Weekend Athlete Pleads for Cyclist-Motorist Unity
If you read the newspapers, you've heard that more people are trading in cars for bicycles in order to save gas. I don't believe it, but hey, that's what they say. The stark reality is that bicyclists — at least here in Chicago — are getting hit by cars and have been injured or killed. What does that have to do with a car site? Everything.
Full disclosure: I ride my bike to work much more often than I drive. Hey, I'm not a full-time reviewer; I don't get to commute in whatever luxury/sport/econo car they're testing this week. What's interesting during my commute is that I have only one consistent problem with drivers — like our reviewers — and I'll get to that later. But, bike riders, man? They have issues too. Where to start?
See, the roads really are designed for everybody, but the key is everybody has to follow all the rules. Over at the Chicago Tribune, Kevin Williams summed up what you need to do to be safe on a bike here.
I can't really improve on what Williams says, but it boils down to this: Everybody has to follow all the rules of the road. Hear me, fellow bike-riders? That means you stop at stop signs. You don't run red lights. You don't ride the wrong way down a one-way street. (As Williams says, "You know better.") It's just that simple.
And I'll tell you, as a fellow rider, I'm sick of you stupid riders passing me when I'm stopped at a red light. It's not cute, it's not "how it's done" — it's unsafe. Period. I can understand why cars have trouble with you if you ride that way because, you know what? I have trouble with you. Learn to ride or get another hobby.
Now, for drivers. The only issue I run into — and it happens only about once a year — is the driver who screams and yells for me to ride in the gutter or too close to parked cars so they can pass. I don't do that because it's unsafe. It's how you get hit by car doors or bang into a curb and wreck (see Williams' rules above).
Now, I get it, it looks like I'm trying to slow you down, but I'm not. So chill. Chances are you have a radio, air conditioning and various creature comforts. Enjoy them for a sec and before you know it, I'll be up to 25 mph (the speed limit on the roads I ride) and we'll all be cruising along just fine.
Here's the thing: I'm not out to make a statement. I don't think I'm saving the planet. I don't judge people who drive cars. I'm doing something that keeps me from getting fatter and is fun, too, in a city where commuting via bike is possible. Like you, I want to get home as safely and quickly as I can. If we all play by the rules, we'll all have a happy summer.
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Bill,
You and I have talked about this before and just this morning I thought of you when I had to dodge about 5 cyclists who were running a red light on Milwaukee. Cyclists who do not follow the rules of the road drive me batty!!!!!
I was starting to think I was the only biker who stopped for red lights, glad I am not alone. My bigger challenge is left turns in a heavy intersection/fields of cars.
Bill,
Now if shapely cyclists did this, there might be more attention paid to bikers in general
http://www.winnipegfreepress2.com/blogs/reynolds/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/mess2.JPG
Instead of cars hitting bikes, it would be cars hitting cars while looking at bikes.
@Dave's wife: Yeah, I hate to say it, but I think the problem of scofflaw bikers is going to get worse until autumn. The cold usually stops the bad riders from coming out. I hope you're able to avoid the mayhem until then.
@Zerf: Yeah, left turns aren't my favorite, either. I'll plan my route to avoid them if I can, just because Chicago has some nasty, big intersections. But the worst is when I commit to the turn, only to find some bike rider either running the light or riding the wrong way where I don't expect them. Love that.
Sorry but the cold weather riders are actually the worst group when it comes to ignoring the rules of the road.
These are the cyclists who are comfortable with riding in traffic and do their utmost to reduce their travel times.
Who do you see breaking the law the most on bikes?
A. The riders in spandex on $4000 carbon fiber bikes.
B. Couriers in cut off jeans on cobbled together single speeds without brakes.
C. The rider who can't afford to fill the tank and is just trying to make it to the next payday by riding to work.
In my experience it's A and B. The riders who feel comfortable in traffic and feel no need to adhere to the rules.
They also look down on the lowly commuter. Treating them in the same ways that they complain about cars, passing too close, cutting them off etc etc etc.
Things will get better come the colder winter simply because of less bicycle volume, but it won't get better with regards to breaking the law.
@Woogie: That's an interesting take on the commuting. You are right that there are a lot fewer of us out there in the winter, so, yeah, it probably feels like there's less bad riding. I have to say, early winter, before the ice gets bad is my favorite time to ride. Hope it's the same for you.
As for which riders break the law the most, I haven't tried to figure it out. I should take a look on the next ride in.
What's funny is the guys I know who race and wear the teams' spandex jerseys year-round are usually pretty careful. They have the expensive bikes, but they know that if someone spots them being a jerk, that person could call the sponsors and they'll get kicked off the team.
I thought I had seen everything until I saw a biker throw out his left hand to turn left from the right lane without looking to get into a center left turn arrow lane. The light had turned green the same time the arrow came on. The street was 6 lanes wide with a center turn lane.
Another thing that gets me is the bikes that go 25 mph on the sidewalk and don't look at the intersections/blind driveways. I've seen them go onto the sidewalk to avoid busses leaving the bus stops. They go right through the people getting off the bus.
What bothers me most is that I see joggers running in the bike lanes because it's a continuous flat surface and bicyclists riding on the sidewalks to prevent getting hit by a car. I was told by a police officer that some cities no longer allow bicycling on the sidewalk. Where it is legal, they are only supposed to proceed at a pedestrian speed, including over crosswalks. If bicyclists want to share the road, they need to share the responsibility of doing the right thing. I think there should be courses in school on bicycle safety so the kids, teens, and young adults know what it means to share the road.
@Gary R: In Chicago, at least, you can't ride on the sidewalks if you're older than 12 years old, so at least here they're trying to solve that problem.
As for runners in the street, I not a fan, but I understand it since I'm also a runner. Some -- especially distance runners -- do it because they want to train on the same surface they'll be racing on, others do it to avoid crowded sidewalks.
In the end, though, you're right. The more I ride, the more I think there should be a graduated license and classes for riding on the street. You should earn the right to ride on some streets, especially in Chicago.
Still, it has to be said, sharing the road also does mean the drivers who yell at me have to understand how to share, too, and that sometimes, when we take a lane, we’re just doing it to be safe. It needs to be understood that when we ride in a bike lane, going to work, obeying all the laws, we are doing nothing wrong.
My experience of everyday cycle commuting in Chicago is that 99% of cars drivers are extremely courteous to me when I'm on my bike. So much so that most will let me go at a cross section (even if it's strictly their priority) and most give me plenty of room as they pass too. You always get the occassional jerk who skims by you,but so far I've only been yelled at once, and that was some stupid woman trying to zoom past a bus on the curb side and i was blocking her way.
I agree with everyone's gripes about rule breaking cyclists too. I like to think I am a pretty rule-obiding rider and obey stop signs and red lights etc. From my observations, the very worst riders aren't the roadies or the messengers, it's the messenger-wanabee hipsters on their brakeless fix gears who struggle to control them. They don't stop at intersections half the time because they don't know how to bring their bikes to a safe stop so they shoot straight through with no cares in the world.
I always laugh when I haul past them on the next up- or down-hill though!