Do YOU yell at cyclists to get off the road?

[TsPoet]

Several times now, I've wanted to yell at cyclists from my car to get on the RIGHT side of the road or OFF the sidewalk.
Do you?
This morning I almost did it. I had my window rolled down and I was about to do it, then the light turned green and I just left hooked the idiots instead.
I wasn't sure what I was going to yell, something not too rude -"Hey, do you know you are putting all cyclists in danger by riding down the wrong side of the road like that?"
It's hard to see, but they were on the overpass, just before the Queensgate highway entrance. About 50ft down from here is a bike path that runs along the highway. I'm assuming that was their destination. Construction on Keene on the West Side of Queensgate has made it very difficult for me to ride my bike this summer, so I've been driving, precisely because I don't know a safe way of getting to this bike path (it's vague on this map, you actually have to turn down Columbia Park trail, the make a sharp left to get on it).
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=rq86gp51r652&lvl=16&dir=0&sty=b&where1=Queensgate%20Dr%20%26%20I-182%2C%20Richland%2C%20WA%2099352&form=LMLTCC
But, people like them make it even more dangerous for people riding on the right side to turn left across all of this crazy rush hour traffic to get there.

[spokewench]

Several times now, I've wanted to yell at cyclists from my car to get on the RIGHT side of the road or OFF the sidewalk.
Do you?
This morning I almost did it. I had my window rolled down and I was about to do it, then the light turned green and I just left hooked the idiots instead.
I wasn't sure what I was going to yell, something not too rude -"Hey, do you know you are putting all cyclists in danger by riding down the wrong side of the road like that?"
It's hard to see, but they were on the overpass, just before the Queensgate highway entrance. About 50ft down from here is a bike path that runs along the highway. I'm assuming that was their destination. Construction on Keene on the West Side of Queensgate has made it very difficult for me to ride my bike this summer, so I've been driving, precisely because I don't know a safe way of getting to this bike path (it's vague on this map, you actually have to turn down Columbia Park trail, the make a sharp left to get on it).
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=rq86gp51r652&lvl=16&dir=0&sty=b&where1=Queensgate%20Dr%20%26%20I-182%2C%20Richland%2C%20WA%2099352&form=LMLTCC
But, people like them make it even more dangerous for people riding on the right side to turn left across all of this crazy rush hour traffic to get there.

I don't yell at people from my car; but if a cyclist is riding on the wrong side of the road when I am riding, I do. They put me at risk when I have to go out into traffic to get around them and you never know which way they are going to go. I try to tell them they are illegal and also unsafe, but usually the encounter is so swift that they will never get it!

Beware, all States, towns, etc., are not the same. Here in Flag, it is legal to ride the sidewalk unless it is posted. I think it is a dumb law, but others think it is great.

[grey]

I don't know that yelling is the answer, but I have wanted to stop a cyclist going the wrong way/using the wrong lane/not wearing a helmet/not signaling to explain how they can get from Point A to Point B safely - increase their chances of survival, you know?

Sort of a quiet "hey, I'm a cyclist also, nice bike (if applicable). I've found it's safer for us to be in the right side of the lane rather than the left, and since we are considered a "vehicle" we go with the flow of traffic - easier for us to be seen that way. Happy riding!"

[OakLeaf]

Not from a car ... we should all know from experience that a cyclist can't hear a thing that someone yells from a car! :p

Not much from a bici, either. There's no time to have a meaningful conversation. I might yell "right side please" in the circumstances spokewench describes.

Running in town, there are days it seems like I holler "Bikes on the road" four or five times a mile. Running in south Florida where my in-laws winter, I've been run off the sidewalk, into traffic, by people on bicycles, several times.

So the answer to your thread title is no ... I yell at them to get ON to the road.

I did send my neighbor a whole bunch of bicycle safety links after he told me about how he rides - either on the sidewalk or against traffic. :eek:

[DarcyInOregon]

There are a lot of new cyclists on bikes this summer, new to cycling for the first time, or they haven't ridden a bike since they were a child. These people are trying to commute to work or exercising for health. Eventually they will learn the rules, but in my opinion it doesn't do any good to become the "bike police" and holler at people while they are on a bike. If everyone is at a stop, then fine, explain the rules nicely, but from a car to a moving bike - no - or from a moving bike to a moving bike - no.

I really dislike bike police, the self-important cyclists who think they know everything, who issue proclamations without any understanding of what is going on. For example, earlier this year I was on a group training ride. My chain started skipping on the rear cassette. I was on a low-traffic rural road with no shoulder, just a white fog line on the right and gravel to the right of the fog line. It was a category climb and I couldn't keep the bike in the lowest gears due to the chain skipping and the steepness of the grades. I moved my bike out to about 8 inches to the left of the fog line, further into the traffic line for fear that my bike might wobble and hit the gravel on the right; in Oregon a cyclist can take the traffic lane entirely for safety if needed. I had lost the lead pack of my training group by then due to my mechanical difficulties. On my left comes a female cyclist from another training group and proceeds to lecture me about where I was riding on the road, that it wasn't good for the "team" for me to be riding that far out into the traffic lane, to stay on the white fog line at all times. The last thing I needed while doing a category climb in too high of a gear was the bike police to come along and start lecturing me.

The worse is when they come up on the left and start telling me how to ride my bike, the most egregious example being when during one ride, when I was past mile 80, two male cyclists kept yelling at me to shift down in the front until I finally screamed swear words back at them that I rode a double, not a triple, you ######.

But for cyclists who don't wear a helmet, many times it is just some poor dude trying to get to his job as a minimum wage dishwasher and he doesn't have the money for a helmet, or when they ride on the wrong side of the road it is because they live on that side of the road and the traffic is so busy it scares them to try to cross the road, so they ride against the traffic. Many people are just trying to get from Point A to Point B, don't have much money and are doing the best they can.

[OakLeaf]

I totally hear you and mostly agree, Darcy (although I don't agree that people will learn the rules by osmosis ... witness my 50-some-year-old neighbor ... they need to be taught, it's just that road rage isn't the way to teach them).

But as a pedestrian/runner I will continue to yell at people on bicycles who illegally endanger me. I can't imagine, when traffic is so heavy that they'd rather ride on the sidewalk, why they think it's okay to run a pedestrian off the sidewalk and into said traffic.

[zoom-zoom]

I really dislike bike police, the self-important cyclists who think they know everything, who issue proclamations without any understanding of what is going on.

I've run into one of these, recently on a group ride. She seems to assume that I know nothing, simply because she's old enough to be my mom and uber-fit (I'm 20+s overweight and struggle with overly large hills from that, compounded by asthma--but I'm still faster up hills than others we ride with)...she reminds me a LOT of my MIL--in build, fitness, and demeanor.

I get to this week's ride when it's 90 at 6pm and haven't yet put my helmet on, since it's at least 15 minutes before we roll and the last thing I want to do is make myself warmer for no reason. My helmet is actually hanging on my handlebars, but she couldn't see it with a car between us. So she very condescendingly says "don't you have a helmet?" She's ridden with me once before...not sure why she assumes that I don't have a helmet on this particular instance.

Later we're pacelining and after about a mile of pulling I drop off. Shortly after I drop a huge pick-up truck appears from behind (it's a somewhat winding stretch of road) and very aggressively passes us, macho-ly gunning his engine and acting very put-out that he had to deal with passing a group of riders--with one of us 2-abreast (legal here in MI).

Again, in a condescending tone of voice, she "instructs" me to check behind before dropping back. Duh, I have a rear-view mirror on my bike...which I use religiously. I also always double-check by glancing over my shoulder to make sure that I'm seeing the whole picture.

So, yeah...last thing I want to do is come off like that. It does nothing to encourage others to ride more or ride better. The only time I speak up is if another cyclist or pedestrian is truly putting my safety at risk with their behavior.

[katluvr]

More about the riding w/ traffic and walking/running against traffic (some of this mentioned here)...
I was TAUGHT in kindergarden (I am pretty sure all my early days) that you walk facing traffic and ride w/ traffic. Do they not teach that any more? I was just a regular kid and I'm in my upper 40's now?
I run in a neighborhood and everyday I end up running face to face w/ another runner. And the bike against traffic IN A BIKE LANE...OMG, don't get me started. I really thought everyone knew the rules of the road, it was like learning to cross the street and look both ways. I am not sure they teach that anymore, either.
Ok, sorry for my rant.
Yes, I do for bicylists if I encounter them in a bike lane going the wrong way I let them know they are, because it endangers me. Most often no matter how nice I say it they don't seem to take it very politely. As for walkers and runners...I just don't have the energy to remind them to face traffic (or how about a little flashy light when it dark or just dusk/or before dawn, the hardest time to see anyone if you are driving a car!)

