Cyclists under attack from our 2 wheel "buddies"

[Tumbleweed]

Oh boy' date=' can't wait till I live in the 1st world where we don't have to put up with any of the small minded people in this country. [/quote']

 

Why do you think this only happens in RS & A?

UK, US and OZ all have the same issues.

Europe seems to be a bit more cycling orientated/friendly

 

the recent story about the doctor convicted of road rage refers.

[Justin]

I'm over it. Look after yourselves in the traffic and abide by the rules.

 

 

 

Each one of these rants usually start with cyclists skipping stop signs, red lights etc etc. And there are many of them.

 

 

 

 

[Eldron]

Motorbikers moan about cyclists, cyclists moan about cars, cars moan about trucks, trucks moan about pedestrians, pedestrians moan about motorbikes.

 

Ah ye olde mobius loop of moaning....everybody hates somebody or in the immortal words of The Offspring "its cool to hate".

 

It's just like crime - 5% of the population ruin it for the rest of us....

 

Speeding bikers, cars that drive recklessly, cyclists that jump red lights, pedestrians that jay walk on highways, taxis that don't believe in rules, trucks that change lanes without warning - sound familiar??

[Captain Slow]

...found this on a blog....

 

 

 

I did not know Bruce Rosar personally, but from what I?ve seen in comments about him, he was highly regarded, well respected and an all around really good guy. He was a leading cycling advocate in the Triangle area of North Carolina who allegedly turned left in front of a car last weekend, got hit and was killed. It is without a doubt a tragic event for all involved. His death has lit a fire under the ?Share the Road" debate. And opinions are strong on either side of the argument. I?ll give you one guess as to which side I?m on.

 

 

 

I?ve been reading through the comments on the article related to Bruce?s accident and I have to say that the self-righteousness of it all is startling. ?Well, I had a motorist chase me with an ax handle.? ?Well, I saw a biker run a stop light.? ?Well, just yesterday someone honked at me.? ?Well, 2 days ago, I had slow down for a cyclist.? ?Well, this just proves bikes should NOT be on the roads.? ?This is a public safety issue.? ?Well, I pay taxes on these roads??

 

 

 

SHUT UP! Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Listen to yourselves.

 

 

 

The motorists accuse the cyclists of being the assholes. The cyclists say, no, it?s the motorists who are the assholes. Get off your f**king soap boxes. We?re all assholes. We may not be assholes all the time, but we?ve all had our moments and we?re all assholes (with a rare exception here and there). We would all be better served to check our egos at the door and realize that the people on those bikes and in those cars have moms and dads, sons and daughters, families and friends who love and care for them. And every motor vehicle death, whether it involves a cyclist or not, is tragic.

 

 

 

Admittedly, I will never understand what it is about a cyclist that drives some motorists into a frenzy of hate and anger. Reading through the comments though, two things seem to be the big culprits - cyclists slowing down traffic and cyclists disobeying the rules of the road. Like I said, we?re all assholes. I?ve broken the rules of the road in my car and on my bike and I?m certain you have, too. I mean come on, nobody, and I mean nobody, drives the speed limit except maybe my grandmother. So, since we?re all breaking the laws, let?s just call that argument neutralized.

 

 

 

Cyclists piss you off because they slow you down. You know what slows me down when I?m driving my car? Here?s the short list:

 

Other cars.

 

An accident during rush hour (as if the stand still on the Interstate isn?t enough).

 

Dump trucks on slim country roads.

 

18-wheelers trying to make their way up a hill.

 

Pedestrians in crosswalks.

 

Stop lights.

 

Drivers who don?t understand how a traffic circle works.

 

People who drive the speed limit.

 

People who turn right.

 

People who turn left.

 

Squirrels.

 

Deer (although I hear they're willing to start paying taxes).

 

Possums.

 

The occasional skunk (actually, I usually speed up for skunks).

 

And assholes.

 

Unfortunately, the roads weren?t built for me alone. Hence the whole ?Share the Road? concept. I like to extend the philosophy beyond just cyclists. And it?s my opinion, when you?re granted the privilege of a driver license, you assume the responsibility of respecting all vehicles and pedestrians on those roads. And if you can?t agree to that, well, take the bus?or get a bike.

 

 

 

But, the accusations have got to stop in lieu of more constructive conversations. Conversations like the ones Bruce Rosar used to have. Because Bruce wasn?t an asshole.

[Schwynn]

Captain, I don't think you are so slow after all...

[SwissVan]

Oh boy' date=' can't wait till I live in the 1st world *snip*[/quote']

 

alas, there's no such thing?

 

I was going to say "wanna bet" to HR...

Then I remembered a story where cyclists (MTB) are banned from the riding in local forests.

