bicycle riders

[anthony7777]

guys, gals, yup theyve started again all the "lance armstrong" whanna bees are back on our roads more arrogant then ever, as i mentioned last year my own son 28 years old and a gaggle of his buds are avide riders and obay the rules, i have no issue with anyone that rides, where we live there is a large group of older riders 33-70 years old that wont practice any of the safety issues/rules, i.e. thell travel in the wrong direction in the middle of the street and not move for cars comming right at them, this is but one problem, i could go for days exlaining what these folks do, my son at the age of 13 years was hit by a young fella that had just rebuilt his 1965 mustang was "test" driving it with no registration, no insurance etc, along with having the bike destroyed my son sustained a long scrape on his left elbow and a sore left hip for several days, he told me and mom he was glad hed listened to us about wearing his helmet, i didnt want to get the mustang driver in trouble for what hed done since he admitted he as wrong and apologized with tears running down his face, i could tell his old man would have gotten very physical with him and the fact that i "may" have "once" in my youth driven a vehicle that lacked paper work, the four of us agreed that the driver would buy my son a new bike and he did, every now and then he'll stop in when he sees my healey outside, turns out i was right about him he is good young man, guess what im trying to convey is that it doesnt matter whos wrong in this situation it could be a life altering event, we must all bikers and auto drivers alike follow some simple rules and be be "ALERT".

 

[Banjo]

I love riding bicycle. I got mine out this week and took it for a spin. Now personally I treat my ride as if I were on a slow moving motorcycle. If there's a stop sign I stop, I stay to the right, I try to be considerate of other traffic, and I use signals when I'm in traffic. I feel kinda stupid wearing a helmet, as I made it through all my youth riding my bike without one, but I still wear it. I used to ride with a neighbor around town. He drove me crazy cutting corners, ignoring street signs, and challenging traffic. (Of course I drove him crazy being so goody-goody)
Anyhow. I have the same contempt for riders who ignore traffic laws. thankfully most riders around here are more or less considerate of others.
P.S. I of course have neeeever driven a car without all the proper paperwork.....~ slowly walks away whistling~ (Yes. That was sarcasm... I'm guilty as charged)
Good call Anthony. Sounds like that young man learned his lesson. glad no one was seriously hurt.

 

[AngliaGT]

On the car run to the coast the day before the
Palo Alto British Car Meet I was folloeing a guy in
a modified TR3 in my Cortina MKIII in the Santa Cruz
Mountains.Lots of bicyclist out - most wouldn't even
make an attempt to ease to the side of the rode until
we passed.I was trying my best to give them room.I
wonder if ever occurs to them who'll come out "second-
best" if there's an accident?
Also,a couple of years ago on the way to the
Woodland (CA)British Car Meet I encountered the same
thing on highways 20 & 16.Evidently,some genius decided
that'd be a good idea to have a bike race on these roads.
I would encounter packs of riders taking up the whole
right lane.They'd make no attempt to keep to the right.
The arrogance of these people really irritates me!

- Doug

 

[Sarastro]

I do about 90 miles a week around town by bicycle, and I have toured by bike in Europe and Scandinavia. My conclusion is that drivers in the US are on awfully thin ice when they complain about bicyclists, however bad some of them are. For every clueless bicyclist story, I can give you ten about idiot drivers. Easily. Maybe more.

Drivers in Europe, even in cities like Dublin and Paris that are not particularly bike-friendly, and in Mediterranean countries, where drivers are notorious lunatics, are much better driving around bicyclists than drivers in the best US cities. And, bicycling in Holland or Scandinavia, where lots of people ride and drivers know how to drive around them, is an absolute pleasure. In the US, however, I spend most of my time trying to stay alive.

It's also worth noting that the vehicles most feared by inexperienced cyclists, namely large trailer trucks, are most consistently driven by people who know how to drive around cyclists. Those guys are great. I do anything I can to make their lives easier, whether I'm in a bike or car.

 

[AngliaGT]

Steve,

I don't know where you live,as your location is
vague - California is a big state.
I take offense with your post.I try really hard
to give room to bicyclists,but hate the ones that have
to "push it",& act arrogant,as if they're the only ones
that matter.
Bad manners on both sides,but why can't we all work
together?

- Doug

 

[Basil]

Now fellas. lets not take things personally, mmmm-k

 

[BoneIdle]

In Iowa, serious bicyclists tended to be fully armored and road-savvy. This may have been due to the fact that while there's always debate between bicyclists and automobile drivers on who "owns" the road, farm equipment is ubiquitous, sometimes stealthy, and always wins in a close encounter. There was a certain element of give and take between all users of the roads.

The casual riders, on the other hand, tended to ignore traffic rules, ride in the center of the main streets of smaller towns, and generally excite the angry feelings of motorists. I trust that most of them are still able to breathe on their own, but judging from the flagrant violations I observed, I can only hope that the thickest sections of the newspapers in Cedar county are not the obituaries.

When we moved here, to Indiana, bicycles became less of a problem. There are bicycle trails for one thing. Also, the Lake Region of Indiana virtually breeds mopeds and scooters.

