joejack951

I'm pretty sure most wrong way cyclists wouldn't move all the way left (their right) into the middle of the traffic lane. As a right way cyclist, this should be, in my mind, the obvious choice for where to move to avoid a wrong way cyclist. You remove almost all possibilities of a collision by putting a large distance between you and you avoid the "dance" altogether. If you feel the need to comment still, you can shout it from a safe distance

Curiouswill

Umm about the legality of wrong-way peoples, even if there is no law stating that they have to go along with the traffic, wouldn't it be illegal to put other vehicles (as bicycle are described in many state laws) at risk of collisions? (espcially next to such a "high-risk" area in the traffic lane)

If it is illegal to force other vehicles out of way (into possible danger?) by heading toward them, then aren't we (the right way cyclist) right?

I dunno, I'm still inexperienced with these bike and vehicles laws and don't usually encounter wrong way peoples around here anyway (especially since the few bike lane already have good sidewalks next to it). But I am curious about thinking of it this way and your's opinions.

EXCALIBUR

You asked what my friend would do in a given situation, and his reply was given. What you do given the same situation is entirely up to you. If you happen to find yoursel in a wrong way situation as you approach my friend on a BL, he will treat you exactly the same as the wrong way skateboarder.

EXCALIBUR

You would be referring to the universal law of common sense.

joejack951

Why does it matter who is "right?" When you are lying on the side of the road with a few broken bones after colliding with the wrong way cyclist, is your first concern going to be who was right?

My opinion on the matter is that you should handle a wrong way cyclist in a bike lane the same way you'd handle a pedestrian or obstruction blocking the edge of the road or shoulder. That would be: look back to check for traffic, negotiate a lane change if necessary, and give a wide berth to whatever it is you are passing or slow down/stop (just like motorists should treat us when they pass). Do you really care more about injuring the person dumb enough to wrong the way more than you care about your own safety? Are you willing to risk a collision just to prove a point? If you are, you should reconsider.

Moving into the traffic lane is not certain death as some here want to make it out to be. If you have a problem knowing what's going on behind you in the traffic lane while riding in a bike lane, and it's "forcing" you to make dangerous decisions whenever you encounter an obstacle in the bike lane, I'd suggest getting a mirror and learning how to use it.

joejack951

My question about pedestrians, who are supposed to walk opposing traffic, has still not been answered. How would he handle them? Aside from moving a little slower, they are no less of a "challenge" to move around then a wrong way cyclist. They are also "right" even though they are going the "wrong" way. If he would handle that situation differently, my question is why? Why the need for vigilante justice in one case and not the other? why subject himself to all the risk of a physical encounter simply to prove a point when he could just handle the situation like he would if it were a pedestrian and no one risks getting hurt?

EXCALIBUR

Taking that each case is different, the wrong way skateboarder posed a threat to my friend in the BL. A slower moving pedestrian on foot, albeit going the wrong way, would pose a different risk or threat. Maybe my friend would spare the pedestrian a stiff arm.

cooker

Your "friend", eh? Yeeeess...

joejack951: a pedestrian is not such a hazard since they aren't approaching very fast, and they, at least generally know to step well out of the way. However, wrong-way cyclists, by definition, are ignorant and unpredictable.

Curiouswill

I know that it doesn't really matter that much but I was just curious if there was indeed a law regarding this (blocking a vehicles and whatnot). Just thought that if there is indeed a law against this, then maybe we could use this to encourage the city hall and whoever is in charge of the bike lane to put up signs regarding the wrong way cyclist and other similar obstacles (pedestrains using bike lane instead of sidewalks).

If this happens to me then I would do just as you says anyway. In fact, I have been training myself to learn to recognize when a car is coming up from behind (deaf here) based on improving my phereperial (sp?) vision big time. I've gotten to the point where a bare glance at the edge of my vision is enough to tell at least if something is there behind me on the left side at all. Still trying to improve my handling for this though.

I'm not that dumb enough to injure others and possibly myself for this but If this becomes a issue for me than I might be tempted to simply block them (if it is possible without injuries) and gives out a small paper regarding the laws against wrong way cyclist. For other wrong way peoples, I'll simply try to explain to them that they are endangering me (though I'm not sure how successful this may be). And if there is indeed a law against blocking vehicles, then I'll pass out some paper regarding how bicycle is considered a vehicle under the state law and how it is illegal to block vehicles on a non-emergency reason or something like this. At the very least if there is laws against this and they continue to ignore me, I could report to the police district about these people ignoring the laws and putting me at risks.

I'm willing to ride in traffic if needs but there may be some right way cyclist who are starting and may not be comfortable yet to ride in it yet. I have been riding for the last 1.5 months and I have been riding vehiculary only for the last week or so. There are not that many cyclist around here (though I may not have been attuned to them before the winter) but I would perfer that at least these peoples would know the law and obey them.

joejack951

I've seen some pretty fast runners. They could definitely pose a threat if you weren't paying attention.