K

[zoom-zoom]

More about the riding w/ traffic and walking/running against traffic (some of this mentioned here)...
I was TAUGHT in kindergarden (I am pretty sure all my early days) that you walk facing traffic and ride w/ traffic. Do they not teach that any more? I was just a regular kid and I'm in my upper 40's now?
I run in a neighborhood and everyday I end up running face to face w/ another runner. And the bike against traffic IN A BIKE LANE...OMG, don't get me started. I really thought everyone knew the rules of the road, it was like learning to cross the street and look both ways. I am not sure they teach that anymore, either.

I don't think they teach it around here, either, if the local kids are any measure. The adults are rarely better.

[jessmarimba]

No, but I get yelled at by cyclists to get on the sidewalk when I run on the road!

(I can't run on concrete - I will usually pop out of their way if I have time or see cars that will endanger them, but it doesn't stop them from yelling!)

[Antaresia]

I've told other people (kids) to use the right side of a round-about. They have signs on all of them showing you to keep right; why people go left is beyond me. I don't really want to pass you in of one of those things, even less so if there is a car or two around.

I've been told "riding on the sidewalk is illegal, you know", which I thought was funny. I only hopped up there because I was going into the very apartment complex the lady was yelling from, I really didn't think biking a couple of feet would get me in trouble :p
I can't get away with anything!

[Velocivixen]

If you truly hope to help their riding skills or knowledge, then shouting at them in any capacity won't help. A lot of people also don't give a sh*t what others say, so they're not willing to be helped anyway.
Also, you don't know their particular situation, as mentioned in Darcy's post above.

So....no, don't yell. It doesn't help.

[TsPoet]

You are all right, of course.
A few years ago, I thought about trying to buy a dozen copies of "the art of urban cycling" to throw at them instead. Not work, might hurt someone, and expensive - still I thought about it.

[Crankin]

I think the OP's question is a different issue than someone telling you what to do on a group ride. I've never experienced that, but I only ride with a group that wouldn't do that... and they are not training rides. I've instructed people when I am leading a ride (i.e. drop down a gear, spin, try moving back on the saddle), but that is part of my job. I've had a couple of people on our rides (always men) get pissed when I tell them some kind of safety instruction, like please move right, single file, a car is coming.
As far as the yelling at those breaking the law.. well, I do it. Not all of the time, but when it looks like someone's in danger, or on the very rare occasion I am on a bike path. Mostly they give you a dumb stare, not really angry, just like, "what the hell are you talking about?" A few years ago, when I lived in a different town, DH and I were coming home from a ride. We were on the street that our development was off of. It would be classified as a country road, narrow and windy, but fairly busy. Suburban-rural. Anyway, we came upon our neighbor, who was riding with his 2 kids. The kids had helmets on, and were riding on the right side of the road. He had no helmet on and was riding against the traffic. I yelled out, "Jim, you need to set a good example... wear a helmet and ride with the traffic." He listened, because next time, he had a helmet on. And although this guy went to Yale, he didn't exactly have good judgement, as he had a couple of DUIs. Safety was not a concern.
Truthfully, I remember riding the wrong way down Rural Rd. in Tempe in the 1980s. Then one day, I had a funky incident with a car at an intersection and I realized the error of my ways. But, that's what I was taught as a kid, so who knew? I would not have been mad if another cyclist had told me.

[zoom-zoom]

This reminds me, I did have to yell at a guy earlier in the week on the MUP (which I hate riding, but there are short sections where it's necessary to get to my house). He was weaving all over and looking behind him (at who or what, I don't know). I was oncoming and it was becoming apparent that if I didn't say something it would end badly. I hollered "eyes forward" and he about jumped off his saddle. In the same spot a few years ago there was a woman on a bike watching her granddaughter on a bike behind her. My son was on a trail-a-bike behind me and we were headed towards collision. I hollered to get her attention and move to one side and her response was "well, I need to watch my granddaughter." I pointed out that her GDD should be IN FRONT of her, then.

