I Shall Not Appease Motorists!!!

Discussion in 'Political Opinions & Beliefs' started by ErikBEggs, Apr 28, 2014.

  1. ErikBEggs

    ErikBEggs New Member

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    I drive the ultimate hybrid. One with zero emissions and only biodegradable waste.

    My bicycle.

    I started riding to work just a few weeks ago.. as it makes no sense for me to drive my jerkwagon 6.5 miles each way to work. My fitness is increasing every day, and I am reducing the amount of smog in the atmosphere.

    Anyway, I got into it with an angry motorist at 7:30 this morning, because I took the lane on a street with marked bike lanes. I took the lane due to delivery and construction vehicles blocking the bike lanes. So this angry motorist decided to drive up to me in the center turning lane and yell all kind of obscenities for causing him 20 seconds of delay on his way to work.

    Let's just make a few things clear next time you get into it with a LAW-ABIDING cyclist:

    1) Bicycles are motor vehicles. Motor vehicles BELONG ON THE ROAD
    2) Cycling on the sidewalk is actually illegal (and more dangerous for cyclists)
    3) Bicycles may use the FULL LANE when necessary to ensure their own safety. Yes, this means riding in the CENTER of the lane to prevent motorists from sharing a lane too narrow. For clarification, any lane narrower than 14 feet is legally "too narrow" to share. Interstate highways are 12 feet wide, for reference.
    4) Bicycles have the legal authority to ride on the road in all fifty states, most European countries, Australia, and Canada.
    5) Vehicular cycling (taking the full lane) is actually SAFER, because it increases the length of time between first sighting of a cyclist, and the motorist realizing they need to change lanes to pass.
    6) Bicycle Lanes are not always safe to us, due to the "Door Zone" of parked cars. Door Zone accidents are common causes of cycling fatalities.


    [​IMG]

    Coming to a neighborhood near you.

    Signed,
    Progressives & The Cycling Lobby
     
  2. Hotdogr

    Hotdogr Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I'm a cyclist as well, though only recreational as my daytime job is 35 miles from my home. I'd commute if I could. Your points are well taken, and you're within your rights to take a principled stand. Your surviving family will, no doubt, win the lawsuit. Just remember, the laws of physics trump the laws of man. No matter what color the light is, or where the lane markings are, a dumptruck will always win the battle of lane ownership.
     
  3. MisterMet

    MisterMet New Member Past Donor

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    GET OUT OF THE WAY!!! I'm in a hurry.
     
    Falena and (deleted member) like this.
  4. ErikBEggs

    ErikBEggs New Member

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    Larger vehicles have actually been quite amiable... buses and construction vehicles. They know what it is like to be a "hazard."

    It is the folks in (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)wagon SUVs that have an entitlement complex.
     
  5. Lee S

    Lee S Moderator Staff Member Past Donor

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    Erik:

    I see your point. I used to ride my bicycle everyday and I have seen everything rude motorists can do to bicyclists. I have had motorists through trash cans at me and someone rolled a two foot diameter globe at me which I had to end up dodging half a dozen times as the globe bounced off the curb and into the bike lane.

    With that being said, militant bicyclists are idiots. You may have the traffic laws on your side, but a motorist has the laws of physics on their side and Darwin's Law of Natural Selection is the ultimate arbiter of who wins or loses the battle between a 20 pound bicycle and a 2,500 pound car travelling at 40 miles per hour.

    If you commute on a bicycle, you should expect:

    - to get hit by a car every three or four years. Most often you will be sideswiped and you will not be seriously injured.
    - to have road rage directed against you at least once a year.
    - to be on your own. The police are not going to side with you very often. Most often, they will find no one is at fault.
    - to alienate other cyclist who try to be super courteous to automobiles in order to create good relationships.

    Good luck on the road. I would encourage everyone to cycle to work that can, but leave your agenda at home. It will only get cyclists killed.
     
  6. stekim

    stekim New Member

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    They will no doubt point those things out at your funeral.
     
  7. ErikBEggs

    ErikBEggs New Member

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    I'm not a militant cyclist, fortunately.

