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Interesting article on bicycles and traffic laws


Beerball

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Had he been moving that fast I would have waited for the tool to pass through the intersection, but I passed him going 15 mph decelerating into my turn like he was standing still. I'd be shocked if he was going 3 mph. He was just an arrogant ass who thinks everyone should cater to his little bicycle rules.

 

Now youre losing me.

 

You implied that the mass of your truck somehow comes into play here and im trying to tell you that might not be the case. Ive been way over to the right, riding along, using my blinky, hand signals and making gramma Edie blush with how carefully Im obeying the rules, only to slide right into the back of a few backward hat wearing, trucknut hanging dipshits who decided to stop RIGHT NOW and hang a quick right into a fast food drivethru.

 

So again...it plays both ways. Yield and play nice and nobody gets hurt. Drive and/or ride along like a selfish ass and everybody else caters to "ME", and there will be blood.

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Now youre losing me.

 

You implied that the mass of your truck somehow comes into play here and im trying to tell you that might not be the case. Ive been way over to the right, riding along, using my blinky, hand signals and making gramma Edie blush with how carefully Im obeying the rules, only to slide right into the back of a few backward hat wearing, trucknut hanging dipshits who decided to stop RIGHT NOW and hang a quick right into a fast food drivethru.

So again...it plays both ways. Yield and play nice and nobody gets hurt. Drive and/or ride along like a selfish ass and everybody else caters to "ME", and there will be blood.

 

That has happened to me before and I followed the MFer into the gas station parking lot when I realized it was a 17 year old girl on her cell phone. It takes a lot to piss me off and do that, but it was clear she never saw me. And I am hard to miss, a 6 foot tall 265 lb guy on a bike and I always wear a bright shirt.

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Oh that's right, it's been awhile since I've been to your neck of the woods. I forgot about that three way stop. :unsure:

 

So you only obey the traffic rules some of the time. I get it, but you really should have said that instead of that you follow them all the time.

 

Have you run into (not literally) the Critical Mass holes yet?

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No, I do not. I hate their guts. For people in other places, they are a group (of hundreds) of "cyclists" in SF that once a month in the summer on a Friday after work ride where they want to and totally screw up the traffic. They cross at red lights and then start beating cars when someone almost hits them. They tried to get on the Bay Bridge the wrong way one time. Had the cops out in riot gear to stop that one.

 

Hence the name I call them. The last two words are one, but the swearing filter makes it unintelligible.

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So again...it plays both ways. Yield and play nice and nobody gets hurt. Drive and/or ride along like a selfish ass and everybody else caters to "ME", and there will be blood.

Yeah, his.

 

 

Did I mention I think bikes have no place in the middle of the road?

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Yeah, his.

 

 

Did I mention I think bikes have no place in the middle of the road?

 

 

Youre right. They dont. They should in the right lane of traffic, off to the side as much as they can without going into the shoulder. On two lane roads, bikes, espeically groups larger than five, can (and should) take a full lane a lane of traffic and move to the side as needed to allow faster cars to pass as traffic and conditions permit.

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Cycling and traffic laws are a weird dynamic. Cyclists do have to obey the rules, but UNLIKE when driving a car, to the extend you obey them is MUCH more dependenent on conditions and time of day. To use Tone's example, if youre riding through a nice quiet neigborhood on your way home, a cyclist is NOT going to come to a full stop for every stop sign. That would be pointless. A good cyclist will come to an intersection like this, look both ways, determine that the road is clear and keep going. If there is a car there, s/he may slow down and yield or keep going, depending on the action of the car. Its actually the same with red lights. Youll come to a light, slow down, look both ways and if traffic permits, go through it and if traffic doesnt permit, stop. To illustrate this...I go down a VERY busy road on my morning rides. At 530AM on my way out when the road is very very quiet, I wont stop for lights or stopsigns...just as I approach, make sure traffic is clear and keep right on going. But on the way back at 830AM in the middle of rush hour, its a whole different ballgame and Im MUCH more in tune with the cars and stop lights and Im very careful to "follow the traffic signal rules" and what not.

 

I cant speak for the fools who ride on sidewalks, against traffic or just blow through lights without looking. Obviously, there is no place for that. But cyclist's rode rules are governed MUCH more by traffic conditions at the time and not as much by the rules automobiles are governed by.

 

One thing thats a peeve of mine...this notion by cars that I have to get to the shoulder. No....share the road. I dont see you driving your car in the shoulder, dodging roadkill, tree blowdown, dirt and garbage. Dont expect me ride my bike in that crap.

 

So what you're saying that it's ok for bicyclists to break the law? You've made me realize that I'm absolutely right when I say I hate you smug mother effers when you're on your bikes. Not calling you a mohter effer all the time. Just when you're on your bike.

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So what you're saying that it's ok for bicyclists to break the law? You've made me realize that I'm absolutely right when I say I hate you smug mother effers when you're on your bikes. Not calling you a mohter effer all the time. Just when you're on your bike.

