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 ...
Oddly enough, I had a car that was more dangerous than a motorcycle. (I had a Kawasaki 900 for a couple of years)
I owned a 1979 Triumph Spitfire. It was so low to the ground that it wasn’t readily visible, but, because you were driving surrounded by a mass of metal, you had the illusion of being safe while being visible.
>>When driving in your car around other traffic, do you use turn signals to alert other drivers as to your intentions?<<
Absolutely!
>>When ride your bike around other traffic, do you use hand signals to alert the other drivers as to your intentions?<<
Absolutely. But unlike in my car, where I instinctively turn on my turn signals, I don’t signal when there are no cars around. Also, because I assume I am invisible to cars, I can have an attitude that my signal on the bike is superfluous, since I only do what I would do if the cars really could not see me. It is mainly a courtesy.
>>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’?<<
No. And I understand that police do not generally give tickets for keeping up with the flow. If I did, that is the defense I would use. Many have, and successfully.
It really is about safety and flow.
Problem with most “bike routes” is that they are stuffed with walkers and families and have a 15 mph limit. Not really practical for actual bike riders.
My wife keeps wanting to go for a walk on the maple valley trail and I inform her that it is paved. It is for bikes and rollerblades. I like to walk on DIRT. There are very nice trails in the woods in our area that are not right next to a freaking hiway.
I don't think its car vs. bike or vice versa. I think its just a growing disrespect towards other people in general.
>>So, would it kill you to slow down inside that last 100 yards to allow the cars to go ahead of you? </rhetorical>
OK, even though it is rhetorical, I need to respond. I do that all the time. the three times it happened to me were:
1. going 45 mph down a steep hill, a teenager passes me and almost immediately slams on the brakes and makes a right at the bottom. As she passed me I suspected it was possible that it was what she was doing and started braking. If I had not been defensive and waited until the brake lights came on I would have broadsided her and endoed instead of riding her around the corner.
2 and 3. Frustrated drivers in stopped traffic, at the last second and without signalling, dart in front of me to make hard right. And even in those cases I was watching for such action, which is why the only damage done was to the cars, and I didn’t even go down.
On a bike, defensive driving is the rule of the day. I am watching the angle of the tires and stance on the suspension of every car that goes by me where there may be a point up the road where they may be offered choices. I have come to an almost complete stop as cars turn right in front of me. As a driver, I like to give the cars the same respect I would want from bicyclists when I am driving. It is just common courtesy.
But also as a driver, when I see a bicyclist blow through a stop sign (or even red light) where he is not impacting any other drivers I say more power to him. It does not offend me in the least, nor do I consider it dangerous.
Nope, not kidding. I have to have a license to operate my car on the public highways. The license indicates I know the “rules of the road” and agree to obey them. If I’m operating my vehicle on public highways, other drivers sharing the road expect me to know the rules and obey them; and to be able to cover the cost of any damage I might cause while driving. Why should cyclists be exempt?
BTW, In Alabama, I have to have a (V class) certification on my driver’s license to operate a boat with any type of motor, even a trolling motor. You have to take an exam to get the certification. So perhaps something similar for cyclists would work.
As for this being “FREE Republic,” what’s your point? Are you saying that cycling is a constitutional right?
Critical Mass riders injure driver in Capitol Hill altercation (Bike freaks beat motorist)
Saturday July 26, 17:29:31 GMT-0700 2008 by Rebelbase 114 replies 2,216+ views
Seattle Times 7/26/08 staff
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051893/posts
>>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.<<
That is what I like about it. It is a sort of “controlled anarchy”. When it is out of control, there is a problem. A bike rider that blows through a stop sign where there is not traffic is not the problem. The bike rider that blows through where there IS traffic and just figures he’ll “slip through the cars or they’ll stop for him” is the real problem.
There is anarchy and there is ANARCHY.
Time to find an old Buick hood ornament to mount on the hood, the one that resembles a gun sight for better aim!
