Ignorant or Acceptable?

[VeganBikeChick]

This evening as I was driving to work, I noticed 2 cyclists in the bike lane, riding abreast. Well, one was in the bike lane. The companion, riding next to her, was not in the lane at all but taking up a vehicle lane. This was rush hour, with lots of traffic around, on a one way street.

While I was initially happy to see fellow cyclists, I admit I was peeved that the cyclist outside the lane wouldn't ride in front of or behind his companion. The bike lane is only big enough for one cyclist to ride safely in without the other one leading or following.

I also noticed that as they came to a stoplight, they waited to see that traffic had disappeared in the right of way lanes, then blew through the red light.

What's your opinion? Was it ok for the cyclist to not ride in the bike lane and instead take up a vehicle lane because he was with a companion and 2 abreast is ok here?

[Eden]

In Washington it is not required for cyclists to ride in a bike lane. There are many legitimate reasons for not using them. 2 abreast is totally legal here - and that would be 2 abreast in the lane - so there could have been two cyclists in the normal lane and as many as could fit in the bike lane and that still would be legal.

Blowing a red light is another thing all together. Even if it is "safe" you shouldn't do it.

[Brina]

Honestly, chalk this up to reasons motorists dislike cyclists.

[pll]

I know it is legal in many places, including around here, but I have found car drivers are particularly aggressive in the situation described by VeganBikeChick. You will hear more honking and experience close passing. Whenever I ride with someone else, I avoid that situation.

[Blueberry]

Bike Lanes:

Legal, probably. Rude, Yes. I wouldn't do it. But I wouldn't say something to anyone else for doing it.

Red Light:

Not OK. Under any circumstances (other than a light that won't trigger - which this wasn't).

[Zippinalong]

There have been incidents of road rage against bicyclists so why they insist on doing these kinds of things I don't know. I have in the past said something to bicyclists who road in such a manner to let them know it's unsafe and it's asking for trouble.
Be smart about what you're doing. It's not a hill worth dying over.

[goldfinch]

It may or may not be legal, depending where you are. But even if legal it is rude and does not help the reputation of the biking community. I was in a town a few days ago that put out a local bike map. The map said that when there is a bike lane bikers are required to ride in that lane. The map didn't mention what to do if you were going to make a left turn.

I am very frustrated with red lights that won't trigger. I hate going through them and often end up doing some kind of convoluted loop to avoid it.

Be frank folks, do you ever run stop signs? I admit that I do too frequently on quiet streets but I check carefully to make sure no one is around. I have made a right turn at a stop sign without stopping, (I do slow to just short of a stop) when people are around but not going where I am going. I think that I am adding to bad biker reputation for doing this so I have been stopping if anyone is around. I never run a stop sign with a car. Never. So I have a hypocrite thing going here.

Right now I am in a city where a MUP runs through a residential neighborhood. There are stop signs on every alley entrance and every single street. I'm not stopping, I am looking, just like everyone else on the trail. Even the city knows that people are going to run the signs because when a busy intersection is coming up they also put a warning "important intersection" ahead of time so you be sure to stop.

[Reesha]

St. Louis is infamous for the number of stop signs. Usually people slow to 3-5 miles per hour in their car and then roll through them... a 'st. louis stop'. On my bike, I'm traveling at about that speed when I roll them, so I'm fine with it. Naturally I stop if it's not my turn, just as I would with a car.

Red lights are a different story. In the morning when I am commuting to work at 5:30 and no cars are around whatsoever, I will ride through red lights. Not all of them trigger (it's even more frustrating when I'm on my registered scooter-- at which time I'll do that convoluted loop to get through it), and in those cases I'll go over to the cross walk and cross there.

If cars are around though, I make a point to be on my best behavior. I do not want to give drivers any more reason to be angry toward cyclists-- people really do lose their senses over them and car vs. bike is a losing battle for us. Being a courteous cyclist around autos may not do a whole lot (inevitably some asshat will do something stupid to set them off on all of us), but it's something!

[Biciclista]

Idaho has a great stop sign law for bicycles, they don't have to stop!!

but back to the original question; yes, I think it's rude. The law says you can do it, but common courtesy during heavy traffic would suggest that they go single file.

[amb]

I have never ridden two abreast except once on a very empty country road for a few miles. As a motorist it annoys me when cyclists do this so I don't. Why? There's just no need. Be polite and give everyone some space.

