Cyclists to Drivers - Who died and made you king of the road? Oh, it was a cyclist!

Edited to clarify purpose of post:

Cyclists:  So many drivers out there endanger our lives and safety by refusing to share the road.  They complain that we don't follow the rules of the road, but then blame us when we act like a car and slow them down.  Seriously, does losing thirty seconds of your day make it necessary to blow your horn, yell, gesture rudely, cut me off, zoom past within inches of my pedals, and actually try to obstruct my ability to travel down the road?

Man, some drivers need to get over it. 

Anybody else have this experience?

You can't start a thread to single out and "flame" another member of CC.  Sowwy.

Original Post by lysistrata:

Calling all cyclists:

Flame away.

 

 Oh please... seriously?

quote:

hey slampe, no one cares if you have the physique of a Greek god ok and I certainly don't care what gases you emit. This thread is about cyclists who make the roads a nightmare for everyone else. If that's not you, freakin awesome. If you don't slow 55mph traffic down to 20mph so you can ride along side your BFF I love you.

I have to ask, what exactly did I say in the OP that makes cyclists hate me? Is it the fact that if I expect them to abide by the same rules of the road that I'm held to? What did I say that was different from that?

She is not talking about all cyclists, just the bad ones. No different than someone making a thread about bad drivers.

spiro has made it clear that cyclists are not welcome to disagree on her thread.  I am providing them a place to voice their frustrations with the drivers that routinely try to run them down, who follow them too closely for miles, who swerve aggressively around them, who turn in front of them, and who, in short, refuse to respect their right to a share of the road.

Well get off the road then.........

.. From a cyclist?

Dear Spiro, I love you for telling everyone else to get out of the damned street.  I wish more of us had the common sense to either ride in the bicycle lane, close to the damned curb, or on the sidewalk.  I apologise on behalf of the stupid cyclists out there who feel they rule the world.

Did you know that the NHTSA keeps statistics on bicycle-MVA accidents?

One of the frequent complaints on spiro's thread is that bicyclists run through red lights and stop signs.  Actually, if you look at the data, as many accidents are caused by cars running through stop signs as bicycles.

CD - I love bicycle lanes, and I wish more cities had them.  I was really surprised when I moved to San Diego and discovered there were basically none.  Here I thought it was such an outdoor-friendly place ...

Riding on the sidewalk and riding close to the curb are not always good options.  The sidewalk is too crowded and you run the risk of hurting a pedestrian.  If there's parking on the curb, you've got to be really careful about people getting in and out of their cars and not paying attention to you.  I had my first broken bones when a guy parked at the curb opened his car door directly into my bike and launched me about 30 feet.

Cyclists have to ride defensively.

Do you drive a car also?

If so you'll have some understanding of just how difficult it can be sometimes to actually see a cyclist. I've been caught out by them a few times and I am very aware of all other road user, but we can't sit at the junction all day! Just a few weeks ago I double checked the road in both directions before going to pull out and just as I started to move a cyclist appeared out from behind a line of parked cars........scared the crap out of both of us!

Was it their fault...no there was all those cars parked there

Was it my fault....no I had done my checks, but I can't see what's behind cars either.

What I will say, and said to them also is it would have been helpful if they had made themselves more noticeable, by having luminous jacket on and by having their bicycle lights on.

 

P.S. I also think that you should take spiros name out of your title, not sure that the implications of the title are allowed.

Yep.  I'm a big fan of bright colored clothes, lights, reflectors ... and, of course, helmets.

My view of the road is it takes two to tango.  Cyclists can help themselves out a lot by being visible and paying attention to the vehicles around them.  Inattention is a big factor for accidents whether you're in a car or on a bike ... or just walking down the road.  I remember this horrible video I was shown in my driver's ed class of a woman walking directly in front of a train.  Bottom line:  If you're in motion, you've gotta be looking around.

Precaution doesn't help much, though, with a driver that's road raging against you for slowing him up at the left turn light.  Those folks are way lamer than any annoying cyclists because they can actually get people killed.  All for the sake of losing three seconds making a turn.  Sad.

^suggestion taken.^  ;-)

Sadly not all cyclist follow your good example. I guess they are lucky where I live in that drivers may curse at them under their breath but don't go to the extent that you discribe  and many cyclists go along a very busy main route road to get the city, but I've never seen drivers get shirty with them. I do realise though that this is not the case everywhere else.

In San Diego, bus drivers were the worst.  Not sure if it was because they had to keep a schedule or if they just tended to be sadistic, but they would routinely zoom around to pass me with about two inches to spare, slow down to befoul me with exhaust, then pull directly back in front of me for the next stop.  If I were fortunate enough to have a clear spot in traffic to pull further out into the center of the lane and get back around the bus, we'd repeat the dance on the next block.

Unlike bike paths, in San Diego buses are EVERYwhere.

Original Post by lysistrata:

Did you know that the NHTSA keeps statistics on bicycle-MVA accidents?

One of the frequent complaints on spiro's thread is that bicyclists run through red lights and stop signs.  Actually, if you look at the data, as many accidents are caused by cars running through stop signs as bicycles.

All that tells me is that stupidity is not limited to cyclists, not that cyclists aren't stupid, and a higher proportion of the cyclist population do stupid stop sign behaviour. While not justifying or condoning dangerous or stupid driving in any way, there is a difference between being stupid with a couple of thousand pounds between you and the road and being stupid with a thin layer of lycra between the same surfaces.

Get rid of stupid, reckless people be they in a car or on a bike (or my personal least favourite - drive a bus). Problem solved.

I still think street riding should be reserved for relatively empty side streets.  If it's busy as hell, keep your ass on the sidewalk or as close to the curb as possible.  If it takes you a little longer to get to where you're going because you have to wait for traffic to clear before venturing around parked cars, well, you'll be fine.  Take advantage of the water break.

And you know, when all else fails you can give yourself a challenge and ride on the grass.

Original Post by lysistrata:

Calling all cyclists:

Flame away.

 

Wow, that's seriously mature.

Good job taking the high road... -_-"

 

Original Post by lysistrata:

spiro has made it clear that cyclists are not welcome to disagree on her thread. I am providing them a place to voice their frustrations with the drivers that routinely try to run them down, who follow them too closely for miles, who swerve aggressively around them, who turn in front of them, and who, in short, refuse to respect their right to a share of the road.

So in the fine tradition of (some) cyclists, are the drivers supposed to flock to this thread and cry like babies?

I'm inviting cyclists to share their frustrations.  Drivers already have their forum.  Why don't you head on back there now?

Get rid of stupid, reckless people be they in a car or on a bike (or my personal least favourite - drive a bus). Problem solved.

I agree.  In a perfect world with no stupid, reckless people, we wouldn't need any rules at all.  In this world, however, stupid reckless people are just a given.

Yep, cyclists absolutely need to be smart about their own safety.  But cyclists generally aren't the ones with the capability of seriously injuring, even killing, other folks on the road.  A car is a fast, heavy, dangerous piece of equipment - there's just no excuse to be irresponsible with it.

Original Post by lysistrata:

I'm inviting cyclists to share their frustrations. Drivers already have their forum. Why don't you head on back there now?

After 11 pages of a few cyclists throwing a tantrum? No way!