Bike Lanes Are Dangerous!!!!

sillygoosie

Have you seen this? It's pretty funny ...

http://youtu.be/bzE-IMaegzQ

Touche. That was good.

pistolcrystal

Google Amelie Le Moullac - 24 year old cyclist killed about a week ago in San Francisco while riding in a bike lane. She was run over by a truck driver who illegally right-turned into the bike lane instead of merging so that she would know to ride around him. I myself have been involved in at least 4 similar incidents with motorists. Having bike lanes flank the roadways decreases the visibility of cyclists to motorists. I frequently find myself in motorists' blind spots and ride very defensively on my streets to protect myself and my whip. The lack of visibility has been nominally mitigated by painting the bike lanes green, but IMHO it simply is not enough.

Crochetluvr

I don't mind bike lanes...just wish there were more of them. I hate when a bike lane just ENDS...and you are back on the road with a very little shoulder full of stones and debris....and no sidewalk to even CONSIDER riding on. But you wouldn't catch me riding a bike in a city unless I took lessons....that is an acquired skill.

nexangelus

They can be, especially when big lorries come hurtling by and there is not quite enough room...I am not placing the blame for lack of safety on car drivers only. I have seen many cyclists flout the rules of the road, I saw three in one afternoon ride straight through red lights, I was shocked! I cycle everywhere, so I act like I am a motorbike or car, like a road vehicle, if there are no cycle lanes provided. (I do not cycle on motorways or dual carriageways though, that is asking for trouble!) I try not to hog all of the main lane, but when car drivers are being *kitten*, which they sometimes are, then you have to cycle aggressively. You can be fined in the UK for cycling on the pavements, so not a good idea. I do, if I feel I am at risk on the road and I give pedestrians the right of way all the time. I even stop if there are obstacles to let the pedestrians go first. Just like there are bad car drivers and motorcyclists, there are bad bicyclists. We seem to be invisible a lot of the time, even when wearing high viz waistcoats or jackets.

And to the person who rides in London, that would scare me ****eless!!!

*shrug*

TheRealParisLove

I usually ride in with traffic or in bike lanes. Especially on surface streets and in high traffic downtown areas. I have a very expensive light set up and do my best to be as visible as possible. I use 2 sets of lights at night (flashing and steady state) and just the flashing lights during the day. Motorists are conditioned to see activating red lights (brake lights) so I have a very bright rear light that I set to flash, as well as a less bright steady state rear red light.

Using the ingrained reactions that drivers already have, I've managed to stay safe on the roads, and have never had a ticket. My head lights are some of the best available on the market. After a couple of close calls early on in my biking experience, I made sure I had enough lights to gain the attention of motorists.

kaned_ferret

Awww ... Sorry about your dog, I love dogs.. got three of them. You have some good points. No happy medium I guess. Everybody proceed with cation.. Have a non gruppy day:flowerforyou:

Thankfully she was alright, just very shaken and bruised.. the cyclist didn't even stop he just went straight on over her and kept going. You get *kitten* everywhere, no sense in trying to stereotype them

MeanderingMammal

I just don't understand why this is a good idea? What do you think?

I similarly don't like bike lanes, but that's because they encourage cyclists to think that it's acceptable to ride in the gutter, negotiating potholes, drain covers and debris rather than taking their place in the lane. Safe, defensive riding involves dominating the lane, sitting in the middle or outer third and forcing the cage dwellers to treat the bike as a legitimate road user.

If one is riding at speed then the pedestrian pathway (pavement in english) isn't an appropriate place to ride.

The cycle paths in London are more hassle than they're worth, it's easier just to mix it up with the traffic and take the opportunities as one sees them. For what its worth I have a lot of fun riding my Brompton in town. I've used my MTB and road bikes there but feel that I get more responsiveness out of the Brompton.