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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> Road using cyclists /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1279044524 Message started by ArGaT on 07/13/10 at 11:08:44 |
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Title: Road using cyclists Post by ArGaT on 07/13/10 at 11:08:44 Ok Guys heres my beef I was out on the beast today riding around town, I came to a set of pedestrian lights which turned red so we all stopped. It was lunch timeso there was alot of people about. So theyre all crossing the road when this cyclist courier came speeding up the inside/kerbside of the cars narrowly missing the mirrors and went speeding into the people crossing the road. He caught this little old lady with her shopping and spun her almost 360 degrees, he stumbled and almost dropped how on earth he didnt fall was beyond me. The guy didnt even stop to see if the lady was ok and just carried on. I was fuming, what arrogance and it got mer thinking about all the other near misses ive seen with cyclists and I started to get angry coz we HAVE to have insurance where as cyclists dont and what the situation worse is there is a cyclist route. I think all cyclists should be shot on sight!!!! |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by Serowbot on 07/13/10 at 11:11:02 I voted yes,... but that dude needs his ass kicked...royal... :-?... |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by youzguyz on 07/13/10 at 11:20:35 In general, cyclists are OK. There are quite a few on the back roads around here, and most are well behaved. They typically stay to the right and use rear view mirrors. Normally in very small groups. I call these recreational cyclists. What chaps my chaps is when there is a TON of those out there on some sort of contest or charity event. If they have a number on their back, they feel they own the road. Riding 4 abreast, taking up the entire lane (or road), not moving over, etc, etc. And their rest areas are a disaster looking for a place to happen. I call these Lance Wannabees. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by BurnPgh on 07/13/10 at 11:50:44 They need to be able to use the road. Using sidewalks would be a disaster. They also NEED to obey the rules of the road. You're a vehicle in traffic. Just because your vehicle burns calories and not gasoline doesnt mean you immediately have the right of way in all situations. If you are on a bike you are NOT a pedestrian. In Pgh you can, and often will, be cited for failure to obey traffic laws on a bicycle. You're also likely to be cut off, run into, and have doors opened in front of you on purpose. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by mornhm - FSO on 07/13/10 at 11:56:09 Cyclists are riding a vehicle (granted human-powered) they are (or should be) subject to the same rules as other vehicles. This would include yielding to pedestrians. However with that said, this comes with the requirement that they be given the same right of way as other vehicles which means they are entitled to an entire lane. Youzguyz - do you move over and get out of the way when a car passes you? Do you share lanes when you are passing? Why do you think that bikers should do this - because they are going slower than the person passing them? By definition this is happening anytime one vehicle passes another. Do you expect slower cars to move over? At least in Illinois, when you pass a vehicle, you are required to miss everything else (Basically, you are leaving your lane which is all you are entitled to. So, yield to oncoming traffic and the vehicle you are passing when you come back into the same lane). Also, we do not have lane sharing, so you can't use the same lane (legally) to pass a MC or a bicycle or a car, etc. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by ArGaT on 07/13/10 at 12:01:46 So morn are you saying that at traffic lights you are not allowed legally to filter through traffic but have to do a full leave the lane and re enter at the front of the queue? If so im glad we dont have that requirement coz there would be no point in having a MC might aswell get a nice convertable and sit in traffic. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by verslagen1 on 07/13/10 at 12:27:28 794A7F596C380 wrote:
cyclist aren't pedestrians, he was in violation of the law entering a crosswalk on wheels. Since he was working, insurance should be carried. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by youzguyz on 07/13/10 at 13:15:56 3F3D203C3A3F520 wrote:
No lane sharing/splitting in Texas. Soooo.. on a 2 lane country back road through the hills. No passing allowed (double yellow line dude). You want me to sit behind a 5mph bicycle for 20 miles? Ain't gonna happen. Yes, if there is a car that wants to get around me, I will move over to the right as far as I safely can so he can see ahead of me and to reduce the amount of time it takes him to get around me. That applies to me in a cage or on my motorcycle. People passing you here appreciate that action and you will always get a friendly waive or a flash of the brake lights when they get around you. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by Paladin. on 07/13/10 at 14:21:20 Cycles *are* vehicles and thus cyclists should be allowed on the streets. BUT.... Bicyclists shall comply the laws. And... *ANY* driver who does not comply the laws should be shot on sight. 6E565B525150574B4D3E0 wrote:
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by BurnPgh on 07/13/10 at 14:31:00 36203A35283A36354F0 wrote:
