patentcad

The world has to make up its friggin mind. You can't have studies that show cellphone using drivers perform at the same level as people who have just had 4+ drinks - and then OUTLAW their use in a state (like my state NY) - but then just wink at people who ARE using them. Either make cellphone use a similar offense to DWI or just get over it already. A or B.

I ride my road bike 10K+ miles annually.. I'm one idiot driver text messaging their way down the road from DEATH at all times. Or it could be a distracted cellphone user. Not a danger I faced a decade ago. So imagine how that makes me feel. I try not to think about it. An 18 year old driver in Colorado recently accidently KILLED a 59 year old cyclist while he was text messaging on his cellphone. HE WAS RELEASED WITHOUT CHARGES IN THE CUSTODY OF HIS PARENTS - discussed at length on these boards a few months back.

The prevailing attitude really does seem to be if you're dumb enough to venture out on the public roads without the benefit of a cage around you, you should have expected to get killed in the first place. At least that's my general impression after 20+ years of daily cycling and now motorcycling. Similar attituudes towards both sports in my view.

Don't get me wrong. 99.9% of the drivers I deal with on the roads are very cool. And after about 100K road bicycle miles (and another 10K on motorcycles) I can count the number of truly close calls on one hand. Much of this has to do with how YOU ride. The other day my wife and I are on some back road - and some idiot cyclist is floating 3' out in the roadway, not riding a straight line. I told my wife 'see that guy? I'd be 3.5 feet to the RIGHT about 6" in side the white line'. More if there's room of course. We avoided this moron of course. Had a bigass truck rounded the BLIND CURVE coming towards us maybe we would have been forced over. I see far more idiotic cyclist behavior than dumb motoring. And half you weenies wonder why some driver hate us. It's not exactly a big mystery. Start by riding straight and INSIDE the white line whenever possible. My motto has always been: Better to hit a pothole with my expensive racing bike than get clipped by a Ford F150.

So don't worry about the idiot driver factor. Worry about how YOU comport yourself on the public roads. That's all you can do. That has worked for me for 20 years now. So far. By the way, most of this time was in Bergen Cty, NJ, right across the river from Manhattan (NY City). That's just about the most congested area with the most traffic in the US. So I have a little experience with this subject. I live in a much more rural area now. Fewer cages. But it only takes ONE.

Stay safe out there bicycle fans. Get right with your Higher Power. But don't ride STUPID. You can control that part. The text messaging teenagers? That falls into the Higher Power dept.

KrisPistofferson

I thought Lucifer was in charge of that one?

EventServices

So to summarize.... Life's a crapshoot; continue what you're doing.

patentcad

That depends on how you're riding. If you ride like the idiot we avoided the other day, change. If you ride with a modicum of common sense (and many do not), carry on.

And even Lucifer would fall into the Higher Power dept. If he exists he's got more power than any of us.

ElJamoquio

You could be hit by lightning tomorrow.

Ride safely, and call it a day. You're safer on the road than on the couch. The couch is way too close to those dangerous potato chips.

patentcad

Can you be hit by lightning on your couch?

Doggus

Of course wearing a mirror is out of the question cause you gotta maintain your coolness factor and wouldn't dare be seen as a Fred. So obviously your not really worried.

Old Dirt Hill

Mirrors are teh bomb. Won't leave home w/o it.

Bob S.

Isn't that the way that our society, politicians & law enforcement deal with so many of our current problems & laws? Laws & regulations are selectively enforced. How about when you see a law enforcement officer on the phone when driving. That's right, they are exempt because of their job & training.

Hold the bums accountable next time you vote. By the way, I do agree with you. Just my $.02. Bob

patentcad

After 100K bicycle miles on the road without being clipped by a motor vehicle and VERY few close calls (all of which were motorist-induced, not my doing) I'm confident in my approach.

Contact us after you hit the 50K mile mark weenie breath. If you're not roadkill yet that is.

ElJamoquio

Well, yes, especially if your couch is out on your front porch. Haven't you driven through Morgantown lately?

SBSpartan

Other things that shouldn't be in a car outside of the steering wheel, brake pedal, and gas pedal.

