A rant about driver's vs. bikers
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Steve_ApexNC
Posts: 210 Member
Ok, so I am on a diet and fitness path to get back on my road bike - weight loss, cardio build, etc, etc.
Today I drop my son off at his job and on the way back I get stopped in a construction zone - the road is down to one lane and it is our turn to stop. There are no shoulders here - line on the edge of the road, about 2 or 3 inches, and then a drop off the asphalt into gravel or dirt. I am waiting for our turn and see a biker chugging along coming the other way. He is as tight to the side of the road as he can get as he passes through the construction zone. Then this idiot in a minivan comes right up on his *kitten* and whips two tires into my lane missing my rear view mirror by about an inch just to pass the biker. REALLY? WTF?? That moron can't wait 75 more feet to get to out of the construction zone and a clear passing lane? Seriously? I mean, I get that sometimes people are in a rush and even have emergencies, but killing someone on a bicycle who has every right to the road or causing an accident sure as hell won't get you there any faster.
Sorry. Rant off. I am just not looking forward to such idiots when I do get back on the road. I return you to your normally televised message board.
(yes, I feel better now that I blew some steam. thanks for listening).
Today I drop my son off at his job and on the way back I get stopped in a construction zone - the road is down to one lane and it is our turn to stop. There are no shoulders here - line on the edge of the road, about 2 or 3 inches, and then a drop off the asphalt into gravel or dirt. I am waiting for our turn and see a biker chugging along coming the other way. He is as tight to the side of the road as he can get as he passes through the construction zone. Then this idiot in a minivan comes right up on his *kitten* and whips two tires into my lane missing my rear view mirror by about an inch just to pass the biker. REALLY? WTF?? That moron can't wait 75 more feet to get to out of the construction zone and a clear passing lane? Seriously? I mean, I get that sometimes people are in a rush and even have emergencies, but killing someone on a bicycle who has every right to the road or causing an accident sure as hell won't get you there any faster.
Sorry. Rant off. I am just not looking forward to such idiots when I do get back on the road. I return you to your normally televised message board.
(yes, I feel better now that I blew some steam. thanks for listening).
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Replies
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People are *kitten* regardless of whether they drive cars or ride bikes.
Don't be a wanker!
https://www.facebook.com/SafeCyclingAustralia/videos/866367293410675/0 -
People are *kitten* regardless of whether they drive cars or ride bikes.
Don't be a wanker!
https://www.facebook.com/SafeCyclingAustralia/videos/866367293410675/
NOW I feel better. Thanks for that. I got a good hearty chuckle and I vow to stop being a wanker.0 -
What about not biking through a construction zone?
As a biker I'd rather not put my life in other's hands and make sure I know my routes don't take me into areas with no shoulder.
Sorry, I see both culpable here.0 -
Most of my cycling is on cycle paths along side the road, but you have to really watch for passenger doors swinging open0
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@ RGv2 - The road is heavily traffic'ed by bikers - just one of the major bike routes that is off the main through ways. The construction is a short project - he may not have even known it was going on. But, to me, that is irrelevant, why should the biker have to alter his road use? He has every right to the road as the car does and the car executed an illegal pass.
@MIkeLeTwigg - I wish we had more cycle paths in this area. One of the first things I noticed when I moved hear is the lack of cycle paths or extra space on the edge of the road.0 -
I think many bikers and drivers could do a better job of sharing the road. A lot of people in cars could use more patience and realize the bikers are vulnerable to your two ton cage of death.
I've also seen many bikers who hog a lane making it hard to get by them too. These tend to be stronger bikers who can move at a good pace for a bike. They think they're fast enough, especially downhill, when they're actually not.0 -
IMO, as a cyclist, I'm the vulnerable one. So regardless of whether or not I have a right to be on the road or in the lane or whatever else, I'm going to do what I need to do to ensure I'm safe. It's just not worth the risk. If that means I take a different route, then so be it. If that means I stop and let traffic go when I'm not necessarily "required" to, I will. If that means I take up the whole lane to prevent someone from trying to squeeze by me when there isn't room, fine.
