Non-cyclists on bikes

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by wagonman76

Cyclists are "supposed" to follow the same rules as cars. But they wont, and its one of those things that nobody will touch with a 10 foot pole.

You've never been to Gainsville, FL before Police give out tickets, frequently... What sucks is for speeding tickets on bikes without instrumentation :/ To be fair, the only people I know that want to go there go to the University

I've personally been pulled over in Orlando, for speeding. Just a warning (I can't go that much faster than 25 )

It is a situation that is touched, a wee bit

[zjrog]

Originally Posted by wagonman76

Cyclists are "supposed" to follow the same rules as cars. But they wont, and its one of those things that nobody will touch with a 10 foot pole. Its always going to be the drivers fault. Around here theyll cut across 2 lanes of highway traffic without even looking. Same with jaywalkers, theyll just walk in front of drivers without even looking, its just supposed to be a way of life here. The kids are pretty good but the adults are 10 times worse.

You are very right. But nobody seems to much anymore. I know when I rode alot, I could get across an intersection as fast as some cars (think Yugo...), and I took full advantage of bike lanes where available. At least in Hawaii they were pretty well cleaned. While I made sure I occupied a lane, if I felt I was obstructing traffic, I'd yield. Or if a driver got a little upset, I'd yield. I used to be able to do a decent track stand waiting for a green light and some folks thought it pretty entertaining...

[instarx]

People do dumb things like this in cars, too - so it isn't really just a bike thing. Maybe she just made a mistake.

[AndrewJ]

exact same thing happened here at the busiest intersection on campus a few years ago.

Girl riding a bike on the sidewalk crossed against a light at a crosswalk and got nailed by a Mazda Miata. She then got thrown into the path of a F-350 and dragged underneath it for 20-30 feet.

She had to have her leg amputated.

Worst part is that she sued the drivers and won a judgement of $400,000.

[SVOboy]

Originally Posted by instarx

People do dumb things like this in cars, too - so it isn't really just a bike thing. Maybe she just made a mistake.

Yeah, but if they suddenly speed through a red light and turn into traffic before driving up on a sidewalk full of pedestrians I'd complain too,

[i_am_socket]

Originally Posted by Sideblinder

A bike safety class should be mandatory, as well as registration of bicycles to force people to take it. Unfortunately it's the only way. Also in most places Ben, all the things you listed are required by law. I do a lot of cycling while sharing the road with cars, and the only way it's going to get safer for cyclists is if all cyclists drive in a uniform manner so drivers can know what to expect from us. People driving bikes without knowledge/adherence to the law are endangering the lives of other cyclists.

I like this plan, if only because then when people ask why I don't ride my race bike I can say "it's not exactly street legal"

I remember being in bike safety classes in grade school. Although I suppose those would do as well as "spelling" and "math" courses do nowadays.