Posted on 07/29/2008 7:55:24 AM PDT by fightinJAG
When gas prices surged above $4 per gallon earlier this year, it didn't take Nostradamus to predict that there would be a resultant rush to carbon-free commuting options—especially in a place like Portland, which is known for its ample network of bike lanes. Cyclists in "Stumptown" are spinning their spokes here in unprecedented numbers, trading in their fuel-guzzling SUVs for stylish 27-speeds.
But the cycling surge has created conflict, as the new breed of commuters bumps up against the old, oil-powered kind.
First came a drunk cyclist repeatedly smacking the driver of a car with his bike July 6, before a passerby stopped the melee by knocking the pedaler to the ground with one punch (the driver happened to be a longtime cycling advocate, who'd kicked off the altercation by chiding the biker for blowing through a red light.)
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
>>Would it kill you to slow down and let the car turn right ahead of you?<<
Actually, sometimes it is not possible. It is how I broadsided a car.
When driving in your car around other traffic, do you use turn signals to alert other drivers as to your intentions?
When ride your bike around other traffic, do you use hand signals to alert the other drivers as to your intentions?
How about the guy that gets in the passing lane of the freeway and drives the limit, exactly. He is obeying the letter of the law, yet violating the spirit of the law on both counts (safety and traffic flow).
Ever gotten a speeding ticket and tried telling the cop and/or judge you were just being 'safe' by keeping up with the 'flow of traffic'?
I’m not aware of a single bike route in my area, except US Bike Route 1, and US Bike Route 76 which happen to intersect not far from home. But guess what? Even though these are designated bike routes, there isn’t a marked lane or extra pavement. Just some signage. Does that mean I can’t ride?
I get that when I'm driving. Nobody behind me in my lane for 1/4 mile, but the jackass in the left lane behind me has to pass me at twice the speed limit, then get in my lane and slam on his brakes to make the turn.
But fortunately, one that would involve a long and tiring swim.
>>I’m happy for you, but if you’re doing this by driving around traffic instead of with it, then you’re asking for trouble, whether its legal or not. <<
Yeah, it is with the traffic. I do a nine mile commute on Coal Creek Parkway (mostly) from the Renton Highlands. It has a nice bicycle lane. On one trip, by the time I got to I-405 I passed 300 cars but only 100 of them had overtaken me at that point. Yeah, I counted that day. ;)
It is a little unnerving going down a hill at 45 mph in the bike lane next to dead stopped traffic, but there are no turnouts and I am waiting for someone to cut me off, at which point I jump the curb onto the sidewalk.
I actually had a semi driver in stopped traffic (about 15 cars ahead of me) turn his wheel hard right and plant it firmly against the curb. I’m sure it annoyed him no end when, as I approached the front of his rig I simply hopped onto the sidewalk without even slowing down and continued on, hopping back onto the road in front of him.
It would have been no skin off his nose if I had just rode past him on the road. I hate controllers. :(
Well, cars sometimes broadside other cars. It's an unfortunate byproduct of operating vehicles on the road.
Here's your statement to which I replied:
I mean, would it kill them to ride behind us at 20 mph for that last 100 yards?
So, would it kill you to slow down inside that last 100 yards to allow the cars to go ahead of you? </rhetorical>
If one of the reasons for cycling is *exercise*, then it should make little difference how fast or slow you ride or if you have to slow down and then speed up.
>>Driving is not a right.<<
So true.
Riding a bike, however, is.
I don't, in fact, that was probably only the 3rd or 4th time I've ever done that - BTW, I've since found a workaround for that portion of that route.
Are you saying that you stop at red lights when you're turning right? How about intersections controlled by stop signs. Do you stop at those, too?
Absolutely, I do. I abide by the rule that if you're going to use the road, the same rules apply to bikes that apply to cars. A bike is part of "traffic" that's why the laws are called traffic laws. It's a pity that a lot of bikers don't think this way.
My hometown allowed bicyclists to merely slow down at a stop sign and proceed with caution, requiring the stop only if other vehicles had the right-of-way. Blowing through it at speed was a moving violation. Stoplights were a different story, follow the same rules as a car.
> But fortunately, one that would involve a long and tiring swim.
(HUGE GRIN!)
>>And yes, your truck cost you no money to drive it, but it was ILLEGAL<<
Yeah. :)
And I am reminded of this quote, from a Freerepublic post actually: “I used to know an Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He told me that on his first day on the job, the US Attorney called him into his office and told him to look out the window. Below was a park and dozens of people were walking around. The US Attorney told my friend, ‘You see everyone in that park? They have all committed a federal crime. Your job is to decide who to prosecute.’”
I prefer to trust and use my God given brain to do what is “safe” and “obey the letter of the law” when cops are around. When my vehicle was not insured, it was not illegal to drive without insurance. The tabs thing was in the day when Washington RV owners would license their vehicles in Oregon because the tab fees were punitive.
You have no idea just how much I view our government today as similar to the government of the Soviet Union in the 1960’s. It’s got a long way to go, but nowhere near as far as many would have you believe. I have absolutely no respect for any of our governments law creation agencies. Not a one. I consider their judgement inherently flawed.
Hybrids are stupid but heh they are selling. You’re missing the point. Bike riders as displayed in this thread are anarchists. Car drivers can be very bad but are held to a set of laws.
“Just awesome! It is amazing what pointing a camera at a person will do.
Will he pay for the damage though?”
No damages to the OJ Simpson Bronco. It was fairly idiot proof, deer proof and kamikazi bike proof.
A few kamikazi deer ran into the sides for their last splat with no damage or just a blood mark.
I had a guy back into the rear bumper, and his vehicle had to be towed out of the parking lot.
Last but not least a tailgating Mercedes ran into my tow hitch with its radiator, not a good plan.
Cameras are a great tool for us in today’s world.
Many traffic laws really are primarily written for powered vehicles. Most four way stops would not exist if there were only bicycles. The traffic laws are also written for the lowest common denominator: the new driver; the little old lady peering through the steering wheel.
Energy wise, it is very expensive and, frankly, kinda dumb for a bicycle to arbitrarily stop at a stop sign where one can see all four approaching directions to a distance of several hundred yards - and there are no vehicles approaching. If it is at the bottom of a hill, even more so.
“My solution would be to impose a modest road tax on cyclists, with an exemption for those who also own cars. The tax would then fall specifically on the ideological Critical Massholes.”
That I like!
Except for the “slippery slope” concept.
Three co-workers of mine have broken ribs in the last year biking. Two were affectionately named “Stumpy” and “Curby” for obvious reasons. Trust me, those guys are anything but effiminate. They are also the smart kind. I bike often, and am dismayed myself about how poorly many bikes share the road.
My riding rules are also why I don’t care to ride in large groups. Too many times, you’ll get one or two that ride just like people are complaining about in this thread. I prefer not to be associated with such.
No, but these same jackasses don’t know how to use turn signals either.
>>Dave was a very experienced rider who was always careful. Everyone, driver and rider alike, needs to realize this is a deadly serious game, and no one deserves to die for it. <<
Absolutely! And every truck is a potential killer, even more than cars. Problem is, even those of us who are careful, experienced, and have good hand-eye coordination and spatial reasoning capabilities can find ourselves slipping up from time to time. And if we do it at the wrong time, as cyclists we can be dead. It almost happened to me on my motorcycle once. Thank God the driver did NOT have his head up his a$$ or I would have been toast.
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