The problem here is walkers. I'm not speaking of pedestrians crossing downtown streets, but rather those people who walk for exercise. More than once, on busy county roads or two narrow lanes, I've encountered these humanoids who walk facing away from oncoming traffic, who believe that they're entitled to their half of the street ( the middle half), and who sometimes walk three abreast.

With their total disregard for safety, it's a wonder that any of them reach their destinations.

You'd think the deer carcasses littering the road in the spring and fall would provide a certain degree of enlightenment, but no.

And we do have farm equipment on the roads here, as well.

 

[PATR8]

two summers ago, in my BIG BLUE HUMMER (you know large and easily seen) I stopped at a stop sign and waited from cross traffic to pass and I was rear ended by two bikers who were apparently not paying attention and hit me hard. I am not sure how fast they were going but it scuffed my tail gated up from their helmets (and faces)

The called the police and tried to turn me in but they were both cited and had to push their broken bikes home.

I and my kids ride allot but we have really taken to riding the rails to trails, just have to watch for the horses and occasional kids of motorcycle/quads. The trials will run from Pittsburgh to DC if everything is completed this summer, some beautiful scenery and even more important.... no cars

 

[anthony7777]

sarastro, ive been to the countrys youve mention and many others and agree there is a totaly diferant mind set concerning bike riders and auto driver, i began understanding this the first time i rented a bike in amsterdam, i think it may have something to do with the fact that in america using bikes as a main source of transportation went out the window about the time the wright brothers sold thier bike shop and henry ford began selling model a's while overseas then and now the bike has remainend a mainstream method of transport, i dont have anything against bike riders and didnt intend my original post on this subject to become argumentative, heck i lived on my bikes till i was about 16 years old i even crossed the verrazano bridge a couple of times (14 years old very dangerous and stupid of me) and would ride with friends from brooklyn to bear mountain n.y., i belive the distance between the u.s. economy and that of europe played a great part in getting the american butt off a bike seat and into cars while in europe and many other countrys it is not just a "sport" but more a natural, economical, sensible, environmentaly sound method of getting from point "a" to point "b".

 

[vagt6]

A bicyclist was killed in downtown Charlottesville last Monday, and another hit and injured. Both were UVA students and in both incidents the bicyclists were totally at fault. This is profoundly tragic, and very sad because both incidents were totally, entirely avoidable had the bicyclists obeyed <span style="font-style: italic">simple traffic laws</span>.

My best friend is the safety officer for Public Utilities whose truck struck the kid. He had to investigate the accident scene, and is devastated. It was horrid, and I won't share the details because the carnage was too awful. Run right over by a 15,000 lb. truck. You can imagine . . .

In both instances, the bikers were totally at fault. The first, a UVA graduate student, ran right into the front wheel of a large City truck which ran right over him. The truck was legally turning, the biker totally ignored a red signal light, raced through it like it wasn't there, and died horribly. Either he wasn't paying attention (distracted riding?) or chose to ignore the light.

The second biker, pretty much the same thing: he ignored (ran through) a traffic signal and a car hit him.

Maybe we need legal requirements for bicycle riders to take safety courses, maybe licensing of bike riders. It's an epidemic that must be cured somehow. Intervention is needed. Obviously, it's not unusual for bicyclists to ignore traffic laws. We all see it often! And, when we chose to ignore basic traffic laws, tragedy <span style="font-style: italic">must</span> be the result! But why? What compels seemingly astute people to act so irresponsibly when they get on a bike? Most folks don't drive their cars this way, why the bike?

The kid who was killed, allegedly a very religious kid who volunteered at local homeless shelters, an excellent student with a whole lifetime full of promise and success, just ahead of him: now it's all over because he chose not to obey traffic signals!

If you ride, please be careful and obey laws, signals, and signs! Tell your friends about this story, maybe it will make them ride more safely. Bicycling is relatively safe, even in most cities, if we just obey traffic rules and ride defensively.

Still, I just don't get it . . . what compels some bike riders to be so irresponsible/dangerous??

 

[anthony7777]

vagt6, the incident involving my son was to say the least frightening, my own brother at age 13 was hit by a car as he sped up trying to make a green light, luckily he just skinned his knees as he hit the pavement, i have a friend that invited my wife and i to his wedding, his 23 year old fiance while riding a bike was struck and killed by a bus the afternoon before the wedding, the police report bolstered by eye witnesses explained she tried to pass the bus on the right as the bus was moving over to the curb to make a stop, my sons best friend an artist/bike messenger in manhtn. n.y. was hit buy a cab as he ran a red light and allmost killed spending near 6 months in hospital, another friend that works for the supreme court in the city was also hit by a cab and did not return to work for over a year, when i think of the things ive done on bikes and remembering what we did once we learned how to put lawn mower engine on them makes me shake, im not trying to put all the blame on the bike riders, there are many car drivers that should not be on our roads as well, im just trying to explain here that in each of the above cases it was found that the bike riders were at fault, yet ive never heard of a bike rider being given a ticket, i very much agree on what you say about bike rider courses and licensing, perhaps that would at least cut down the number of these tragic cases.

