http://dvice.com/archives/2009/01/bring_the_bike.php (http://dvice.com/archives/2009/01/bring_the_bike.php)
Kind of a cool idea, although a part of me agrees with the first comment.
(http://dvice.com/pics/lightlane.jpg)
There's definitely a degree of nerdiness involved here, but a lot of the comments bug the hell out of me. I've been a cyclist for years, albeit usually not in heavy city traffic, and people are absolute morons when it comes to bicycle rights and safety. While I think it WOULD provide better visibility, it may also be a distraction to a lot of drivers which may end up causing accidents (think trying to figure out what's up with that kid's bike as you rear end someone). I don't ride too much for transportation anymore (why, when I have a new bike that pedals itself ;D) but I'm thankful to live in a town that's fairly bike friendly without having to worry about some of those commentors behind the wheel of a 2 ton bullet.
Rant over. I like, but I'll take a little blinky light under my seat instead.
QuoteThis is the stupidest thing ever. We made side walks so that cars could avoid people and people could walk safely, now the cars have to share the road with bicycles? Talk about unsafe.
gotta love this guy... i'm pretty sure that the bicycle was invented before the automobile. [roll]
Quote from: derby on February 04, 2009, 03:02:02 PM
gotta love this guy... i'm pretty sure that the bicycle was invented before the automobile. [roll]
I want a lane for my horse.
if the first comment were serious - [bang]
if he's an internet troll making a joke (which I assume), then it was well done. [clap]
I have some really mixed feelings on bicyclists
In Portland they are self absorbed pricks for the most part
a year ago or so a cyclist would not yield her precious bike lane to a dump truck because she had the "right-of-way"
and
it was a horrible tragedy in the cyclist community when that dump truck dismembered her and scattered her over half a city block
I'm sorry but I don't care who has the "right-of-way", it's a game of lugnuts and he with more wins
the head shakes, yelling, gestures, and hood slaps cyclist give you on a constant basis when you are pulling out from a side street into traffic because you are nosed into "their" lane gets seriously old
I think human powered vehicles are fantastic and I love Portland for being so bicycle friendly
but
most cyclists I know personally are self righteous assholes
I had a motorist scream at me "Get on the *&$^ sidewalk where you belong" one day. NC laws ask that bicycles use the same paths as cars and follow the same traffic laws as cars. She was showing her ignorance of the law.
JM
Quote from: the_Journeyman on February 04, 2009, 03:47:33 PM
I had a motorist scream at me "Get on the *&$^ sidewalk where you belong" one day. NC laws ask that bicycles use the same paths as cars and follow the same traffic laws as cars.
Same thing happend to me; said exactly the same way.
I believe in every state cyclist have the same traffic laws as cars. Except the majority of cyclist do not know, or chose to ignore, this fact. That is a major reason, I believe, that they come off as self righteous pricks.
Quote from: DesmoDiva on February 04, 2009, 04:31:29 PM
Same thing happend to me; said exactly the same way.
I believe in every state cyclist have the same traffic laws as cars. Except the majority of cyclist do not know, or chose to ignore, this fact. That is a major reason, I believe, that they come off as self righteous pricks.
I agree. I got nothing against bicyclists, but when they're peddling in the middle of the street during rush hour and blocking everyone else as they wheez their way to/from the office I get annoyed.
I used to ride with a group of said "self-righteous pricks" who would constantly take up quite a bit more of their fair share of the road. I don't know what the law is in other states, but IL you can ride two people side by side legally. The key word is legally. That doesn't mean you should to it and they would frequently slow traffic riding two up when they could have just as easily gone single file. It's a combination of motorist ignorance and bicyclist abuse. It may be legal for bicycles to occupy the same lanes as cars, but that doesn't mean you should be riding the line on a 3 lane, 55 mph road. I like to think it's a case of common sense but....
Quote from: DesmoDiva on February 04, 2009, 04:31:29 PM
Same thing happend to me; said exactly the same way.
I believe in every state cyclist have the same traffic laws as cars. Except the majority of cyclist do not know, or chose to ignore, this fact. That is a major reason, I believe, that they come off as self righteous pricks.
I will say, I was as far to the right as I could possibly get without hitting anything [laugh] I have seem examples of what you mention though [bang]
JM
Lets remember the important things here.
