Bikers on the Road

[littlefire]

In my area there are a lot of bikers that will use the road as if they are an actual car. In some cases there isn't a bike lane. What can I do, as a driver, to make sure I don't hit you? Are you watching for cars or is it our responsibility to know where you're going?

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


We have few bicyclists in the immediate area. Here, they must not ride on the sidewalks.

As to the two questions in your last sentence...I would surmise yes and yes...at least to the best of everyone's abilities.

 

[ppine]

Bicyclists deserve a lot more respect than they get. One person, one vehicle.

edit- People need to realize that in some parts of the world, bicycles greatly outnumber cars.

How can anyone be against bicylists on the road? They are doing the responsible thing by using their legs for locomotion. They are not using up fossil fuels that we like to fight over.

 

[CozInCowtown]

I have allready ranted about this one.
Bikers should be restricted off public roads.
No registration.
No lights.
No Insurance.
Vulgar dressing jerks also. "Dude, I don't want to see your junk. I will kick you in the go-nads if my daughter sees you like that!!"
Impeedes traffic and if a freakin' car hits one of the idiots it is the cars fault.
Hazard to traffic and have no place on the road!!
DC

 

[Sagebrusher]

I have allready ranted about this one.
Bikers should be restricted off public roads.
No registration.
No lights.
No Insurance.
Vulgar dressing jerks also. "Dude, I don't want to see your junk. I will kick you in the go-nads if my daughter sees you like that!!"
Impeedes traffic and if a freakin' car hits one of the idiots it is the cars fault.
Hazard to traffic and have no place on the road!!
DC

You might find this funny to watch...although these guys are on a designated bike path...
Dangerous Storm Surge Waves at Lake Michigan!!! Best Footage!!! - YouTube

 

[JeepThrills]

We actually live on a road that is designated for traveling bikers. During the spring and fall we have actual groups of cyclists peddle by the house. I've never had a problem with them other than if you are behind 20 bikers and you reach a hill, you are doing about 10 miles an hour until you can pass them.

 

[Joe S.]

That happens here in our neck of the woods too. I checked the rules of road book, and sure enough, it is legal for them to be on the roadway along with cars. They make me very nervous, though.

 

[charley]

I believe in this country the first roads were made for bicycles. Bikes have the right to be on roadsthe same as cars. You as a driver have the responsibility to have your vehicle under control so as to not run over them.
As far as kicking someone because you don't like the way they dress, that mentality speaks for itself.

 

[Bojib]

I live near some kind of bicycle route also.

I've actually already started to see the bicycle traffic pick up already. I don't know what route it's part of, but the bicyclist have their own road signs with road numbers on them.

I think it's pretty neat. I enjoy talking to some of the people at some of the stops too. They usually have some good stories to tell. Generally they don't block the road too bad, and even when they do I don't mind it. I'm never in that big of a hurry that I can't slow down for a few minutes.

I suppose too, I don't mind it as much either because I used to ride a bike everywhere. Then I took a break and got too fat to ride one. Anyway, I know what it's like to ride on the highway with other vehicles, you definitely have to put up with a lot of crap from people driving by in their cars, yelling obscenities, throwing empty (if you're lucky) cans and bottles and other random garbage at you. So, I always try to show them a little respect when I see them on the road.

 

[campclose]

I had this problem this weekend! There were tons of cyclists on the roads. I almost had a head on accident with another vehicle. He was trying to swerve around a bicker and came into my lane. I agree that people riding bikes should not be on the road, as if they are cars.

 

[ChadTower]

The bikes are subject to the same traffic laws as the cars. They can be issued tickets for traffic violations just the same.

 

[oldsarge]

Yes bikes do belong on the road, on the other hand they do not belong three and four abreast and impeding traffic. Most of what I run into around here are a bunch of bone heads who think they can do what ever they like because they run in packs. Courtesy goes both ways. I slow down and give then a wide berth. I don't think they should not be allowed on the roads, but they should be cited for being a hazard.

 

[ChadTower]

Yep. You have a lot of guys who think they can own the road because they exist. They don't seem to get that the laws of the state are nice but the laws of physics are not. 2500lb of steel vs 45lb of bicycle means you get the eff out of the way when on a bike.

OTOH, if I had a dollar for every time a car intentionally tried to run me into a ditch or threw something at me, I'd be getting a couple free steak dinners a year. I wish people in cars understood that when you throw a half full soda bottle out of a car going 50mph then the soda bottle is going 50mph when it hits the bike rider in the kidney.

 

[dinosaur]

Being a biker myself, I always extend a great deal of courtesy to other bikers even if some of them are boneheads.

Highways are a bad idea unless there is a huge shoulder and the biker is on it. Back roads are no problem if the bikers are single file and traveling with traffic.

I can understand those who become enraged at bikers three and four abreast. These people give bikers a bad rep. On the other hand, if you get mad because some guy is riding on the road to the far right, you've already seen the signs that you are on a county bike path, and you have to slow down a bit to pass him or her safely, you're the bonehead.

