Originally Posted by
agent pombero
And so cyclists will have to make a personal choice: to follow the “same rules for everyone” approach or safely treat those signs and signals as yield signs when appropriate to do so (as explained in another thread on A&S).
It is frequently spun as a safety issue, but is it really wsbob? I think the lack of enthusiasm stems from the belief that cyclists are receiving “special treatment” on the road.
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How do you know this support will come? There is no assurance this support will manifest itself even if every cyclist across this great nation were to magically do overnight what you prescribe. Many motorists hate anything that gets in their way or slows them down: cyclists, pedestrians, and other motorists.
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Felix claims the biggest danger facing cyclists is when “drivers get annoyed if we slow them done, or drive as though we’re simply not there”: If so, stopping at every stop light and every red light will certainly slow down motorists, and therefore increase animosity directed at cyclists.
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What Felix’s article “Why it’s not OK for cyclists to run red lights” actually asserts is that the lack mutual respect is responsible for cyclists injuries and fatalities. That is a bunch of crap. Felix is essentially blaming the victim (the cyclist) by putting the onus of developing this “mutual respect” on cyclists, as if motorists had nothing to do at all.
This is why public education would come in most handy: Explain the whys. Why do cyclists go through stop signs and red lights?
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How do I distinguish the motorist who gives me less room on the road because they’re thinking of the cyclist they saw yesterday run a red light vs. the motorist who doesn’t give me enough room on the road because they’re just punks and shouldn’t be allowed on the road with 3000 pound weapons?
No action a cyclist does morally warrants putting them in danger by some “I’ll teach you a lesson!” motorist.
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Who cares what the perception is of bicyclists?
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How fair are these perceptions?
The public needs to be educated about the stupidity of wasting tax dollars on these enforcements. Maybe by watching some videos on why cyclists run stop signs would help. Maybe the facts that...thousands upon thousands upon thousands of cyclists EVERY WEEK go through stop signs and red lights right here in good ole Portland, Oregon. Where are the deaths, the injuries, the carnage from such actions by these scofflaw cyclists? Good luck finding any. Good luck finding even 10 cases in Portland. And even 10 cases vs. the endless thousands who do it safely and successfully is a statistically safe action on the road.
What needs to change is bicycle advocacy that exposes these public perceptions for what it is: BS (that cyclists are just scofflaw because they don't obey stop signs/red lights)
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interesting comments, agent pompero.
advocacy groups will unequivocally support cyclists obeying existing traffic laws, and not recommend cyclists break the laws out of a sense of entitlement to a different set of rules. the foundations of bicycle rights are rooted in bicyclists following traffic laws - that have since the onset of uniform statewide traffic codes been meant to apply to bicyclists.
john q public doesn't complain about bicyclists getting special treatment, its' about bicyclists breaking the laws or otherwise riding as if the laws don't apply to us. This is very obvious.
I don't think the sole solution to cyclists being treated better lies in cyclists not running red lights or riding the wrong way or not running lights at night, but any one who does - like wsbob suggests, improves public impressions of cycling.
certainly nothing a cyclist does excuses motorists to harass bicyclists, but the actions of cyclists affect how respectfully motorists treat cyclists. This is very obvious. maybe we've got a lot of work to do with different education programs, stricter laws. I think you'd find i'm in agreement with preferential treatment for bicyclists in many ways. not certain simply brown bagging rolling stops isn't the best way to do it though, just like people drive cars. don't see many people roll n go at red lights though.....
Suggestions the laws shouldn't apply to bicyclists doesn't mean they DON'T, or that the public doesn't notice bicyclists behaving badly. They most certainly do.