 

[AngliaGT]

The other thing that burns me up about bicyclists,
at least around here is that they ride against traffic,
& ignore stop signs,etc.Oh,& then there's the young kids
talking on their cell phones while they're riding.

- Doug

 

[ecurie_ecosse]

I ride a bike for fun,and do the odd race.And I am horrified at the attitude of some bicyclists. I grew up in Glasgow,Scotland,where I received a ticket for riding my bike on the pavement (walkway).I never did that again.
In New Zealand the children used to be taught bike safety and bike mainenance,at least in Wellington they did. Education will help with some people,but others, who seem to think they are invincible,will still disregard the rules.
There isn't an easy answer to the problem.


Stuart.

 

[anthony7777]

I ride a bike for fun,and do the odd race.And I am horrified at the attitude of some bicyclists. I grew up in Glasgow,Scotland,where I received a ticket for riding my bike on the pavement (walkway).I never did that again.
In New Zealand the children used to be taught bike safety and bike mainenance,at least in Wellington they did. Education will help with some people,but others, who seem to think they are invincible,will still disregard the rules.
There isn't an easy answer to the problem.


Stuart.

ecurie ecosse, thats the problem right there, you bike riders are having way too much fun!

 

[William]

I suspect that location is going to dictate one's views on this. When I lived in Chicago I saw far fewer examples of really bad, dangerous cycling (and way more cyclists). Out here in the suburbs I see a lot of people who ride out into traffic, groups that block traffic, and people who ride very fast on multi use paths without giving an adequate (or any) warning that they're coming up behind you (as a frequent pedestrian this is my personal bugbear). I can say the same thing, to an extent, about pedestrians-not a day goes by that I don't see someone walk out into a street without looking for traffic, invoking the "Pedestrians have the right of way!!!11!!" rule with scant regard for the laws of physics.

Still, I just don't get it . . . what compels some bike riders to be so irresponsible/dangerous??

I've read similar discussions on other boards, as well as in real life. Typically, people who flagrantly disregard traffic laws on their bicycles argue that

1.) Motorists disregard the rules all the time,

and

2.) The rules of the road (or certain rules) shouldn't apply to cyclists because bicycles aren't cars or other motorized vehicles.

I find both arguments specious at best. For (1), it's the old "So-and-so did it, why can't I?" argument that hasn't held any water since we were kids. For (2), nobody has ever been able to give me any concrete examples of basic road rules that should be changed for cyclists, only that "they should be".

-Wm.

 

[vagt6]

The Code of VA (VA law) requires bicyclists to obey all traffic laws, same as licensed motor vehicles. There goes that excuse . . .

A majority of state laws do the same. Makes sense, to do otherwise invites chaos, tragedy.

 

[Stewart]

The worst are the militant cyclists kind of like prius drivers are out there to make a point about how bad you are and how good I am. The town I currently live during the non frozen months is very bike friendly with dedicated separated wide smooth concrete bike lanes complete with markings and stop signs at intersections along the major roads yet there is still a group of cyclist who make a point of not using them and tying up traffic as often as possible.

 

[58morty]

In Boise (where I live Only for one more month!) there are a million cyclists,(possibly an exaggeration)and most ride properly. I love my cycling. I do both road and mountain biking. I used to race. I also love cars. The eat, sleep, and breathe kind of love. Bought my first car at eleven years old. Autocrossed my poor old Audi coupe GT till it actually twisted it apart! Painfully, I'm on both sides of this argument. Here, legally, a bike is just another vehicle, with the same rights and responsibilities as any other vehicle. Still, it seems open season on cyclists. I think the number of dead is 6 in the last year.
To cyclists: If you want to ride like a bike messenger move to New York, or Chicago and follow your dream. Otherwise, take out your earbuds, so you can hear, engage your brain, so you can think, and ride like everyone is trying to kill you. This should keep you alive.
To motorists: Texting? Really? stop that. Try not to get distracted (I think with our British cars, this is easier, they sort of insist on you paying them attention), and think of a bicycle as just another vehicle. If a car occupied that spot, would you pass it? Even if the guy is riding like an idiot, you'd probably feel bad if you killed him, wouldn't you?
To everybody: Getting there NOW is not usually as important as just getting there. Slow down, look twice and have fun.

 

[AngliaGT]

I have a bicycle (Raliegh) bought new in the
early/mid '70's.It's like brand new.I understand
both sides of these arguments.
It all comes down to being responsible for your
actions/stupidity.Treat each other with respect,&
don't give them a reason to dislike you.How much
more simple can I make it?

- Doug

 

[anthony7777]

bad accident, this is exactly what weve been talking about, found out yesterday from my son a friend of his was hit by a mini van as the driver pulled out of her driveway while stepping on the gas pedal, he went right through the vans windshield allmost completely severing his arm, he may lose it, liver and one lung pungtured by splintered ribs, and sever head injury, now im not jumping to conclusions here since my sons friend races bikes and at the time was training for an event, no telling what part he played in this tragidy, as i said no matter who is at fault the results are "life altering". :frown: