Rollfast

I don't mind Clydesdale because that term is from BF members, accepted and I am one, but the term 'salmon' bugs me a lot.

We ain't salmon and shouldn't use the phrase so much.

genec

so what term do you propose for cyclists going the wrong way in traffic?

I-Like-To-Bike

How 'bout "cyclist"?

keyven

Wasn't the term meant as an unapologetic denigration of such cyclists? If you don't want to be label such, then don't do it?

I-Like-To-Bike

Unapologetic denigration of the "other"cyclists that don't match the profile of the Bicycling Correctness Grand Poobahs is the calling card of A&S self described "professionals" and "serious cyclists."

genec

How about wrong way cyclist. For a motor vehicle driver, this is a ticketable offense... why is it it not an offense for a "cyclist?"

I-Like-To-Bike

Why is the use of offensive terms like "salmon" to unapologetically denigrate other cyclists considered acceptable "bicycling speak"?

genec

one word vice three words... salmon, vice wrong way cyclist... much easier to type salmon. should we just use "wwc?"

wphamilton

The article doesn't align with this one How Google’s self-driving cars detect and avoid obstacles

KD5NRH

For anyone, it's considered suicidal when they do it in the actual driving lane. I'm not too concerned with offending kamikazes.

keyven

I hardly think the word "salmon" is offensive. They're tenacious, hardy fish who also happens to be delicious.

I'm sure if drivers were to pick a word, it wouldn't be half as kindly.

keyven

"wrong way cyclist" is not much better. If it is in fact agreed that they are going the WRONG way, then what's wrong with using a (barely) derogatory term . Better to have a few people's feelings slighted and dissuade them from doing it, than have them splattered over the windscreen of a vehicle.

dougmc

If you just lose your alternator, sure. If you lose your water pump (which you normally do when your car only has one belt) ... most cars will overheat (which tends to mean expensive damage if you let it get bad) within a mile.

That said, as long as you're not stuck in a traffic jam or on a huge bridge, that's usually enough to get off the road. Unless you don't realize the problem until the car is already overheating, which happens often ...

genec

Cyclists using the road are supposed to go in the same direction of other traffic. I have not seen this spelled out directly in the bike specific laws, but the bike laws DO say that cyclists are responsible for following the other laws for road users.

So a cyclist riding on the road against the flow of traffic on the road is riding the wrong way. Of course exceptions may exist, such as contraflow bike lanes.

himespau 

Eh, lets just get rid of all the nice, soft, PC edges and call things the way they are. Ninja salmon should just be called darwin award candidates. Maybe if they get offended, they'll change their behaviour.

keyven

Calling anyone a 'salmon' is hardly un-PC in the sense that you're not insulting someone's rightful/lawful choices or unchangeable natural state. Like making a derogatory sexist or racist term or insulting someone's sexual orienta.

I would say "fighting for someone's right not to be called names when endangering themselves and others unlawfully" is a rather frivolous case at best. Let's just call a spade a spade.

I-Like-To-Bike

Sure, describing a smug SOB, who takes pride in offending allegedly unworthy people for their own good, as a smug SOB causes no harm as the smug SOB could care less.

keyven

Words hurt, you know.

KD5NRH

When my tensioner died, I still managed to drive about two miles to a good place to work on it. You do need to have a little common sense about it, though.

If it's the belt, you should have the idiot light coming on right away for the alternator, and there's usually a separate one for overheat, though very few cars seem to turn that one on until it's "pull over right now" time.

Rollfast

I could think of others but I'm not going to call them salmon either. If you know they are going the wrong way then you are paying attention, Gene.

Rollfast

Let's stop complaining about the stuff we know is wrong over and over HERE and work on it THERE. It does little good to complain here, 99.ad infinitum percent of Earthlings don't view Bike Forums in any manner.

contango 

I feel no need to candy coat terms used to describe people doing stupid things on the roads. Riding the wrong way against traffic is a choice people make, a choice that puts themselves and potentially others in danger.

If you're concerned about "offensive" terms to describe people who make choices that put themselves and others in danger, what do you propose we should call people who get behind the wheel after having too much to drink?

Rollfast

I think that the autonomous vehicle part of this thread has about split and it's going to be a kvetch express about poor habits of cyclists in the first place.

If you want another one of those threads, please start a new one or add to an existing one. I BELIEVE that this thread was supposed to be about the potential problems of having driverless vehicles in the transportation environment and how that related to non-motorist safety, bicyclists in particular but in general the more random actions of small vehicles like bikes and pedestrians.

There are aspects of this discussion that can spill over into Vehicular Cycling as well.

I-Like-To-Bike was SPOT-ON with their reply. If we are advocating cycling and safety calling others even the most lighthearted or trivial of names is pointless anyhow...we've assumed a 'tude, friends. It makes us no better than them.

That having being stated, I will add that the thread isn't doing much of what it was hoped to do and is running out of water in the bottle.

keyven

Calling someone who makes stupid choices names (in the hopes of discouraging said silly actions) vs willfully endangering oneself and others is the SAME THING?

I guess we are no better than ******* and murderers.

contango 

Wrong on the bolded part.

There's a big difference between calling people names based on what they can't control (e.g. people of different races or handicaps) and calling people names based on stupid decisions they made.

Bottom line, if you don't care enough about your own safety to take basic precautions (riding the right way along the road, using lights at night etc) you really do lose any right to expect anyone else to care any more about your safety.