Why I love motorists on their phones:
09-11-12, 09:36 AM
#26
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I passed a websurfer/driver this morning. Pulled up behind the car at a traffic light, light turns green, he still had the iPad (tablet of some kind) sitting on the steering wheel. I went around.
My experience in this area would be, I agree with a lot of he OP when it comes to downtown, city streets. When you transition out to suburbia, it changes. There's fewer designed stops and faster speeds. Those same distracted drivers are much more dangerous away from downtown. IMHO, YMMV.
My experience in this area would be, I agree with a lot of he OP when it comes to downtown, city streets. When you transition out to suburbia, it changes. There's fewer designed stops and faster speeds. Those same distracted drivers are much more dangerous away from downtown. IMHO, YMMV.
09-11-12, 07:49 PM
#27
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
No kiddin', huh? Whether I'm driving, biking, walking, or jogging, I can guarantee that I'll see drivers behave as if they were being pulled by barely-responsive invisible cables.
Tell me if you've noticed this: most horn honks these days come NOT from people getting cut off, but from the second or third in line at a stoplight when the texter in front hasn't noticed that it turned green. In my car, I at least give the courtesy of counting "1, 2, 3" before I tap my horn to wake up the zombie ahead of me.
Tell me if you've noticed this: most horn honks these days come NOT from people getting cut off, but from the second or third in line at a stoplight when the texter in front hasn't noticed that it turned green. In my car, I at least give the courtesy of counting "1, 2, 3" before I tap my horn to wake up the zombie ahead of me.
09-12-12, 10:21 PM
#29
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Tell me if you've noticed this: most horn honks these days come NOT from people getting cut off, but from the second or third in line at a stoplight when the texter in front hasn't noticed that it turned green. In my car, I at least give the courtesy of counting "1, 2, 3" before I tap my horn to wake up the zombie ahead of me.
Years ago I would notice an erratic motorist and think: "Drunk..." but now I automatically think: "Hang up and drive you #@%&@#*@$*!!!!
I especially love when a motorist is engaged with their iPoop while negotiating a turn on city streets. Sloooow....stop, slooooow....stop. Infuriating. On the bike I just carve around them and resist the urge to slap their side mirror silly. In the car....wait....go...wait....go. Grrrr.
01-28-13, 03:53 PM
#30
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I wish all that was true on the open county roads in my area with speed limits of 50mph or higher. Drivers on electronics are certainly more innatentive and more likely to be breaking the speed limit but most certainly NOT passive across the board (in fact many are more aggresive while passing or at intersections, often not yielding right of way to me when I have it) and certainly not more predicatble. Because of the more open roads with higher speed limits, they can drift over into other lanes at random.
01-29-13, 08:24 AM
#32
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Your points are all good ones.
In my experience, the inattentiveness is somehow granting me more distance between moving cars in general. Yackers brains somehow "know" they are compromised when driving on auto pilot and respond by going slower in general, leaving a larger gap in front, and using red lights as "office time" (they can concentrate 100% on the device) which in turn makes them very slow to get started when the light goes green. What you should realize beyond those facts is my style in traffic: I am either keeping up (just like on a motorcycle), breaking away (gap behind me gets bigger by the second) or splitting lanes. I NEVER EVER stop between two vehicle bumpers. So any inattentiveness on their part is very unlikely to literally bite me on the butt.
Crossing traffic on the other hand is more likely to blow a stop sign or red light while distracted - no doubt - and I see that all the time. Since I also NEVER EVER look at the color of the lights, this is a non-factor for me too. I just look for moving vehicles, peds, and other cyclists - grant right-of-way if necessary - then get on my way.
So the two best ways for a car to hit me are 1. from behind or 2. from the side - are totally eliminated by riding fast enough to prevent them from overtaking/passing me as well as looking both ways before I proceed through any cross street. All that remains for my safety beyond those two things is to avoid hitting them - this is where I have control. I never want to give up that control. Motorists driving slower makes my task much, much easier. I never leave my arse in front of their inattentiveness.
In my experience, the inattentiveness is somehow granting me more distance between moving cars in general. Yackers brains somehow "know" they are compromised when driving on auto pilot and respond by going slower in general, leaving a larger gap in front, and using red lights as "office time" (they can concentrate 100% on the device) which in turn makes them very slow to get started when the light goes green. What you should realize beyond those facts is my style in traffic: I am either keeping up (just like on a motorcycle), breaking away (gap behind me gets bigger by the second) or splitting lanes. I NEVER EVER stop between two vehicle bumpers. So any inattentiveness on their part is very unlikely to literally bite me on the butt.
Crossing traffic on the other hand is more likely to blow a stop sign or red light while distracted - no doubt - and I see that all the time. Since I also NEVER EVER look at the color of the lights, this is a non-factor for me too. I just look for moving vehicles, peds, and other cyclists - grant right-of-way if necessary - then get on my way.
So the two best ways for a car to hit me are 1. from behind or 2. from the side - are totally eliminated by riding fast enough to prevent them from overtaking/passing me as well as looking both ways before I proceed through any cross street. All that remains for my safety beyond those two things is to avoid hitting them - this is where I have control. I never want to give up that control. Motorists driving slower makes my task much, much easier. I never leave my arse in front of their inattentiveness.
01-29-13, 08:28 AM
#33
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All the spin in the world won't morph inattentive motorists into a positive factor in cyclist and overall roadway safety.
01-29-13, 09:01 AM
#34
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The flip side of your statement is that nothing we can do, including making cell phone use illegal, will make motorists more attentive. In this regard perhaps Joey is merely taking advantage of the situation realizing that most around him are basically phone zombies.