Infants
Toddlers
Teenagers
Food
Drinks
Radios
Climate Controls
Cell Phones (even with Bluetooth)

Please take away every comfort in MY life because a few people out there cannot do two things at once. Please pass more laws that restrict my ability to make a decision on what I am perfectly capable of doing.

Oh, whatever you do, DO NOT drive someplace pretty (Rocky Mountains). You might be distracted. Sunset is another thing we should make a law against driving around. Think about how easy rush-hour would be in the winter.

fordfasterr

In most cases where I have had close calls with drivers .. I have noticed that they are:

1. female drivers.
2. on their cell phone.


I need a good sticker for my helmet that has a cell phone inside of a red circle thing .... like this:



or this:

woodcycl

Hey PatentCad ... I agree with 99% of what you've had to say. Cell Phone usage while driving is a PETPEEVE of mine ... I truly have something against those two things going together!

One thing I have learned ... and got the idea from reading BF also ... is to NOT straddle that right white line on the road. I have had a handful of close calls by motorists passing me while oncoming cars are also passing and literally missing my shoulder, etc. by only a couple of inches. WOW .. this is a scary thing! So, I now ride at least 1 foot if not 2 to 2.5feet toward the center of the lane from the outside painted line. Now, if there is a decent shoulder on the outside of the white line, that's kosher and I ride near the white line. I only have approx. 30k miles so far ... but it works for me at this point. It helps to keep passing cars going WITH me from barely squeaking by me with absolutely no room.

Back on topic ... cell phone usage while driving (especially in town, where many variables and extra movements are required due to pedestrians, intersections, changing lanes, etc.) is a dangerous thing.

fordfasterr

how about this one:




https://www.cnn.com/US/9908/25/cellphone.ban/

Doggus

so your whining is pointless...again. 100K miles and no clip then the motorists obviously know what they're doing on their phones. Just another overgrown whining baby. You read like a 16 year old. Hard to believe your as old as you are. When is the maturity gonna kick in for you?

patentcad

>>When is the maturity gonna kick in for you<<

Are you kidding me? I'm on Bike Forums.

I'd say...umm....NEVER.

With any luck that is. You must look quite dashing with that mirror clipped to your helmet.

I'm sending the Fred Patrol out to find you. And my whining is NEVER pointless. If it pissed you off it was all worth it.

The Octopus 

This issue has been flogged to death on the Advocacy forum. There are folks, myself included, that hold the opinion -- as firmly and with as much vehemence as patentcad holds his -- that bicycles are vehicles and they belong in the road, not on the road shoulder. Want to be visible to traffic and respected by traffic? Some say you're best bet is to act as much like traffic as possible. Cars shouldn't drive on the right side of the far-right lane marking, and neither should you.

That said, my credentials aren't nearly as impressive as patentcad's (only many 10s of thousands of miles, 15 years of commuting, and qualifying for RAAM), so take what I say with a few grains of salt. But what I'd offer is that there's a lot of debate out there (in another forum) on how and where to ride to maximize both your safety and your fun. Educate yourself on this issue and then make the choices that you are most comfortable with.

Flame away.

BikerJoeP

+1

Kimbercop

You're one anything from death at anytime. Get used to it and enjoy life while you're here.

Avalanche325

So are you telling us that you passed a cyclist on a two lane road on a blind curve**********??

If so, you are being more of a danger to cyclists than a cell phone user.

botto 

guess that line went in one ear and out the other. There i was, writing a text message to one of my training partners on my mobile, while i was out on my ride and BAM! I hit a pothole! Fortunately, considering I have NO co-ordination what so ever, I managed to keep the rubber on the road

Dinstee

leave the self righteousness to the guy in the white house buddy.

Cromulent

I was out on a group ride a couple of weeks ago and we passed a guy on a bike going the other way. He was sitting straight up, no helmet, no hands, talking into a cell phone. Part of me was thinking, "Dude, you're going to kill yourself." Another part of me was jealous of his bike handling skills. I wonder if I should practice that on rollers first. Heh.

ljrichar

-1