Originally Posted by
phillman5
I think they steam because they have been inconvenienced by a bicyclist doing something that he shouldn't have been doing, like getting in their way when there was as an alternative*, or the constant stop sign running by bicyclists. *and I don't mean taking a parallel MUPS vs. a street, though I know here in Albuquerque that does steam some of them. I just don't think wearing spandex or jersey with logos steam them.
I don't buy that. You're suggesting that it's the sins of some riders being generalized onto all riders or that riders generally break the law more than other classes of vehicles in ways that inconvenience drivers. Problem with this is I see drivers doing exactly the same things you're describing at a far higher rate and to greater inconvenience than cyclists--speeding, stop-sign rolling, speeding up on the red light, turning from the wrong lane, unsignaled lane changes and turns, double parking, sitting at green lights because they're looking at their phone, etc. When I'm driving, I'm inconvenienced and endangered by drivers' behaviors far more often than cyclists--it's not even close. People seem to accept that stuff as a matter of course without a honk or a comment yelled out a window. Meantime, if I don't wait out a red light on my bike at a three way intersection riding on the shoulder on the side with no intersecting road, someone is liable to yell or honk at me even though I am literally not on or crossing a traffic lane, and cannot therefore have any impact on the flow of traffic. And yes, this has happened several times at an intersection with a broad enough shoulder that I am at least 6 feet from the traffic lane.
Basically, I'm claiming it's confirmation bias--people remember bicycle infractions because they don't like cyclists, not the other way around.