I really wonder how some people have made it beyond adulthood, sometimes. :rolleyes:

[DarcyInOregon]

I am mostly a rural road cyclist, and I bike focused, so when I see down the road a distance runner, or the can collecting bike guy, or a lady pushing a tram coming at me head-on, I merely move out into the traffic lane a bit more, force whatever vehicles there may be to go around all of us, zip on by and never give it another thought. However, what really annoys me no end because it is a type of cycling that can endanger me, and that is having cyclists in front of me or behind me who are pedaling with one hand and yapping, texting or emailing on their cell phone with their other hand, totally oblivious to vehicles, pedestrians or other cyclists. The people on the other end of the phone are just as guilty, knowing they are texting, chatting, emailing with a guy who is out on his bike.

Texting the cycling buddies is great, particularly when there is a dozen of us out on an event ride, and everyone is riding at a different pace and gotten spread out. We can text each other as to where we are and can regroup or meet up after the ride for a meal, even text about the killer nasty hill. However, when I am on my bike, and my cell phone rings or burps, I don't look at it until I am stopped by the side of the road, and safely out of the way of other cyclists and vehicles. But I see cyclists who are texting while biking, don't even know that I am passing them on the left because all they can focus on is their cell phone - and that is incredibly dangerous.

[zoom-zoom]

But I see cyclists who are texting while biking, don't even know that I am passing them on the left because all they can focus on is their cell phone - and that is incredibly dangerous.

They scare me, too. But I also pity them. Seriously...they can't be without communication for even a short bike ride? I won't generally even return calls or texts during a ride break. I like to wait until I am totally done. My ride time is MY time. I like being off the grid. I don't get people that never take a break...especially when it's risky to do so.

[skhill]

Just yesterday I yelled at a cyclist. But I was on my bike too. It was at a 4-way stop, he was on the wrong side of the road and ran the stop sign, and I came within inches of hitting him.

When I'm on foot on a sidewalk by a bikeable road and an adult comes riding along, I move to the very center of the sidewalk and won't yield. Haven't thrown an elbow yet, but I've been tempted. If they want to go faster than I'm running, they belong on the road.

katluvr, I was actually taught as a child that you walk and ride facing traffic. From what I've heard, that's just about universal around here. And in the countries that a lot of the non-car owning immigrants around here come from. Some of us learn better, but not everyone.

[Biciclista]

my coworker is riding on mountain roads. He's training for a big ride and rode right where i did a few weeks ago. He asked me, "do you guys go to the opposite side of the road where there is the danger of rock falls?"
i said, "Seriously? Absolutely not! - we all try to obey the traffic laws. I can't think of anything more dangerous than riding against traffic"
His response "well, i'm not going to get taken out by a rock.. I'm going to continue riding on the other side!"
some people are immune to learning. i hope he doesn't take someone else out, those shoulders are narrow.

[grey]

"well, i'm not going to get taken out by a rock.. I'm going to continue riding on the other side!"


:eek:

Maybe not a rock, but if the road is that narrow and you're going the wrong way - what about the truck that comes careening around the bend? Head-on? That's the huge danger of riding against traffic. There's so much less time for both the rider and a driver to see each other, a little more calculation needed in very short span of time, and what if they CAN'T safely give you room right at that time? At least with the traffic a driver can slow down until it's clear to pass.

[TrekTheKaty]

As a child, I was taught to walk and ride my bike facing traffic--so you could see the oncoming traffic (this could be where my fear of being hit by a car came from). I assume a lot of the older riders that are just getting back out there, are misunderstanding the same thing.

Maybe, just maybe, that indiscretion you see is an isolated incident. I thought of this thread while riding today. We were in a hilly residential area, and had missed our turn. While riding back, I decided to cross over to the left shoulder for my upcoming left turn since there were no cars coming (I know, stupid). I went too soon, the shoulder ended, and suddenly I was riding on the road into two oncoming cars. They were coming out of a stop sign and slowed to go around me--but I'm sure they thought I was stupid--AND I WAS being stupid. I'm glad they didn't yell. I felt bad enough already :o

[goldfinch]

Maybe the best thing is to push for public education. For example, we could go to our local schools and offer to do a talk in classrooms about bike safety.