hpmcardle

I would love to blow stop signs, but unfortunately I don't trust myself because I'm oftentimes riding after midnight. In a college town. Ughhhhhh such a drag

jtgotsjets

Sorry dude, but you're part of the problem. Stop running stop signs and making cyclists look like dicks. I hope you get a whopping ticket.

carleton

If we want the respect that cars get on the road, then we should also follow the same rules.

An accident (or simply being startled) happens when something unexpected happens. If we behave predictably then motorists won't be freaked out. Run stop signs, weave through traffic, ride towards them, cut them off, etc...and motorists will not like us.

Being startled is not a fun experience. Just today a skater was bombing down a small steep hill and the girl with whom I was riding and the car in front of us both assumed he was going to skate right into traffic having so much speed. He pulled a cool move and stopped in time, but the driver of the car in front of us locked up the brakes causing us AND the third car behind us to do the same. We were all pretty pissed and the girl with whom I was riding was really shaken up with adrenalin for a while. We were all cursing the skater to holy hell.

carleton

...and get this. There were at least 3 possible outcomes to that skater's behavior:

A) The skater stops in time and all cars stop in time. No harm done. Drivers are shaken up a bit and really pissed off.

B) The skater stops in time but one of the cars doesn't. Fender bender drama.

C) The skater doesn't stop in time and is struck by the first car. Major drama.


All of which could have easily been avoided by the actions of only one person.

f50fan

Cyclists should not be lumped together, and you may not have been in any danger, however, she was still right. You should behave like a car if youre riding amongst them.

Bent Life

Motorists should not be lumped together because of a few/many hideous drivers.

Pedestrians should not be lumped together because of a few/many jaywalkers.

Etc.

As I've maintained throughout, I agree with you. That's why I said, and will continue to say, "You're right" when someone takes out their anger on me.

Anyway, the following blog post was the impetus for my even posting anything about this incident. Please give it a read. It does a far better job of explaining the situation than I did.....I found it convincing.

https://bostonbiker.org/2009/08/14/th...aking-cyclist/

Thanks,

Bent

rumrunn6

Glad you lived to tell the story.

illdthedj

i agree, all cyclists shouldn't be lumped together, especially those who dont obey proper road laws.

However, to many non-cycling drivers, we are all the same.

So i try to be a positive example for all cyclists by following proper road laws and stopping at stop lights/signs. i also do the whole hand signal (left or right) thing to let drivers know my turning intentions. im a nerd like that lol

crawdaddio

Cyclists in major metropolitan areas will never be liked, let alone respected by drivers. Ever. Even if by some miraculous evolution ALL of them began following every single rule of the road to a 'T'. Drivers would still act aggressively to cyclists. Period.

I run stop signs.
Sometimes, i do it in front of cops.
They don't care.
One time, as I usually do, I stopped at a stop sign where there was a car already sitting, waiting to proceed. The driver yelled out his window "Why are you stopping?"
In my city, most drivers expect it.

I run stop signs.
You all should stop judging cyclists for doing things on their bicycle in their usual cycling environment, the particulars of which, none of you can accurately judge through the internet.

I run stop signs.

sulr

I can agree with crawdaddio. Not sure if cyclists will ever be respected in cities (at least Philadelphia), but I believe there is a certain acceptance, as in, most drivers deal with us on the road. Sometimes it gets really annoying though, because in Philly there are a few street lanes that are bus and bike only, a car will get behind me and start honking and yelling at me when it is the proper lane for me to ride in and the improper lane for him/her to ride in).

And I do not really care if cyclists run stop signs, sometimes I do at night(when I can see car lights from a distance) or the roadways are empty (early mornings). And anyway, if some cool bro wants to run a stop sign and get whacked by a car, his problem not mine.

polobreaka

i run stop signs when there is absolutely no car(s) at the intersection, but i still obey the stop sign and wait for my turn if there is one.

thats like asking, when you're walking, do you stop at the intersection and wait even though there is no car present?

as far as i know, pedestrians and cyclist do have the right a way.

a little off topic on my part when riding over the weekend:

i was riding in the residential streets with a my brother and couple of friends. we were at the most far right part of the lane in a straight line, and this ****** honks at us for no apparent reason. we come to a red light, and the passenger rolls down the window and says 'move over or we'll run you over dawg.' i responded back with 'we share the road'. he said 'we're bigger'.

rustybrown

core, bro.

Scrodzilla

That's when I would have fired my u-lock through the windshield and said "Maybe so, but I'm a total mother****er".

jet sanchEz

A co-worker who is new-ish to cycling was bragging about how he never stops for stop signs or red lights. I advised him to run every red light that he approaches....

beerfilter

Most drivers expect it. If I went through every stop sign on my route expecting most motorists to expect me to run the signs, I would be dead.

It is the motorist who does expect you to stop that will kill you.

I frequently arrive at a 4-way stop with cars waiting to the left and right, both with right of way. Often one of the cars waves me while the other car trundles through -as is their right-.

