Can’t Motorists & Cyclists Just Get Along?

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Who’s road is it? Does it belong to the gas guzzling automobiles, or to the environmentally sound bicyclists? Either way, a mutual respect is necessary.

Oscar

narrow winding downhill roads are always a problem, specially if there is only one way out and there are houses… there will be road rage.
jimmulrony

I feel homeowner's rage every time a pack of unspeakably loud motorcycles roar past my house on a beautiful day. Honestly, it's deafening, and completely unnecessary for motorcycles to be that loud. There was an argument promulgated by motorcyclists that the noise is for their personal safety. From what I've read on the subject, I'm pretty sure the noise is for their personal enjoyment, all the while ruining the peaceful enjoyment of residents along the way (and miles in every direction!).
Henry

I don't have a creative solution for their problem nor cycling issues in this country … The solution is that people on both sides need to act like responsible adults and share the road.

I've been cycling since 1997 and commuted a lot over the years in Houston, TX … I can say first hand that motorist in Texas generally treat cyclist pretty bad. And I have never spit on anyone, flipped them off or done anything to provoke these people. Yet I've been honked at, yelled at, things thrown at me and nearly hit several times. Many of my friends have been hit and I know of 2 Houston cyclist that have been killed.

The problem really lies with people are in such a hurry they can't slow down for 1 min and wait to safely pass another person. And bicycle lanes here are a joke. They only exist because our local government waiting so long to build them the feds almost took back the money. All they did was narrow the car lane and give cyclist a lane hardly wide enough for handle bars … They created a biking hazard vs. a biking lane.

But that all aside … anywhere in this country or anywhere else does not give motorist the right to act how some of them do. A 180 lb guy on a 18 lb bike is never a match for a 3000+ lb vehicle. And cyclist should act better too some times.
http://twitter.com/amazingamanda Amanda Congdon

It seems like the way the infrastructure is built in the US, there is no thought given to cyclists — except afterthought. this means dangerous roads and poorly planned bike lanes, to be sure. then there is the whole cyclists-should-drive-in-the-middle-of-the-road-like-cars movement, which while good in theory, is only going to clash with the American “gotta get their fast” culture. In other words, motorists aren't going to stomach having to drop their speed significantly to drive behind a cyclist. They are in a car because they want to go fast, after all. That culture isn't going to change, and the infrastructure is already so poorly patched together… it's just a mess. That said, I know the solution(s) are out there in the universe just waiting to be identified.
Carl Weaver

Whatever the solution, I think cyclists should definitely follow regular traffic rules. This nonsense about not stopping at red lights and stop signs causes lots of problems and accidents. I almost hit probably four or five cyclists a day who weave in and out of lanes without paying attention and blow through traffic signals against traffic. If you ride a bike like that and get hit, I say you brought it on yourself.

The solution? I don't know that one, but I know it involves having some rules we can all live with, obey and respect. But putting your bike in front of my car in a stupid manner is no way to proceed.

Henry

Wow, @carl must live either on the Tour de France route or in Bangkok having to avoid that many cyclist each day.

@carl, Are you talking about bike messengers perhaps? Because it's not really the same. Bike messengers are crazed one-geared psychopaths with a death wish

Carl Weaver

Henry: Ah, to be back in Bangkok. No, I work in Washington, DC – the Bangkok of the West. But yeah, lots of bicyclists here, few of them obeying traffic laws, which doesn't bother me so much as long as they are safe about it, which they are not. These are typically commuters, not messengers, and like in Bangkok, the scooter and motorcycle crowd has take to the same dangerous behavior.

This may sound heartless, but people with a death wish don't bother me so much. I just resent them putting me in the position of helping them carry out their wishes!

Anderson

I think it's great that you are addressing this issue. I live in the town of Wilmington, NC in New Hanover County; which, if you include the surrounding Brunswick and Pender counties has a total population of almost 350,000 people.

From reading the papers recently I find that “road rage” incidents are on the rise in Southeastern North Carolina. One situation we have here that contributes to “road rage” is that the traffic light system is in need of a major overhaul which in fact I understand the city is presently working on a solution. The other problem here and elsewhere is that motorists throw their weight around in the following ways: driving too aggressively and following too close.

Slowing down for a bicyclist in and of itself is not such an impossible task UNLESS the law-abiding motorist has become exasperated by facing a 30 minute obstacle course of 18 wheeler trucks, motorcycles, buses, ambulances, construction vehicles, taxis and inevitably police cars beforehand in the course of an everyday commute. At that point if the bicyclist is flaunting his right of way then an accident might occur because in order to pass a cyclist on a two-way highway one has to sometimes cross over the lane of oncoming traffic to do so.
David

The key to cycling after over 34 years of doing it is to be brave, keep your eyes and ears open and don't do anything too stupid. Other than that it comes down to being at the mercy of a lot of sadists behind the wheel.
Petee

It would be nice to have bike lanes on every road, but the fact is that the LAW is the consideration given to cyclists. Cyclists have every right to be on the road: it is not the canyon that is dangerous, it is not cyclists putting themselves at risk, it is drivers who are not obeying the law. Just because everyone does it and there is little enforcement doesn't mean it's right, or that your 'side' is always right. Slow down if it's a blind curve. I really can't believe you gave this short-sighted NIMBY a platform to spew from. I think you just lost a subscriber.
Petee

It would be nice to have bike lanes on every road, but the fact is that the LAW is the consideration given to cyclists. Cyclists have every right to be on the road: it is not the canyon that is dangerous, it is not cyclists putting themselves at risk, it is drivers who are not obeying the law. Just because everyone does it and there is little enforcement doesn't mean it's right, or that your 'side' is always right. Slow down if it's a blind curve. I really can't believe you gave this short-sighted NIMBY a platform to spew from. I think you just lost a subscriber.
Henry

Wow, @carl must live either on the Tour de France route or in Bangkok having to avoid that many cyclist each day.

@carl, Are you talking about bike messengers perhaps? Because it's not really the same. Bike messengers are crazed one-geared psychopaths with a death wish
Carl Weaver

Henry: Ah, to be back in Bangkok. No, I work in Washington, DC – the Bangkok of the West. But yeah, lots of bicyclists here, few of them obeying traffic laws, which doesn't bother me so much as long as they are safe about it, which they are not. These are typically commuters, not messengers, and like in Bangkok, the scooter and motorcycle crowd has take to the same dangerous behavior.

This may sound heartless, but people with a death wish don't bother me so much. I just resent them putting me in the position of helping them carry out their wishes!
Petee

It would be nice to have bike lanes on every road, but the fact is that the LAW is the consideration given to cyclists. Cyclists have every right to be on the road: it is not the canyon that is dangerous, it is not cyclists putting themselves at risk, it is drivers who are not obeying the law. Just because everyone does it and there is little enforcement doesn't mean it's right, or that your 'side' is always right. Slow down if it's a blind curve. I really can't believe you gave this short-sighted NIMBY a platform to spew from. I think you just lost a subscriber.
Petee

It would be nice to have bike lanes on every road, but the fact is that the LAW is the consideration given to cyclists. Cyclists have every right to be on the road: it is not the canyon that is dangerous, it is not cyclists putting themselves at risk, it is drivers who are not obeying the law. Just because everyone does it and there is little enforcement doesn't mean it's right, or that your 'side' is always right. Slow down if it's a blind curve. I really can't believe you gave this short-sighted NIMBY a platform to spew from. I think you just lost a subscriber.

Can’t Motorists & Cyclists Just Get Along?

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