 

You come here not knowing **** about rules of the road of cycling..me, as someone who bikes THOUSANDS of miles a year is DESPERATLEY (and politely) trying to tell you how it all works and in response you write the above?

 

And you call ME a "smug MFer"?

 

You got !@#$ing nerve. Go !@#$ing read up and learn something for which youre spouting off about and then get back to me.

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You come here not knowing **** about rules of the road of cycling..me, as someone who bikes THOUSANDS of miles a year is DESPERATLEY (and politely) trying to tell you how it all works and in response you write the above?

 

And you call ME a "smug MFer"?

 

You got !@#$ing nerve. Go !@#$ing read up and learn something for which youre spouting off about and then get back to me.

 

Yup you're the type. It is ILLEGAL to run a red light, stop sign or to ignore any rules of the road while on a bike or car. God I hate bikers with your attitude.

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Now youre losing me.

 

You implied that the mass of your truck somehow comes into play here and im trying to tell you that might not be the case. Ive been way over to the right, riding along, using my blinky, hand signals and making gramma Edie blush with how carefully Im obeying the rules, only to slide right into the back of a few backward hat wearing, trucknut hanging dipshits who decided to stop RIGHT NOW and hang a quick right into a fast food drivethru.

 

So again...it plays both ways. Yield and play nice and nobody gets hurt. Drive and/or ride along like a selfish ass and everybody else caters to "ME", and there will be blood.

 

Mass does come into play. Regardless of who is in the "right," a bike loses to a truck 100% of the time. Being right doesn't matter too much when they spatula your brains off the sidewalk while the truck driver buffs out the scratch you put in his car.

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You come here not knowing **** about rules of the road of cycling..me, as someone who bikes THOUSANDS of miles a year is DESPERATLEY (and politely) trying to tell you how it all works and in response you write the above?

 

And you call ME a "smug MFer"?

 

You got !@#$ing nerve. Go !@#$ing read up and learn something for which youre spouting off about and then get back to me.

I didn't realize there were special rules for bikes. Where can I find them?

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I didn't realize there were special rules for bikes. Where can I find them?

 

Ask any bicyclist they'd gladly tell you. We're smug, we're green, we're saving the planet, we're in great shape the rules are fluid but they all revolve around us.

 

"Ring, ring...on your left!"

 

"On my left, I'm on the !@#$ing sidewalk!!"

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As a guy who used to regularly ride on a lot of roads including the Ontario State Parkway (which claims a biker or two every summer) I think people are nuts to ride in the road when the shoulder is an option. I'd rather bike through a little schmutz and steer around roadkill (which is rare) than become roadkill myself. I'm also not so self-important that I would be okay with altering the natural flow of traffic just to avoid me.

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No, I do not. I hate their guts. For people in other places, they are a group (of hundreds) of "cyclists" in SF that once a month in the summer on a Friday after work ride where they want to and totally screw up the traffic. They cross at red lights and then start beating cars when someone almost hits them. They tried to get on the Bay Bridge the wrong way one time. Had the cops out in riot gear to stop that one.

 

Hence the name I call them. The last two words are one, but the swearing filter makes it unintelligible.

 

they do Critical Mass in almost every major city. they have it here in Atlanta, and they even have (a good) one in Buffalo.

 

when done correctly, its a good idea. its to raise motorist awareness that bikes do belong on the street so we should watch out for them. here in Atlanta, theyve had bike police join up and theyll go ahead to stop traffic at lights and whatnot. ive ridden in Buffalo's a few times and only once in Atlanta. good times.

 

i remember a story in Buffalo that made the front page of Artvoice (oo, important) about a near riot that went down when one of the critical massers get their mass kicked by a cop. they had it on video and everything. (not surprisingly) it was another over-reaction by a cop who was all hopped up because he was "out numbered" in the middle of a peaceful, hippie crowd.

 

i can see the SF one being way more out of hand, given the local crust/punk scene and general spoiled hippie kid nature of the locals. but CM in other cities is actually pretty fun and positive.

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they do Critical Mass in almost every major city. they have it here in Atlanta, and they even have (a good) one in Buffalo.

 

when done correctly, its a good idea. its to raise motorist awareness that bikes do belong on the street so we should watch out for them. here in Atlanta, theyve had bike police join up and theyll go ahead to stop traffic at lights and whatnot. ive ridden in Buffalo's a few times and only once in Atlanta. good times.

 

i remember a story in Buffalo that made the front page of Artvoice (oo, important) about a near riot that went down when one of the critical massers get their mass kicked by a cop. they had it on video and everything. (not surprisingly) it was another over-reaction by a cop who was all hopped up because he was "out numbered" in the middle of a peaceful, hippie crowd.

i can see the SF one being way more out of hand, given the local crust/punk scene and general spoiled hippie kid nature of the locals. but CM in other cities is actually pretty fun and positive.

 

So crowds only in SF can get out of hand? So if the cop had over-reacted in SF that would have been ok?

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