livedarklions

Honestly, I can't imagine why you wouldn't see this as hostile--
Quote:
Does that matter to me? Or does it invalidate what I said?



And given the context, I have no idea how you possibly could have been "perplexed" by someone actually providing the information you yourself said that the OP should familiarize themselves with. Frankly, if you had given about .5 seconds to looking at what I actually quoted, you should have figured it out.

I just think you have a weird attitude about getting quoted.

JoeyBike

Ah Grasshoppah....you are very wise and observant. No place for you in A&S. This is where we make unfounded claims then fight to the death defending them. You would be very sad here.

GamblerGORD53

Why not go behind them?? I do that LOTS. Maybe I'm on the road or lots of times I'm going along the sidewalk. If there are 3 lanes cars, then this won't work.
Lots of times if someone is waiting for only me, I'll wave and get out of the way and go behind. Or also because they just aren't looking my way.

rumrunn6

your other option is to stop & wait for the car to move

related?: we have a new bike trail in my town with way too many road crossings. some particularly poorly designed & dangerous. I saw one boy, riding out w/ his sister & father, get hit by a car. sideswiped & he was OK. regardless, everyone in town is trying to get used to this disastrous new trail & it's terrible road crossings

early on, while driving to work, I came up on a blind intersection & stopped behind a car that stopped abruptly for car traffic traveling perpendicular to us. I was stopped blocking the bike trail. then a guy on a bike came along & didn't want to stop so he just started yelling at me. things happen in traffic & ppl need to realize this & be understanding. of course, now I am more mindful approaching this particular crossing & slow down a lot & look both ways & always leave that crossing free. but other ppl won't have had my experience there, including young drivers, who, in general, don't have the judgement based on a life of driving experience to know better

as far as us on bikes w/ these types of crossings we have no control over the situation. however, I find a front strobe helps stop cars approaching perpendicular to my travel while riding on the road. I don't use strobes on bike trails tho, so I just stop at road crossings & wait for the cars to yield for me

just occurred to me, if you are are riding on a sidewalk, you might consider walking across the crosswalk

Wilbur Bud

If it was me I would be in the traffic lane and avoid the crosswalk.

If it is the kind of crosswalk where the traffic design has a sort of directional kink in order to get cyclists to stop before crossing and there is also a ramp down to road/crosswalk at right-angles, then I would prefer to check overtaking traffic while approaching and then take the wrong ramp down to road level and pass far in front of the crosswalk due to motorists continually parking on top of the crosswalk or just driving through it without looking.. This is way faster/smoother/easier/better than slowing up to make a cramped almost-turn in order to enter the planned crosswalk.

If both of those are unpalatable then I would enter the crosswalk as normal and roll up to the vehicle as far as possible and then just wait, moving forward as you are able, but be sure to act as a pacifist as there will be a wide range of driver reactions to rolling up close to the vehicle and then waiting patiently without remark or reaction. If there are several lanes of through and right-turning traffic, more than one of them may be annoyed but hey, the blocking motorist did it first.

crewdog

Reference #2. Are you sure about that? I live in San Antonio and use several bike paths that are on sidewalks and the paths go over multiple crosswalks. Therefore the crosswalks are part of the bike path. Can you point me to the law that supports what you are saying? I can only find information that states bikers must yield to pedestrians on crosswalks.

flangehead

I was incorrect in saying bicycles aren’t allowed in crosswalks. More correct to say that cyclists do not have legal protection when using a crosswalk without dismounting.

The law will change September 1 2021:

https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87...pdf#navpanes=0

It is not clear to me what my legal protections will be if I use a crosswalk mounted on the bicycle. By the definition of pedestrian in the Texas Traffic Code, I am only a pedestrian when on foot. The effect of the new law is not clear to me.

At the end of the day the legalities are just that. Mr. Newton’s laws provide for much less protection for a cyclist at an intersection, and that is not subject to the whims of the Texas Legislature.

crewdog

So much for easy to understand laws. It sounds like they are increasing the penalties for hitting a pedestrian in a crosswalk, which I always yield to anyway. It also seems to discuss drivers turning at lights and yielding to pedestrians crossing in front of them, but as usual they tend to make rules hard to decipher. I assume the law's protection would apply if we are walking our bike across the crosswalk.

GhostRider62

I only insult those for whom I have sufficient respect worthy of my time.

flangehead

I think that is certainly true.

Effective September 1 I am not going to feel obligated (for my own legal protection) to dismount when using a crosswalk. However I usually operate in “pedestrian on a bike “ mode when on sidewalks.

