wbuttry

I would not worry about it as long as it was safe. It was probally some guy so far in debt working a job he hates and jealous cause he doesn't have the sense to ride a bike or is just to stupid to care . keep riding my friend and remember wave with all your fingers lol

spare_wheel

once you get used to these numbskulls you might find it amusing to talk back a bit. carma is a beetch.

jolly_ross

Driving is hard - it's made worse if there are bikes around flitting from pedestrian to vehicle status. If we slow the transition down it makes it safer for us and easier for drivers. If it helps you can think about how we expect cars to slow a bit for us when we're on the road - you know, give and take.

You will still be resented for it, not much to be done about that. Make it as safe as you can and let him scream and honk.

Buzzatronic

Yep, totally agree. I make a very specific effort not to blast into a crosswalk from the sidewalk even when the civil engineers built the system that way. I try and stay at jogger speed at best when coming into a crosswalk, plus I have two very strong blinking lights to help people see me.

Thanks for the all the advice folks, consensus seems to be that I did the best thing safety wise even if the driver didn't agree.

kmv2

meh, stupid bike path location as usual.. for those guys who want to be a dick and yell at you, just smile and wave "have a nice day!".

If turning right, people seem to think they have this implied right of way. You still need to make sure that there are no pedestrians/etc that will enter the crosswalk that you are turning into. Green doesn't always mean go.

kmv2

If you can't obey the rules, stop and be aware of what's around you I guess yeah its pretty hard..

Is it OP's fault the city built a bike path that ends at a crosswalk then starts again on the opposing side of the street? If you think its hard for the poor drivers (god bless their souls, I feel for them *gas* *power assisted brake* *power assisted steer* life is tough).. think of what it would be like if they built a road for a car, then the road abruptly ends, and you have to get out and walk/push the car for a bit, then push it up on the sidewalk against traffic, then get in and start driving again.

Build the infrastructure properly, and people will use it correctly. Then you don't have 500 individual methods (and a picture to explain it!) for intersection crossing like we see in threads like this that revolve around idiotic bike path networks.

JB05

1) I second that!

3) I personally would dismount and walk at the crosswalk. Walking is generally safer, as you're going at a slower speed and have no stopping distance whatsoever. Also, it has the added benefit of slowing down rude drivers even more. I have a step through frame, and if someone yelled at me for riding through a crosswalk, I would hop off and become a pedestrian - both satisfying their demand and delaying them longer, and hopefully planting the seed of critical thinking in their mind.

kflorek

After writing this, I see it is like advice to myself:

1. Do not expect that every driver knows (or cares) what is proper and legal for a cyclist to do. There are drivers that do not accept that a cyclist has any business being anywhere cars are present, regardless of laws. You have to get comfortable with them being mad at you, and be satisfied to do the best possible rational thing. Don't let them get to you, ever. You can become relentlessly cool. It takes training and repetition, but keep at it. You need to stay cool to be rational at all times for yourself, not drivers. When you feel the need to emote at all in response, save it for later, not when you are in traffic. Think of keeping cool as the ultimate mode of revenge, if that helps. It is a response for which no angry person has a come-back

2. The only safety objection to what was done is from the perspective of visibility at the corner at 4. Drivers generally turn maximally fast even at corners with blocked visibilty. The problem here for bikes comes because drivers ONLY check for and expect a) cars which are moving on the street, and b) pedestrians on the sidewalk moving at the speed that pedestrians do. An average driver will have determined that no pedestrian is close enough to move into his path during his turn. A bike moving quicker than a pedestrian comes into the driver's path unexpectedly. Unless you can see positively that no driver will be making a turn while you cross on your bike, you should walk (or the equivalent). Being where drivers do not anticipate that you will be is something you never want to happen. It is some kind of idealistic fantasy that real drivers see everything.

Myself, I'd probably ride at about the speed of a pedestrian at that corner, because I believe in an emergency I could better evade the driver with the better acceleration and manueverabilty of a bike in comparison to a walker guiding a bike. I'd risk being chewed out by a cop and getting a ticket rather than get hit by a car.

One more thing. Psychology. Some percentage of drivers (and others) always refuse to accept that they did something endangering another person. Guilt just bothers them too much, or is beyond them. These people will blame the cyclist, standing over the dead body.

Statistics do show that even true, literal pedestrians in crosswalks get run over, so there is no such thing as complete safety by regulation. Live by it.

yamsyamsyams

I've ridden the 520 trail a bunch of times, never had an irate driver while crossing the street/doing the weird street/sidewalk combos (especially around those roundabouts in Microsoft area), even down the exact 1/2/3 path that you mapped. I don't see anything wrong with it and I think that driver was just having some marital issues and taking it out on you that day. I wouldn't change a thing!

acidfast7

i employ a dual-pronged strategy:

1. i never acknowledge someone talking/shouting at me. i never even turn in their direction.
2. i slow down to inconvenience them for as long of a duration as possible.

on the whole, i find most drivers super considerate.

i have only had 2 people talk to me when riding on a super busy street ...

1. one to say nice bike and tell me that i ride fast
2. one to ask for directions

i get stopped, questioned, shouted at peds much more often.

bragi

Welcome to bicycle commuting. My experience is that people will get occasionally get bent out of shape for reasons that may have nothing to do with you. Maybe the guy was running late. Maybe he had an argument with his daughter before he left the house. It's easier to say than to do, but it's probably a good idea not to take these things too personally in most cases. Yes, you're more vulnerable, and an easy target for the rare (in WA) bully, but it also means that an altercation that you'd blow off from a car seems a lot more threatening when you're on a bike, even when no direct physical threat was intended from the driver. Motorists who've never been on a bike in traffic can't even comprehend this.

For what it's worth, I'd take the route you take in the photo. It's the safest for you, and causes less inconvenience for the vast majority of car drivers.

wphamilton

I'm late to the thread and while I wouldn't criticize the path chosen, in light traffic as in the picture I'd prefer using the left turn lane because oncoming traffic never uses it. In heavier traffic having to sit waiting for a gap and worried about someone rushing up behind the crosswalk is the choice.

dynodonn 

At least the motorist only honked and yelled...............rather than insisting that you ride in a non existent bike lane, swerve their vehicle at you, jump out of their stopped vehicle, do a 5 minute screaming tirade, and then ransack your panniers in the process of looking for your personal ID. Gawd, I wish I had that one on video.

Snowman219

Some geese are really dangerous and like to honk. We really need goose horns for cars, that would...OMG IS IT RAINING??? HEY U GUUUUYS! LOOK ITS DA RAAAAIN! Ah it's gone. Love Utah weather...