genec

https://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...gn-of-trouble/

In San Diego County the state agencies have been posting the message “Share the road. Look twice for motorcyclists” on highway information signs. Apparently these messages have stirred the local motorists...

Some drivers apparently saw red.

“None of the calls we’ve gotten have been positive,” said Edward Cartagena, spokesman for the San Diego Caltrans office. “One call was a 20-minute rant.”

Since the electronic message was posted statewide Feb. 11, Caltrans has received about 800 phone calls, mostly positive. “Except for here. I don’t know why,” Cartagena said. ("here" is San Diego County)

Kinda makes you wonder how those motorists feel about sharing the road with anybody... especially those on two wheels.

noisebeam

Maybe some folks see motorcyclists as having different sets of rules to follow (filtering legal in CA) and also base their negative opinions on those who flaunt the laws and safe driving practices as they stand out more.

annc

There's a bit of backlash against motorcycles in Northern California also. My guess is that people don't like being told they're bad drivers.

San Rensho 

To all the cagers that rail against motorcyclists. AYHSMB.

Da Tinker

Could this be the result of having different rules for different users of the road?

Kinda sounds familiar, only the names have changed.

genec

"different rules?" or different profiles... I mean after all, car drivers can't really split lanes. Motorcycles and bikes have different operating characteristics.

But the other BIG thing is that in the same state, there were different responses to the same signs... the article points out that the ONLY negative messages they got were from So Cal... where the "car is king" (nobody walks in LA).

To me this really shows that different areas have different attitudes and driving habits.

noisebeam

Certainly one of the reasons some people choose to travel by motorcycle in congested areas in California is because it allows them to travel faster (both legally and not) than other vehicle types. The legal allowance to split lanes is well taken advantage of and for some riders may encourage more risky behaviors.

Da Tinker

Cali has different laws for motorcycles. They are allowed to 'whiteline', or lane split. It seems to rile cagers stuck in rush hour traffic.

GodsBassist

If they weren't on their motorcycles threading through rush hour traffic, they'd be adding to the congestion on the freeways. It's like adding lanes to the freeway. I'm with San Rensho on this one.

Da Tinker

Agreed.

After all, who's fault is it that those folks are stuck in their boxes?

idoru2005

+1

Almost nobody (no matter what the context) likes to be told they are doing something even remotely wrong or dangerous.

genec

That was my wife's reaction... followed by "what are they gonna tell us next... to brush our teeth?"

The interesting thing to me is that according to the article I read southern CA was very negative about this where as northern CA tended to take it in stride. Caltrans reported only negative calls from the southern part of the state.

Looking at the article you posted, I had to laugh when I read this:
All I can think of is Gee lady... maybe driving the speed limit would give you a chance to see the other users of the road.

I do have to agree with this comment though...
I have seen motorcyclists doing wheelies and front wheel stands on the freeways... so indeed there is something in this comment... some motorcyclists (like some cyclists) really do just act like idiots... but I figure Darwin has an eye on them.

Pscyclepath

As a general class, I don't like motorcyclists, fora lot of the reasons cited above, and for a major part their reluctance to install and operate functional mufflers on their machines. But then, I'm just prejudiced ;-)

longbeachgary

You (and some other responders) just did to bikers what others do to us - lump us all in together. My bike has a funtioning STOCK muffler.

noisebeam

And what cyclists (motor and self powered alike) do to 4 wheel vehicle drivers.

Laserman

+1

Bike Forums has over 175,000 members. How many of them also drive cars?
My guess is at least 90%. Why paint your allies with the same brush you use on bad, stupid and incompetent drivers?

mandovoodoo

I suspect the general density of SoCal traffic, the legality of lane splitting, and some cultural nonsense impacting folks in general in SoCal play into this. The lane splitting really pisses people off. Most don't know it's legal there.

Here we don't have lane splitting. We do have lots of motorcycles, well past a critical road mass. So we get watched out for. I mean local to me. I'm right near a famous motorcycle destination. On nice summer weekends some roads in the area get a 50/50 ratio. Or maybe 49/49 with 2% bicycles. And people watch out for motorcyclists, motorcyclists are by and large very polite to everyone. Things work.

If we put lane splitting into the mix, routine super-speeding, and a little bit less politeness in society in general. Well. There's SoCal.

Now I get out of my local area and I'm clearly much less visible on motorcycle or bicycle.

unterhausen

I certainly wouldn't complain about that sign, because motorcycles seem to be invisible to cars and motorcyclists are constantly being put in danger by motorists. I don't think you have to have too many hours of driving before you see some incredibly dangerous motorcycle riding. I still remember some guy that was illegally lane splitting cutting through traffic in a merge zone at double the speed limit with his girlfriend on the back and no helmets. I was just praying that they didn't go down right there and give me PTSD. I'll guess that California drivers see a little more of that than we do on the east coast.

sudo bike

I've never noticed motorcyclists behaving any more crazy here than elsewhere. Now the motorcyclists in Budapest - they scare me!

And, if I read it correctly, all of California didn't take issue with it - only San Diego.

TRaffic Jammer

Not surprised at all with the motorists' getting in a state, they really do hate having it pointed out that just driving in between two lines simply isn't enough. I know when I drive I'm all over my mirrors every few seconds, with preemptive signals and full look out the window check whenever I change lanes. It does seem to be too much to do all at once for many of the drivers I encounter in my urban riding commute. I'll stare in the passenger window for several seconds sometimes as we share speed and for the most part, their eyes never leave the bumper in front of them. Once comfortable with driving it seems the defensive driving tricks taught to them early on are lost. Just don't tell them that.

genec

Exactly.

Artkansas 

Technically, every time a car passes a bicyclist without changing lanes, they are lane splitting.

genec

True, I suppose drivers of motor vehicles should stop doing that, eh?

crhilton

It's a piece of ****, like all motorcycle mufflers. Only the ridiculous bikes (not Harley, think tricycle) seem to be equipped with working sound dampening technologies.

I used to live in a basement dorm room next to a parking lot. I learned to sleep through loud motorcycles eventually, but I must admit it's taken several years to stop outright hating them.

Now they're okay. Except the ****** bags who thought it was cool to rev it up at night in a dorm parking lot!

longbeachgary

What do you mean by ridiculous bikes? Mine is not a tricycle.