    I don't ride on 40 mile per hour roads... my streets are all 30 mph. Road rage is directed at me about once per trip... usually unnecessary honking (like what am I suppoed to do? :wall: )

    I always signal and use the bike routes when possible.. but roughly 2 miles of my commute is vehicular cycling with no marked bike route. *Shrug*
     
  8. SMDBill

    SMDBill Well-Known Member

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    Every single morning I witness every bicyclist on my route taking to sidewalks and crosswalks (against our laws where I live) when it suits their needs. They run red lights sometimes, but not all cases, once the intersection clears of cars. They NEVER, and I mean that literally and covering the entire 6 years I've been making this daily commute, stay in the lane when the light turns red. In every single instance of a bicyclist on the road when the light turns, regardless of how far they are from the light and how backed up traffic is, they absolutely never stop in the lane as traffic is required. Without fail, and I've never seen even one stop and maintain their place in the flow of bumper to bumper traffic, they will race between cars by sharing the lane illegally with them, to get to the front of the line of vehicles. But then they get mad if a car shares the lane to get around them. I work at a location that requires verification of ID's and tens of thousands of cars enter daily. These bicyclists make the same ride every day and every time I see them it's the same behavior repeated. They create dangerous situations by taking advantage of sidewalks, then bike lanes, then sharing lanes or using crosswalks, as long as it suits their needs. Then they throw the law in the face of drivers who may not see them or who pass too closely.

    Good luck on your rides and stay safe. As a motorcyclist I know how dangerous it is. Just remember, lots of bicyclists care little for the law when it works against them and it frustrates drivers of automobiles when they create dangerous or illegal situations by doing so. I see very few who follow the law, and the ones who do follow the law only seem to do so by stopping at a red light. The rest of their riding adventure is filled with the behavior I've described and it happens daily, and it sucks when we hear news stories of a bicyclist hit by a motor vehicle because the odds are stacked against the bike rider due to weight and protection differences available to them versus a car or truck.
     
  9. Hotdogr

    Hotdogr Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yeah, they will also win the physics battle with you. How embarrasing would it be to be run down and squashed like a bug under the tiny wheels of a freaking smart-car full of iPhone texting treehuggers? I'm sure they'll post a horrified selfie on instagram just after they call the road-kill cleanup crew to wash down your grease spot. My sincere hope is that your bicycle-bravado is limited largely to your rant on this forum, and that you have the good sense to temper it with caution in the three-dimensional world.
     
  10. stekim

    stekim New Member

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    I would assume so. What would make it a little better IMO would be enforcing minimum speeds on roads. Cars driving 25MPH in a 45MPH zone will also get road rage directed at them. And rightly so. I have nothing against bikes or people who choose to ride them, but blocking the flow of traffic will certainly result in some road rage incidents. In the area where I work there are bike paths. Works out great. In the area where I live there are none. Does not work out quite so well when some dude or dudette on a bike farks up the flow of traffic by biking down the 55MPH road at 30MPH. So they should simply say you cannot drive your car that slow and, likewise, if you cannot bike at the proper speed you cannot use that road. After all, the life you are saving is certainly your own.
     
  11. ErikBEggs

    ErikBEggs New Member

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    Well, let's look at it this way.

    I'll speak from my commute.. I only ride on 30 mph roads. It is a heavily traveled road with the Metro Bus running frequently. I actually beat the Metro bus home if we leave at the same time. Metro buses frequently stop and drive at or below speed limit.

    The only difference is a Bus is huge and a bike is tiny. This is nothing more than motorist bullying. City traffic seldom has an average speed greater than 15 mph.. which is about what I sustain on my bicycle commute. The same cars rushing to pass I meet again at every intersection.

    I haven't attempted a ride at a 35+ mph road. I would imagine that would be scary.. but my coworker does it. He just stays in the right lane.
     
  12. ErikBEggs

    ErikBEggs New Member

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    That isn't really the point.

    Vehicle safety is paramount. Expediency does not trump vehicle safety.
     
  13. smevins

    smevins New Member

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    No they are not as they have no motor. If they have one of those little weedeater adaption motors, then they are and they would be illegal for someone with a DUI to use on a public road.

    I would rather be plowed into by an old lady with a cane, than a UPS truck, but we each have our own preferences now don't we.

    In my area, all highways, most bridges, and several major feeder roads have a prohibition against bikes and scooters.

    Some roads, not all.

    Assuming the driver is not texting, talking on a cellphone, playing with the radio, or yelling at kids in the backseat to (*)(*)(*)(*).
    So doors should be illegal? Always wanted one of those General Lee setups where I had to jump in the window to get away from the po po. Awesome idea.

