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 ...
You mean, "fail to see a bike messenger who whips and weaves through traffic like a maniac on meth." Your son needs to get a job where he will be less hated by the general public, such as repo man or personal injury lawyer.
I’ll say it again, 5 bicyclists died in Chicago proving their right of way. Maybe there should be a more sensible way to handle yourself on a bicycle.
I fully expect that the next time I get hit by a car, it will be by someone who is talking on a cell phone.
Check the 10th Amendment then petition your state to eliminate speed limits citing your above claim............
Since you're on a roll, don't stop there. Maybe you can use your argument to eliminate your state taxes, overturn any smoking bans, return any EPA protected environment to the general public, eliminate the Wetlands Protection Act, eliminate property taxes, etc, etc, etc..........LOL!
One thing these “I hate cyclists” people are forgetting is how exposed we cyclists are. If a cyclists does something dumb in front of a car, he stands a good chance of being seriously hurt if not killed.
Whereas if someone driving a car does something stupid in front of a bicyclist, he has a good chance of seriously injuring a cyclist, not himself.
I also tell them to obey the traffic lights. I am tired of dodging them when I cross the street. They come out so fast from between the cars and the sidewalk that you have to keep your head turned to watch for them, instead of looking where you're going.
“And I would imagine that many of those that say the things you have listed are not in the physical shape required to ride a bike for more than a few blocks.”
I messed up. I was making fun of people who posted the things I listed, but I didn’t make that clear.
“Cyclists want to be treated as equals on the road, yet riders don’t think they need to obey the same traffic laws as the drivers of *real* vehicles on the road.
Cyclists ride full-speed on sidewalks.
Cyclists ride against traffic.
Cyclists ride in crosswalks.
Cyclists run red lights.
Cyclists run stop signs.
Cyclists ride across painted dividers.
Cyclists are incapable of slowing down to allow cars to proceed ahead of them.”
Not the ones I know.
No, it was clear. i was just trying to reaffirm your observations.
True. Like people blasting everyone else with their music or the people who pull into the parking zone and leave their car while they run into the store "for a few minutes."
Vehicle drivers hardly use turn signals anymore, so the whole scene is getting out of control.
I’ll sit at an intersection and watch the cars turning through it. Ninety percent of the time 90% of the drivers turning through the intersection are on the phone. That means they are driving with one hand. It finally occurred to me that that is what is behind the recent further degradation in driving skills and courtesy I’m seeing-—cell phone use!
Much of the debate on cell phones and driving has focused on the distractions caused by talking. But one of the even more critical effects is that this means you have mostly one-handed drivers on the road. See people making really wide, wobbly turns? They’re on the phone. No turn signal? They’re on the phone. Etc.
Add that and a bunch of cyclists and, Houston, we have a problem.
Cyclists need to be able to be picked up on red-light cameras just as well as motorists. We have the technology.
There's also no reason for police not to ticket cyclists for traffic infractions at least as readily as motorists. Heck, where I live the police---not lifeguards---police will whistle in and ticket a surfer who's surfing out of the designated surf zones ("lanes").
Cyclists are not special (and, yes, skateboarding can be a crime ;) ).
The cop has described the Lib/Rat culture perfectly.
Yep.
This is the sort of thing that makes me wish your truck had a cam up front like on some police cruisers.
The fact is there is no way, in the end, for motorists to protect themselves from accidentally hitting one of these guys. At the speeds they use, being in unexpected places, being in out of sight places (next to your vehicle, say), they can whoosh out in front of you at any time. No amount of checking and careful driving can insulate you (or them) in every instance.
If a cyclist is roaring up on the right side of your vehicle and ignores your turn signal and the fact that you obviously are looking left in preparation for turning right, and the cyclist keeps going and you do indeed turn right and the two of you crash, there is nothing you could have done to prevent that. Only the cyclist could have driven defensively in that situation.
But no telling who would get the ticket or be held liable for the injuries.
I agree.
The insurance is not for damage they cause, it’s to pay for their own injuries when they do dumb stuff that leads to accidents with motor vehicles and for damages caused by motorists attempting to avoid hitting the cyclist.
We have an area where the law is that if a pedestrian steps into a crosswalk, vehicles must stop and allow the pedestrian to pass.
The immature young among us thinks this means that if they step into a crosswalk, since the cars "have to" stop, they will.
The lesson is that even though cars "must" stop, some don't, therefore pedestrians still need to proceed with caution through the crosswalk.
Many cyclists, however, don't get this basic message. There are times when big, dangerous machines simply can't or won't be stopped in time to prevent injury.
That's the dumbest comment and most irrelevant attempt at making one's argument I've heard yet on FR.
You're attitude is proving the opposite of your point.
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