As for running the red light, I only do it if I can't get the light to trigger AND I stop and make sure it's very clear to go (not a regular event). My regular route also has a couple lights where it's a three road intersection with no road on the right. Occasionally I will only slow way down but not stop since there's not traffic to my right and I have a wide shoulder.

I prefer to be that cyclist who follows the traffic signals so as not to contribute to the bad name a few bad apples give us. Even if there are no oncoming vehicles, we are responsible to ride like we are one. Just my .02......

[Eden]

but back to the original question; yes, I think it's rude. The law says you can do it, but common courtesy during heavy traffic would suggest that they go single file.

Hang on now..... I have to disagree a bit here... we don't know all the details.

If traffic was heavy were the cyclists going as fast/nearly as fast as the cars? How many lanes is the street? Could traffic pass easily by simply moving over into the next lane? Were the cyclists really together - many people assume just because there are two that they are together, but he could have just been passing her. Is the bike lane a safe one? Would the second cyclist possibly/probably not have chosen it even if he had not had a companion?

I don't think it was necessarily rude at all..... it could have been that the cyclist not in the bike lane may have chosen that position regardless of whether or not he had a companion for the ride. If he was solo and still chose to not use the bike lane, would you condemn him?

From what I can see, he was riding in a way that is perfectly legal (well, up until he ran the red at least), rather than say he shouldn't do that because motorists might get upset, why not say educate motorists so that cyclists can do things that are legal without being harassed?

[pll]

@Eden: The original poster mentioned "rush hour, with lots of traffic around, on a one way street." In that situation, unless the bike path is full of debris or cracks, I agree that it is rude, just as I would also think it is rude for cars to park or otherwise stop on the bike lane.

[skhill]

My .02$: it's never OK to run a red light. And when I go on red when there's a defective sensor, I'm not running the light; whether you're travelling by car or bike, when you encounter a defective light, you're supposed to treat it as a stop sign, stopping then proceeding when it's safe to do so.

I agree, if the bike lane was usable, it would have been better for the rider to use it, except to pass. But at least around here, a lot of bike lanes aren't usable. Sometimes they keep you in the door zone of parked cars, sometimes there's gravel and broken glass and other trash. Sometimes there are cars (and one notorious porta-potty) illegally parked there.

[Brina]

I don't think it was necessarily rude at all..... it could have been that the cyclist not in the bike lane may have chosen that position regardless of whether or not he had a companion for the ride. If he was solo and still chose to not use the bike lane, would you condemn him?

Yes, I would condemn him. The town south of me did a massive road reconstruction about 2 years ago. They dug down to gravel, re-leveled, did all the sewers, etc and then built the road back up. They put in a bike lane in each direction. The road is two lanes, one north, one south and two bike lanes. This is a beautiful, new asphalt road. The bike lanes are kept free of debris. Most of us use the bike lanes. And then there are the assholes who choose to ride in the lane. You cannot pass them without pulling across the dividing line and depending on time of day this cannot always be done. Close to the speed of traffic is not the same as the speed of traffic, so often you will see a big back up of cars behind the guy who just sees himself as too good for the bike lane - yeah, it is almost always a guy. This is not just a situation where a cyclist pulled into the car lane to pass, these are guys who just ride in the car lane. To me, this is a case of being an ******* and making it harder on your fellow cyclists.

[Eden]

Hm - I choose to not use bike lanes often, and always for good reasons, whether or not from your car you can tell why. It's nice to know that I'm being judged in that manner.....

@pll - the fact that it was rush hour and a one way street, around here (and the OP and I are both in Seattle) doesn't mean that the street is not a)more than one lane or b) full to capacity. If it was full to capacity, traffic wasn't likely to be moving any faster than the bikes were going.... Our bike lanes also tend to be pretty awful. 90% of them are dangerously narrow and close to parked cars. (and note the OP mentioned the bike lane was not wide enough for 2 cyclists.... if it was next to parked cars, that indicates to me that it is probably not wide enough for one who doesn't want to be doored) We also are not required to use them just because they are there. IMHO it is no more rude to legally use a lane on a bike and potentially hold up a motorist for a few seconds than it is rude to stop to make a left hand turn and potentially hold up a motorist for a few seconds... City streets are not highways - there is traffic of all types on them and if you are using them, you need to not expect to never have to slow down...