Bicycles on the road

[markhas]

Originally Posted by ThatOtherGuy

What is the proper way to pass a bicyclist going in the same direction that you are?

I've passed a few and just moved over to the left side of my lane while they are on the right side.

Should I actually move over into the other lane?

The State of Wisconsin requires 3 feet. that's not much but is all required by law. I use a video camera on most all motor vehicles trips just to record what happens when I'm on the road and I won't be without evidence when falsely accused.

[singletrackslayer]

Originally Posted by _CJ

Is a law that's on the books, but not enforced still a law? And what makes people think they have the right to threaten, harass, and otherwise endanger those who are breaking these laws?

I do believe that a law on the books is still concidered a law and therfore enforcable. Like OHV tags on a plated bike.

And who is threatening you? Most traffic laws are put in place for safety reasons, like DUI's, speed limits, no passing zones, etc. If someone doesn't stop at a stop sign, sounds like they are puting themsevles into danger.

I'm not saying that ALL paperclip riders are the problem. Just those that act like they own the world. There's bad eggs in every basket . . .

[Dranrab Luap]

So motor vehiclists, do you really want me obeying all the traffic laws when I bicycle? I'll give you a little while to mull that over.

[_CJ]

Originally Posted by singletrackslayer

I do believe that a law on the books is still concidered a law and therfore enforcable. Like OHV tags on a plated bike.

And who is threatening you? Most traffic laws are put in place for safety reasons, like DUI's, speed limits, no passing zones, etc. If someone doesn't stop at a stop sign, sounds like they are puting themsevles into danger.

I'm not saying that ALL paperclip riders are the problem. Just those that act like they own the world. There's bad eggs in every basket . . .

Who's threatening me? Oh, you know, people who lay on their horn as they pass....throw things at me....drunk-ass rednecks who chase me down, block the road, tell me they're going to kill me, speed off, do a u-turn and come back at me full throttle, forcing me to run for my life....people who hit me and keep on driving.....people who mow down groups of my friends and kill them as they ride single file along a country road. None of these things happened as a result of running a light or stop sign. In fact, some of them happened BECAUSE I stopped for the light/sign.

My personal riding style is to stay the hell out of the way. I ride single file and on the right side of the road. I really only run lights and signs when there are no cars on the road I'm crossing, and really don't even run them if there are cars going in my direction already stopped.

There was a time when I would ride road and dirt 50/50, but these days it's more like 95% dirt and bike paths. The roads are just too crowded and unsafe now. Most people seem to be doing something other than driving....talking on the phone, texting, etc. All you have to do is sit at an intersection and take a good look at the people driving by. I'd say 70% or more are using a phone in some fashion or another.

[Ginger Beard]

Commuting home the other evening I had a guy nearly right hook me causing me to have to panic stop. The driver then proceed to stop yell at me for riding on the road. I was in the bike lane going the speed limit....Truly I should have known.

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by Ginger Beard

Commuting home the other evening I had a guy nearly right hook me causing me to have to panic stop. The driver then proceed to stop yell at me for riding on the road. I was in the bike lane going the speed limit....Truly I should have known.

How DARE you?! Riding on his road like that?!

Damn bicycles! Stay on the effing sidewalk where you belong!



It never ends, does it?

M

[windmill]

Originally Posted by Dranrab Luap

So motor vehiclists, do you really want me obeying all the traffic laws when I bicycle? I'll give you a little while to mull that over.

I would say for the most part yes with some common sense thrown in. Obviously there will be times and places where it would be dangerous to the cyclist or cause a major disruption to other traffic.

I'm a city P&D driver and used to do the downtown Seattle route. Driving a semi in city traffic is difficult enough without some cyclists darting about at random, without warning, and contrary to the flow of traffic.
I would much rather put up with a momentary inconvenience that I could plan to safely get around, than to play dodge bicycle.

If you think drivers treat cyclists poorly, try riding in the cab of a semi for a day, you would be shocked.

[bwalsh]

Originally Posted by windmill

If you think drivers treat cyclists poorly, try riding in the cab of a semi for a day, you would be shocked.

Been there, done that...and people complain about "dangerous trucks" on the highways...

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by windmill

I would say for the most part yes with some common sense thrown in. Obviously there will be times and places where it would be dangerous to the cyclist or cause a major disruption to other traffic.

