Originally Posted by
HappyStuffing
I feel that i should play the devil's advocate here for a moment. Keep in mind that i am in favor for the cyclist, i do commute by bike everywhere afterall. But anyway, just about everyday that i get out there to ride i see several cyclists riding through red lights and turning in unlawful ways. Not to mention sidewalk biking, biking without the appropriate lighting or none at all, not wearing a helmet (which i think is akin to not wearing a seatbelt)..etc
If we paralleled this behavior to cagers it would be absolutely intolerable. Sometimes i wonder what those cyclist running the red lights must think about me when i'm waiting for the light instead. In this case, am i the bad one?
In conclusion, sometimes i find it hard to totally bash cagers when i see so many cyclists riding like idiots as well.
Ditto. I think that more cyclists (larger percentage of) in NYC ride like idiots than car drivers drive. There is obvious and complete disregard for traffic laws and basic safety and lack of respect for other cyclists as well as pedestrians. I'm not sure if this is caused by stupidity and lack of imagination, ignorance (I'm a cyclists so like a pedestrian I don't need to worry about traffic laws) or there is some kind of "being cool" or "rebellious" thing involved.
My #1 problem when riding in the city is cyclists going the wrong way. My space on the road is often so tight there is no space to pass and then there is a moron on a bike in front of me. I usually just stop, make him/her stop and ask "now what?" Most of the time they just don't get it. There seems to be a misconception among NYC cyclists that they're supposed to ride against traffic the way pedestrians are supposed to walk on roads without sidewalks.
Adam