No lane sharing/splitting in Texas. Soooo.. on a 2 lane country back road through the hills. No passing allowed (double yellow line dude). You want me to sit behind a 5mph bicycle for 20 miles? Ain't gonna happen. Yes, if there is a car that wants to get around me, I will move over to the right as far as I safely can so he can see ahead of me and to reduce the amount of time it takes him to get around me. That applies to me in a cage or on my motorcycle. People passing you here appreciate that action and you will always get a friendly waive or a flash of the brake lights when they get around you.[/quote] No lane splitting in PA but you are allowed to pass a vehicle moving 15mph or more under the posted speed limit if you proceed in a "safe and prudent manner" (or some other such jargon). |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by bill67 on 07/13/10 at 14:36:12 As long as their paying road tax its alright to ride the roads. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/13/10 at 16:00:14 No license, no tax for use of the road, since the road tax is meant, not as a way to purchase the "right" to use the road, but as a means to pay for maintenance of those roads & a bicycle isnt exactly hurting the road. Regardless of the fact that someone is using the road for commerce, since he isnt doing harm to the road, a license isnt reasonable, IMO. Im against the whole License thing anyway. More later, I gotta go now. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by Midnightrider on 07/13/10 at 18:46:49 The last several months I have turned into an avid cyclist. Most of you know I have Lupus. When Mick found out I had Lupus he sent me a video about an American roadracer who has Lupus. His dream was to race the Isle of Man. He sold his house and car and moved to the Isle of Man. He trained for the race on a bicycle. I have tried every kind of exercise and my hands and feet would always swell. I cant swim because I have tubes in my ears. Back in April I was thinking about Mick's video so I bought a nice Trek Mountain Bike. I knew I couldnt last much longer just laying around the house, already had one heart attack. Last week I tripped 500 miles on the bicycle. No swelling of the hands or feet! Today I rode over 16 miles. I rode it one time on city streets and I was terrified. You'll never have to worry about me blocking traffic. The city built a 7 mi bike trail about a 1/2 mi from my home. Thats where I do the majority of my riding. Had a physical last week. My doctor was so excited about my bloodwork she called me at home. She said my bloodwork looked the best it had looked in 10 years. She asked me what I was doing different, wanted to know if I had changed my diet. I told her no change in diet. Then I told her about the bicycle. She said whatever you do, dont stop pedaling. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by Serowbot on 07/13/10 at 19:12:14 Yeah Midnight!... ;)... |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by kimchris1 on 07/13/10 at 19:58:09 Way to go Midnightrider. Is always nice to hear how one can improve their health and stump the Dr's. Here the cyclist's are supposed to obey the same rules as a car when on the roads. Like every thing else. Some do and some don't. Last summer we were with another couple all on our mc's. We were on back roads and came upon a large group cycling from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Wa. It got very hectic as these also rode 4 abreast and on curves as well. It made it very difficult as one never knew if they were going to pass the cyclists in front and some would pull out into the lane with little or no warning. >:( It taught me to check and make sure their not doing their annual run when I may be wanting to travel the same route. I will take the freeway vs going thru that again. Also here in Wa. It is against the law to pedal your ass.... ;D ;D ;D ;D |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by mick on 07/13/10 at 23:40:59 2F0B060C0B050A16100B060710620 wrote:
Well done Midnight, keep up the good work,I'm proud of you. Portland Or,is very bike friendly they have bike lanes everywhere,however a collage proffesor was killed today,he fell off his bike and was hit by a car, so please be carefull out there,ok ? ok. I think just about all of us were bycicle riders at one time in our lives, that is how we all fell in love with two wheel riding.I voted for the bike riders. Generaly they are ok road users. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by Wolfman on 07/14/10 at 01:40:59 They recently found that rideing as little as 15 minutes a day could almost completely remove the effects of alzheimers(sp). The longer a person rode the more it seemed to help and the longer they went, able to act and function pretty much normaly. The hope is it might work with stroke victims ect as well. They dont know WHY it works though. Myself i say we just up the cyclist worth from 10 to 15 points in a game of roadkill and keep playing...lol Actualy the ones that bug me the most is the 14-15 year old girl in shorts and a t-shirt WITH a passanger, no helmets, probably no license, definitely lil experiance and buzzing down the road at 60 or 70 mph or through traffic in town. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by TheFid on 07/14/10 at 04:09:36 I voted for cyclists to use the roads,as UK law stands a cyclist is subjected to the road traffic act and the highway code as is any other road user.The rules for cyclists are stated in a seperate section of the Highway Code as is for motorcycles,pedestrians, etc.After saying that,I must agree with a lot of you on their basic "don't give a f**k atitude,they seem to ride where they want and when they want and are totally obliveous of any other road user,stop signs or lights. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by mornhm - FSO on 07/14/10 at 06:17:13 7B487D5B6E3A0 wrote:
