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Out of all my years driving, I've never been really concerned over a bicyclist, even when they go through stop signs, or hang on my lumber rack. Yes, a lot don

Out of all my years driving, I've never been really concerned over a bicyclist, even when they go through stop signs, or hang on my lumber rack. Yes, a lot don't obey traffic laws to a tee, but it's a bike. They do not have the mass, nor size of a automobile. They just haven't been a concern for myself. I honestly don't get the outrage towards bicyclists. I think it's more psychological? Personally, I have found the most out of shape individuals complain about cyclists the most.

jefurii 11y ago
Back in the 1970s/1980s cyclists had to struggle to carve out their legal place on the roadways. Part of the bargain was that they adopt certain car-like rules of the road, like riding in the same direction as traffic, not weaving in and out, obeying traffic signals, etc. Because of this, cyclists' behavior is more predictable to drivers, thus making the roads safer for cyclists. When I see guys on fixies weaving in and out of traffic and blowing through stop signs I worry that all that progress is going out the window. These cyclists are making the roads more dangerous for themselves.
vvanders 11y ago
I think it's more hypocrisy, if you're going to get out of shape due to drivers not obeying the laws then you better damn well follow them yourself. I've almost hit bicyclist blowing stop signs multiple times. While they don't have the mass of a car you can bet that in the case of an injury there's a high probability that the driver is still going to be on the hook for insurance + damages.
- coryfklein 11y ago
  If a biker's mental ruleset says "Cars need to stop at red lights. Bikes may carefully proceed through red lights.", then it's not necessarily hypocrisy IMO. If that same biker, when driving a car, runs through red lights then I think that is a more condemnable hypocrisy.
dragonwriter 11y ago
As a pedestrian, I've been hit and injured by more illegally-operated bikes than cars. Now, obviously, in an accident, a car will, on average, do more bodily and property damage than a bike. So auto safety is a bigger concern.
lovich 11y ago
As a pedestrian, I have to watch out for both. Cars at least respect crosswalks for the most part after having that drilled into them. I routinely have to take action to avoid being hit by a bicyclist who thinks that red lights are a suggestion or that the signs saying no bikes on the sidewalks are just for decoration

jefurii 11y ago

Back in the 1970s/1980s cyclists had to struggle to carve out their legal place on the roadways. Part of the bargain was that they adopt certain car-like rules of the road, like riding in the same direction as traffic, not weaving in and out, obeying traffic signals, etc. Because of this, cyclists' behavior is more predictable to drivers, thus making the roads safer for cyclists. When I see guys on fixies weaving in and out of traffic and blowing through stop signs I worry that all that progress is going out the window. These cyclists are making the roads more dangerous for themselves.

vvanders 11y ago

I think it's more hypocrisy, if you're going to get out of shape due to drivers not obeying the laws then you better damn well follow them yourself. I've almost hit bicyclist blowing stop signs multiple times. While they don't have the mass of a car you can bet that in the case of an injury there's a high probability that the driver is still going to be on the hook for insurance + damages.

coryfklein 11y ago
If a biker's mental ruleset says "Cars need to stop at red lights. Bikes may carefully proceed through red lights.", then it's not necessarily hypocrisy IMO. If that same biker, when driving a car, runs through red lights then I think that is a more condemnable hypocrisy.

dragonwriter 11y ago

As a pedestrian, I've been hit and injured by more illegally-operated bikes than cars. Now, obviously, in an accident, a car will, on average, do more bodily and property damage than a bike. So auto safety is a bigger concern.

lovich 11y ago

As a pedestrian, I have to watch out for both. Cars at least respect crosswalks for the most part after having that drilled into them. I routinely have to take action to avoid being hit by a bicyclist who thinks that red lights are a suggestion or that the signs saying no bikes on the sidewalks are just for decoration