datlas 

Hi! What’s this thread about?

Maelochs

I think that cyclists need to organize and hire a lawyer .... or do citizen lobbying. if the mayor is really countenancing blatantly illegal ticketing, you can either pay up or fight back.

With the internet available, it is a lot easier to organize and mobilize than it used to be ... but you can also post fliers at bike shops and such, telling cyclists to get on a website and share ideas .... usually this sort of stuff (if it is on a small scale, like one city) can get sorted out if the victims make enough of an effort.

But ... that is an uninformed opinion. I am sure you can find a lot of info that pertains directly to the Spanish legal system and such ... I do not speak Spanish, sorry.

JackieYan

I'm not sure if I can follow the logic of being distracted by phones.If a driver is distracted by a phone, then it wouldn't matter which direction you were coming from, you could still be hit?
Would you have time to cycle out of the way if you spotted an oncoming driver being distracted?

Having said that, I do remember as a kid in England being told at a road safety lecture, that in rural areas if there was no pavement (sidewalk) then you should walk in the road facing the oncoming traffic in order for you to see any oncoming vehicles.
I still do that out in the sticks here in Thailand where I live. I'm just not convinced that on a bicycle you could manoeuvre out of the way of an oncoming vehicle as easily as a pedestrian jumping into a hedge, for example.

rsbob 

To me, when driving or riding, being safe comes down to two things: Predictability and percentage risk. Of course I cannot control for factors outside one’s control, but I can control the amount of risk I am willing to take and part of that is being predictable to others.

JackieYan

I agree about knowing where the traffic is. I have a Blackburn handlebar mounted mirror. It is excellent for seeing the traffic behind you.

Unfortunately for me I was hit from the side by a car driver side-swiping me, even though I was in a motorbike/bicycle lane on a main road in Thailand. The car driver was distracted and wandered in to the cycle lane.
I ended up with a fractured spine and having to lie on my back for four months. It happened eight months ago and I've made a full recovery, and back on the bike.
Irony: The woman who hit me was a doctor 'in a rush' on her way to work at the local hospital.

WinterCommuter

Does this logic apply to other traffic laws?

rsbob 

Sure. Stopping at red lights is discouraged, entering Wrong Way, Do Not Enter - is highly encouraged. And riding while drunk scores extra bonus points.

SpeedyBlueBiker

........and let me guess, it was probably your fault? 555 TIT

JackieYan

I know what you mean!
Incredibly no. The doctor admitted she didn't see me as she was in a hurry. Her insurance paid for everything - no arguing.
Hospital three days, minor bike repairs, new spectacles as the old ones came off as I was flying through the air. Plus compensation.

SpeedyBlueBiker

Wow! Congrats on that! In my 35+ years in the LOS that usually doesn't happen that way.

JackieYan

Eighteen years ago i was driving my pick-up home one night when a motorbike taxi pulled out in front of me and forced me to hit him.
He ended up being fined by the police and his bike impounded until he paid back my insurance company for the repairs. I know it doesn't happen often, but I've been lucky twice now in that respect.
Twelve years ago I was hit on my motorbike by another motorbike which knocked me under a passing pick-up. Neither of them stopped and a passer-by reported me to the police as a fatality, not a casualty.

Maelochs

No offense, but I am never riding with you.

tornado60

No. I don't. I figure in the lane directly ahead of them is the best spot to be seen. As for me knowing about them. Cars are not silent. My ears have yet to fail to alert me to an approaching vehicle. Now if you are hard of hearing that may be a different thing. This is in the US though. Maybe different other places.

SpedFast

Or the motorbike taxi!

bike eagle

What road is this in Colorado? I want to ride it!

gpburdell

Yet people drive on parkways and park in driveways. In some countries driving on the right is wrong.
No wonder everyone's confused....

livedarklions

Yes.

AVolta

When a motorist sees that there is not enough room to pass a cyclist heading in the same direction, usually because of oncoming traffic, the driver can judge when and how much to slow down and pass when the traffic clears. If there is no room for the motorist to safely pass when the cyclist is heading towards the motorist, the motorist has no option other than to stop completely, endangering the motorist, the cyclist and traffic behind the motorist. In that case, however, the natural inclination for the motorist would not be to stop but to squeeze through, endangering the motorist, the cyclist and oncoming traffic.

Maelochs

This is about the best explanation so far. If the road is too narrow for safe overtaking and yet .... because I am riding Head-On Into Traffic, there is no way for traffic Not to overtake---I am putting myself at grave risk ....


....because we know that cars are going to hit a cyclist head-on before they go head-on into automobile traffic.

genejockey 

Add to this the radical change in how long the driver has to react. I'm thinking of one road I both ride on and drive on. It's winding, with a slight descent in one direction. I can generally manage about 20-25 mph in the descending direction, and 14-17 in the ascending direction. The posted speed limit is 30. When driving, I'll often see cyclists in the same lane at least one turn ahead, so I can adjust my speed of approach. Downhill, closing speed is 5-10 mph. Uphill, 15 mph or so. I can slow down to the byclist's speed until there's a clear stretch to pass, and that's what most drivers do.

Now, if someone were on the wrong side, closing speed would be 50-55 while I'm on the uphill and about 45 on the downhill. I'd see them for the first time as I came around a corner. Let's say it's 50 yards between turns. With 55 mph closing speed (80 feet/second), I'd have a maximum of 2 seconds to react, but I might have essentially NO time, because we might meet mid-corner. By contrast, with a 15 mph closing speed (7 feet/second), I'd have 20 seconds to react.

Kat12

Brakes failed?

tomato coupe

That was from the Crooked Gravel Ride/Race just outside of Winter Park.

ckelly_22

i saw this a lot last week when i was on vacation in florida, it was mostly people on rented bikes so i am guessing they didn't even know they were supposed to be going with the flow of traffic but man it was making my skin crawl. on the other hand my wife and i were walking to a restaurant one evening and there was a group of cyclist gathered on the sidewalk on their bikes having a conversation and blocking the sidewalk where people couldn't walk on it. i didn't think that was a good look for those of us that enjoy two wheels.

CliffordK

I'd pay the fine.

Then send the municipality a bill for 100€ for every piece of glass, nail, screw, or parked car you find in the bike lane.

_ForceD_

I think I saw this OP today. In my community there is a 4-lane undivided highway that you really only see bicycles on rarely. It’s dangerous. That’s because the road is just not conducive at all for bicycles. The posted speed limit is 30 mph (I think) but in reality everyone drives 45 mph or faster. The lanes are narrow. And, there is absolutely no shoulder. None. The white lines on the right side are right up again the curb. There isn’t a sidewalk. On those rare occasions that some unwitting bicyclist does ride on this road…it completely bottlenecks the traffic behind him. Today, I was driving down this road…and it was pouring down rain. At one point I noticed something up ahead on the other side of the road. There he was…a guy riding in the opposite direction…against oncoming traffic…on the worst road, in the worst conditions. It had to be our OP.

Dan