure to add one piece of body armor, more power to you. Excuse me if I don't cry about your surgery.

Ah, well in Canada it's not, sorry bout that.

And if your talking to me specifically, I am 17 and I have to wear a helmet and even if I didn't I still would. If you weren't and were saying it only to the people who don't I agree. It's stupid to not wear a helmet it can only help.

I'm IN Canada... which province are you in? Or have I just been LIED to all my life?

(Not that it matters, because helmets should always be worn anyhow, as we agreed. )

They lied to you, all your life. XD

I'm in Ontario so it might be different. But I know here if you are over 18 you don't have to wear one.

 

[bpm195]

If you calmly pass a slower traffic on the left and provide safe distance you rarely run into issues. If there's not room to pass then don't pass. A bike is a vehicle, just pass it like you would any other vehicle and you're fine.

I just have one question.

How is it safer for cyclists to be in the street than on the sidewalk? It has been stated in this thread that it is to protect the safety of people walking on the sidewalk. Couldn't the cyclist, who is clearly the faster one in this hypothetical situation, simple ride in the grass/dirt/area directly on either side of the sidewalk as he approaches the pedestrians on foot, and then return to the sidewalk once the way is clear?

It seems like a rather simple solution to me. That way everybody is happy. Cars don't have to worry about bikes, and cyclists don't have to worry about cars.

A huge of driving any vehicle safely is maintaining visibility and predictability; if others can see you and know what you're doing then your risk of an accident is very low. Conversely if you're unnoticed you're risk goes up and if you're unpredictable your risk goes up. If you ride a bike in the roadway and you're obeying the laws as well following the general ideas of vehicular cycling you're going to be very visible and very predictable. Plus, if all other vehicles are following the laws they will be visible and predictable. So when nobody is being an asshole the risk is pretty low.

When you ride your bike on a sidewalk things are less predictable. Vehicles tend to move in straight lines, pedestrians are comparatively erratic. You also make yourself less visible at driveways and intersections, and you'll be going faster than anybody else on the sidewalk. Because of this your chances of an accident increase dramatically.

The only risk you mitigate while riding a bike on a sidewalk is the risk of being hit from behind by another vehicle, but that's not a big risk in the first place. The number one risk is turning vehicles, and by riding the sidewalk that risk sky rockets.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

What I hate about cyclists, speaking as someone who is mostly a pedestrian, is when they sometimes act as cars and sometimes don't. If you want to occupy the same space as cars, you need to consistently obey their rules. I swear if I step across a pelican crossing again, only to be almost hit by a cyclist, I will just push them over ... it's outrageous that they presume they don't have to stop. Similarly, if you're going into the imaginary middle lane you've created by being smaller than cars, then don't automatically assume people don't want to cross the road between those cars if they're stationary.

I always follow these rules as a cyclist:

If i am on the road and it becomes dangerous and impractical to continue i will find a lay-by or indicate i am pulling over. I then move into said space of off to the side of the road and get off my bike before pulling it onto the pavement. I will walk it if i can see another pedestrian period. If i cant and its a country verge with grass/mud ill cycle on that instead. Should the need arise to come back onto the road ill do so from a driveway like a car and pull out as i would in a car (obviously not in reverse). Joining the back of traffic light queues when you are CERTAIN no other car is about to come up seems also acceptable to me. In an inner city ill likely just walk the bike.

That said i sometimes dont wear my helmet. Im not sure why. I just sometimes either forget or decide my route is so safe and empty (i live where there are a LOT of fields to go through instead) i just dont bother. I know this is bad. Ill probably try and fix it in future.

I feel that as a cyclist you CAN become a pedestrian when you wish because you can ALWAYS walk your bike instead on the pathway. However for the love of jegus PLEASE transition clearly and safely in the same way a car would park ie NOT AT AN INTERSECTION. If youre making it ambiguous you suck. Seriously. Its nice to get to pick but you have to transition in a way that other drivers will find familiar.

 

[loc978]

I just wonder how the hell the Germans got this right and the US chooses to be willfully ignorant of how these things are done. Bicycle lanes should be part of an extended sidewalk, and where there is no bicycle lane, cyclists should be expected to use the edge of the road, allowing for plenty of room to pass.

Of course, we've also got this destructive culture where everyone thinks their mode of transport is the only one that should be allowed on any given road, so you've got drivers who refuse to cross a yellow line on an empty road to go around a polite cyclist, and you've got cyclists (usually in skin-tight colorful lycra pretending they're in the Tour de France) who ride side-by-side down the center of a lane, ignoring the presence of cars (usually slowly enough that I wind up passing them on my mountain bike... it is kinda satisfying to shout "pull over, ya douchebags!" when that happens).

This from someone who has lived on three continents, cycled and driven on all of them (hell, I still have 5 different driver's licenses). America, we're doing it wrong. Very wrong.

 

[chikusho]

Dear Drivers,
Please go into therapy for your anger issues.
Sincerely,
Everyone

 

[ResonanceSD]

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.

YESSS, WTF IS THIS? Either ride on one or the other, you don't get to be BOTH.

Cyclists: Obeying Road Rules. When It Suits Them.

 

[TK421]

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.

I live 45 minutes away from the nearest town. There are no passenger trains that run within 300 miles of my home. What else to you suggest I do oh high-and-mighty environmentalist hippie?

OT: Seriously, if you must ride on the road, you do NOT have the right-of-way. I could accidentally kill you before I even realize you're there, so pay attention and ride defensively, if not for my convenience, for your won safety.