>>I don’t think its car vs. bike or vice versa. I think its just a growing disrespect towards other people in general.<<
I concur.
Since they are motorless vehicles with the right of way, that is the proper way to navigate a left turn at an intersection like that.
I actually got on the air on KVI when they talked about that yesterday. My son was a bike messenger a while back. I even shadowed him one day on the job. Very interesting. Bike messengers and taxi drivers are like cats and dogs downtown. Cut off a bike messenger and you’ll quickly get a u-lock making intimate contact with one of your tail lights.
“I’ve seen them in the turn lanes in the middle of busy intersections as if they were cars.”
Uh, how else does a vehicle make a left turn, if we don’t do it out of a left turn lane?
What is really infuriating is a motorist who speeds up to pass us on the left side, only to slam on their brakes to make a right turn squarely in front of us. I mean, would it kill them to ride behind us at 20 mph for that last 100 yards?”
Most cyclist seem to have that holier than thou attitude towards cars,(I know dozens who bike for exercise or to commute) and I’m pretty sure they are likely suspects when you see a keyed SUV.
And I have seen plenty do some really stupid things in traffic that should have got them killed.
Arrogant, combative, things in some cases.
But cutting off cyclist or not noticing them (or caring about it)I’ve seen done too,. the same people who whip around and cut off a bike rider are the same Nimrods who whip around tractor trailers and then slam on their brakes for a lane change or an off ramp.
>>And I have seen plenty do some really stupid things in traffic that should have got them killed.<<
If you’ve seen plenty (without anyone being injured) then maybe, just maybe, it isn’t as stupid or dangerous as it appears.
The n00bs - oh, man. I work in a college town, walk to work (it's literally too close to bike and get any exercise - sometimes the things are too dang efficient) and it's that time of year when the kiddies are filtering back to school. Hooboy. Nothing worse than a n00b weaving the entire width of the sidewalk fiddling with gears with a bike lane eight feet away, unless it's an adolescent fool on a BMX who thinks he's still in junior high school and the world is his track. Serious riders will cross the streets to avoid these idiots. Serious walkers don't even have that option.
Then you gotcher Critical Massholes. These are guys - yeah, it's nearly always guys - who have chosen what they consider a virtuous lifestyle from an environmental perspective and actively intend to make life miserable for anyone less virtuous, and that includes other cyclists. "We aren't slowing traffic, we ARE traffic," goes the slogan, and then this "traffic" decides it doesn't need to obey traffic laws and becomes "pedestrian" whenever it feels like it. Yeah, traffic, right.
Neither category are serious cyclists, although the CM'ers are very often skilled ones. The word "serious" connotes some recognition that there are other people in the world and that transportation is a cooperative, and not a competitive activity. A quick re-scan of the article reveals that half of the problems listed are serious cyclists calling the jerks out and getting swung or cussed at for their trouble. The cyclist who thumped the jerk with his own bike lock may have been over-reacting a bit but he has my sneaking sympathy.
Believe it or not, we can all get along, or at least most of us can. I guess.
Awesome that you have a bicycle lane. That’s a totally different experience, I’ll bet.
A few weeks ago a buddy and I decided to bike to a new route which required us to ride the extreme right edge of a narrow 2 lane road. We had just passed a small group of riders (maybe 5 or 6) who were riding single file as we were on the other side of the road. Suddenly a big pick-up roared up behind that other group then laid on his horn. Had I been the last rider I probably would have been startled enought to either swerve to the left right in front of the truck or swerve to the right, off the edge of the asphalt and wiped out.
Upon witnessing that I told my buddy to head back to our standard route on the bike path......
Cemeteries across this land are filled with cyclists who had the right of way......
I was on a business trip to Dallas a few years back and noticed a lot of the roads had a curb right at the edge of the lane. No shoulder whatsoever. I get the feeling that is most definitely NOT a bicycle friendly town. Seattle has a LOT of problems, to the point that I will leave as soon as I can, but if you are a cyclist it is pretty close to heaven - at least in that area.
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