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Not 100% on topic, but one of the pet peeves I have noticed with cyclists is quite a few of them do not obey the rules of the road. As vehicles, they have to s

Not 100% on topic, but one of the pet peeves I have noticed with cyclists is quite a few of them do not obey the rules of the road. As vehicles, they have to stop at stop signs and lights, but feel like quite an appreciable percentage do not. I'm not saying drivers are entirely faultless, but feels like its to a lesser extent and not as flagrantly.

bryanlarsen 8y ago
"to a lesser extent and not as flagrantly." I'd wager a higher percentage of cyclists stop at all stop signs than motorists who strictly obey the speed limit.
- btrettel 8y ago
  Whenever I find myself in a conversation with a driver complaining about cyclists blowing through stop signs, I ask if they always follow the speed limit. Often I get a rant about how the speed limits are almost always too low. As far as I can tell roughly the same percentage of cyclists break the law as drivers. Unfortunately most people take a selective view of this, ignoring what drivers do. (I'm a cyclist who always stops at stop signs. In fact, I have helmet cam video of myself going through a cyclist stop sign enforcement operation without any issue from the police.)
kaybe 8y ago
The problem is that many of the rules absolutely do not make sense for cyclists. It seems to me that for rule-following of motorists there is a correlation with rule quality as well (compare different countries). This is not an excuse but an attempt for explanation.
kartan 8y ago
> As vehicles, they have to stop at stop signs and lights, but feel like quite an appreciable percentage do not. I guess that this is a problem of how energy conservation works. When a cyclists stops they lose all their gained energy, like any other vehicle. But then, the cyclist needs to put a lot of effort to get again to their original speed. If that stop is in front of a slop the cyclist only option is to get off the bike and walk. So, maybe it is more a fault on the design of the roads than on the cyclists.
- kelnos 8y ago
  Assuming stopping at a stop sign materially increases safety (which may or may not be arguable; not tackling that here), then whether or not it's harder to get going again after stopping is entirely irrelevant.
vkou 8y ago
1. I've yet to see a single driver who actually obeys the rules of the road. Every stop sign, every yield sign, every posted speed limit. 2. If you had to pedal like a mad-man to get your car going, every time you stopped at a stop sign, while it swayed 20-degrees side-to-side, you'd probably be making a lot more California stops, too.
- dfxm12 8y ago
  California stops I wonder how many other places claim this "stop": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop
goodcanadian 8y ago
I find drivers also rarely come to a complete stop at stop signs.

bryanlarsen 8y ago

"to a lesser extent and not as flagrantly." I'd wager a higher percentage of cyclists stop at all stop signs than motorists who strictly obey the speed limit.

btrettel 8y ago
Whenever I find myself in a conversation with a driver complaining about cyclists blowing through stop signs, I ask if they always follow the speed limit. Often I get a rant about how the speed limits are almost always too low. As far as I can tell roughly the same percentage of cyclists break the law as drivers. Unfortunately most people take a selective view of this, ignoring what drivers do. (I'm a cyclist who always stops at stop signs. In fact, I have helmet cam video of myself going through a cyclist stop sign enforcement operation without any issue from the police.)

kaybe 8y ago

The problem is that many of the rules absolutely do not make sense for cyclists. It seems to me that for rule-following of motorists there is a correlation with rule quality as well (compare different countries). This is not an excuse but an attempt for explanation.

kartan 8y ago

> As vehicles, they have to stop at stop signs and lights, but feel like quite an appreciable percentage do not. I guess that this is a problem of how energy conservation works. When a cyclists stops they lose all their gained energy, like any other vehicle. But then, the cyclist needs to put a lot of effort to get again to their original speed. If that stop is in front of a slop the cyclist only option is to get off the bike and walk. So, maybe it is more a fault on the design of the roads than on the cyclists.

kelnos 8y ago
Assuming stopping at a stop sign materially increases safety (which may or may not be arguable; not tackling that here), then whether or not it's harder to get going again after stopping is entirely irrelevant.

vkou 8y ago

1. I've yet to see a single driver who actually obeys the rules of the road. Every stop sign, every yield sign, every posted speed limit. 2. If you had to pedal like a mad-man to get your car going, every time you stopped at a stop sign, while it swayed 20-degrees side-to-side, you'd probably be making a lot more California stops, too.

dfxm12 8y ago
California stops I wonder how many other places claim this "stop": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop

goodcanadian 8y ago

I find drivers also rarely come to a complete stop at stop signs.