02-04-13, 03:48 PM
#35
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I would much rather take my chances with an innatentive driver, someone texting or talking or a soccer mom reaching into the back seat to slap her kid, than an aggressive, attentive driver who sees me and then left hooks me at the last minute because he or she has to be first. Innatentive means slow, pondering and predictable. I'll take that over aggressive any day.
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Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace
1980 3Rensho-- 1975 Raleigh Sprite 3spd
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02-05-13, 12:08 AM
#36
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Interesting viewpoints here. Yes, Joey, I'm pleased to be reading your posts again. I'll say again, New Orleans must be like nowhere else, with regard to the traffic grid. My experience driving on the local freeways of SE MI is that distracted drivers are a menace. Motorists drift in and out of lanes at 60-80 mph, and certainly brake too late for safety.
I started a new job in downtown Detroit, and since this time I would now be required to pay for parking, I have elected to ride the bus with my bike. Whole 'nother experience, riding downtown. Some of you may have heard about the depopulation of Detroit, currently around 700,000 in a city built for 2 million. A side effect is increasing room for cyclists on the main roads, which are three and four lanes each way, and often devoid of traffic, outside of rush hour. No need to split the lanes on the double yellow lines a la JoeyBike.
I can hear you all asking, "then why not commute entirely by bike?" Well, about half of the 11-12 mile commute would be through some dicey areas of Detroit. Actually, the entire route to downtown from the city limits is pretty sketchy. And since I've already repeated to my wife the horror stories posted by BF members from NY, SF, and NO (sorry, Joey) about motorist and criminal actions against cyclists, she is absolutely against me riding the entire distance. My family is displeased enough as it is with my decision to ride around downtown at lunchtime.
I started a new job in downtown Detroit, and since this time I would now be required to pay for parking, I have elected to ride the bus with my bike. Whole 'nother experience, riding downtown. Some of you may have heard about the depopulation of Detroit, currently around 700,000 in a city built for 2 million. A side effect is increasing room for cyclists on the main roads, which are three and four lanes each way, and often devoid of traffic, outside of rush hour. No need to split the lanes on the double yellow lines a la JoeyBike.
I can hear you all asking, "then why not commute entirely by bike?" Well, about half of the 11-12 mile commute would be through some dicey areas of Detroit. Actually, the entire route to downtown from the city limits is pretty sketchy. And since I've already repeated to my wife the horror stories posted by BF members from NY, SF, and NO (sorry, Joey) about motorist and criminal actions against cyclists, she is absolutely against me riding the entire distance. My family is displeased enough as it is with my decision to ride around downtown at lunchtime.
02-05-13, 08:05 AM
#37
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...the entire route to downtown from the city limits is pretty sketchy. And since I've already repeated to my wife the horror stories posted by BF members from NY, SF, and NO (sorry, Joey) about motorist and criminal actions against cyclists, she is absolutely against me riding the entire distance....
Do you lock your bike to the front of the bus? A friend of mine had their bike snatched off the bus. She lived in Rhode Island at the time.
02-05-13, 08:25 AM
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It was one of those inattentive drivers on a phone that broke my back a few months ago and totaled my beloved Pug (as well as his car). I'll take a driver without a phone any day over a distracted one anyday.
02-05-13, 09:32 AM
#39
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Also, my commuting situation enables me to avoid rear-end collisions (cars hitting me from behind) almost 100% of the time. I think this distracted driver advantage that I am enjoying would only be possible inside a busy city grid.
Hope you get back to full speed.
Cheers.
02-10-13, 11:02 AM
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the worst thing is the dumba$$ who turned in front of me didn't hang up the phone for 10 min after they hit me. the ambulance and police showed up before she hung up the phone.
02-12-13, 11:11 AM
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And in Joey's next addition......Why I love bikers that break every traffic law there is........Or the ever popular......How to incriminate yourself on video series...
Last edited by Booger1; 02-12-13 at 11:20 AM.
02-13-13, 03:28 AM
#44
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Interesting take on the issue 
My main issue with the iTools is that they never stop at RToR situations.
You can be coming toward them at 15 or so and the just keep rolling into the intersection while looking right at you.
Guess that is applicable without the phones, too, though . . .
My main issue with the iTools is that they never stop at RToR situations.
You can be coming toward them at 15 or so and the just keep rolling into the intersection while looking right at you.
Guess that is applicable without the phones, too, though . . .
02-13-13, 09:49 AM
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04-11-14, 09:26 AM
#46
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I bumped this thread as it is relevant to a current "Make Cell Phone Laws" thread. A lot of what is happening in - https://www.bikeforums.net/advocacy-s...e-texting.html - has already been covered here along with insights to the contrary.
I am way too lazy to continue beating the rotten corpse of that pony. Which is why I created this thread in the first place.
I am way too lazy to continue beating the rotten corpse of that pony. Which is why I created this thread in the first place.
Last edited by JoeyBike; 04-11-14 at 09:30 AM.
04-16-14, 06:34 AM
#48
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I drive a motor vehicle like a model citizen. Exactly the speed limit and complete stops.
04-16-14, 09:02 PM
#49
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Thought of this post while I was riding home today and it made me laugh. I was on the MUP (mea culpa) when I see a fellow cyclist approaching me. As he got closer I noticed he was sitting on the saddle of his BMX bike with his phone held out in front of him texting while only occasionally glancing up to see where he was going. iDiocy is spreading to the MUPs!
04-16-14, 10:09 PM
#50
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Don't even get me started on MUPs. I produced this video tribute to a new MUP in New Orleans City Park. Unusable on a bike even though there is a designated bike lane on it. Infuriating.
https://vimeo.com/67365268
https://vimeo.com/67365268