I'm a city P&D driver and used to do the downtown Seattle route. Driving a semi in city traffic is difficult enough without some cyclists darting about at random, without warning, and contrary to the flow of traffic.
I would much rather put up with a momentary inconvenience that I could plan to safely get around, than to play dodge bicycle.

If you think drivers treat cyclists poorly, try riding in the cab of a semi for a day, you would be shocked.

I wouldn't be shocked. I've driven one.

Yeah. G'head and jump right in front of my bumper. The D-7 dozer I'm carring and I won't stop till we're 100' past your rear bumper!

In truth, most professional drivers tend to drive courteously. Its the soccer moms in their minivans and SUVs that are the terrors. ...and idiots in jacked up trucks... ...and...

M

[windmill]

Originally Posted by Gummee!

I wouldn't be shocked. I've driven one.

Yeah. G'head and jump right in front of my bumper. The D-7 dozer I'm carring and I won't stop till we're 100' past your rear bumper!

In truth, most professional drivers tend to drive courteously. Its the soccer moms in their minivans and SUVs that are the terrors. ...and idiots in jacked up trucks... ...and...

M

I drove dry bulk tankers for a while, a few folks never knew how close they came to becoming a statistic by cutting off a 100' long, 105,5000 lb rig.

Unfortunately there are a few bad commercial drivers out there too.

[_CJ]

Originally Posted by Gummee!

Its the soccer moms in their minivans and SUVs that are the terrors. ...

They're the number one threat on the roads as far as I'm concerned. The most distracted and most aggressive.

[vortexau]

Originally Posted by windmill

. . .

The haters, and apologists of the United States conveniently forget that there are more people here who live outside urban areas then the total population of most "more civilized" countries. The realities of transportation needs are significantly different here, the benifits of public and alternative transportation are impracticable or impossible to use by a large percentage of the population. I's painfully obvious that some folks are passing blanket judgments biased on their very limited perspective.

In my reckoning, its not the issue of solely population density which should determine how people respond to others employing differing modes of transport -- it things like choosing to . .



. . . share resources, even in the field of transportation, and then . . . party-on, dude!




But separation can work wonders. You don't normally mix Cessnas & Tiger Moths with Airbus 380s & Boeing 737s. That doesn't work too good at all.

[FinlandThumper]

Originally Posted by Dranrab Luap

So motor vehiclists, do you really want me obeying all the traffic laws when I bicycle? I'll give you a little while to mull that over.

I am a daily bicyclist or motorcyclist myself, and my take is that bicycles should obey the spirit of the law, if not the letter.

What I mean is that when you are riding in traffic, the same protocols should apply to prevent accidents. Bicyclists can at times do some profoundly irresponsible and frankly stupid things that, to a car driver, seem totally random and out of nowhere. Things like swerving out into traffic from blind driveways or alleys, blowing red lights with nary a glance to the side, or moving against the flow of traffic. Even if you're a car driver paying attention, that kind of stuff comes totally as a surprise and carries with it a risk of accident.

So for example I move with the flow of traffic (not against it) and generally obey requirements to use hand signals and stop at controlled intersections when traffic is present. At uncontrolled intersections you are supposed to yield to the person on your right if you arrive at the same time, and in Europe you're risking your life if you break this convention (whether in car, on motorcycle, or bicycling). I try to establish eye contact with drivers at intersections so that they can see me and perhaps predict what I am doing...and vice versa.

But the letter of the law? Seriously, if I'm cruising into a red light and nobody's coming, I'll just roll through to conserve momentum. Most of the traffic lights and such are set up for cars, not bikes. One of hte reasons to use a bike in the first place is to free you of the idiotic traffic flow rules that are required because of the size and speed of cars. Filtering to the front, using your judgment to run a red light SAFELY...these are advantages of the bicycle and should be recognized.

So I try to be a responsible bicyclist and for me, that means following the intent of the law if not the exact letter of it.

[LuciferMutt]

Originally Posted by windmill

a 105,5000 lb rig.

[Gummee!]

The irony of this particular discussion on this particular forum is that MCs are treated the same way as bicyclists!

Try getting into an accident on your MC and see. Cage driver gets a slap on the wrist and the MC rider goes to the hospital and/or ends up dead.

M