    We have bike lanes. The people on bikes won't use them. They are afraid you won't get a good look at their spandexed butts with the sweaty spots and all.

    Thank you in advance for your organ donations. The overweight diabetic drunken couch potato will make good use of your very healthy kidneys and livers.
     
  14. Hotdogr

    Hotdogr Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Personal safety trumps... well.... everything else.

    Even if the law is on your side, a minivan full of screaming young 'uns and a distracted soccer mom will absolutely ruin your bucolic afternoon cycling experience.
     
  15. nra37922

    nra37922 Well-Known Member

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    How about being courteous? If you see that you have traffic backed up then get off the road as soon as you can and allow the cars to pass. Just because you may be right doesn't mean you have to be a jerk.
     
  16. Wolverine

    Wolverine New Member Past Donor

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    While I agree with you, there is also the issue of practically.

    On principle, yes, we have a right to the full road.
    In practice, most motorists do not give a (*)(*)(*)(*).

    On principle, if someone rear ends my car, they are at fault.
    In practice, it requires less time, energy, effort, and drama if I drive in such a way to prevent a tailgaiter from rear ending me.

    On principle, if someone pulls out in front of me, it is their fault if we collide.
    In practice, it requires less time, energy, effort, and drama if I drive in such a way to prevent a collision.

    Holding on to impractical principles can result in expense, wasted time, drama, injuries or death. Which is why I hug the edge of the pavement and assume that no one really gives a (*)(*)(*)(*) about right of way. Especially on a bicycle.
     
  17. stekim

    stekim New Member

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    If you are not blocking the flow of traffic I can't see why anyone would care. We get a lot of traffic here (I live in Atlanta) and many times going around a bike is not easy to do. That's when things get ugly.
     
  18. Pred

    Pred Well-Known Member

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    Every Sunday morning, large packs of bikers will do their morning rides. And without fail there will be one pack that take up both lanes on a 2 lane road. YOU PEOPLE ARE (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)S!!!!!!! Sorry. You don't get to force cars to go 10-15 mph on a 45mph road while you jabbering on completely oblivious to the world around you. There are no bike lanes on some of these roads, so out of consideration stick to one car lane so the rest of us can get around you. And for your safety do not ride right next to the lane lines. I respect your riding habits but don't be pricks please. You all can easily ride in a straight line in one lane, not scattered all over the place, weaving dangerously close to me.
     
  19. nra37922

    nra37922 Well-Known Member

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    But but but I'm entitled.............
     
  20. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    sad but true

    when I was young, small town, we could ride on sidewalk, actually were encouraged too, nowadays they force kids to ride on the road, that just seem too dangerous
     
  21. stekim

    stekim New Member

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    I don't. It's incredibly annoying when anyone (car or bike) blocks the flow of traffic because they are not moving with the flow of said traffic. I am only in the car for one purpose: to get where I'm going. So I do tend to get pissy when some idiot in his scooter is going 35MPH or some old lady is tooling around 20MPH under the speed limit or I cannot get past some dude on a bike going 25MPH and blocking the road. To me, that is just being a total dick. But folks in bike lanes or in slow moving city traffic are fine. I'm not anti-bike or anything. I'm just anti folks being in my freakin' way. If the speed limit on the road is faster than you can bike, then it's best to stay off said road. The life you save will just be your own.
     
  22. Bluespade

    Bluespade Banned

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    Ya, you're not suffering from a entitlement complex yourself.:rolleyes:
     
  23. Taxcutter

    Taxcutter New Member

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    Motorcyclists live to be old motorcyclists by remembering one thing about cages:

    THEY REALLY ARE OUT TO GET YOU!
     
  24. Wolverine

    Wolverine New Member Past Donor

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    Especially on mountain passes.

    I hug the side of the road. I have a Trek mountain bike, the fastest I go is about 25mph, maybe 30mph with a tail wind. The speed limit is 55mph. I find it dangerous and undoublty stupid to occupy a full lane when I am traveling substantially less than the speed limit.

    Should motorists respect bicyclists? Yes.
    Do they? Not always.

    The minority of "Yes's" are not going to leave you crippled on the side of the road.
     
  25. stekim

    stekim New Member

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    I live within an hour or two of the mountains in north Georgia. People love to bike that area. It's got to be great workout. I don't mind that at all. The way the road twists and turns you can't really drive fast anyway. And it's never so crowded you can't go around them. It's on busy, crowded streets that I get mad.
     

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