Why car drivers get mad

[Tuckervill]

Five a.m. was when I awoke. I am usually up with the sun anyway.

It was still over 90 degrees overnight, though. 90 degrees is still hot! That's a normal high for where I live in most of the summer, with some 100 degree days in July/August. Oh, and that's with 55% humidity all the time. But it gets at least in the 70s at night.

I'm sure at different times of the year Phoenix is crawling with bikes.

Karen

[Eden]

hmmmm, how's the overall design of the bike lanes in Phoenix? We have a lot of bike lanes here in Seattle, but many of them are so poorly placed that they are more dangerous to use than the car lanes....

They put them right next to parked cars - in the door zone! (and then drivers get all bent out of shape if you don't ride there - its really awful - we'd be much better without those lanes!!) or they end suddenly without any warning. Sometimes its better to avoid them all together.

These days I've heard they are going to painting "sharrows" on the roads instead of striping discrete bike lanes, more of less to remind drivers that they need to share the lane with bikes.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

hmmmm, how's the overall design of the bike lanes in Phoenix? We have a lot of bike lanes here in Seattle, but many of them are so poorly placed that they are more dangerous to use than the car lanes....

They put them right next to parked cars - in the door zone! (and then drivers get all bent out of shape if you don't ride there - its really awful - we'd be much better without those lanes!!) or they end suddenly without any warning. Sometimes its better to avoid them all together.

These days I've heard they are going to painting "sharrows" on the roads instead of striping discrete bike lanes, more of less to remind drivers that they need to share the lane with bikes.

I've read about this a bit. In the US, they put in bike lanes with absolutely no attention paid to actual practical safety of them. No cyclist in their right mind would ride in a bike lane alongside parked cars right in the door zone!!! And yet that's what they spend tons of money installing here. Stupid waste of taxpayers money. Plus, cars doublepark in the bike lanes everywhere.
If only they would get a clue from observing well designed European bike lanes! In many places in Europe, the bike lane runs alongside the sidewalk, separated by a curb and/or painted lines. Then there is a row of cement posts to keep cars from using the bike lane. Then next out is the parking lane, then the car traffic lanes. Cars are kept out of the bike and pedestrian paths altogether by cement or iron posts.

[smilingcat]

Car drivers get mad:

cause the bike lane is "supposed" to be for the cars.
cause there are slow bicycles in the way for them to use it as a passing lane.
cause there are slow bicycles in the way for them to make a right hand turn.
cause cars are supposed to go faster than a bike even when the bike is speeding. Never follow a bike.

bicycles? Well its for children riding in the neighborhood not overgrown kids out on a street. DRIVE A CAR MO--RON!!

And yes, I've been guilty of impeding cars who want to pass,who wants to create a second righthand turn lane, who wants to going faster than a car (motorpacing during practice). And most definitly, I'm an overgorwn old kid.

Oh yeah! The suddenly-opening-door-phobia. Cause I was almost taken out by one. Another gal did get taken out by one. Its amazing about those doors. You would think the car door would get tweaked. Fat chance. I wish it did but not. The gal did an end-over and landed on her head. Split the bell helmet into two but otherwise okay. Not for the helmet nor the bike.

Smilingcat

[Crankin]

About the cycling in Phoenix: well I'm a former Zonie and there were those nice wide bike lanes even when i lived there, up until 1990. But, one of the issues (besides the heat) is that the valley is built on a grid and there is a traffic light every mile. I am sure it doesn't make for great cycling, hence the reason why someone said their friends go "far out" to do their rides. Today, that might be very far out from where I lived in south Tempe, which was considered the sticks when I moved there. Heck, Warner road wasn't even paved when I lived in Chandler in 1980. Back then, you would would rarely see people even walking outside and the car culture is really strong.
Also, I have read that the "season" for cycling in southern AZ is from October to April. That makes sense. I used to walk at 5 AM and even that was brutal. No wonder I became a gym rat.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh yeah! The suddenly-opening-door-phobia. Cause I was almost taken out by one. Another gal did get taken out by one. Its amazing about those doors. You would think the car door would get tweaked. Fat chance. I wish it did but not. The gal did an end-over and landed on her head. Split the bell helmet into two but otherwise okay. Not for the helmet nor the bike.

She was very lucky. Many "doored" cyclists wind up dead, either landing on their head and breaking their necks or being thrown in front of a moving vehicle in the lane to their left and being run over.
Never ride within 3 feet of a parked car on your right. If necessary get right into the vehicle lane while navigating the congested stretch of road...you can move right again once the road opens up.

[divingbiker]

Never[/B] ride within 3 feet of a parked car on your right. If necessary get right into the vehicle lane while navigating the congested stretch of road...you can move right again once the road opens up.

If I followed this, I could not commute to work by bike. There is no route to downtown DC that allows me to ride on a street wide enough for me to be 3 feet from parked cars and still allow cars to pass. I just try to be very vigilant observing brake lights, people sitting in cars, etc and move into the road (after signaling) when it seems that a car door might open. Other than that, I take my chances and hope for the best.

We all have to do what works in our own situation--I've no doubt that downtown DC is quite different than rural New York.

[PinkBike]

Robyn, your comment that Warner wasnt even paved made me laugh - and cry! There's solid housing now all the way to Hunt Highway. There are no bike lanes, or there'll be a great bike lane that will just end. Poof, disappearing bike lane. And the City of Tempe are the biggest hypocrites - they say they are "bike friendly" - what a crock! Mill Avenue is one lane now and the bike lane is on the left of the cars - that door alley this thread has been talking about. This place just plain svcks for bicycling, but there are a lot of us enthusiasts who just make the best of it.

Tucson - now that's a GREAT CITY for bicycling, they really know how to do it right!!

And you're right about the season - October thru April. I still ride all summer. I passed a bank sign that said it was 114 and I thought I was late for work but realized that was the temp not the time.

I guess wherever you are you just make the most of it. What else can you do? Besides count the time til retirement!!!!

[Starfish]

cause cars are supposed to go faster than a bike even when the bike is speeding. Never follow a bike.

Yesterday I was riding up a mountain road and was within 100 yards of the park entry gate, where all traffic must stop. The speed limit up to the gate was 25mph, and a slight downhill. I was going 23mph (in anticipation of coming to a stop at the gatehouse).

The car behind me tailgated me, and pulled around me at the last second without enough time to actually pass me, and forced me to veer to the right and brake HARD. We got to the gatehouse at exactly the same time.

It was an older woman, and rather than it being a competitive or angry situation for her, I think she really just could not believe that a bike was basically doing the speed limit and not holding her up. I suspect she simply assumed she would be faster than a bike and should pass it.

I showed a lot of restraint when we got to the gate. Maybe I should have pounded on her trunk and had a talk with her. I don't know. I probably would have lost my temper.