 

[Vivi22]

NO they don't but way to miss the point. Just because it is illegal for them to cycle elsewhere does not automatically mean they have as much right to use the road as someone WHO FUCKING PAYS TO UPKEEP IT.

No, I actually didn't miss the point, I'm simply saying that paying to upkeep roads does not legally entitle you to any special privileges in it's use which aren't also afforded to cyclists by virtue of the law giving them the same legal right to drive their vehicle on the road. Your argument is poor because you seem to neglect that fact.

The best they can hope for is tolerance but hearing a cyclist complain at a car driver, well that takes the fucking biscuit. When they pay road tax and insurance then they can complain about the car drivers till the cows come home, but until that point they are using a service that is paid for by the guy their stupid slow arse is holding up.

Like I already said, from a legal stand point they have as much right to use the road as anyone. So if they want to complain about drivers who never look where they're going or do other stupid things behind the wheel that almost get them killed, they're entitled to. And if the worst that most drivers can say is that they get held up for 30 seconds waiting for traffic to clear in the oncoming lane so they can go around them, then I have to ask who really has the entitlement complex. The fact is, there are many drivers who aren't fit to be on the road and feel they're entitled to drive, rather than recognizing that it's not a right, but a privilege. You want to complain about anyone causing real problems on roads, complain about them. They make things more dangerous and more expensive for everyone.

Moreover, they are at far more risk in the event of an accident while on their bike than you are in your car if you hit them.

So, I assume their is a point but I fail to see what you're trying to say...

...no, my response to that one is meh and so?

Point being that they aren't putting the lives of drivers at risk if they do something stupid. Which is also part of the reason that the idea of them paying insurance is a bit silly. If a car hits them, at best there might be a couple thousand dollars worth of damage while the guy on the bike is probably dead. You say they should have to pay road tax and insurance, and I could agree that the former may be reasonable if at a drastically reduced rate since their wear and tear on roads is statistically negligible compared to the wear and tear from thousands of vehicles weighing thousands of pounds, but what would the insurance be to cover? There is no third party liability to speak of, although I'd imagine they probably can get that and personal coverage if they wanted to. It's a safe bet that if a risk exists someone will sell an insurance policy against it somewhere.

 

[Laughing Man]

No, I actually didn't miss the point, I'm simply saying that paying to upkeep roads does not legally entitle you to any special privileges

No it doesn't but you're still missing the point, guy not paying for service complains about guy who IS paying for it, THAT is the point.

The fact is, there are many drivers who aren't fit to be on the road and feel they're entitled to drive, rather than recognizing that it's not a right, but a privilege. You want to complain about anyone causing real problems on roads, complain about them.

Assuming that they are fully legal in their position on the road then;

Their vehicle will have under gone an annual service, They have had to pay to ensure that it their vehicle is legally safe to be on the road, does that guy on the bike have to do that? NO

They will have had to have taken a number of lessons, then under gone several tests before they could get behind the wheel of their car, does that guy on the bike have to do that? NO

They have to pay vehicle insurance, a system to cover the cost of ANY accident, does that guy on the bike have to do that? NO

They pay for the up keep of the road every time they fill up and every year in road tax, does that guy on the bike have to do that? NO

As far as I am concerned the guy on his bike is not only not paying for the right to be on the road he has nothing to say that he as an individual or the equipment he is on is viably safe to be on the road with other users. In basic terms cyclists are the least entitled to be using the road than anyone else that uses it so hearing them complain about drivers is rich to say the least.

Point being that they aren't putting the lives of drivers at risk if they do something stupid. Which is also part of the reason that the idea of them paying insurance is a bit silly. If a car hits them, at best there might be a couple thousand dollars worth of damage while the guy on the bike is probably dead.

I see what you did there, and what IF the cyclist is the one at fault? The guy who has no license to say he is fit to ride his bike on a public highway, the guy who has nothing saying the machine he is riding is even safely maintained, the guy who pays nothing to use the road, what if HE hits ME and damages MY car? He better hope he's dead cause if his stupidity has damaged my car he will be when I get hold of him.

 

[Garyn Dakari]

Hardly any roads I've ever biked on have bike lanes, thus I HAVE to be on the road with the drivers. I stay as far to the right as I can however, quite often balancing on the white edge line. It's always fun on the rare occasion that I encounter a place that actually has bike lanes though. "Wow, so much room to move around in!"

Most drivers around me are pretty courteous though, except for the occasional guy who speeds by 10-20 miles over the speed limit less than a foot away from me >.>

 

[McMullen]

No, I actually didn't miss the point, I'm simply saying that paying to upkeep roads does not legally entitle you to any special privileges

No it doesn't but you're still missing the point, guy not paying for service complains about guy who IS paying for it, THAT is the point.

Paying for things does not grant you immunity from people calling you out for being a jerk. It is possible to pay for things and not be a jerk. In fact, it is not only possible, but expected, mature, and generally a trait associated with those human beings that are well-adjusted and pleasant to be around.

Therefore, I really don't care what a person pays for. If they are a jerk, I will complain about it. So should you when you are on the receiving end of someone's jerky behavior, and so should everyone else.

 

[CaptainKoala]

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.

You're right, the bike industry is so much friendlier to the environment than owning a car. After the metal has been mined (Which can be a very messy business with acid rain/water pollution), and sent on oil burning ships to be refined. And then once it's refined it gets sent to China on oil burning ships where it's make into bikes. Not to mention how environmentally friendly the process of making tires is. Then it's then shipped again all around the world where it's bought by people who think they're saving the environment.

 

[bullet_sandw1ch]

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're called sunday drivers because they are driving like they are lazing about on a sunday afternoon. at least thats what i was always told.