‘I felt powerless – so I started filming’

Handlebars said:
I see bicyclists breaking traffic laws maybe at a rate of 100x that of car driver infractions
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That’s an EXTREMELY difficult statement to believe when you consider that virtually all drivers at all times except when stopping are starting are breaking the speed limit in most of North America. Who actually drives at or below the speed limit at all times?

read this:

www.forbes.com

Motorists Break Law To Save Time, Cyclists Break Law To Save Lives, Finds Study

Researchers have found that almost all road users break the law, but the reasons for the infractions differ between modes, with cyclists doing it to save their necks.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
 
mclewis1 said:
I hope you enjoy walking.
This guy is well known to the police but I assume like all of us he isn't squeaky clean in his riding. His popularity would however be a big problem (less success in citations or prosecutions) if he was also a habitually bad rider.
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I'd bet my bike and and equal amount in cash.
I am "squeaky clean" in riding. I even signal stops. I switched from the left hand signal for right turn to using right arm out straight, because hardly anyone seems to understand bike signals anymore. People "waved back", signaling that they do not know the meaning of the old right turn signal.
being "well known to police" means absolutely nothing in this context, unless it means they would cut him extra slack if they were inclined to ticket him for a slight infraction.
 
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Handlebars said:
I'd bet my bike and and equal amount in cash.
I am "squeaky clean" in riding. I even signal stops. I switched from the left hand singal for right turn to using right arm out straight, because hardly anyone seems to understand bike signals anymore. People "waved back", signaling that they do not know the meaning of the old right turn signal.
being "well known to police" means absolutely nothing in this context, unless it means they would cut him extra slack if they were inclined to ticket him for a slight infraction.
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nobody here knows the meaning of the left arm up thing at all. i just signal with the appropriate arm straight out. i also try and make eye contact with anyone in any of the three visible sides of an intersection, you just never know.
 
mschwett said:
That’s an EXTREMELY difficult statement to believe when you consider that virtually all drivers at all times except when stopping are starting are breaking the speed limit in most of North America. Who actually drives at or below the speed limit at all times?

read this:

www.forbes.com

Motorists Break Law To Save Time, Cyclists Break Law To Save Lives, Finds Study

Researchers have found that almost all road users break the law, but the reasons for the infractions differ between modes, with cyclists doing it to save their necks.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
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What that tells me is that you haven't analyzed properly.
1. When people say they "see" something, it often means they are aware, that they NOTICE something.
2. If you ride the highway you would be in traffic that is much different from stop and go in a major city.
3.That "virtually all drivers at all times except when stopping are starting are breaking the speed limit in most of North America" is B.S. on an obvious level, and on a personal level, I'm not riding in most of North America, I'm riding in a particular city.
 
Handlebars said:
What that tells me is that you haven't analyzed properly.
1. When people say they "see" something, it often means they are aware, that they NOTICE something.
2. If you ride the highway you would be in traffic that is much different from stop and go in a major city.
3.That "virtually all drivers at all times except when stopping are starting are breaking the speed limit in most of North America" is B.S. on an obvious level, and on a personal level, I'm not riding in most of North America, I'm riding in a particular city.
Click to expand...

are you seriously telling me that highway traffic on your city in north america is at or below the speed limit? i've driven in vancouver, calgary, edmonton, montreal, toronto, new york, chicago, dc, atlanta, dallas, houston, austin, phoenix, los angeles, san diego, san francisco, sacramento, denver, portland, and seattle in the last 5-10 years and i cannot recall a single place where - when there's no traffic - the flow of cars is at or below the posted 55/60/65/70mph (or equivalent kph) speed limits. i stand by my statement that most drivers break the law - in some small way - during most of their vehicular trips, be it the speed limit, a rolling stop, or some similar extremely minor violation.

numerous studies show huge numbers of people - close to half - admit to driving over the speed limit recently. and those are the ones that admit it.

for some reason cyclists get called out for rolling stop signs, but virtually nobody cares that the majority of drivers speed.
 
mschwett said:
for some reason cyclists get called out for rolling stop signs, but virtually nobody cares that the majority of drivers speed.
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What I see very often by bike riders is completely blowing through stop signs where they can check the traffic, and riding through red lights, where safe, as well.
That used to be me.

:)
 
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It is understandable that a huge majority of bike riders don't signal because there is a big disadvantage in choosing to signal. It's so much easier to lose control and get wrecked when hands are not on the bars.
 
JRA said:
My old friend Joel once told me he treats every yellow light like Don Garlits younger brother is coming from the other direction....folks blowing through stop signs, on bicycles too ahem, and stop lights is assinine behavior. Doesn't mean that people don't do it though. I live in a rural area and the closest stop light is 10 miles away so I don't have much to crab about on a daily basis however.
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My one horse dorp gets plenty of hwy traffic, the the nearest light is 12 miles away. We are in dire need of
at least 2 lights. On a bike one a can wait 15 mln to cross an intersection. Here it is legal for bikes to
treat stop signs as a yield sign, but that still may get ya kilt.
 
