gcottay

Most of the riders I know are popular. They, however, lack the power to control comments.

AdamD

I think it's the typical "I hate my situation and therefore I'm going to reflect my anger on someone else rather than doing something about my own *****ty life" attitude. The way I look at it is I can't do anything about it, so I ignore it. Good luck to all those people who hate their lives yet do nothing to improve them.

Basil Moss

I agree that law breaking is a poor excuse for motorists venting road rage. I see a lot of bad cycling in town (Cambridge), but tend to get the abuse when out in the country riding as predictably as you like in a group. Motorists sure hate the lycra, but I think they really just feel angry that there are people keeping fit somewhere that isn't a gym.

frymaster

hm. i wish i'd said that.

mackerel

I am very popular and everyone loves me and my bike.

I do understand though that not everyone can be as cool as me.

DaveZ

In the end it's just easier to be an a-hole in a car because of the anonymity.

I think that's it.

frymaster

fixed.

defiancecp

It really makes me sad to see cyclist so adamantly refuse responsibility altogether. Face it, there ARE cyclists out there that draw a lot of negative attention by doing stupid, illegal things that force drivers to react. When driving my car, if a jerk runs a low speed red light in a car and I almost hit him, I think, "Darn you, I could have crashed and it would have damaged both our cars and inconvenienced us!!". When a biker does the same, it scares the HELL out of me, knowing that I could have been involved in an accident that would *KILL* a person. Can you blame me for remembering the latter with a lot more ire? Not to mention, I live in a heavy biking area - on my route to work, I honestly don't remember the last time I've seen a car blow through one of the signs or lights, but I see it regularly (at least once or twice a week) with cyclists.

Now sure, there's some level of unfair entitlement that contributes to the hate. It's probably most of it in fact... but to deny that the somewhat common disregard for stop signs and lights among cyclists in some areas is is a contributor as well is just stupid and irresponsible.

unterhausen

two points: first:
there is no reason for some criminal motorist to assault me because he saw some teenager run a stop sign yesterday.
second:
motorists are constantly getting in each others way and slowing each other down. Most people drive like self-centered idiots some of the time. In most areas of the U.S., nobody takes this as a reason to go insane. A cyclist riding legally is seen by some motorists as license to engage in threatening and criminal behavior.

And overall, I get tired of people that make veiled suggestions that we somehow deserve all the bad treatment we get. That's simply nonsense.

you must not live within 10 miles of the geographic center of Pennsylvania, because on my ride to work I see people drive through red lights and stop signs multiple times. My daughter did a study for drivers ed, and the only people who stopped for the stop signs she monitored were me and my wife, and we knew she was there. Lights are a bit different, but motorists around here blow through red lights if they are turning right. I don't see that very often when they are going straight. As far as cyclists blowing through red lights, I almost always see them follow Idaho rules, which are perfectly safe. I think that all states should have Idaho rules for cyclists.

uke

+1. It's part of society's compartmentalization. You aren't supposed to work out except at the gym. You aren't supposed to bike except as a child. You aren't supposed to heed the limit except when a cop's in sight. It goes on and on. The media helps propagate a very cookie-cutter (and commercial) approach to life.

defiancecp

[quote=unterhausen;7845932]two points: first:
there is no reason for some criminal motorist to assault me because he saw some teenager run a stop sign yesterday.second:
motorists are constantly getting in each others way and slowing each other down. Most people drive like self-centered idiots some of the time. In most areas of the U.S., nobody takes this as a reason to go insane. A cyclist riding legally is seen by some motorists as license to engage in threatening and criminal behavior.
Of course that's nonsense, and it's not at all what I said. The problem exists either way. Lawlessness of some cyclists makes it worse. Does that make it our fault? Of course not. Does that mean whe deserve it? Hell no. But to deny that some cyclists make the problem worse is, as I said earlier, stupid and irresponsible.


