bicyclists-vent

[Kit'smommy]

My husband is a roadie and rides 200+ miles a week. I worry for him as the drivers around here are not as watchful as they should be. I used to cycle, but quit after getting clipped on the shoulder by truck mirrors on two separate occasions by drivers that didn't give me adequate clearance. I was riding where I should have been and was highly visible.

Most of the cyclist I know follow the traffic rules. I have seen several accidents and every one I have personally viewed has been 100% the fault of the motorists. I am sure there are bad cyclists just as there are bad motorist, but overall I think more motorists need to understand that they have a responsibility for sharing the road.

My guess....cyclists ride at a pretty good speed. I think they push 40/45 if I'm not mistaken. I think the surface of the road on the shoulder, as well as the presence of stones, debris, or garbage, can make cruising at those speeds on a bicycle kind of dangerous. It's much safer to be more on the road.

Are you taking KPH or MPH here? Regardless the pace isn't that fast. Training pace might be about 1/2 that in MPH for a group. A single rider will probably be going more slowly.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Nobody here is saying that anybody is responsible for all cyclist's behavior. I'm not sure where that came from. Those of us who expressed irritation were naming specific behaviors, for me it is the lack of reflective clothing/reflectors on bike when travelling after dark as this caused me to almost hit two cyclists yesterday when coming aroudn a blind curve.

Do I like sharing the road with cyclists? No. But that's because I'm always nervous I'm going to hit them. The same thing with the cross country joggers that seem to think it's okay to jog four or five abreast in my area which just seems very dangerous to me. I wish they would add more bike lanes in this country as that seems to be a good solution, at least in the area where I go to school.

So don't get your britches in a twist. Nobody is blaming you or saying they are judging you because other people do not follow the rules. We are simply saying that there are certain behaviors that we have seen that make us uncomfortable. And our judgment only applies to those who are exhibiting those behaviors.

 

[MushyMushy]

Cyclists are bad where I live!!!

There are maybe one or two guys in town who are "real" cyclists and do it safely... have all the proper clothing, helmet, and nice bikes. They follow all the rules and I have yet to see a problem with them. And our roads are BAD for biking. Curvy, hilly old country roads with no shoulders to speak of and sometimes no guard rails at all.

Then there are the cyclists who basically use their bikes for transportation (which isn't a green choice where we live). They ride against the flow of traffic, run lights/stop signs, cut through traffic and just generally make a menace of themselves. Terrible.

 

[LilyWDW]

That is how it is here too. And if the current proposed bill passes, then it will be illegal for a car to pass a bicycle unless they have at least 3 feet of clearance.

The responsibility is being put directly on the automobile, not the bicycle. If you cannot pass with 3 feet of clearance, you will not be able to pass. So, if there are oncoming cars, or a windy road where it would be unsafe to go into the oncoming lane, you have to wait until you can provide the bicycle at least 3 feet between the bicycle and your car.

The bill will make it so much safer for bicycles on our roads.

See, I don't get this to be honest. There are laws in some areas where if you are driving too slow you can be ticketed for obstructing traffic... wouldn't a biker who is the lane of traffic also be doing this? Should they also be ticketed for not allowing traffic to flow in a normal manner?

And just for reference, before anyone says "there is no law like that", I grew up in a family of police officers AND knew someone who was ticketed for it.

 

[FireDancer]

See, I don't get this to be honest. There are laws in some areas where if you are driving too slow you can be ticketed for obstructing traffic... wouldn't a biker who is the lane of traffic also be doing this? Should they also be ticketed for not allowing traffic to flow in a normal manner?

I have no doubt that there are roads that it would be illegal to cycle on, such as interstates with posted minimums. I don't believe most surface roads have posted minimum speeds. I was told by one of the cycle shop owners in the area (I didn't research this so can only pass along what he told me) that a cyclist is treated as a slow moving vehicle, like when a tractor is on a road with its hazards on. You can cross a double yellow to pass such a vehicle. Of course if the road is marked as off limits to non-motorized vehicles the cyclist should stay off of it.

 

[monkey68]

I have no doubt that there are roads that it would be illegal to cycle on, such as interstates with posted minimums. I don't believe most surface roads have posted minimum speeds. I was told by one of the cycle shop owners in the area (I didn't research this so can only pass along what he told me) that a cyclist is treated as a slow moving vehicle, like when a tractor is on a road with its hazards on. You can cross a double yellow to pass such a vehicle. Of course if the road is marked as off limits to non-motorized vehicles the cyclist should stay off of it.

Around here, the main roads all have posted minimums. The street I was talking about has a 55 mph speed limit, but it's not considered an interstate, and I don't think it's considered a highway either. It's posted also. This road goes through several towns, so in some places, it's 40 mph, mostly it's 50-55. So if a cyclist was actually in the lane, going say 20 mph, how is it safe? A car going that slow would get a ticket. But it's not marked to non-motorized vehicles. The only time I've seen a road marked, is when I was in Massachussets, and I saw a sign that said something like "No bicycles, no pedestrians, no horses".

 

[John VN]

The group I ride with meets at a county Rails to Trails. To get to our bicycling routes we must ride on a 55mph, two lanes each direction road with a bike lane. At times we are riding on the white line of the bike lane, to the right of the line and even to the left when reacting to the rider in front.

Two weeks ago tomorrow, we were 2 miles from the end of our 40 mile ride, pedalling 23mph into the wind in a pace line of 9 riders. I was 3rd in line and managed to clip the rear wheel of the rider in front of me. I went down and slid into the center of the 2 lanes. The riders behind me said that as soon as I stopped sliding I looked for on-coming traffic, grabbed my bike and got to the side of the road. If there was a car or truck coming up on us at 55mph in the right hand lane, I doubt the driver would have been able to avoid me.

As I was going down my thoughts were that I was going to be squashed, my wife was going to be a widow and I hoped no guys behind me go down.

That day was not my day to die, however, there was a report on the news from Tampa that there was a gentleman who did get killed when struck by a car.

There are laws allowing us riders to share the road. All I would like is for motorists to accept the bicycle rider as a partner on the road and for fellow bicycle riders to realize that we do not own the whole road.

DW would not have been too happy with me if I gotten mushed because we have our 36th anniversary stay at FW coming up.