Oregon Wolverine

September 23rd, 2016 at 12:30 AM ^

Why so much hate for cyclists that 1. Do not contribute to global warming, 2. Reduce pollution, 3. Reduce traffic, 4. Increase livability and community, and 5. Decrease health care costs and promote longevity?

I'm a cyclist. I have been in Detroit, A2, LA and PDX. Never understood the angst. Yes bad cyclists are a nuisance, but bad drivers are deadly.

So is bad pavement. I'm day 3 after surgical reconstruction of my AC joint!!!



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xtramelanin

September 23rd, 2016 at 5:55 AM ^

of road users.  they blow off stop signs like they are unworthy suggestions to the pedaling crowd, ride 20 mph, 2 abreast (a violation of law in michigan and most other places) in your 55 mph country highways, and have those indignant stares when folks go past them on the road - like they figure if they're on the road all other drivers need to put the cyclists in a traffic bubble.  i believe the statistics show that cyclists are far more likely to be at fault for car/bike collisions, but i'm not going to  google that just now.

of course there are some idiot car/truck drivers around cyclists too, so it is a 2-way street (pun intended) in that regard, but i still think the cyclists are more often than not the problem. 

 

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blue in dc

September 23rd, 2016 at 8:06 AM ^

Mister, I'm gonna throw out some made up statistic to back up my argument. My quick google search suggests that the info is nowhere near as clearcut as you suggest on who is likely to be at fault. http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2011/05/20/136462246/when-bike…. In 3 of 4 studies cited in this article, drivers were more likely to be at fault. Also, you don't help your case when you assert something is illegal that is not. Michigan Vehicle Code 257.660(b) 'Two or more individuals operating bicycles upon a highway or street shall not ride more than 2 abreast except upon a path or portion of the highway or street set aside for the use of bicycles."

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ScruffyTheJanitor

September 23rd, 2016 at 8:24 AM ^

We used have this group of wealthy, geriatic bike riders come into the panara I worked at in College. Let's just say that they were all wearing bicycling outfits that left little to the imagination. They Jackasses would stand by the door, drinking coffee, attempting to show off their wrinkled genitalia (the tights they wore might as well been cellophane)  to whomever walked in. 

There ain't no driver responsible for bycylist outfits. 

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Vengeful Barbarian

September 23rd, 2016 at 11:41 AM ^

In my experience, most bicyclists I see riding around in Oakland or San Francisco ride like complete jackasses, with no regard for traffic laws. Most drivers I see stop at stop at red lights and stop signs and generally follow traffic laws. The difference is that there are many more drivers on the roads than bicyclists.

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Ghost of Fritz…

September 23rd, 2016 at 8:53 AM ^

cyclist in large part because a lot of car drivers have an unstated or unconscious belief that the roads are really only for cars and that cylists should not get in their way, or at least have limited road use rights that are/should be subordiate to the rights to auto drivers. 

This is, of course, a total misconception of the law, but a lot of drivers still believe it.

There are, in fact, cyclists who do dumb and dangerous things out there.

But there are more drivers out there doing dumb and dangerous things.  Every time I drive I see terrible drivers doing stupid things that put others' lives at risk.  Every time.  In a thirty minute commute, I will see at least 15 examples of bad driving. 

But this sort of stuff from drivers is so common that it becomes part of the background expectation and norm.  Most don't even think twice about it.  It is just 'normal' and. therefore, not questioned.  Dog bites man. 

But if a cyclist does something stupid, then a double standard applies and people become outraged.  Many presume that the bikers really should not even be out there in the road, or at least have subordinate rights to road use after cars. So if a car driver does something stupid it is just an unquestioed common thing.  No big deal.  But if a cyclist does something stupid, a different standard applies. 

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BeatIt

September 23rd, 2016 at 8:09 PM ^

the cyclist that do not obey the same laws as vehicles. here in florida we have packs of them every morning pretenting they are training for the tour de france when its just their reason to wear spandex @ 40 years of age. they have a false entitlement that they have the right of way despite red lights and stop signs.as a yuut i was taught to look both ways before crossing that apllies to bicycles as well, imho.