The 'friendly' motorist has just waved me to my death.

Worse, I have had motorists stop without a stop sign to let me pass when cars are coming through in the other direction at 40-50 mph.

illdthedj

i call bullsh!1T on this statement. ive lived in san francisco for a few years, oakland a few more, and while its true some drivers are A-holes and wil forever have a chip on their shoulder, there are plenty who are sympathetic/friendly with cyclists who follow proper road rules. Like ones that make room for you, or drive slowly when around you, or smile and/or wave when you stop at a sign like you are supposed to. Keep riding like an A-hole and you just solidify A-hole driver's misconceptions and generalizations about cyclists.

CardiacKid

One time I was at a restaurant and the service was so bad, the manager told me I didn't have to pay. In my town, you don't have to pay if the service is bad. I run the check if it takes too long to get my food.

carleton

This is bullsh*t. Sorry to be so blunt.

I'm a cyclist and a driver and I've lived, driven, and ridden in several major cities around the country (and some international). I think that most drivers don't have an opinion either way about cyclists...until a cyclist pulls a jack*ss move on them...like running stop signs like you do.

illdthedj

bingo. see my above post.

nycphotography

You mean at the FOUR WAY STOP SIGNS?

Just ignore them.

Cglenny

Glad you are aware of the truth of his statements, although all your thinking seems overly complicated for the simplicity of the situation. Ya you probably are more aware than most motorists, buuut... it's still breaking laws and it's still more dangerous.

It's better to follow the law and stop at stop signs. It seems that many bicyclists take STOP as more of a suggestion than drivers do.

People lump people together in groups. It just matters what each of us individually does.

I'd suggest stopping at stop signs. The more cyclists that do this, the better our image becomes. (That's just one benefit anyway)

JesusBananas

crawdaddio

To each his own.
Do what you do, and I'll do what I do.
We can still be friends.

leed

I agree and disagree with this. It seems as though every day, though, I follow the law more, and get more crap from drivers. Perhaps this is because I live in the city that I do. A combination of terrible drivers (in general, when I'm driving too), and college students who are too impatient to go the speed limit. I have nearly been clipped by a bus, who passed me then stopped immediately for a bus stop, I have been hit by a pizza driver without a turnsignal (this was arguably my fault as well), and I am yelled at, revved at, and cussed at every day on my commute between class, work, and home. Heck, I got chased by an obscene fellow who passed me underneath a bridge where pedestrians were crossing who proceeded to tell me to shut up after yelling at me. Now, I must say, I do not follow all traffic laws on central campus, but this is not where my issues with drivers occur. I stop at all the red lights, and all the stop signs on my commute and I even used the designated bike trail on certain sections. But this only irritates drivers more. They now must slow down and speed up at my pace if they are behind me, and I tend to take up the whole lane, because too many times have drivers cut far too close for my comfort. But, I don't feel bad, I just say 'you shoulda left earlier today.'

Being said, I am no perfect driver, nor am I a perfect cyclist (I can't go 50 miles an hour, sorry; especially not in a 40). But I believe that the gist of what most drivers think is, if you do it, so can I. If we weave so close to them, they can do the same, the difference then is, when we do it, our life is at stake. When they do it, our lives are stake still, and they have nothing to lose, so to speak. Now, they won't run a red light, but they will cut damn close to you simply because it won't hurt them. I still cuss and yell at the crazy ones (though they can't hear me), and flick off the ones who spit in my path as they pass or heckle me for my mode of transportation, which I ought to change, instead now I try to wave and put a smile on (seriously, it makes you feel better, and helps pass the incident over faster).

Bear in mind, over a year and some, I have gone from an aggressive and 'get-out-of-my-way' to a more defensive and 'I am here, sorry', cycling point of view. I think the huge difference between here and when I ride in somewhere like Chicago, is that drivers don't know what to do. Commuting by bicycle is not a big thing, we only recently (within the past month) got a few bike lanes in (regardless that they last less than three blocks) on roads that are written in by law to be shared roads. Drivers here don't really see cyclists on the road all that often, as many times cyclists will ride on the sidewalks (college kids who don't want to get hit, understandable) and then the pedestrians yell at them for that. I know when I first got into it, I was a major jack-a-hole because my stance was, they don't want me on the road, they don't want me on the sidewalk, I guess I'll make my own path.

Perhaps this seeming hostility towards cyclists in my city is of my own doing, or the doing of others, I just hope that a compromise can be made.

Oh, and I wear a helmet, and I have lights (no brakes though ><)

TL;DR

I agree, but disagree; respectfully.

JesusBananas

Man, leed, your city is not bike friendly. NYC is full of aggressive drivers and people who think they have something to prove, but it definitely helps a lot that there is so much bike and pedestrian traffic that drivers are used to avoiding them.

Definitely noticed a lot more bike hate in cities with low cycling populations. In a more philosophical perspective, things that people hate tend to be things that they have little or no actual exposure to . . .