2702

Guys I am done riding in main streets, I drive a lot for my job and it is very scary the amount of people using cellphone/texting driving. I gave up my motorcycle this spring and now will keep the bicycle but no longer have interest in sharing the main roads with people who don't know they have a weapon when they use the phone and drive.

Some of you may think I am a big wuss, no problem , for me I like to have my legs and body work good and not be in a wheelchair due to being a crime victim texting with no regards to anyone but their very important cellphone .



Everyone put away the phone when driving it is possible! I promise the world will not end if you are not attached to your phone in a car.

Liz33

This is sad and also true. I wouldn't go out biking either in a busy street unless l really have to. It's very nice how the streets are well divided and bicycles have a lane but it's true that each day more people are looking down at their phone while driving and their cars go on the biking lane. I don't blame you. I would recommend to keep active and not lose the habit of going out on your bike. I'm happy to read you're keeping the bike so I'm guessing that's your plan. Remember that a body in motion tends to stay in motion and a body in rest tends to stay at rest. The less you go out in your bike the less you might want to go out. Find fun alternatives, you could go to a park or something every week to ride. But that's just my opinion, just do whatever makes you happy and feels safe.

canklecat

I had my first encounter Thursday with a distracted driver, and it was in a quiet residential neighborhood. I could tell that a car approaching the stop sign to my left wasn't going to come to a complete stop, so I slowed down. Sure enough, she rolled through the intersection, swerved left and headed the same direction I was going. Then she rolled through the second four-way stop sign, pulled a U-turn without signalling or looking up from her phone, and passed me going the other direction. I don't think she ever looked up from her phone.

This is one of the routes I usually prefer because it's quiet, with very little traffic. That driver's inattention could have injured any of the kids and families I often see walking with baby strollers in this neighborhood's streets (there are relatively few sidewalks in my area, although there are some designated bike lanes).

I've had relatively few close calls since I resumed cycling last year, and this one wasn't even really close because I saw her coming. I've been right hooked a couple of times -- and missed -- and those were more dangerous. And I've had a few rednecks yell at me to get off the road, but they were so far away they weren't really any danger and it sounded more like drunken posturing than a threat.

It won't stop me from bicycling. But I may resume video recording my rides and post a wall of shame for stuff like this. I don't expect to regulate rude behavior, but folks who drive with their noses buried in their cell phones probably don't realize how reckless they are. They'd probably be shocked to see how they appear to other people.

Miele Man

I lie a mini-boat-airhorn for just this type ofthing. I had a driver drift into my lane and approach me headon. He too was on a cell phone. HTat air-horn of mine sounds like a horn on an 18-wheeler. I think the guy crapped his pants when i gave him a blast on the air-horn. Sure got him to look up fast though and get back into his lane..

I use the air-horn because bells just aren't loud enough.

Cheers

indyfabz

If I didn't ride on busy streets I wouldn't be able to ride to work.

OldTryGuy

As the saying goes...."whatever floats your boat"...... Be safe and enjoy.

My boat floating requires busy and not so busy roads be ridden for enjoyment.

SkunkWerX

Yes, it can be crazy out there in the world. Road crossings and intersections being my worst places.
Some drivers don't see you, then I find others see a cyclist and they freeze up, slow and even stop, typically blocking my right of way.

We have a lot of paved paths, trails and bike lanes. It's a bike friendly area.
Rush hour is a different story....I like morning rides, but wait until morning rush is over. Too many people on phones, drinking coffee, putting on make up, and trying to make it to work on time. Now that summer is here it is a bit better, no school busses and more people gone for vacation.

1nterceptor

I don't think anybody will give you grief for deciding what's best for you.

The way I see it; a LOT of things have risks. Cycling, exercising(muscle/joint injury),
even driving in a car won't guarantee your safety. For me the benefits outweigh the
risks. Maybe I've just been lucky cycling the last 10 years that I'm still in one piece.
Hopefully I can ride a few more years.

bikecrate

You gotta do what you gotta do. However, we all have a limited lifespan and I'd rather spend it doing something I enjoy rather than worry about what may or may not happen.

bargeon

Smart.

I load the bike on the car and drive to the roads less traveled.
Of course there are no guarantees, but I prefer the odds.

Cheddarpecker

I found a great route leaving from my house with only minimum traffic, but the couple of miles before turning is super busy and nobody pays attention. They pose a hazard to me when I'm driving, just as when cycling, only the consequences increase for me.

Sadly, every bicycle hit here is a hit and run. First they had to look up from the phone, then they had to get lost to avoid getting in trouble!

Human staring at cell phone is a sign of the times and is only going to get worse. Auto makers won't sell cars that lock out cell signals because the Neanderthals won't buy them, but they will make the car "drive itself" to an extent to allow you more freedom with your phone.

I recently had a large steel cage fall off the back of a pickup when he went into the other lane to pass. I heard the crash and looked back to see a 4'x4' cage rolling down the road about thirty feet behind me. I can usually count the traffic on one hand on my out and back, but it only takes one to kill me.

Cheddarpecker

This is why when I was driving across New York state and had the opportunity to see NYC, I stayed as far away as the Interstate could take me.

rumrunn6

wow, that's an addiction

recently went on a family vacation and daughter brought a friend for 1/2 the week. she was constantly on her phone looking at stuff and reading the internet to us and showing my daughter silly videos or whatever. even at the beach!

jefnvk

Well that, and that is a big FCC no-no. I work for an automotive supplier, we are working on some technologies to identify what seat the user of an electronic device is sitting in to lock it out to the driver. Rather useless for cellphones unless at least Apple and Google and all our competitors working on similar systems get on board with a common standard, though.