Biker chicks are hot and wear spandex. Rowr.
i keep to the edge of the pavement on my bicycle and most cars have the decency to swerve away from my position. I'm on a road without sidewalks (and a 45mph speed limit), so I rarely ride when traffic is heavy. Courtesy is underrated.
i am a bicyclist, and when i was a messenger i was deemed militant about it.
i get so worked up about asshole cagers being pissed off about bikers using the same roads that i almost can't form coherent thoughts.
yes i dipped and dodged past cars. i was hit mroe than a couple of times by people not looking or thinking that they have the bigger vehicle so i should just yield. when i'm cooking along at the speed of traffic i WILL NOT simply stop. it's much easier for you to get going again than i am, and besides, i would have the right of way. i will retaliate if you offend. just like we all do when someone doesn't see us or ignores our presence on the motos.
people take up bike lanes because they see it as extra space and not affecting anyone. you using that bike lane to park forces me out into regular traffic where things get worse. in the city i ride the way i do to stay alive. to get out of the way of what ever is out there and give myself a headstart on the guys that have to race from light to light at 60mph. i lost track of how many times i got knocked over by someone trying to pull over and not actually looking. i have had doors opened into me because i was in the bike lane or off to the side and people got out of their cars without looking. i ride in the lane between cars because believe it or not, it's safer. i will show you the chip in my teeth and the scars i have from doors if we meet. since i'm not there anymore i don't need to do that. i take up as little space as i can and stick to the side of the road. hell i'll even wave cars in front of me as i approach intersections. some would even go so far as to call me polite when i ride. and i still have people being dicks. i still get run off the road. i have things thrown at me, i have been squeezed towards walls and ditches by smirking cagers, and i have had people threaten to run me over if they see me on the road again. i have also caught up to those people in traffic and simply smiled at them as i passed them and tossed their garbage back to them. (the funniest was the guy who threw something at me and screamed then realized i was keeping up with him. he was scared of a dude in sandex [laugh])
this is not new, i am not the only one.
and you wonder why bicyclists get all up in arms about their rights and become "self righteous pricks"
if i were a 2 ton box of steel rolling along at 15-20 mph you would simply pregnant dog about a slow driver, but since i am on a bicycle you feel that i should be strung up and beaten.
give me a make the beast with two backsing break.
when motorists start to respect us we will be more relaxed as a whole. and just like every other group, you will have people that will be assholes no matter what.
ok, i'm done.
Right of way doesn't matter until someone gets hit. Just hope you survive the hit the shove your right of way in the other guy's face. [roll]
LOL at the first comment.
"I swear to God, if I ever see you on the road with this shit, I will run you down and back up just to make sure I got you."
Around here we're pretty respectful of cyclists. But then again, we're not exactly a huge city with raging drivers.
Quote from: erkishhorde on February 04, 2009, 06:41:48 PM
Right of way doesn't matter until someone gets hit. Just hope you survive the hit the shove your right of way in the other guy's face. [roll]
i didn't say i wouldn't get out of the way if needed. see the part about chasing them down.
Quote from: KnightofNi on February 05, 2009, 07:18:35 AM
i didn't say i wouldn't get out of the way if needed. see the part about chasing them down.
Ah, sorry, didn't mean this for anyone in particular. I'm all for enforcing your right to the road. It's just that your rights often don't matter to other people and you have to make a ruckus to make them care. Sadly this applies to many things beyond cycling.
I yield to bicyclists when I see them even if I know they're going to do something illegal like run a stop sign. I totally understand the feeling that it's easier for you to stop and start going again than for them. I also see the disrespect that many motorists give to bicyclists. Living in a college town for 6 years I've seen a wide variety of cyclists that follow the rules and don't follow the rules and the motorists that are nice to them and mean to them. I appreciate it when a cyclist sees me signaling to turn and knows they're in my way and speed up to get out of my way. I don't mind if they sit in the left turning lane and appreciate it when they get out of the lane and onto the should so I can speed up but don't honk at them if they don't.
It's really about more than rights to the road. It's more about the type of person that you are because the nice people will be considerate to others even if they don't have to just because some law says the other guy has a right to be there.
Wouldn't this make more sense if it shined out in front of you instead of behind? I would want people to know where I was headed not where I had been.
Quote from: Scooter Montgomery on February 05, 2009, 01:55:18 PM
Wouldn't this make more sense if it shined out in front of you instead of behind? I would want people to know where I was headed not where I had been.
the people behind you, the ones you're really worried about, would have the view that the picture shows.