Originally Posted by
WolfsBane
1. No excuse... Period. Designated bicycle lanes, are for bicycle transit use ONLY, (does not include automobiles and delivery vehicles that park for a short period of time for delivery in the absence of appropriate adjacent parking to a business). Just because some people are starting to take certain liberties based on their own preference or opinion, does not make the practice safe or legal.
Agreed, and those here who have compared the angst that motorists feel when seeing cyclists on the road to the angst that cyclists feel when encountering joggers/runners/walkers in the bike lane are comparing apples to oranges. Because as has been pointed out bicycles legally belong on the road and (if there is one present) pedestrians belong on the sidewalk.
And the doctrine of last clear chance aside, if a pedestrian gets hit by a cyclist while they're in the bike lane and there was a sidewalk present have no one to blame but themselves. And if they're the one's who claim that the asphalt is "easier" on the knees. Then maybe they need to apply pressure to get jogger/runner friendly sidewalks built, or public tracks.
Originally Posted by
WolfsBane
2. If you see a cyclist transiting against the normal flow of traffic, such occurrences should be reported as would be the case with any other traffic violation or action that could pose a safety risk to himself, other cyclists, or the traffic adjacent to that lane. Remember, cyclists are REQUIRED to transit in a manner consistent with the flow of normal traffic, (in other words, are supposed to be part of the normal flow of traffic), and not an entity apart. Some states are seriously starting to consider requiring that any cyclist transiting on public roads to be required to have a current form of identification. If you get stopped by a law enforcement officer in those states, because you are committing an infraction, you don't get talked to, and later let go home. You are given a citation, and if warranted, you will be arrested and taken into custody.
Sounds good.