I'm glad I got this off my chest

A few weeks ago, I saw a cyclist run a three-way stop on my way home from work. I actually had the right of way and another car was at the intersection, too. The cyclist didn't even pause for a second as he blew through his stop sign. He then turned into the rec center. I was in a hurry myself, but I promised myself that if I saw him do it again, I was going to follow him into the rec center lot and say something.

Sure enough, he blew through the stop again this evening when I had the right of way. I pulled in after him and asked if I could speak with him as he got off his bike. I started off by telling him that I, too, was a cyclist and that I wasn't one of those drivers that think cyclists have no right to be on the road. But I proceeded to tell him that I'd seen home blow through the intersection twice with no regard for other traffic. I told him that first and foremost, I really didn't want him to get hurt, but I added that he, like everyone else, needed to follow the rules of the road. He actually thanked me and said he'd try to be more careful.

I don't fancy myself as a private cop, but I felt justified in saying something.

Good on you! I'm glad he wasn't a jerk. Many people if confronted even if in the wrong can be pretty dumb

I do that when I see kids without helmets. I try stop them, tell them my story, and ask them to please get and wear and helmet. Today I saw a little girl carrying the helmet on her handlebars!!! I can imagine how THAT really helps. I yelled as I passed by to put it on. I don't know if she did.

Sometimes if an adult who is not wearing a helmet and is with children who are wearing helmets is stopped at the same time I am, I kind of "lecture" the adult on whether he/she really cares about the kids at all. What happens to the kids if he/she is in incapcitated in an accident?

Most of the time they look and me like I have lost my mind. Who knows, maybe I did in the last crash, but had I not been wearing that helmet well . . . Anyway, I feel good for asking.

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Originally Posted by spokewench

Good on you! I'm glad he wasn't a jerk. Many people if confronted even if in the wrong can be pretty dumb

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That's why I told that I was a cyclist and that I didn't want him to get hurt. How can someone be rude in response? You don't want something bad to me? Well, you're a jerk!

The first time I saw him run the stop, it's a wonder I didn't hit him. I saw him coming just as I was about to turn into his path, but I had a gut sense that he wasn't even going to slow down.

I see his bike all the time at the rec center (I belong, too). I wonder we'll recognize one another.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

That's why I told that I was a cyclist and that I didn't want him to get hurt. How can someone be rude in response? You don't want something bad to me? Well, you're a jerk!
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When I renewed my tabs this last time, I got bike plates on my car. I paid that extra $20 so I could do what you have done, and point at them to say I'm pro-cyclist. But, I still haven't had the nerve. I hate seeing cyclist on the wrong side of the road and/or on the sidewalk - there are more cyclist around here riding along those 2 paths than on the right/correct side of the road.

Good for you!

Well done Indy!! You said what needed to be said in a non-confrontational way that facilited communication instead of impairing it.:D:D:cool::cool:

wow! I often wonder if I should say something and how to say it. That was a perfect example of how to put something well and actually be heard. Kudos!

I have been cut off by other cyclists blowing through signs, when I've been on my bike. I usually yell something to him/her.
But, I have stopped kids without helmets and the adult who rides without a helmet, while their kids have them. Some of them have even been people I know (former neighbor). One time a friend and I were using a porta potty near a playground. We saw a teen (girl) riding by with the helmet on the handlebars. My friend, who is, let's say, not shy, really started in on the kid, and the poor girl put it on and rode away. But, maybe it made an impression.
I don't see a lot of egregious blowing through stop signs here by cyclists; usually, if they do, I assume they rode out from the city, where this is the predominant mode. My DS always followed the rules and was the only commuter who stopped at lights. I guess he stopped being rule abiding, because he got a ticket for going through a light in Cambridge, earlier in the summer. He thought it was funny when he told us, but he got a big lecture from both me and DH.

I won't blow through a red light, ever. Stop signs, however, are relative where I am concerned. If I am in the country or on empty neighborhood streets where I've a clear line of sight then I will do what we used to call a "California stop", slow down and then go.

I've really wanted to stop and say something to cyclists I've seen in our downtown area who appear to consider a red light to mean "hurry up and get ahead of the cars). Some of them have their helmets attached to their handlebars :eek: I see more and more cyclists, many of them without helmets, and part of me wants to stop and talk to each one.

Indy, hopefully you gave that cyclist some food for thought and he will be a bit more cautious in the future.

Nicely done, Indy. :)

Well done, Indy!

I've done something similar on occasion. And whenever I see a kid with a helmet hanging off the handlebars, I do my best imitation of my grandma and scold. So far, they've always put on the helmet-- they might well take it off as soon as I'm out of sight, but still...

I recently read the riot act to a big rig driver who didn't give me enough room when passing (he nearly ran me off the road). I caught up to him at a stop sign and by the end of our conversation, he was apologizing profusely. So, it can work with truckers, too. I also felt better, like he would be more careful passing other bikes from now on, if for no other reason than to avoid the likes of me. :)

If you need to do this, use appropriate language (no name calling), and don't lose your cool. Like Indy did, keep it civilized. If you're isolated, if the person looks sketchy, let it go. Although I was really angry, I was able to stay reasonable and explain why his passing was dangerous and illegal, and the best option when passing a bike is to wait until it is safe.

It must have looked really funny to anyone watching, to see this little squirt on a bike stop a Mack truck, then hear him yelling "I'm really sorry" out the window.

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Originally Posted by redrhodie

I recently read the riot act to a big rig driver who didn't give me enough room when passing (he nearly ran me off the road). I caught up to him at a stop sign and by the end of our conversation, he was apologizing profusely. So, it can work with truckers, too. I also felt better, like he would be more careful passing other bikes from now on, if for no other reason than to avoid the likes of me. :)

If you need to do this, use appropriate language (no name calling), and don't lose your cool. Like Indy did, keep it civilized. If you're isolated, if the person looks sketchy, let it go. Although I was really angry, I was able to stay reasonable and explain why his passing was dangerous and illegal, and the best option when passing a bike is to wait until it is safe.

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Like you said, it's so important to communicate in a civilized manner. I live in a small town with a lot of farm land surrounding. I ride my bike. I treat a lot of the farmers. When they come in complaining about cyclists on the road and that the roads are too narrow for them to get past (a lot of our roads are twisty with limited visibility but traffic isn't heavy). I ask them two things,what is the longest time they have ever been stuck behind a cyclist before they could pass and do they get just as frustrated when they get stuck behind a tractor on the road. It seems to make a lot of them realize that they are letting themselves get wound up over seconds of delay and that it really is a matter of perspective.

Thanks for all the compliments, gang.

@Red: I would have loved to have seen that!

@Wahine: What a great way to make your point to farmers. I'll have to try that.

Thankfully, most cars in my county give us plenty of room. It's the loose dogs that remain an issue. We had to divert our route on Sunday because of a newly chip and sealed road ('tis the season :rolleyes:) and I was so apprehensive the entire ride because I was scanning the horizon for errant dogs. The only chased appeared to be from dogs behind an electric fence. Of course, it's hard to tell if a property owner has an electric fence as the dogs come barrelling toward you.

As far as California stops, I do that to some degree, but DH is a stickler for full stops, so I stop more often than I used to. In town, it's another story. Certainly, we come to a complete stop when there are cars already in or near the intersection. And I'm wary of the stop-signed intersections in Franklin as it is. If anyone read my rants in the Dear So and So thread last week, the drivers in my community simply don't understand four-way stops. Yet again today, I had a truck pull into the intersection when it was clearly my turn. It drives me nuts. So, when I'm on my bike, I make darn certain no one else is proceeding through before I go.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

As far as California stops, I do that to some degree, but DH is a stickler for full stops, so I stop more often than I used to.

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One of the RAAM rules it that you must obey all traffic signs/signals. So of course the racers want a definition of what is considered a legal stop. RAAM just wants everyone to ride safely but doesn't want to impede forward progress either.

So here is the definition of a RAAM legal stop: You have to slow down enough that the individual spokes of your wheels are visible to a person watching the stop (ie the officials).

I think it's a great way to behave at stop signs. Having said that, if I come up to a busier intersection with a stop sign, I always unclip a foot and lower it towards the ground as a visual signal to drivers that I intend to follow the rules of the intersection. Even if I don't actually touch down.

Things were interesting Sunday when my brakes started rebelling on me... I really felt like a new rider all over again who had no idea how to stop. Thankfully all is well that ends well, but a couple of those intersections I will never look at the same again.

How do most of you treat left hand turns? If I am on a route where, for example, I make a right onto a busy road and have to make a left pretty quickly, say within a block or so, I will often just go ahead and get in the left hand side of the lane instead of waiting - quite close to the centerline.

In a way I've not taken the lane entirely as a car CAN pass me on the right, but it enables me the ability to turn when I need to do so, depending on on-coming traffic of course. I especially do this on roads where past experience has shown that drivers are reluctant to let me over.

I am actually very, very glad that I did this on our ride Sunday, because we hadn't stopped yet since leaving our starting point and I didn't know that I had a brake problem. On THAT street it wouldn't have been good.

I've got to say..... some of the most obnoxious drivers I've encountered have prefaced their remarks with "I bike too"..... One sweet lady decided to try to squeeze past me with about 5 feet to go until a stop sign - and indeed did end up stuck on the wrong side of the road, then told me "I'm a biker too. You are supposed to move over for me". I think I just as sweetly told her just because she might occasionally ride a bike that didn't mean she knew anything about how to do it safely or legally.... I take the lane at intersections.

yeah ... It's pretty common when I'm running to have someone riding a bicycle on the sidewalk run me off into traffic (it's part of how I got injured, actually, and it was a pet peeve of mine BEFORE that...) I usually just yell "Bikes in the road, please."

This spring, after my injury but before most of the complications had set in, I did that, then caught up to the same couple (still on the sidewalk) at a drawbridge. I explained that I'm a rider too, but all they wanted to do was argue about whether it was legal for them to be on the sidewalk in that particular location. Like, rude and dangerous to both themselves and pedestrians isn't enough???

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Originally Posted by Eden

I've got to say..... some of the most obnoxious drivers I've encountered have prefaced their remarks with "I bike too"..... One sweet lady decided to try to squeeze past me with about 5 feet to go until a stop sign - and indeed did end up stuck on the wrong side of the road, then told me "I'm a biker too. You are supposed to move over for me". I think I just as sweetly told her just because she might occasionally ride a bike that didn't mean she knew anything about how to do it safely or legally.... I take the lane at intersections.

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You aren't suggesting that I was obnoxious are you? I told this guy I was a cyclist because I didn't want him to interrupt my comment as just an irate motorist rant against cycling. Certainly I don't think the mere fact that someone rides a bike means that they know the rules of the road, but I know that what this cyclist did was illegal and dangerous.

Here's to civilized communication!

I don't remember if I wrote about it here, but I turned around to go yell at a guy who came close to hitting me head on (he was looking at the guys in the back of his truck) in the University parking lot. I ended up not yelling at all, because he was a huge guy, apologizing profusely and very nearly crying. So I just said, "Watch out for bikes, ok?"

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Originally Posted by indysteel

You aren't suggesting that I was obnoxious are you? I told this guy I was a cyclist because I didn't want him to interrupt my comment as just an irate motorist rant against cycling. Certainly I don't think the mere fact that someone rides a bike means that they know the rules of the road, but I know that what this cyclist did was illegal and dangerous.

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No no no! The guy should not have been running stop signs. Just saying that announcing to someone that you are a cyclist isn't necessarily going to get you a good reaction... it may end up having the opposite affect (even if you are right), because it sets up the person to expect a lecture.

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Originally Posted by Eden

No no no! The guy should not have been running stop signs. Just saying that announcing to someone that you are a cyclist isn't necessarily going to get you a good reaction... it may end up having the opposite affect (even if you are right), because it sets up the person to expect a lecture.

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I see your point, but I think it could go both ways. I think it's just as possible that he would have written me off as the typical motorist who hates cyclists. Would the woman who lectured you have bothered you less if she hadn't shared that she was also cyclist? It seems to me that she would have legitimately annoyed you either way--because she was wrong. Ultimately, whether you are a fellow cyclist or not or whether you share it or not, it pays to be in the right before lecturing someone on a bike.

But thank you for your input. It's definitely food for thought. :)