Chistophe516

I don't ride on the sidewalk/crosswalk. I only 'take the lane', on the road.

BUT, Going on what was said here:
As a pedestrian, I have encountered many motorists' who flaunt the law by blocking the crosswalk. Originally, I walked into the traffic lane. Just to get around the offending vehicle. Then I stopped at the offending vehicle, and would stare at the motorist, until they gave in, and backed up.

ThermionicScott 

I more often have the opposite complaint: drivers who inexplicably stop a car length or more behind me, or car lengths behind the white line in the next lane over, so they're nowhere near the sensor and we all have to wait longer for the lights to change.

Arthur Peabody

Everyone is supposed to stop behind the stop line (or stop sign or crosswalk) but, if s/he can't see cross traffic (because of trees or buildings or whatever), move forward until s/he can, thus a motorist can legitimately be in a crosswalk if s/he has stopped first and allowed its traffic to pass. This happens often. When I'm on a MUPS that uses a crosswalk I respect this, sometimes wait, sometimes go behind. I got run down once, so am shy about it.

crewdog

You could always do what these people did.

wolfchild

I've seen too way too many cyclists do the same thing. Even worse some cyclists ride around in circles around the intersection crosswalk because they're too lazy to unclip and put heir foot down and wait for the light to change.

Moe Zhoost

I don't think they're lazy. They are showing off through some need to exhibit their self-serving personalities through overt behaviour.

Paul Barnard

Every now and then I find myself stuck on the crosswalk in my car. In the downtown New Orleans area, the buildings are very close to the street. You have to enter the crosswalk to see around the buildings. If traffic is coming, you are stuck. I have been driving behind other drivers who, for one reason or another, stop in the middle of an intersection. I have to stop behind them when the do. My light turns red. A car is stopped behind me, and I can't back up.

Kat12

BTDT.

There's one gas station I used to use that has the corner of the building right up against the sidewalk. This means you absolutely can't see what's coming down the sidewalk until it's right on top of you, unless you're already over the sidewalk (at least it's a one-way street and the building is on the other side of the driveway, so at least it doesn't block view of the street and oncoming traffic). I was exiting the driveway once and was about to cross the driveway when a bike zoomed from behind the corner of the building. Luckily, both my reflexes and brakes are good. Cyclist, who didn't even slow down, yells back at me to "watch where you're going!" Um, I do and did, which is why you're able to be yelling at me right now rather than being a pancake, dude.

But there are the usual "overgrown bushes, parked cars, waiting-to-turn cars, etc. in the way" obstacles too, all over the place. Or the people in lanes to your left who stop ahead of the line when you want to turn right on red, so you have to creep forward ridiculously far to see past them to oncoming traffic.

(Aside to this: what is with the people on your left who are stopped behind the line, you stop, you pull forward a bit to see past them {this is legal in my state if you stop behind the line first}, and they pull forward and block you? I've even had people pull forward *twice*, as in we both stop, I pull forward, they pull forward, I pull forward again to see past them, and they pull forward again. Is this that phenomenon where they're not paying attention and see me start moving out of the corner of their eye and think the light turned and start going themselves then realize it didn't change and stop? Are they consciously trying to block my view so I can't turn? Why?)

rsbob 

I just wave them up and point at the sensor. 95% understand.

ThermionicScott 

You have a much better success rate than I do! Maybe it's the way I wave, or they're just not looking. (I've had to wait through multiple light cycles once because the clueless driver behind me just would not pull anywhere close to the intersection.)

But I'll keep doing it -- hope springs eternal.

1989Pre 

"Would you just sit through the light and wait for the next crosswalk light?" Yes, and try to understand that we all make mistakes, sometimes. Take life with a sense of humor. It's nice to take the opportunity to show forgiveness.

c_m_shooter

Go behind the car. Or ride in the road like you're supposed to.

Alligator

Normally this would make sense, but in this case, there was a protected bike lane leading up to the intersection. I have also ridden behind cars, but in some cases, the cars are too close together to ride between safely.

Doohickie

I've kicked a few bumpers when they stick out too far.

Troul 

roads leading to an intersection in the US were never thought out to be safe for anything crossing at or over five mph imo. To add to that, how many corner lots/houses/businesses have "stuff" blocking the view for what's coming from the sidewalk/cross street? Pretty much every corner house I ride past has tall trees, a bunch of overgrown bushes, privacy fencing, or a wall of bricks on the corner of the property. It's a violation to code for most areas, but nothing is done about it...