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LSAClassOf2000

September 23rd, 2016 at 6:56 AM ^

That is a different deal entirely, man. I was walking back to my car after a site meeting down in Monroe a few weeks ago and had to stop some kid from walking right across Telegraph while staring at the Pokemon landscape on his phone. I can't even imagine trying to play that game while operating a moving vehicle - self-propelled or otherwise - although I am sure someone has. 

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Avon Barksdale

September 22nd, 2016 at 10:52 PM ^

If Columbus is anything like Dayton, no one uses cross walks or sidewalks here. It seems like two people a day get hit in Dayton simply because people refuse to use common sense in regards to sidewalks or crosswalks.

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wolpherine2000

September 23rd, 2016 at 11:11 AM ^

Because hit and runs are an enormous issue with cyclists?  Because high speed chases where bicycles elude police cars are so common? Because although road construction and maintenance is largely funded by property and sales taxes, cyclists should pay even more to subsidize the damage to roads caused by cars?

Yeah, not really any of those. Licensing and registration are requirements for cars for specific reasons, not because anyone that uses the public way in any manner needs to be licensed.  You will note that we do not license and register pedestrians for all of the same reasons.

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Steweiler

September 23rd, 2016 at 3:57 PM ^

So, according to you,  hit and runs and high-speed chases are the only reasons that we have registration and licensing?

I wasn't even being that serious when I made the comment, but now, I'm thinking about it more and more.  What if there's a bicyclist that keeps causing serious auto accidents on the roadway, week after week, year after year?  Nothing happens that can suspend or revoke his "riding on the road" privileges.  But if it's done in an auto, he can be ticketed to the point that his license will be revoked.

I don't have a dog in either fight - i've seen some shitty drivers and bicyclists that have no regard for others on the road.

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wolpherine2000

September 23rd, 2016 at 4:40 PM ^

A court can, and has suspended a dangerous cyclists privilege to use the road, and they don't do it by suspending your bicycle license, which is required in some municipalities just in order to combat bike theft. But it's worth pointing out that Los Angeles abandoned its bicycle registration program because it cost too much to run and was deemed to have no benefit except as a pretense for stop and search.

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Sommy

September 22nd, 2016 at 10:55 PM ^

Original thread title of "Greg Schiano huts bicyclist with car" was way better. I just imagined him taking a snap from under center with a car. I dunno. I'm weird.



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SpazCarpenter

September 22nd, 2016 at 11:09 PM ^

I saw the title earlier, it reminded me of Michael Scott. "Meredith was hit by my car." The kid is reported to be okay, maybe he has rabies and it turns out it was a lifesaver. Both Michigan and Ohio State's coaches have helped people to the hospital, take that mork.

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Bo Glue

September 23rd, 2016 at 6:36 AM ^

The law states:

A person operating a bicycle upon a highway or street at less than the existing speed of traffic shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except as follows

(a) "When overtaking and passing another bicycle or any other vehicle proceeding in the same direction."
(b) "When preparing to turn left."
(c) "When conditions make the right-hand edge of the roadway unsafe or reasonably unusable by bicycles, including, but not limited to, surface hazards, an uneven roadway surface, drain openings, debris, parked or moving vehicles or bicycles, pedestrians, animals, or other obstacles, or if the lane is too narrow to permit a vehicle to safely overtake and pass a bicycle."
(d) "When operating a bicycle in a lane in which the
traffic is turning right but the individual intends to go straight through the intersection."
(e) "When operating a bicycle upon a 1-way highway or street that has 2 or more marked traffic lanes, in which case the individual may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of that roadway as practicable."
 

I don't know about you, but I don't find cars passing me in my lane to be "practicable" or safe. Consider if you would make the same maneuver if the bike were a motorcycle instead. Or put yourself in the cyclists shoes. How would you feel about someone passing you in your lane? 

There is definitely wiggle room there for the cyclist to do everything they feel necessary to be safe. If I'm in a road that has two lanes in my direction, i will ride with enough distance from the curb that my only safe option will never be to swerve left, which usually requires 3 feet or so. But if someone passes me within striking distance, I will take up enough of the lane that future passers have to acknowledge my existence, usually right in the middle. If drivers are being more aggressive, I feel it is even more important to use aggressive lane positioning to protect myself from them and increase my visibility. If I'm going 25 in a 35, and someone misjudges the distance or just doesn't me, any hit would likely be fatal.

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