Non-cyclists on bikes
 

This is going to be a rant, but a short one, since it's late.

Today I was driving to the hospital to attend a conference on ethical treatment of subjects in human research, and when going to make a left turn at ~25 mph a girl (fellow Dartmouth student) finds it wise to bike off the sidewalk and into traffic in front of me. I swerve to the left to avoid her and become generally pissed off.

#1 it's not legal to bike on the sidewalks here unless you're a kid no matter how many other college student fools do it
#2 what kind of fool rides off the the sidewalk out into traffic when there it clearly traffic in the road? I was both in the turn lane and had my signal on for quite a distance before the turn

If I had hit her, she prolly wouldn't have been too happy, but she didn't even hit the brakes on the bike. As a cyclist, I think the treatment we get is generally unfair, but I can see where these attitudes come from. If you're going to ride on the sidewalk you should at least wait for the crosswalks, but this girl didn't even stop!

Grrrr

Trying for a Darwin Award, maybe?

Hey Ben, keep in mind all bicyclists are not professionals like you are, but you're right, she was being STUPID!

Fortunately, being a bicyclist, you were naturally more alert to other bicyclists.

It's my feeling that a person should basically ride a bike the same way one rides a motorcycle or drives a car:

Keep it off the sidewalk

Use lights at night

Use turn signals (hand signals are fine, but do them!)

Be alert to all other traffic, including pedestrians and animals!



It's not a bad idea to take a bicycle safety class either! I'm sure there must be some offered through local schools, libraries, and other public places.

Cars and bikes NEED to get along!!!!

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.

You're right, Ben. This was my thought...I knew to pay attention to errant cyclists on sidewalks or else I might not have even seen her. If it hadn't've been me she might've gotten hit...and not even through the fault of the driver. Cyclists like to pretend like it's always the cars fault when many times it's a combination of factors, among them being that there aren't enough people following the standards and rules to make the interaction safe and predictable.

I try to remember that anyone else at any time may do the dumbest crap ever. It keeps me on my toes and tends to blunt any negative feelings I may have about their behavior since it's, well... Expected to some extent.

not just cyclists!
 

Ben, it's not just cyclists, almost the entire population seems to have become dumbed down. There is no longer COMMON SENSE, good sense certainly is not common.:confused:

This lack of judgement has coused me to quit participating in century rides. The lack of cycling ettiquette, and rules of the road just keeps it from being enjoyable. ::mad: My only hope is that there will be a 'thinning of the herd" and only those with common sense survive.:eek:

I'll admit - while on campus, I have gone from sidewalk to road... But there's special circumstances

1. There's no cars inside my campus - there's a perimeter road that goes around the entire campus, everything else is made of large sidewalks. Bikes are allowed on the sidewalks on campus.
2. My transition is more of from side walk to bike lane, then change lanes to make a left.

I hear you though, it makes me angry when I'm riding to see someone else doing something stupid... Things like riding in the bike lane, traveling in the wrong direction. Among other things :/ At least you can tell the good cyclists apart - generally, they'll say hello or wave :)

The stupid one's breed faster :/ There's an interesting not so mainstream movie titled Idiocracy - terrible movie, but good warning.

Idiocracy is a GREAT MOVIE! Yes, it's dumb, but very funny, and actually a great commentary on modern society.

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've never been to Gainsville, FL before :p 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 :p

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

It is a situation that is touched, a wee bit :p

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...

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

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.

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 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" :thumbup:

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.