 

[Mudder]

I am a highway (two-lane backroad) road cyclist myself on a Cannondale Slice time trial bike, along with the trail riding on my mountain bike. Can't really enjoy riding around the same small 12K-population town for life, therefore I like to ride to other towns. I wish every cyclist would do as I do -- I ride on the wrong side of the highway, therefore, If I see/hear a car coming at 55-75 mph, it's in my sight and I can swerve to the gravel shoulder if they don't see me or if they get too close... Happens all the time. Too many cycling deaths nowadays because they don't do as I do. As a cyclist myself, I despise seeing a road biker in my lane on the highway... I've actually almost hit one or two in my 35 years. I ride on the wrong side of the road.

Btw, I wear BLACK padded shorts while road biking, so others don't see my "junk." Loose padded shorts while mountain biking. Cycling gear is made for comfort, not to show off, despite what some may think.

Edit: As a huge cyclist myself, I should also point out that I do totally agree with bicycle registration politics. The states would get so much income if each bicycle was registered yearly like a vehicle. Anywhere from at least 5-10 dollars per bicycle per year... that's a LOT of money for a state.

 

[ChadTower]

I'm not taking a day off work to spend at the RMV for my bike. No way.

 

[hikeorbike]

It's not the driver's responsibility to be 100 percent accountable if a biker is breaking the law in the first place by riding on the road. I've seen a few people do this, and I think they're nuts!

 

[CozInCowtown]

(*1*)I believe in this country the first roads were made for bicycles. (*2*)Bikes have the right to be on roadsthe same as cars. (*3*)You as a driver have the responsibility to have your vehicle under control so as to not run over them.

(*4*)As far as kicking someone because you don't like the way they dress, that mentality speaks for itself.

1:
No this is not correct( in America anyway). Wild animls made game trails that became horse trails that became wagon trails that became dirt roads that became paved roads.
Bikes were never in the historical equation.
Bicycles first became popular in America around the 1880's, being invented in 1817 in Europe.

2:
Rights and Responsibilites 101.
If bikes have the same right to the road they would have the same responsibility to pay taxes, registration and insurance along with an operators licsense issued by the state.

3:
Rights and Responsiblities 101, again.
If the entire responsibility is on the car then the car has the right (of way).

4:
I guess you don't mind vulgar dressed strangers (men) standing directly beside your teenage daughter with his manhood right there up front?
I personally have a small problem with it and will let that ****** know in no uncertain terms to put some clothes on, especially if several people are around and can embarase him/her.
This type of behavior might be okay for you but not me and my daughter.

JMO from a ****** about rude pushy people,
DC

 

[charley]

1:
No this is not correct( in America anyway). Wild animls made game trails that became horse trails that became wagon trails that became dirt roads that became paved roads.
Bikes were never in the historical equation.
Bicycles first became popular in America around the 1880's, being invented in 1817 in Europe.

2:
Rights and Responsibilites 101.
If bikes have the same right to the road they would have the same responsibility to pay taxes, registration and insurance along with an operators licsense issued by the state.

3:
Rights and Responsiblities 101, again.
If the entire responsibility is on the car then the car has the right (of way).

4:
I guess you don't mind vulgar dressed strangers (men) standing directly beside your teenage daughter with his manhood right there up front?
I personally have a small problem with it and will let that a$$hole know in no uncertain terms to put some clothes on, especially if several people are around and can embarase him/her.
This type of behavior might be okay for you but not me and my daughter.

JMO from a a$$hole about rude pushy people,
DC

I'm sorry, I meant paved roads. I understand how trails lead to roads.
The bicycle, quite literally, paved the road for automobiles. The explosive popularity of the human-powered, two-wheeled vehicle sparked road construction across the Western world’s cities. The League of American Wheelmen was a major vector for the political will necessary to build better roads with more than one million members (out of a mere 75 million people) at its peak. Sure they engaged in silliness like racing and bicycle polo (!) but at heart, the group was a potent, progressive social force that inadvertently helped bring about its own end by getting roads paved, thus making long distance “touring” possible in automobiles.
The Good Roads movement had been started by cyclists. Soon after its formation in 1880, the League of American Wheelmen started to push for better roads. The League of American Wheelmen – and the Good Roads movement – were bankrolled by Albert Pope, a veteran of the Civil War and the manufacturer of Columbia bicycles, the leading brand of the day
http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/the-petition-that-paved-america/

Both are responsible for their driving and actions. We should all e concerned with safety. http://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-bicycle-law-takes-effect-monday-165000195.html
New Pennsylvania bicycle law requires drivers to give riders a 4-foot buffer | lehighvalleylive.com

The responsibility is on both to do their best to be safe and not to endanger others.

As far as the indecent looking shorts etc. Mine aren't, mine doesn't bulge much, tinysmile_twink_t2 and I don't wear mine except when I'm on a bike or at the parking lot at a trail. I get on my bike, ride, come back, get out of shorts. I suppose there are some stupid cyclists that stand around in crowds in indecent looking shorts. I'm not one of em. I'll still think there may be more tacktful ways of dealing with the "jerks".

 

[charley]

I personally have a small problem with it and will let that ******* know in no uncertain terms to put some clothes on,

I guess that's tactful enough, if you have a teenage daughter.