I try to be as accommodating to other people (drivers, other cyclist, pedestrians, etc) as I can be.0 -
People think they have a right to drive fast and full operation of a lane simply because they are in a car, when the law states that a bicycle is a legal vehicle and has full right of way in an entire lane of traffic. If you don't like it...don't drive your car. Otherwise, heed the law.0
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I recently took up biking: I live in Vancouver where biking is a big deal. I've noticed that both cyclists and drivers are at fault but I think it's because of lack of education. I can honestly say that I didn't know the rules of the road concerning cyclists, before I was a cyclist myself. And I don't know about everyone else, but here the cyclists behave as if they own the roads - they are quite aggressive.
I don't recall being taught about cyclists when I got my drivers license. I think therein lies a lot of the problem. Nobody wants to hit a cyclist on purpose, they just don't know any better.0 -
WhatMeRunning wrote: »People think they have a right to drive fast and full operation of a lane simply because they are in a car, when the law states that a bicycle is a legal vehicle and has full right of way in an entire lane of traffic. If you don't like it...don't drive your car. Otherwise, heed the law.
does this mean that cyclists will start heeding stop signs and stop lights? Use turn signals? Stop riding on the sidewalk? Stop passing cars that are stopped in traffic? If cyclists want full right of way and lane usage then they should start following all the rules of the road or they should stop riding their bicycles. It goes both ways. I try not to run over them, perhaps they should stop trying to dodge traffic at busy intersections.
There is my own rant thrown in for good measure
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IMO, as a cyclist, I'm the vulnerable one. So regardless of whether or not I have a right to be on the road or in the lane or whatever else, I'm going to do what I need to do to ensure I'm safe. It's just not worth the risk. If that means I take a different route, then so be it. If that means I stop and let traffic go when I'm not necessarily "required" to, I will. If that means I take up the whole lane to prevent someone from trying to squeeze by me when there isn't room, fine.
I try to be as accommodating to other people (drivers, other cyclist, pedestrians, etc) as I can be.
I agree you have to consider your own safety because nobody else will. It just burns me up to see something egregious. I do believe the vast majority of bikers and motorists are just fine together and that there are wankers on both ends. Sorry, didn't mean to stir up a debate about who is right and who is wrong - just peeved the you know what out of me the stupidity of that one driver0 -
that guys definitely was driving like a dink. I am never in such a hurry I can't wait for another 75 ft to pass a cycle on the road.0
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What about not biking through a construction zone?
As a biker I'd rather not put my life in other's hands and make sure I know my routes don't take me into areas with no shoulder.
Sorry, I see both culpable here.
The cyclist is culpable of nothing, nada, zip. Bikes ARE traffic. They do not need to be relegated to "the shoulder" or forced to detour around construction that you in your vehicle are not also forced to detour around.
The appropriate thing for the minivan idiot in the original example to do is stay in his or her lane, at a safe distance behind the cyclist, until it is clearly safe to pass the cyclist (after the blockage) or until the cyclist is able and willing to move to the right.
Take the bike out of the picture. This same example could be made of two vehicles. Imagine a delivery van blocking traffic in one lane of a two lane road. How many times have you witnessed drivers behind such a blockage veer directly into on-coming traffic, hoping or expecting that said traffic will scoot to their right whether such a maneuver is possible or not?
A driver only has to exercise patience (for what will amount to mere seconds of their lives) and a tiny amount of effort to move foot from accelerator to brake. It's not too much to ask.
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And I don't know about everyone else, but here the cyclists behave as if they own the roads - they are quite aggressive.
I live in Vancouver too and have been riding long distances since the 1970's. Definitely there is a class of urban cyclist which are not that informed about road rules (young adults who probably don't drive because they really never need to in the city, is my best guess) but certainly not all cyclists are the same.
