Farmers ask for ordinance against bicycling on roads

[mimitabby]

Yesterday while riding i timed my stop sign stops and the cars. I made sure we were equal.
But I Know what REALLY gets them. It's when there is a long line of cars and an ample shoulder or bike lane. The cars are all stopped, and the bike breezes to the light/stop sign does the same sort of stop the cars like to do, and passes all 10 of them. THAT's the whole deal. right there.

Too bad. they don't like it, leave the gas guzzlers at home.

[PscyclePath]

But I Know what REALLY gets them. It's when there is a long line of cars and an ample shoulder or bike lane. The cars are all stopped, and the bike breezes to the light/stop sign does the same sort of stop the cars like to do, and passes all 10 of them. THAT's the whole deal. right there.

Filtering up to a red light, or otherwise passing on the right like that is one of the quickest ways to get hit/run over and/or killed by a car... Looking thru a lot of bike accident statistics and descriptions over the past couple of months, it's the most common cause of bike/car collisions. When you're stopped like that, most folks simply aren't looking for somebody to be passing on the right. The "How Not to Get Hit by Cars" web site (http://www.bicyclesafe.com) refers to this situation as the "Right Hook," and the "Red Light of Death." You especially don't want to be coming up on the right of a semi tractor-trailer... when they're turning, the trailer rig swings in and can easily roll the back wheels right over you.

The proper way is to take the lane, e.g., position yourself directly behind the vehicle in front of you, and take your proper turn in line when going thru the intersection. First of all, you're not putting yourself in a position to get right-hooked, and you're showing your good manners by not giving these guys an opportunity to let their normal degree of road rage bubble over by having to pass you all over again before the next intersection.

[mimitabby]

you're right PP, but we have bike lanes and they ARE on the right!
I have just one place where this happens; where people turn right and i am on the right side of them. It's a 6% grade hill, so i can't go up it very fast. I keep to the right to be kind to the drivers. When I get to the intersection, I stop and make eye contact with cars (and check for turn signals ) before I continue into the intersection. If i am actually in the front of the line, I make decisions based on whether or not the lead car is turning.

[Deborajen]

you're right PP, but we have bike lanes and they ARE on the right!

We have bike lanes on the right, too. Some are separated from the road and are only on one side of the road so for one direction, bikes are actually "on the left." I avoid those as much as I can. Don't like them at all - too many safety issues.

When I am using those, though, at intersections I usually (and especially when I'm "on the left") cross like a pedestrian and walk the bike across. I hate doing that as much as any other cyclist, but cars just don't see the bikes in those situations - I've noticed that both as a cyclist and when I'm driving. Cars don't always see pedestrians either, but it's a better bet that a pedestrian will be anticipated. As far as I know, the proper way to cross isn't specified in our laws. It's a designated bike lane - although it's also a sidewalk. I e-mailed the contact person for our city's bikeways program and he said "You should probably ride across since you're a vehicle, but you could walk as well . . . "

Deb

[Geonz]

Our "bike lane" system is also inherently unsafe. Much of that is, I believe, because since they were put in, roads have been changed withouth a thought given to the effect on bicycle traffic. Some of it's just lousy design - nice path ... oops, it ends. Where I'd have to go across a busy road, against traffic... or the place where the bicycle lane goes right between a bus stop and the shelter for it... a very *busy* bus stop where the shelter is generally overflowing... onto the bike path... even when nobody is loading and unloading which is frequent because it's a busy bus stop.

[youflygirl]

I spent much of my life in Minneapolis which is very nice for the biker: bike paths and wide roads with shoulders practically everywhere.

Now I live in York County, Virginia and it pretty much sucks. All the towns and cities around here are designed for motorists - not pedestrians or cycists. Narrow roads, no shoulders to speak of, very few sidewalks and only on the main drag, ...buses run once an hour, so if you don't have a car you're SOL...

Having said that, I live in a large residential area with lots of kids who consistently bike down the wrong side of the road, don't wear helmets, wear dark clothing when biking at night, etc. And you can't point out to them what they're doing wrong because you're 30 years older than they are and they pay no attention...

But the real loons are a handful of skateboarding teens who seem to like to play chicken in the middle of the road with oncoming cars...that's gonna end in tears one of these days, I'm sure...