Yeah, in Illinois you are not allowed to filter, split lanes, share lanes etc. The problem is people who think that you should share lanes when they want you to share, but not when it would be convenient or advantageous to a Motorcyclist or Bike rider. I guess a lot of them would probably say that MC and Bike riders should not be on public roads. And if you pull out and around one of those and try to re-enter at the front of the queue, you would be likely to get run over, or at least get honked/yelled at. I've had people open doors, swerve over, throw things at me and one guy pulled up beside me in a green pick-up truck - somethings you don't forget, and deliberately ran me off the road. The road was pretty much empty, and had two lanes in each direction. I was doing about 40 mph downhill and didn't see the parallel grate in front of me. Bystanders said I flew about 25 feet before landing and then rolling/sliding to a stop. They thought I was dead, but I was just laying there taking inventory. Turns out I had road rash, but no serious injuries. Youzguys - As far as passing on secondary roads in Illinois, the no passing zones indicate when it is too dangerous to pass, because of line of sight etc., but there are very few of them that extend for any distance (making it easy to get around any vehicle that is going 5mph). Most of our secondary roads are way too narrow to allow three vehicles side by side, even if one is a bicycle, so passing in these areas is just asking eventually to run into a head-on collision or to side swipe someone. Also, the shoulders on a lot of Illinois roads are non-existent so moving over to allow someone to "play through" your lane means that you are in the ditch. I've never run into the situation that you describe in Texas. Probably because when I visited Texas I've usually been in fairly heavily populated areas or travelling from city to city, so even the secondary roads tended to be fairly straight with plenty of areas to pass, or multiple lanes in each direction. Any road in Illinois that had 20 miles of no passing double yellow lines probably wouldn't be safe at much over 5 mph in any case. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by Southpaw on 07/14/10 at 11:21:30 I voted yes. I ride on the Katy trail in Missouri and on the streets of our subdivision. I think the average cyclist is pretty reasonable about following the rules of the road. The bike couriers on the other hand are NOTORIOUS for taking every advantage and aren't worried about getting caught. My solution would be to require them as a licensed business to wear a mesh vest similar to those required of DOT workers with a registration tag similar to a license plate so they can be tracked and reported. The time they'd have to spend in court or answering to a dispatcher is time they're NOT making money! The problem with that is its such a cutthroat business they'll be calling each others #s in with bogus reports trying to trash the competition. ::) |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by bill67 on 07/14/10 at 12:09:36 I ride bicycle 6 miles a day 7 days a week I ride in town always, I never stop a stop signs,I have trails 2 blocks from my house their hundreds of miles of trails here in wisconsin and illinois .I wouldn't be seen with those goofy helmets. I never ride the trails hardly. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by WD on 07/14/10 at 15:45:15 If the cyclist follows the real rules I have no beef with them. BUT, out here the elementary schools teach the kids to ride against traffic. Major cities are closing arterials to motor vehicles in favor of pedal power, and taking away big rig space in the ports for bicycles, and where do the dummies ride? Right down the middle of the lane, in front of my 104000# road weight heavy haul Peterbilt.... I could make a road pizza out of one and never know it until the wash crew complained (blood is hard to get off of oxidized white paint). I've been known to smack lane hog bicyclists with a CB antenna as I drive by on occasion... Or kick over ones riding through the crosswalk... As far as I'm concerned if you can't play by the rules of the road you are fair game for whatever bit of evil pops into my mind at the moment. Bicycles are kinda like chrome, what's the point? |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by JohnBoy on 07/14/10 at 20:37:01 Just as cars and trucks ignore the motorcyclist the bicyclist is little more than an after thought. If you have ridden in traffic for a few years you know that the laws were written for four wheel vehicles, and following them to the letter is he quickest way I know of to become a statistic. I try to keep in mind that pedestrian traffic, and bicycle traffic came way before vehicular traffic. I rode a bicycle in traffic in downtown Tampa for two years. During this time I witnessed one man being rundown and was in several very close calls. I learned pretty quickly that following rules written for cars was a quick ticket to the hospital. I would ask you to cut the bicyclist some slack. Bikes and motorcycles have a different set of dynamics and need a different set of rules. |
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Title: Re: Road using cyclists Post by John_D FSO on 07/15/10 at 07:51:09 I agree the cycles should be allowed on the roads, but if you're on the road, you need to follow the same rules as everyone else on the road, especially pertaining to stop signs and such. As Mick says, Portland has tons of bikes, which is cool. However, a lot of them act like they own the road, which isn't. I've seen tons of them blowing stop signs and red lights. I've almost hit one when making a right turn with my signal on, and one came breezing past me on the right, in my blind spot. Not cool! >:( |
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