RC_spinner

It has been a few months now since I have started riding again and it boggles my mind how some cyclists want to play both ends. Why is it that at a stop light I see riders squeezing by on the right of stopped cars, trying to get to the front. Or they just jump on a sidewalk and cross at the light anyway and get back on the road. And then we wonder my some cars don't give room when they pass.

To get respect you have to give respect, there is no other way.

Chris

ElJamoquio

Because it's my damn road, that's why.

grahny

It's the 'ol double standard

mezza

YOUR road? But it's MY ROAD!!!!

subcultro

Because people always want to point the finger and never take any responsibility themselves. Cyclists are not beyond human nature.

cedricbosch

This is a good question. And I have no good answer.

WaitUpForMe

Roads? Where we're going, we don't need . . . roads.

babydee

Please...

Cyclists not obeying traffic lights when there's no risk to others is not the same thing as cars coming dangerously close to cyclists.

Bike cops in Philly don't even obey traffic lights when there's no cars around.

Viceroy

I agree, this goes for anything.
People like to "Fix the blame, not the problem."

Machka 

why do you want it both ways on the road?

I don't!! When I'm riding my bicycle, I am a vehicle of the road, therefore I follow the rules of the road as stated in the local laws.

Flak

Because it's safer for us to get to the front when it goes green and allows us to clear the intersection more quickly and impede traffic less. Everyone wins.

If you go to the front and sprint off the line you can clear the intersection and get right fast. That way you won't get squeezed off the side by cars in their mad rush to make the light (or possibly hit by people turning left), and if you take the lane back in a line of cars you'll just be slowing everyone else up and they might not make the light which in this case is an unneccisary inconvienience.

If there's room to move up and get out of everyones way while keeping you safer...why wouldnt you?

recneps

if they can pass us in the same lane we are in we should be able to pass them in the same lane they are in.

They should have to get into another lane in order to pass us, if they did this maybe I wouldnt get in front of them at traffic lights... ehh I probably still would.

snoboard2

in california, lane splitting is legal on a motorcycle, and more than likely on a bike. being between 2 cars is 100000 times safer than being behind a car and another dumbass not paying attention doesn't stop and pins you between 2 cars. byebye you. this is my reason for riding between cars at intersections, and if a cop has a problem with it, I will calmly explain my reasoning.

urbanknight

This is why I'm considering not going on the local club rides anymore. The group consistently rolls lights and stops and has riders who ride 3 abreast on a windy road, or even swing out to the center line for no reason. They even made a gesture towards a car that sped past them after they had rolled through a stop sign right in front of him (he had the right-of-way) and then proceded to ride 3 abreast all the way out to the center line on a one lane road.

I'm kind of glad the group usually splits up around that time. Half the pack rolls through a light while the rest of us stop and joke about the pigheadedness of the first half.

RC_spinner

It's not about risk, Its about obeying the laws of the road. If you want to share the road, accept the responsibility that comes with it.

XANTHOS CHICAGO

I live in Chicago and not the country----and I will ride weave through a red light during high traffice times with ease----you should see it is a thing of beauty guess what,,, i am the one that will die so i am able to make that decision--- city bikers -are a different breed ------O and during the winter I rub snot on my face to keep it warm-------------



I love when I throw up riding 20 miles an hour-----the throw up looks as if it frozen in mid air


Chicago

patentcad

I don't want respect from cages. As long as they don't kill me on a daily basis I'm pleasantly surprised.

Thanks for the Traffic Safety Sermon. That's so friggin helpful.

bung

Riding like an ass comes with consequences. The group with which I ride is being scrutinized by local police because of complaints from motorists.

Machka 

I'm with you!

On the few group rides I've done, I'm usually the one and only cyclist left standing at a red light waiting for it to change while the rest of them have run the red and have disappeared in the distance.

VT to CA

Everything you've described is legal in Los Angeles. In the vast majority of cities, bikes have all the rights of the road as cars, plus several other exclusive rights.

I'm not sure which concerns me more- that you believe this is somehow a respect issue, or that on a bike forum, a surprising number of the the responses seem to be in agreement with you.

VT to CA

I think you should table the discussion until you actually know what the laws of the road are.

gtmandsager

The laws of the road exist to manage risk, period. Are you attaching moral judgment to traffic laws? I think there is a point to be made about creating an atmosphere of mutual respect, but this just doesn't follow.

Surferbruce

bikes are better than cars, thats all.

waterrockets 

If there's a shoulder or wide lane, I'll pull up to the light every time. There will be room to pass me in that lane when the light turns green (after they catch me).

I never run a light though.

warp9

"With great power comes great responsibility."

A guy behind a HUGE multi-ton 300 horse power vehicle has IMO far more responsibility than a guy on a bike.

And if you don't like that double standard---stop driving. (I wish more people would stop)

Driving is a privilege not a right.

Cycling is a right.