While on my long run yesterday I was almost hit three times by... cars and vans. Vehicles being driven zooom through stop signs - once in a neighbourhood, twice at the interface of a 'hood to a major street (Fraser, Thurlow). I wasn't almost hit by cyclists despite running 28km primarily along the seawalls surrounding Stanley Park and False Creek - the very mecca of cycling especially for casual cyclists.
I behave on my bike as I would in a car. Yes there a great many cyclists that don't and I don't give them a pass for this, but at the same time I'd like to see drivers of vehicles weighing thousands of pounds behave as they should. A great many do not and they are a risk to other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike.
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I get annoyed when I safely pass a cyclist that is moving at a slow pace only to have to stop at a stop sign and have the cyclist ignore the stop sign and go by me. I then have to wait to pass them safely again. You want to be a vehicle on the road then you have to follow the rules of the road. That means stopping at stop signs and traffic lights. You can't have the best of both worlds. When there is traffic and a line don't suddenly, after taking up a whole lane so people could not get around you, move off to the side and then pass all the cars waiting their turn. Then all those have to travel behind you while you once again take up the whole lane so that no one can pass.0
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I get annoyed when I safely pass a cyclist that is moving at a slow pace only to have to stop at a stop sign and have the cyclist ignore the stop sign and go by me. I then have to wait to pass them safely again. You want to be a vehicle on the road then you have to follow the rules of the road. That means stopping at stop signs and traffic lights. You can't have the best of both worlds. When there is traffic and a line don't suddenly, after taking up a whole lane so people could not get around you, move off to the side and then pass all the cars waiting their turn. Then all those have to travel behind you while you once again take up the whole lane so that no one can pass.
Yes!!!!!! I see it all the time!0 -
It's actually illegal in my state to pass close to a bike, but I still won't ride my road bike outside of organized rides. Nearly every cyclist I know has had a major car related accident. No matter who is right, the car always wins. I am envious of people who live in bike friendly areas.
Adding, I also purposely ride in the lane and not the median because jerks will pass too close and either clip or come close to clipping my bike, so I am forced to ride in the road. Noticed that if you take up some actual lane, they get more pissed, but I remain unbroken.0 -
Replace all of the bicycle/rider references in your rant with cars/drivers. I see more idiot car drivers than bicycle riders. I try not to hit those cars in the same way. Just making an observation.slinke2014 wrote: »WhatMeRunning wrote: »People think they have a right to drive fast and full operation of a lane simply because they are in a car, when the law states that a bicycle is a legal vehicle and has full right of way in an entire lane of traffic. If you don't like it...don't drive your car. Otherwise, heed the law.
does this mean that cyclists will start heeding stop signs and stop lights? Use turn signals? Stop riding on the sidewalk? Stop passing cars that are stopped in traffic? If cyclists want full right of way and lane usage then they should start following all the rules of the road or they should stop riding their bicycles. It goes both ways. I try not to run over them, perhaps they should stop trying to dodge traffic at busy intersections.
There is my own rant thrown in for good measure0 -
In a 1-lane narrow place like that, I would (on my bicycle) move out away from the side of the road far enough
so another vehicle wouldn't even think about "maybe I have room to push past".
Same as I do when I'm passing a parked car - I move far enough out that I'm not in the door zone.
And using the "bike lane" is often hazardous thanks to the debris. A bike lane is reserved for bicyclists, but they're
not required to use it. They're a vehicle like any other & are allowed to use a normal traffic lane (and yes, have to
follow the same rules).
In my city, children are always allowed to ride on the sidewalk. People over 12 may only if there's green space
between the sidewalk & front doors (so people won't walk out & get creamed).0 -
WhatMeRunning wrote: »Replace all of the bicycle/rider references in your rant with cars/drivers. I see more idiot car drivers than bicycle riders. I try not to hit those cars in the same way. Just making an observation.
Ditto!
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