As for where I live, Little Rock. The intersection between Cedar Hill and Cantrell is one of the worst - Cyclists routinely weave across cantrell on a red here. I don't know why, and believe me there are few places it would be stupider to do this, but I see it all the time.

frymaster

well, no one said that cyclists were "refusing responsibility altogether". what i think people here are saying is that drivers hate people who get in their way, period. and, from our perspective as cyclists, that's us. when you use loaded language like that it sounds like your accusing cyclists of some sort of reckless endangerment or something.

defiancecp

*I* say cyclists generally refuse responsibility altogether. Every time someone mentions it, the masses start raving about how drivers are worse, and they speed, and they hurt us worse in wrecks, and that someone yelled at them today ,and ANYTHING but the original subject. Sure, all those things are true, and they're all real problems, and generally they're larger problems than cyclists who can't seem to decipher the color red -- but they're all discussed ad nauseum, and they're not relevant to this question, so it comes across as an adamant rejection of responsibility.

For all these problems, there are two solutions: make peace with drivers, or make war with drivers. If you want to go to war, I'm switching sides: we're outnumbered and outgunned. If you want to make peace, it's important to take care of ANY aspect of the problem that is within our power, then it all comes down to education. No, it's not an easy solution, it's damn hard - but it's better than war.

Allister

I think we all need a big hug.

buzzman

given that cyclists represent such a pitifully small percentage of road users it's amazing to me when I hear of automobilists reactions (re: over reactions).

I'm an everyday cyclist who racks up a fair number of miles on a bike per year but I also drive a car once in a while. I'm pretty cyclist aware as a driver and I still have few, if any, issues with the cyclists I see. To me it's much ado about nothing.

tooljunkie2

drivers should be angry at cops for not cracking down and ticketing illegal behavior. Drivers speed if they know they won't get caught--just like cyclists don't follow the rules because they are unlikely to be ticketed.

Hate the game, not the cyclist.

stevesurf

Depends on the type; please allow me a couple of personal generalizations:

MTBRs : Friendly :: Roadies : Annoying

Commuters : Helpful :: VCers : Survivors

JoeyBike

If I have all the rights, I should be able to ride in any lane or lane position that I please, including Interstate Highways.

I seem to have all of the rights, except for the ones I don't - yet I have to follow the rules as if I had all of the rights. Screw them.

JeffB502

I do (when I'm driving)...

JeffB502

If you're going the same speed as the other road users you do have the right to ride in any lane or lane position that you please...except highways posted not allowing you to enter due to a safer alternate route existing. Bicycles are generally considered slow moving vehicles, especially on roads with speed limits of 65mph or higher...would you expect to see a tractor doing 15mph in the fast lane on an interstate highway?

frymaster

well, sounds like you have done a good job of prioritizing the problems. i vote we start making the solution by starting with the larger ones.

melodramatic and mercenary. a rare combination indeed.

JoeyBike

I bike on state highways that have 60 mph limits. Most interstates in the city have 60 mph limits and huge shoulders too. No difference, except at the merge points where things would get real interesting.

I am told to act like a car only when it is convenient for the cars. Then I have to act like a rat in the gutter according to laws for which I have a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y no respect whatsoever.

JeffB502

If you have laws that tell you to act like a rat in the gutter they should be changed. I've never heard of such laws existing though. It's legal for me to ride on many 65mph freeways here (US101 for example) but the freeway would be out of my way for most trips.

djnzlab1

HI,
remember the bottom line if you side swipe a car, you may have to pay to repaint the car and remove a dent. IF you side swipe a bike rider you may have commited a act of vehicular
homicide, so if you ride bikes its important to be very defensive even if your in the right, or you may be dead.as they say dead right ..
Doug

CB HI

You sound like a brand new rider that does not commute. You still have a motorist mind set. Try cycle commuting, rather than just some recreational riding, and learn.

You really do not see motorist breaking the law? Arkansas must have the most law abiding motorist in the nation.
On an average commute, I see an average of 12 motorist make left turns after the light has turned red at 4 separate intersections. Motorist rarely come to complete stops at stop signs. Many barely even slow (some even speed up, to beat cross traffic) when making a right turn on red; ignoring the pedestrians with the right of way. There is one section of my commute, when traffic backs up, motorist will move onto the shoulder without signal and illegally drive on the shoulder.