Jakey

I have no sympathy for riders that ride against traffic... ugh... Just makes the cagers hate us even more.

steveknight

but the problem is most of them don't know it is wrong. no one teaches them it's wrong. i think they think we are the fools going with the traffic (G)

baj32161

Sorry Steve, but I most respectfully disagree. I knew to ride with traffic when I got my first road bike as a kid 34 years ago. The guy deserved his ticket. It is irresponsible behaviour like this that gives drivers ammo for their arguments against cyclists being on the road. There are many drivers that do not know the laws dealing with cyclists, and/or bike lanes. If a driver did something stupid and hit a cyclist in a bike lane I believe you wouldn't be so quick to defend him/her...nor should you be. If you are out on the road, you should know the rules of the road...plain and simple. A driver could never get away with that sort of rationale (claiming ignorance), neither should a cyclist.

Cheers,

Brian

koine2002

I learned that rule, I think, when I was 7 years old. I remember a police officer coming to a class, or maybe I went to a class, don't remember the details, but he explained how it worked. If I remember right, all bikes (ridden by kids) in my town had to be registered and "plated" (all for free) and in order to get those plates you needed to go to a bicycle safety class.

baj32161

You must be old...like me
Do the schools still do that? I remember that too.

edit: nope...just checked your profile and you're ONLY 31 ...I am 44 and remember doing that back in elementary school, complete with orange traffic cones and all.

Guest

Yep- the cyclist was stupid riding against traffic. He should get ticketed, and if he did damage to the car that hit him, he should pay for it.

Koffee

iamtim

In California -- at least around me -- the bike lanes have arrows indicating which direction to travel. I assume it's the same in other states.

Nope, the rider deserved what he got.

scarpi41

Always told to go with the flow of traffic. They always like to go the other way in FL.

chipcom 

Dchiefransom

Yes, the cyclist should get a ticket. What about the driver that didn't make sure the roadway was clear before pulling out?

baj32161

How many grams does that weigh?

SteveAZ

I don't see the arrows around here, but every-so-often "enaL ekiB" is written in the middle of the lane?

baj32161

Sometimes it just isn't about the driver. Isn't it ever possible that a cyclist can just be a moron and get what he deserves without having to spread blame around? The cyclist was going the wrong way. If the driver had been going the wrong way and the cyclist hadn't checked the road and ran into the car, would you say that the cyclist deserved a ticket?

Sometimes accidents are the cyclist's fault..this is clearly one of those times.

Brian

Dchiefransom

Sometimes it's about everyone involved in an accident that makes a mistake. Not all states give out just one ticket when an accident occurs. I stated that the cyclist should get a ticket. If the situation was reversed, why not give a ticket to people that have forgotten to do something that would get them flunked on the road portion of the driving test?

SteveAZ

I disagree, how do you know the driver did anything wrong. If I'm going the wrong way, doing say 20-25mph, the driver looks right and sees me 100' away, checks traffic to the left, and pulls out where I then hit them, I'm in the wrong! Reason being #1 it's illegal in many states to ride against traffic, #2 my behavior is not that of the average cyclist so while it may not be legally wrong, I failed to take that into consideration when approaching that vehicle.

Orrr....actually now having re-read the caption, this may be an even worse scenerio for the cyclist.

That car may have been making a left hand turn into that lot, making it much more difficult to see the rider travelling against traffic at any type of speed as they would have to check over their shoulder to do so.

If the vehicle was making a right turn, they should have seen the cyclist, but the cyclist was still wrong.

iamtim

Oh, come on. Accidents are, in fact, accidents. But generally they all distill down to one, single incident -- the event that caused the accident to occur. And usually the person responsible for the event that caused the accident to occur winds up also responsible for the accident.

The cyclist was going THE WRONG WAY ON THE ROAD. Drivers -- which I am sometimes, and I'm sure you are sometimes, too -- are not omnipotent. They can't check for every single, possible problem that might drop out of the sky and into their lap when they turn onto a street. Again, the cyclist was going THE WRONG WAY ON THE ROAD -- had he been going the right way on the road, there would have been no accident.

Look, I'm all for cyclist's rights, and I'm all for slamming the book on stupid drivers that cause cyclists pain. But I'm completely against stupidity, and the cyclist was being stupid. He was at fault, he takes the blame, and he deals with the repercussions.

Mentor58

Courtesy of the good folks atMilitary Analysis Network

Steve W.

chipcom 

Note that they are marked to ensure we don't point them in the wrong direction. If I had known 30 years ago when I first learned to use of one these that someday we'd have to paint arrows on the roadways and bike paths so people would know which direction they were supposed to be going, I probably would have just turned one of these towards me and let er rip!

steveknight

well thats you and not someone else. there is a lot of teaching out there that says against the traffic. all I have to do is see the numbers of people that do it to know someone is telling someone to do it that way. I think I was told to do it that way.

Jakey

I was always told walk against traffic, ride with traffic.

SteveAZ

More importantly, what do you do now?

I think people assume they should because they can see oncoming traffic and don't consider all the aspects of it. It's also difficult to convince somebody that having cars traveling the same direction (coming up behind you) is safer. There may even be some merit to that arguement, but not if you're going faster than 5mph or so in my opinion. The people that usually get into trouble are the ones that blindly follow that example and go barreling down the sidewalk or the wrongway doing 15 or 20.

dethomasav8r

I agree with the citation, but I alos think that if the driver was in the bike lane, then he sould get cites as well. If the driver wasn't int he bike lane, then let him be. I see drivers using the bike lanes to pass other cars all the time. I also see cars parked in the bike lanes so that their lazy a** drivers don't have to walk from their driveway / parking lots to their front door.

dahvaio

It doesn't matter if they didn't know it was wrong... They should have taken the time and read up on the rules of the road for cycling. No one should have to teach them... especially someone who is 35... they should have taught themselves.... I think I learned when I got my first bike at 6 or 7....

I personally despise cyclers who ride against traffic... The ones that are even worse are the ones who think they have the right of way and won't get out of the way... Pathetic....

Jakey

I believe the car was making a left into the parking lot.

chipcom 

I think that is the problem - conflicting advice and instruction. We encourage pedestrians to walk into traffic, then also separate cycling into vehicular cycling and pedestrian cycling. You are 100% right that there is too much confusion in what governments, schools, parents and advocacy organizations teach - everybody is reading from a different playbook.