Regardless, I think it's stupid and selfish to think that the edge of the road (whether it's marked as a bike lane or shoulder or unmarked) is any more yours than someone else's. I agree that wrong way cycling is dumb but I think attempting to physically injure those doing it is even dumber. If you think you can persuade them to do otherwise, feel free to stop and chat with them. Pushing them isn't going to solve anything though and you are only increasing the possibility of danger to yourself in doing so. If you have that much time to prepare for the stiff arm, I'd suggest using that time to avoid the wrong way cyclist altogether.

joejack951

There are laws against impeding traffic and laws against wrong way cycling. There is no law granting anyone on the road rights to enforce any of these laws, by force or any other means, though. That job is left to the police. If you feel justified in doing so, you are on the same level as motorists who feel the need to enforce their own form of "justice" against cyclists who dare use "their" roads.

The biggest changes I made that improved my awareness on the road were wearing an eyeglass mounted mirror and changing my default position on the road to the traffic lane, instead of the shoulder or bike lane if available. Edge of the road hazards are no longer a major concern of mine and I can pay attention to what really matters, turning and cross traffic. I can see traffic coming from behind thanks to my mirror and move out of their way when I have room to do so. The difference between me moving when they arrive and me being out of the way all the time is that I have time to decide if it's safe for me to move. If I am out of the way already and encounter an obstacle (such as a wrong way cyclist) at the same time they are about to overtake me, I don't have nearly as much control of the situation. Riding like this does require some amount of trust in your fellow road users but thanks to the mirror, it's relatively easy to verify that they have seen you.

If you have the time and feel so strongly about their actions being a danger to you, by all means try to talk to them or the police. Just don't be surprised when you get cussed out, ignored, or worse.

It would be great if everyone knew the laws but that's probably not ever going to happen. That leaves you with one of two choices:

1. You can make the best choices to protect your safety, which usually involves obeying the law plus making sure that anyone near you who can affect your safety is also obeying the law before trusting them

or

2. You can take on the impossible task of trying to make everyone around you obey the law (by informing them of the law or enforcing it yourself) so that you no longer need to look out for your own safety.

I suggest #1.

Curiouswill

I do expect to get negative responses on letting them knows about the law but I will not go as far as to enforce it. I believe that I should at least try. Who know, I might convince 1 or 2 to move to the proper place (If I do start to encounter that around here). I just don't like giving up before attempting something.

Yeah I'm planning to get and try to get used to a helmet mounted mirror.

I will continue to do the #1 anyway. I'm just looking around for info in case I do encounter issues like the wrong way cyclist. I just hopes that I could help some cyclist understand the law (in case they didn't know about it in the first place. I didn't until I started looking around for it myself 2 weeks ago).

EXCALIBUR

I asked my friend about this. He said, if a wrong way pretty fast runner came at him in the BL and posed a threat, "What part of 'S-T-I-F-F A-R-M' don't you understand?" I tried reasoning with him, but I guess he feels pretty strong about this.

joejack951

Your attitude is sickening. Learn how to pay attention while riding a bike.

bentstrider

Wrong way cyclists are fun to toy with.
I usually treat these guys as a living piece of a non-existent obstacle course.
I tend to fly at them at full speed, then break away from the path within two feet of them.
I'll look behind and most of the time they've got the "****ting bricks" look on their face.
It's priceless and priveleged everytime I see it, brings a smile to my bad day.

EXCALIBUR

My attitude is pretty neutral on this topic. I'm just reporting what my friend said. Try to relax and you may feel better in the morning.

Charlie Quatro

At least California has taken some fairly passive measures to encourage mentally challenged wrong way bikers to to ride in the same direction as traffic.

Unfortunately, its still not 100% effective.

rando

yep, sharrows may help... in this case there are none along this stretch.

Raiyn

Actually it was more than a year (01/18/2006 - 04/06/2007), and hell yes. I was doing other things.
For some reason, I don't have that problem, wrongies see me and move automatically (usually onto a sidewalk).

LittleBigMan

I doubt that really happened.

Try stiff arming someone, anyone, while riding a bike, and see what happens.

caloso

No. It's not. (Dumbasses.)

joejack951

My question would be what mentally challenged traffic engineer puts a door zone bike lane in on what appears to be a relatively minor road that has a passing lane available for any faster traffic?

joejack951

The way your posts were written made it sound as though you were referring to yourself when you mentioned your friend, like someone might do if they had an embarassing question to ask and didn't want someone to know it was their problem. If you are truly "neutral" on the topic (whatever that means) then please accept my apology for directing my disgust at you (but do please pass it along to your friend ).

EXCALIBUR

You have the right to doubt anything you choose. My friend would never honestly lie about something like this.

EXCALIBUR

Apology accepted. I shall inform my friend. Let's get back to bicycle riding.