Sorry. Bicycles are required by law in most states to ride as far to the right as PRACTICABLE, and they may take the center of the lane if it's less than 12' wide. Big difference. I teach cyclists to never ride closer than 4 feet from the road edge, usually about six. Believe it or not, the result is safer bicycling and happier motorists (when overtaking a cyclist in the lane, a motorist will commit to changing lanes to pass... as they would any other slow moving vehicle, resulting in reduced stress for everyone). Read all about it here: i am traffic As for the cyclist in the video. She exemplifies what's wrong with cycling. She is inattentive (just like many motorists), she flaunts the laws (just like many motorists), and law enforcement pretty much lets them get away with it.
Just because its an "Expensive Hobby" gives the people who partake in that hobby the right to do whatever they want? Um... NO! I've got close to $70,000 into my MINI... Does that give me the right to not follow traffic laws, not pay attention to my surroundings, and just be an ******* behind the wheel? Its an "Expensive Hobby" after all...
And this ^^^ is the kind of behavior I am griping about! Its all to common around here. I hope your teaching riders to not only take up the entire lane but to get out of the way if they need to.
Having the same rights on the road as any motor vehicle is all well and good. You can put, "I had the right of way" on your tombstone. Laws aside, in the real world, the larger vehicle has the right of way, that's how I ride a bike, a motorcycle or drive a MINI. Dave
Thats the way it has always been! I remember being taught as a kid to stay out of the middle of the street or you will get run over... What has changed? The way I see it NOTHING! You can either let the bigger faster moving vehicle go by, or be prepared to suffer the consequences... Whatever they might be.
Who ever said that? All I'm saying, is if we all know the LAWS there would not be a problem. $70k? Umm.........:idea:
I didn't say it's an expensive hobby to justify the practitioners "doing anything they want.". I pointed that out as a refutation of the claim that cyclists don't pay any road tax and, following the course of this thread, that they should not be allowed on the road, and then the asinine detour into "I don't like them, let's go "f" them up with sticks, golf clubs and tasers. ". In general, the people who can afford expensive hobbies, be they a couple of several thousand dollar bicycles, or a seventy thousand dollar investment in some little girly city car that shouldn't be on the same roads as Bubba's big pickup, are people who pay a large amount of taxes in general. Are you trying to claim that you have 70K into a car that already boasted potent performance from the factory, and you've never even pushed the boundaries of the law? What did you spend the money on then? Converting it into some sort of grandma's caddy\prius unholy concoction of self-righteousness and slow driving? Long story short, cyclist in the video = stupid, people who stereotype a diverse group of other people because of their current mode of transport = stupid. People who wish or threaten violent injury on others because they are so f*****g self-absorbed that the think they alone have the right to use public property in their own way= dangerously stupid. Perhaps you missed the header and welcome screen that says the "friendly" MINI forum....
Here you go. [ame=http://youtu.be/ekpD06P7kiI]Car hit by train - Top Gear series 9 - BBC - YouTube[/ame]
You are taking this whole thing far too seriously travelering. I'm certain the longer you hang here, the greater your odds that you'll get used to the humor. We really are friendly here... It really is all about just being sensible and safe, regardless of whether you're on a bike or in a car. Neither wants to be hit or hit someone! A strong sense of Situational Awareness is something not everyone possesses, regardless of their chosen mode of transportation. I think some of us who do possess are simply making fun (venting in some cases) of those who don't. Cheers. :beer
No substantial worries mate. I've had a miserable week at work, where some people took jokes way too seriously and several of us almost lost our jobs over it. On top of that, I used to race road bikes, pegging in over ten thousand miles of saddle time a year. I developed friendships all over the US through the sport, and had one of those friends killed and a few hurt badly by drivers. In every case, the rider was not at fault unlike the one in the video. The guy who was killed was a new father who had been racing for just a year, but was so excited and gung-ho about the sport that he was up before dawn heading to a training ride with local pro-level riders. He had on something like clarkson's Safety-orange vest, a xenon headlight, and two bright flashing taillights, yet the lady who hit him claimed she never even saw him. At one of the races, with rollingn roadblocks provided by police cruisers, something lik the jokes in this thread was going through the heads of some local really intelligent guys, only instead of sticking a stick in somebody's spokes, they threw a pair of vise-grips out of their truck heading the opposite way. They hit a rider in his face, requiring four replacement teeth and several hours in the ER for hundreds of stitches. I have been on rides where people have passed us encouraging ther kids to yell at us out of the back window. We've had cars swerve into us just because they wanted to "give us a scare.". I've had my elbow clipped by a car going well over 60 when we were on the other side of the white line going nearly thirty in a forty-five zone. You could see them high five each other as they drove off. Just a joke isn't a good defense in a courtroom, as the visegrip guys found out. Unfortunately, most aggressive actions from cars don't happen when there's multiple police cruisers in plain view. It's as serious as life and death for the bicyclist, and just a joke athat was acted on for the people in the car. Yeah, I guess I took it too seriously......
Unfortunately there are those people who are allowed to drive. I am with the above post... I am not out to hurt anybody, not the guy throwing things at the bikes, and if the cyclist shows me some respect by moving as far right as they can when I come up behind them, I will use the entire opposing lane to go around (given other traffic, and terrain allows it). Its when you get the guy who thinks that because he is on a bike, drivers of cars need to cater to him, and that he can do no wrong, thats when I get mad. Its a common sense thing... Turns out that its not all that common.
^^^^ I agree 100% with this for people on peddle bikes. We also have the same problem on the Dragon when the the Big Harley 2 wheeled RV's don't pull off and drive the entire Dragon at 15-20 mph for 13 miles playing Lynyrd Skynyrd Free Bird thinking the entire road is their own. :mad2: I also have a huge problem with ANYONE using earbuds /head phones listening to music while driving or biking on the road. That is a huge safety issue because on'u can not hear anything except your music.
I suspected you may have had a history in cycling. I certainly understand the frustration you have experienced during your touring, while encountering those less apt to understand their responsibility to share the road. My daughter was hit by an inattentive driver whilst in a crosswalk, and I've got a great friend from high school that was hit by a car during a Saturday morning ride through the foothills. Both were survivors, although my buddy was hospitalized for a bit with his fair share of injuries... Bottom line is, always be smart and attentive, and ride/drive defensively when you're out there. No telling who's on what, how tightly their heads are screwed on, or whether or not they're even in the same zip code as you...!
I have a friend who was clipped by a hit and run driver, while walking on the shoulder, twice! Both times was on the same stretch of road at about the same time of night. Both times, he was hospitalized for some time. I asked him, "do you think that guy knows you?" Dave
Just came back from a group drive today, came across quite a few cyclists. One or two knuckle heads taking up the road, giving the rest of them a bad name. Honestly most of them were following the rules of the road. Its always those two clowns everyone remembers. Bicycles are just not a way of life here in the states like overseas. My bike was my main mode of transportation in Japan. One of the reasons I gave it up was I just don't feel safe on the road here in the states on a bike.