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Things people blamed on bicycles

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Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#91

Post by avdlinde »

wodenokoto wrote: post #82
eptcyka wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How am I supposed to make a left turn at an intersection? Other than that, yes, being on the far right on the road is where I'd feel safest.

You are not supposed to take a left turn at an intersection on a bicycle! That’s insane. Do you expect pedestrians to do the same? You go straight and stop at the end of the intersection. Wait for lights to change and cross again. I would honk if someone took a left turn in front of my car on their bicycle in Copenhagen.

I hope this is a joke and not serious.

Bicycles are supposed to be on the road, pedestrians are not.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#92

Post by taneq »

fzfaa wrote: post #36
mnd999 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a lot more hate for bicycles since I stopped driving and started walking as it turns out.

When driving, cyclists are dangerous for themselves and for others. When walking, cyclists have absolutely no regard for my physical safety. When I lived in a city with a lot of cyclists I ended up developing some kind of fear that made me look around all the time because of how many cyclists had almost killed me when I was peacefully walking along the pavement. Oh god how I hate cyclists.

I've always found it ironic that there's a certain breed of cyclist who regards car drivers the way pedestrians regard cyclists, while regarding pedestrians the way car drivers regard cyclists, and while simultaneously perpetrating every insult that any of the above imposes on any other.

(Obviously there are many courteous cyclists too, just as there are many courteous drivers and pedestrians, I'm just talking about this particular group.)

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#93

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

ChrisRR wrote: post #52
vocram wrote: post #15

Hate for bicycles hasn’t changed. People think a bike travel is recreational, and thus less important than a car travel. Someone goes out of their way to affirm that, by having to overtake bikes or not let them overtake their cars. A couple of times I met cars busting their brakes trying to keep up with me with a disc road bike on long technical descents

In the UK as a cyclist I still get so much hate on the road. I'm just trying to get to work like everyone else, but people still drive their cars up right behind me, squeeze past when there's not enough space, beep their horns and shout out the window. And then the justification is always "well I saw a cyclist run a red light once, therefore all cyclists are shit"

Motorists often forget that a lot of motorists jump red lights too, and then there's the habitual speeding that seems expected of drivers, rather than being recognised as dangerous behaviour. With red light jumping, there's also a very different pattern of behaviour as motorists will speed up to get through a light that's just turned red, whereas cyclists tend to either slow down or continue at the same pace when RLJing.

There's also a difference in where the risk is, as cyclists are mainly endangering themselves (also pedestrians, but crashing into a pedestrian is likely to hurt the cyclist), whereas motorists are mainly endangering others.

The best way of dealing with close-passing motorists is to run cameras (front and back) and let the police deal with the driver, but it depends on what area you're in as to whether the force will deal with it appropriately. Avon & Somerset is a good one in my experience.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#94

Post by piokoch »

vocram wrote: post #15

Hate for bicycles hasn’t changed. People think a bike travel is recreational, and thus less important than a car travel. Someone goes out of their way to affirm that, by having to overtake bikes or not let them overtake their cars. A couple of times I met cars busting their brakes trying to keep up with me with a disc road bike on long technical descents

I don't care about bikes on the road (as long as they obey traffic regulations, which happens to be a problem, some people who bike just don't know the rules), however I am mad about bikers on the pavements and even more about electric scooters on pavements, which are a plague now and are even more dangerous than bikes.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#95

Post by MagnumOpus »

evandijk70 wrote: post #76
ChrisRR wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK as a cyclist I still get so much hate on the road. I'm just trying to get to work like everyone else, but people still drive their cars up right behind me, squeeze past when there's not enough space, beep their horns and shout out the window. And then the justification is always "well I saw a cyclist run a red light once, therefore all cyclists are shit"

How often does that kind of thing happen? Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly?

You wouldn't need to ask if you rode a bike regularly. Every 20 minutes of riding is my guess.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#96

Post by mattashii »

usrusr wrote: post #69
mattashii wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the cyclist is considered a guest in foot traffic areas, it should slow down to match safe speeds in those situations.

The cyclist has all the reason to be there as a driver would, none at all. Go driving on the sidewalk, at a speed presumably appropriate for "guests" (15 km/h? would that really be appropriate?) and look how welcome you are.

The existence of a sidewalk implies the existance of a road that is used for all traffic except foot traffic, such as bikes. Why are you forcing the situation onto the sidewalk?

I was talking about a pedestrian road, considering the 'historical' setting of the GP post.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#97

Post by eptcyka »

ajuc wrote: post #71
eptcyka wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally yes, but, especially in California, people often forget that it's the slower vehicle's responsibility to yield to faster traffic, regardless of the type of slower vehicle. EDIT: Yield here is a misnomer, what I mean to convey is that slower moving traffic by law is supposed to pass faster moving traffic if it's possible to do so safely, and this is a feat that I rarely see take place, be it with cyclists or…

> it's the slower vehicle's responsibility to yield to faster traffic WTF is wrong with you in America? When a bike goes on the pavement it's the bike that has to yield. When a pedestrian or a bike goes on a road - it's the cars that have to yield (usually, there's exceptions).

I was referring to traffic on roads, not sidewalks. Slower vehichles on the road have to yield to faster vehichles in so far that they have to let them pass.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#99

Post by piokoch »

mnd999 wrote: post #26
vocram wrote: post #15

Hate for bicycles hasn’t changed. People think a bike travel is recreational, and thus less important than a car travel. Someone goes out of their way to affirm that, by having to overtake bikes or not let them overtake their cars. A couple of times I met cars busting their brakes trying to keep up with me with a disc road bike on long technical descents

I have a lot more hate for bicycles since I stopped driving and started walking as it turns out.

That's my impression to. Bikers apparently think that those funny white stripes on the roads and bike roads are some kind of decoration, not passage for pedestrian. Many bikers think that they have priority there...

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#100

Post by schoen »

mrweasel wrote: post #85
schoen wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> WTF is a bike doing in the middle of the road? If there's no bike lanes, then the bikes go all the way to the right, there are almost no exceptions. Mainly door zones of parked cars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dooring That's the main reason I was taught to take a full lane with my bike, and the main reason I do. (Apart from things I perceive as safety issues -- mainly dooring! -- I always try to make sure motori…

Look at the picture in the Wikipedia article, like NYC bikes lanes, that lane has been placed by an idiot. It's on the wrong side of the car. Still, in places with no bike lanes, I sort of see your point, but who in their right mind opens a door straight into traffic. If it's a bike it's going to unpleasant for the rider, if it's a car, your car door comes off. I think it's less of a problem here in Denmark, partly d…

I'd say you're lucky to have better infrastructure that contributes to better safety. The bike lane placement in that Wikipedia example is dangerous because of the door zone, but it's not atypical for the United States.

> who in their right mind opens a door straight into traffic. If it's a bike it's going to unpleasant for the rider, if it's a car, your car door comes off [...] I mean dooring happens, but very rarely.

Here in the U.S., I believe it's the most common cause of cyclist injuries in some cities (!). Opening doors into traffic without looking is not that unusual, and there's a lot of discussion about how to change that habit.

Edit: the sibling comment points out that the habit of looking before opening doors may be different for drivers versus passengers. Anecdotally, I think some of the worst offenders are taxi and rideshare passengers (in the back seat).

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