Handlebars said:
It is understandable that a huge majority of bike riders don't signal because there is a big disadvantage in choosing to signal. It's so much easier to lose control and get wrecked when hands are not on the bars.
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i signal whenever there are cars nearby. you just never know what a vehicle might do. but i never do if it’s just me and pedestrians.
 
mschwett said:
i signal whenever there are cars nearby. you just never know what a vehicle might do. but i never do if it’s just me and pedestrians.
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I use left turn lanes at traffic lights and sometimes for riding I'm in traffic with cars and take the whole lane. I feel as if I use signals that car drivers are more respectful and drive more safely as well, compared to a bike rider just moving in front of them and not signalling. So although I do not like to take my hands off the bars in poor road conditions, I usually do it.
If there is crusty ice I view it as just not an option and would usually avoid riding.
 
mclewis1 said:
I hope you enjoy walking.
…

On a personal note about bike/car "confrontations", while I notice lots of mostly minor traffic issues with both bikes and cars causing friction one thing that I experience consistently (and really annoys me) is when cars stop for me when I'm stopped even when they have the right of way. This happens most often at two types of locations - on a MUP (with a stop sign for me) crossing a regular road (without a stop sign but just a caution for that traffic), or crossing in a regular street intersection with a pedestrian crossing on my right. Here I'm stopped in my lane (out in the lane, not against the curb) and not in the pedestrian crossing, yet cars going through the intersection crossing in front of me regularly think it's appropriate to stop. Not sure how many times I've had to explain either that "you have the right of way, not me" or the ever popular "I'm not a pedestrian ... would you have stopped if I was a car?"

The problem is the inconsistency and safety, some drivers stop, others don't. All I want is to pick an appropriate opening in the traffic and safely cross. It's hard to convey to well meaning folks that this polite "you go first" attitude used for pedestrians just isn't a good idea for bike traffic and can be a safety concern with other drivers going through the intersection being unsure of what's going on.
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Due to recent changes to the law (yield to cyclists at a MUP crossing) and a generally positive attitude towards cyclists, drivers in Northern Virginia often stop as you describe. It’s not 100%, but enough folks stop to make these crossing much safe than in the past. The major bad locations are crossings with poor visibility between the MUP and the street. With visibility and cyclists who slow enough to insure drivers are conscious of the bikes seems to work pretty well.
 
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Handlebars said:
I see bicyclists breaking traffic laws maybe at a rate of 100x that of car driver infractions
Click to expand...
Have seen "Brave soul" spandex cycler holding up traffic at intersection when He should have took the sidewalk and pushed the bike till clear( seen very few bikers that could out-accelerate a car( This happened in the "Friendly City" { actually its a very unfriendly for driving}.
I do remember that stupid ass movie about this dick that ran down a car with a "messenger bike"( you try this and you are one brake application from" eternity")
 
mschwett said:
are you seriously telling me that highway traffic on your city in north america is at or below the speed limit? i've driven in vancouver, calgary, edmonton, montreal, toronto, new york, chicago, dc, atlanta, dallas, houston, austin, phoenix, los angeles, san diego, san francisco, sacramento, denver, portland, and seattle in the last 5-10 years and i cannot recall a single place where - when there's no traffic - the flow of cars is at or below the posted 55/60/65/70mph (or equivalent kph) speed limits. i stand by my statement that most drivers break the law - in some small way - during most of their vehicular trips, be it the speed limit, a rolling stop, or some similar extremely minor violation.

numerous studies show huge numbers of people - close to half - admit to driving over the speed limit recently. and those are the ones that admit it.

for some reason cyclists get called out for rolling stop signs, but virtually nobody cares that the majority of drivers speed.
Click to expand...
So true I used to try to be the "Good Guy" it usually earned me a ticket when a "smokey bear" got involved, used to even thank those "#$%@$# for giving me a ticket and "upholding the law" now I try not to drive. If People had dozer blades on their ride I would have shoved to the side many times when driving the speedlimit, I was backing into a parking slot yesterday and all the sudden out of nowhere the snout of a Ford Explorer appeared( she had to know I was trying to park so after seeing this entitled one was not going to relent I just moved down a couple of spaces and parked, my trouble is the vehicle doesnt cut short I currently own and its hard to get square in those 60's style parking slots'
I even held the door for her going into CVS, you think she ( notice lower case pronoun) would say sorry, excuse my behavior? Not in this life.
 
We've got an intersection which has almost constant traffic, so there is very little chance of getting enough of a break in both directions to ride across the road. In this instance I get off my bike and walk across. Pedestrians do have the right-of-way at intersections.
 
ChezCheese:) said:
We've got an intersection which has almost constant traffic, so there is very little chance of getting enough of a break in both directions to ride across the road. In this instance I get off my bike and walk across. Pedestrians do have the right-of-way at intersections.
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My understanding is if you're using a crosswalk on a bike you're supposed to dismount. Otherwise ride in the car lane. Bikes always riding right through is the norm where I am. CN
 
There is no crosswalk at that intersection. And as I said, I get off and walk across as a pedestrian wheeling a bike across.
 
kmccune said:
So true I used to try to be the "Good Guy" it usually earned me a ticket when a "smokey bear" got involved, used to even thank those "#$%@$# for giving me a ticket and "upholding the law" now I try not to drive. If People had dozer blades on their ride I would have shoved to the side many times when driving the speedlimit, I was backing into a parking slot yesterday and all the sudden out of nowhere the snout of a Ford Explorer appeared( she had to know I was trying to park so after seeing this entitled one was not going to relent I just moved down a couple of spaces and parked, my trouble is the vehicle doesnt cut short I currently own and its hard to get square in those 60's style parking slots'
I even held the door for her going into CVS, you think she ( notice lower case pronoun) would say sorry, excuse my behavior? Not in this life.
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In freeway driving, I think you can make a case that the logical speed is to drive with the flow of traffic, even though it is going over the posted limit. Drivers who slow to the limit may end up being an obstruction or irritant to other drivers, thus creating a possible hazard. Of course this has nothing to do with bike riding (I hope no one is biking on a freeway).
 
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