Cyclist v Motorist

rules of the road for cyclists: drive the same direction as traffic. stay in the bike lane, however if one is not available, ride as close to the side as possible. if it is unsafe to ride on the side then you should join the regular driving lane and become part of the flow of traffic even if this slow down traffic. obey all traffic signs, including lights, do not use the crosswalk signal. if making a left hand turn you are expected to enter traffic and use the same left turn lane as cars do. in the instance of an accident, you are considered a vehicle and have the same rights and responsibilities as them.

how do i know these? because i was in an accident. in my case, i was following the rules of the road, while cycling and pulling a trailer behind me carrying my two children. i was taking my daughter to school. i entered the intersection on a green light, however the light changed very quickly from green to red giving me only enough time to cross halfway through the intersection. this was a very wide street (7 lanes wide). in most cases i would have stopped in the middle and waited out the crossing traffic but with the extended length from they trailor it was dangerous to do so and i was trapped in a very scary place. i made eye contact with all the cars nearby and everyone patiently waited for me to cross, however there was a utility van that was not stopped at the light and only saw that he had a green light, he didn't see me, despite the fact that all the cars were stopped at the intersection and i had a bright orange flag attached to the trailer, i was so focused on getting out of everyone's way that i didn't notice him coming til it was very much too late, and he hit my front tire, which threw me into the side of his van and then into the middle of the intersection. somehow my children were perfectly fine, just scared, and i only had a very slight tear in my shoulder and a hematoma on my leg. it was a terrifying experience. i followed the rules of the road, but i think it boils down to that i took them too literally. going on a green light is allowed, but its much safer to wait for the next green light especially on long intersections. anyway, because of the particular situation, the driver's insurance did end up claiming partial liability (thank God) so most of the expenses were covered. but since i was a cyclist and considered a vehicle i did have some liability due to being in the intersection on a red light, regardless of it being green when i entered.

my concern is that the law and the streets are biased to cars. the transition from green to yellow to red is not enough time for a bike to safely cross, which makes it dangerous. most of that route did not have bike lanes and was at times a little scary because cars would blow right past me. i'm really thankful that nothing worse happened to me. it took a long time for me to heal mentally and emotionally from what happened and thankfully both kids are good and not traumatized. but i would love to see some serious reform in bike riding safety and in car driver's awareness of bikes. i am now extremely aware of all bikes and always do my best to ensure their safety.

As previously stated, cyclists have the same rights on the roads as motorists, and when an alternative route is not available, they can even ride on the freeway! Yes it's true in the USA. I wish that people who rode against the traffic or broke traffic laws on their bikes would be held accountable, but that rarely happens.

The reasons a lot of motorists are rude and dangerous towards cyclists are:

1. They are ignorant of the laws or they just don't care
2. They that their needs and desires are more important than other people's safety is
3. They are distracted (again, see reason #1)
4. They are just haters. They hate anyone out there doing something that in any way impede their schedules

It's everyone's responsibility to know the laws, obey them, and to be courteous to their fellow human beings. I hope that everyone on MFP who rides a bike (or motorcycle) is extra careful of the cars out there and that everyone in their cars watches out for our pedal cyclist (as one responder so cutely called them).

Have a wonderful weekend.

The ONLY "excuse" I can think of - which is still not good enough - is that in SOME areas, like mine, there are barely ever any cyclists on the roads so some people may rarely or never see them, and/or may not even know that they have the 'right' to ride on streets. For example, we live near a business district with a 5 lane road and large sidewalks on both sides. Cyclists do have the right to ride on the sidewalk OR street there - not a lot of pedestrians using the sidewalks normally - but I think most citizens, if surveyed, would believe the sidewalks are for bicycles and cyclists shouldn't be on the road.

My husband rides a lot, including on our city streets, but I mostly stick to our (quiet) neighborhood and local trails since I'm still not a super confident cyclist. But I understand cyclists have every right to use the road, too, and try to be courteous when I'm sharing the road with them.

I know it is a different topic somewhat, but I also try to leave tons of space for motorcycle and scooter drivers as well. I see a LOT of people in my area (often with huge vans or SUVs) who get within seriously just a few feet of the motorcycle/scooters at stoplights and driving down the road. Scary!

Went out for a ride today and had a car cut across the front of me. I made a gesture and he stopped, I jumped of my bike and we had a little exchange of words. My point is why do some car drivers believe that bikes should not be on the road or should be that close to the side that they ride in the drainage channel? I drive a Renault Grand Espace, a big 7 seater and make sure I am well out of the way of any cyclist I need to over take. So what if I have to wait 10, 20, 30 seconds, it's no big deal.

Please can I ask any non cyclist reading to please give us cyclist room on the roads, we have a much right to use the road as you do. :happy:

I for one hate bikers.
-- 1 Why can't they use the side walks like people who walk?
-- 2 if heaven forbid, I should bump into you by mistake, what kind of charges will be pressed against me?
-- 3 If I bump a car, No charges and it only cost me $500 before my insurance kicks in.
--4 We teach our kids not to play in the streets and to be in the streets in general, and yet. its o.k for bikers..

bikers should stay off the road and use the sidewalks .. thats what they are for.

-- 1 Why can't they use the side walks like people who walk?

[/quote]

Because it's ILLEGAL (in the U.K) to ride on footpaths

You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129

-- 1 Why can't they use the side walks like people who walk?

Because it's ILLEGAL (in the U.K) to ride on footpaths

You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129

bikers should stay off the road and use the sidewalks .. thats what they are for.

COMPLETE BOLLOCKS

because- pedal bikes like to claim as much right to the road as a fully registered vehicle.

And they aren't.

And then when they do things NOT for registered vehicles- they scream- we aren't cars.

and they are often extremely rude about sharing the road and very condescending about how much better they are that they are on bikes.

I ride a motorcycle- I'm aware of how dangerous being exposed on the road is- and even I get excessively annoyed with the entitled attitude of pedal bike folks.

THAT'S why no one likes bicyclists.

sorry... not sorry. noting personal- but the odds tip into the rude A hole camp more than the "polite" camp... much like when I tell people I ride a sport bike- everyone assumes I'm some flip flop wife beater stunting wanna be who lane splits at 120 through free way traffic.
and even though I don't- there is a large percentage of sport riders who DO behave like that... so we all get lumped into and unless the majority STOP behaving like that- each of our respective groups has to suffer with the unwanted stigma.

sorry mate- that's just the way it is.

Yes. All bicyclists ride exactly the same way. Just like all motorcyclists ride without helmets, weave in and out of traffic and ride the shoulder, breaking the law at every turn.

I live in a bike-unfriendly city - Nashville TN - and it pains me to see how drivers treat cyclists despite the LAW which requires motorists give cyclists 3 FEET of space. Driver behavior keeps me away from cycling. And sadly, while the city encourages cycling by putting rental bikes all over town, they fail to provide the cyclists with helmets. It's very difficult to retro-fit our cities to cycling paths like Minneapolis did decades ago.