 

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&gid=47542656858 

Google translation

 

Trailnet vom 27.01.2009 in the meeting the board decided against the planned and published forest road map "K?niz Berg / Steinh?lzli / Rehage / winter dumps cause" complaint. The new forest plan, submitted by the Office for the forest of the Canton of Bern, provides, inter alia, take up the whole K?niz mountain forests with a general ban, which applies to bicycles and bikes......

 

 

 

 

http://www.onlinereports.ch/index.php?id=99&tx_cs2onlinreports_pi3[uid]=5951&cHash=9687c7d3e0

 

Google translation

Cyclists ride irresponsibly differentiated

Basle6 November 2009

 

Not only speedster on four wheels, even non-motorized saddle and two thugs on wheels came in recent years, increasingly the focus of the public: Basel cyclists, so more opinions, but also the online editor Reports reaching driving, reckless driving bans on away to shoot aggressively to passing pedestrians, pedestrians jostle.

The Basel government now writes in a response to a written question from SVP cantonal parliament Bruno JagherThat it was well "aware of the unlawful behavior of individual users. For example, in mid-September of this year had to be pronounced in a study carried out at a red light control within less than 90 minutes, more than 40 Ordnungsbussen against cyclists.

A "life-threatening situation", as perceived by the parliament but the government may not perceive. Were on the question of how many accidents at the pedestrian level between pedestrians and cyclists have been on record since the beginning of the year, holds the executive branch: "The research in the accident database of the Canton Police Department has found that neither in 2008 nor in the current year accidents between pedestrians and Cycling on the sidewalk have become of record. "

Jagher complained in his foray, cyclists forced by the pedestrian Veloklingel to make space on the sidewalk and avoid, however, without the police would take action. The government writes that the unlawful Driving on sidewalks by bicycles and mopeds is one of the twelve monthly focusing action of the Canton Police Department this year. A comprehensive monitoring would, however, "with additional human resources will not accomplish."

Many users also changed in their police presence "in some illegal behavior conscious" only in the short term. Lack consciousness incorrectly allowed themselves to such persons, "lead by repressive measures, no changes in behavior." So will the future an even greater emphasis on the preventive field, such as road safety, given. Recklessness on two wheels was a "Societal Problem", which could not be solved by the police in the absence of parents as role models.

 

[firewolf]

@ fandacious.. you are very right, especially considering the majority will always be judged by the minority.  At least I hope the cyclists like the ones you mention are the minority.  Otherwise we are all, perhaps, fu**ed. 

What do you do when you see other riders causing ***: like throwing the finger to motorists?

Man I just back off and do my small bit to not be an asshole.  Like thanking a driver for not cutting me off, etc.

A tiny thing I know but if each rider just tried to better understand the road sharing dynamic we might all be in a safer place.

I can tell you though, that road riding is more dangerous than my job.  And believe me, I have a dangerous job.

firewolf2010-02-12 10:49:56

[Overlord]

What about the stupid biker that nearly took me out this morning? He was riding in the yellow line just to pass all the traffic.

 

And then they say we are the ones that ignore rules.

 

They can go take a flying f$%k for all I care.

I stop at red lights and stop streets.

And 99% of the time I train alone.

 

[GoLefty!!]

I'm not so sure in cycling community that its the minority that behave badly. I think that just an excuse we use to cop out of facing reality.

Driving to work this morning I counted 41 separate traffic offences by cyclists.

The most common is running the red light/stop street.

 

Very few know about hand signals but its the packs that create  the most problems. Hoard mentality takes over when we group together and this is when we behave the worst. I witnessed a certain cycle clubs groups out on saturday morning, once again taking over the road between simonstown and Lakeside, running red lights again.

quite frankly I doubt the clubs are interested in solving the issue. I believe they treat complaints as weekly joke and have a good laugh at the people  calling in complaints.

 

so what to do?

 

[idrive]

I ride a motorcycle and a bicycle, so much so that I have not even been in a car for over 2 weeks

The other morning at about 6:30 am I was heading towards JHB on my Kawasaki and as we approached the robot at the Illiondale intersection rhe traffic was already starting to back up so I positioned myself between the two lanes and noticed two cyclist (1 mtb + 1 road) ahead who were riding single file but in the middle of the lane. It wasn't a problem as they were travelling at the same speed as the traffic.

However, the road starts to go uphill. Naturally they slowed down and moved left but not into the emergency lane and then started riding abreast.

As I was next to a car (on my left) we approached the cyclists and the driver moved over to give to cyclists space. She almost hit me and I came within millimetres of hitting the car on my right. She not stop although she did say sorry.

I then got into the left lane and intended telling them to stop riding like they own the road but by then I was too far ahead.

I'm convinced they were the cause of the traffic tailback.

At this point thee is a dedicated turning left lane

But I would rather have 100 cyclists riding like they own the road than 2 taxis!!

Everyone needs to relax a bit and think about what they are doing.