As to the OP, I do my best to route myself on lesser used roads. I refuse to do anything but cross any five lane state highway (unless part of some sort of organized charity-type ride with police support), and generally prefer sidewalks, if they are a reasonable option (which, most of the time they aren't). As with everything I use common sense, and follow the mantra that just because I can doesn't make it a great idea.

brianmcg123

I haven't ridden on busy streets in 10 years. Only rural back roads for me. Of course that's where I live so I don't have to drive to get to them.

TimothyH

Everyone is free to make their own choices but for me, surrendering the roads to motorists isn't the answer. That's my choice and I'll continue to ride.

If we only ride on quiet rural roads then pretty soon we will have no place to ride. They are building more houses and cars and aren't building more land.

At a minimum, refusing to ride on roads where there is traffic rules out commuting to work.

indyfabz

And we all know that there is isn't dangerous driving at high speeds on back roads. For example, the store clerk in Indiana who, during my cross country tour, told us to watch out for yahoos who blow through stop signs at four-way intersections of quite country roads through cornfields was simply a figment of our imaginations. And that guy I saw drift onto to the shoulder of nearly empty Nemo Rd. (maybe got passed by 10 cars in some 30 miles) and nearly flip his car trying to keep from running onto the grass while I was touring the Black Hill last year was not really still holding his cell phone up to his face as he passed me.

RichSPK

I don't fault your choice, but doesn't this look like fun?

I commute on busy urban streets, but I try not to annoy my fellow road-users (except insofar as they're annoyed by my very presence on the roads).

Ramona_W

I need to explore more dirt roads around here in order to get places without taking the regular streets. I now live in a place where nearly everyone drives a full-size pick-up whether they need one or not. I moved here from a very bike-friendly place and here I have been yelled at twice in three months. The trucks might or might not stop at the stop sign but it makes me nervous to think they won't and it's hard to get anywhere at a decent pace if I feel I have to walk across intersections instead of riding. There are very few bike lanes and in many places even the parking lane that a cyclist might ride in is torn up. I can ride on the sidewalk- which is by no means intact either- but it's tiresome to ride up and down the driveways especially when I would like to be and feel I deserve to be riding on the street like a vehicle.

SpeshulEd 

After getting Zwift, I tend to enjoy my smart trainer than dealing with the idiots on the road.

Also been doing more mountain biking as well. Drivers suck these days.

That said, I still enjoy the thrill of riding in traffic on occasion, just not daily.

drlogik 

I started commuting to work back in late March to help lose weight. I've lost 40 lbs so far. Around early June where I live it got too hot to commute (100+ degrees) and I stopped but rode in the afternoon when I got home.

I seriously thought about giving up the commute earlier because of the distracted drivers. And I live in a VERY bike friendly city. Almost every day I had an "issue" with a car and I stopped at red lights, stop signs, and was a courteous rider. These weren't road-rage incidents where the driver got mad at me. These were incidents where drivers were just not paying attention. I didn't get mad I just turned on the radar when I left the house and work. That saved my bacon at least a dozen times.

Looking back on it I REALLY enjoyed the commute and would do it again but that fear started to set in just before it turned hot. At some point the odds will come to terms with time spent in traffic (no matter how safely and attentively we ride) and that will result in an accident. I am convinced of that now because of the cell phones, texting, talking on the phone, XM radio station changing, etc.

I don't have to commute now (work remote from my house) and am glad and still ride every day to keep the weight off. Because I get to pick the route now that I don't commute so far those "issues" are fewer than during the commute days.

Liz33

wow this is crazy
are they going thru red stop light?
crazy crazy

canklecat

Yup. After I got home that day I browsed Amazon for louder doodads. I'll probably go with the air horn. The tricky bit is placing it where I can access it without shifting my hands off the grips/brake levers, or throwing off my balance. I'm not sure that's practical. I'm thinking placing the air horn or louder alarm controller on the stem might minimize balance problems if I slam on it.

canklecat

A few months ago I spent the day with a relative whose driving seems to get worse all the time. Now that she has a smart phone her nose is buried in it. She's become so reliant on GPS navigation that she's forgotten how to drive on roads she's known for decades. Not exaggerating even a little bit.

Example... we had to run several errands between a couple of local government buildings, only a mile apart. Took all day and many trips. Every single time she'd begin driving before activating the GPS voice navigation. So each time the directions were slightly different. Some trips she'd go the short route -- straight one mile, then left; same on the return trip. Other trips she'd go miles out of the way, looping around, always adhering slavishly to whatever the voice navigation told her.

But the worst part? Even with the voice navigation she'd still bury her nose in the smart phone to look at the map.

All in heavy traffic. I don't know how we avoided collisions, and we came awfully close several times. She never even noticed.

There must be thousands of people in every city driving this way. It's nuts.

kermie

I understand the OP's thoughts and respect them. I ride motorcycles and bicycles, my cycling is not on very busy streets, I will not give up my 2 wheels anytime soon. I have been hit from behind long before cellphones were a problem, and got back on my bikes. After that accident which resulted in losing an inch in height amongst other problems, I always where bright cycling gear and always have a mirror to watch traffic behind me. Be safe out there