“...But I’m an observer. I have yet to see a single bicyclist signal their intentions before turning or stopping,...”
I don’t think I ever see automobile drivers signal their intention to stop before they actually apply their breaks. This is what you seem to be asking bicyclists to do.
If you have ever ridden a road bike, you would know that they have front and rear hand breaks which require both hand to operate. When they must stop, how do you expect them to signal their intention to stop when both hands must be operating the breaks? This is a completely unreasonable complaint.
When you apply the breaks in your car, *you* do not signal your prior-intention to stop. You just hit the breaks and the car’s break lights are automatically activated.
In regard to signaling for a turn, it is often dangerous to take one’s hand off the handlebars and attempt a signal, especially while on the dropped handlebars. This is because the area of road close to the curb (where the cyclist is riding) is often rough, has stones, glass, sewer grates. I have also noticed that it is fairly evident, just by observing the biker’s posture when he or she is preparing for a turn. pay attention!
Most people here are also generalizing a great deal about bicyclist’s behavior, perhaps from a few incidents, you generalize about all bikers.
Give these people on bikes a break. they are working much harder than you to get where they’re going, they are in harm’s way and they’re not hurting anybody.
True story about a bicyclists from about two weeks ago.
Driving along on a divided main road. Two very wide lanes in either direction, concrete island dividing traffic, exceptionally wide berm - about 2-3 feet of asphalt, plus a nice margin of fine gravel. Enough berm that you could park a car or truck on the side of the road and not impede traffic.
It’s morning rush hour, so traffic is heavy. Come up on a cyclist in his full regalia, but the important items is he has a helmet-mounted mirror (so he is aware of the backup of traffic he is causing) and a suprisingly loud horn.
He’s riding a couple feet to the left of the white line, essentially forcing cars to pass him as if he were a car. He’s so far left that cars could actually pass him on the right without leaving the asphalt.
We get to a stop light and I’m about 2 cars behind him. Sure enough, he shoots to the right side of the white line and starts passing cars in the right median.
Light changes, he slips his way into traffic. All the people that so carefully and thoughtfully passed him are now trapped behind him again, and have to pass him again.
The next light is far enough away that I get a chance to get around him. We stop at a light, I look in the mirror - same behavior. A lady in a car pulls into the road from the side street before the light changes. She’s now in the front of the “pack” of cars, but has no idea about Zippy that’s going to come up behind her.
Next light is the entrance to a freeway. The lady wants to make a legal right turn on red, and is waiting for oncoming traffic from the other side that has a green arrow to make a left.
She has no idea Zippy is flying along in the median coming up on her right, nor really should she have to consider that.
She gets a break in traffic and starts to make her turn when Zippy gets to her with his (surprisingly loud) horn. Luckily for Zippy, it’s a nice day and she has her window down. She, of course, stops, trying to figure out what’s going on, but not before her car has nudged out to the right, blocking Zippy.
More horn from Zippy as he cuts her off, memorializing the moment with an obscene gesture as he cuts over to the crosswalk (now he’s apparently a pedestrian), runs through the red light, gets across the street and again jumps into the road, a few feet to the right of the white line. So everyone who passed him and isn’t getting on the freeway must pass this douchebag again.
I have yet to see a driver of a vehicle act with such reckless disregard for traffic laws and safety. You couldn’t do half that in a car without being reported to, and then chased and aprehended by police.