Share the Road; it's not even yours

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux) 11/05/2013 at 16:53 • Filed to: None

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Okay, I know a lot of people will be quick to argue this, but before you get a chance I want to say I agree with you. Things change. But there's one thing I saw in a YouTube comment, of all places, that actually made a load of sense on this subject.
Really, roads belong to cyclists and we're the ones borrowing them. While there are freeways and other fast/large roads that do not allow bicycles, the rest belong to them. See, as drivers, we do not have a right to the road. Just a privilege. We need a license and our cars need to be registered. Bicyclists need to be a certain age in some places, but other than that there are no restrictions as to whether or not they can ride. They have a right to the road.
And I think that they should. I also think that bike lanes should be more commonplace, as it seems that this is the reason many drivers think bikes belong on the sidewalk (which is almost always illegal, actually) and will get extremely aggressive toward road-going cyclists. The concept of a bike lane makes those who are ignorant to the law feel that bikes are only allowed on the road if there is a bike lane. In reality, they just reduce congestion in bicycle-heavy areas by giving cars the room to pass without moving over. That's why there should be more of them.
So yeah. Some cyclists are assholes who ride in the middle of the lane and don't let cars pass, but some drivers are also assholes by refusing to move over or slow down as they fly by just inches from brutally obliterating what they forget is a human being. Just keep in mind that bicycles are more entitled to the road than you are, and hopefully soon society will finally begin to more properly accommodate cars by adding bike lanes. It sounds so backwards to put it that way, but it really is true.

CAR_IS_MI > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 16:56

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Most drivers need more than a lesson in sharing the road and politeness. Just my .02

Chairman Kaga > CAR_IS_MI 11/05/2013 at 16:58

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Most drivers need a lesson in learning how to drive.

HammerheadFistpunch > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 16:59

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I'm pro sharing the road in every possible way (avid cyclist)...but its the motorists that paid for them with the gas tax.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 17:07

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Bicyclists have the same rights to the roads as cars. However they also have the same responsibilities. I can't go driving my car down the wrong side of the street and running stop signs. So why would I expect to be allowed to do the same on a bicycle?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 17:11

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What about when there is a bike trail just off the road, and they still ride in the road, can I feel free to yell at them?

Casper > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 17:12

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One thing I find interesting is the "refusing to move over or slow down as they fly by just inches". Cyclists are not in a good position to judge how close or far away a car passes them. Inherently being fearful or lacking confidence skews the perceptions of distance. Likewise, there is an overly developed sense of self importance due to vulnerability. This leads to massive misinterpretations of situations, for instance how close a vehicle was, how fast it was going, etc. At that point as a rider I feel people need to learn to stop and consider what THEY did that might have been a poor decision. Were you all the way out of traffic or as far as you could have been? Did you attempt to yield right of way properly? Were you following proper regulations in your directionality and positioning?

Everyone needs to remember, when we are on a bicycle we have CHOSEN to mix with large machines that are much faster than us and much more durable. It's not the cars fault we are exposed and vulnerable, it is our own. Look at the example of motorcyclists: assume everyone is going to hit you and make it YOUR job to be safe.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 11/05/2013 at 17:18

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This, a million times this. One way to put it is that most people treat cycling as if they were walking, and that's a big problem.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 11/05/2013 at 17:21

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I will say this though, it's amusing to hear about bicyclists complain about joggers and roller bladers on bike paths the exact same way people in cars complain about cyclists.

George McNally > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 17:21

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I've been riding bikes for 50 years (I'm 54).

On my current road bike, I have a very large canister of bear mace zip-tied to my handlebars. I've only had to use it once, when some jackass in a lifter bro truck squeezed me right off the road.

I caught up to him at the next light, he rolled his window down (his first mistake) and started spouting off.....to be honest, I have no idea what he was saying- I was to focused on getting a good aim on my bear fogger.

I pretty much filled his cab up with bear mace- not sure what brand I have, but it was impressive-it shot a stream of fog right into his open window. I'm not sure what happened after that- I rode my bike home and parked it in the garage for a couple weeks.

Leadbull > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/05/2013 at 17:23

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Yell loudly.

pdx107 > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 11/05/2013 at 17:27

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As a bike though in some places (idaho) a stop sign isn't a stop sign, it is a yield sign, and has been for over 30 years Idaho Stop

And all things considered in a lot of cases it just makes sense

bikertool1 > George McNally 11/05/2013 at 17:30

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I love this story. I've been riding since '85, so I'm a bit behind you, but I used to commute year-'round, so I've had my share of close-calls. I squirted my water bottle into the lap of a driver once (after they ran me off the road and I caught up to them a the next light)... buried my fist in the door panel of a Ford van that cut me off to drop off someone... I could go on. The bottom line is that it never occurred to me to mount bear mace to my handlebars. Love it.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 17:32

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I think some common sense and courtesy on both sides would be nice. Too bad that can't be legislated.

Dusty Ventures > George McNally 11/05/2013 at 17:32

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You're my hero

Übel > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 17:34

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I fail to see how that argument makes any sense whatsoever. If anything, it is Bicyclists that do not have a right to the road. Modern paved roads were effectively created for automobiles, and it is automobile drivers that pay the fees to have them created/maintained. Roads are designed primarily for automobile traffic and usually only have mild concessions at best for bicycle use, and even then almost exclusively in dense, built-up areas. So really, Bicyclists are riding on roads not designed for their use and without any sort of monetary contribution to creating/repairing roads.

Kailand09 > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 17:34

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I didn't read the entire thing, I'll admit that.

Here's my problem with "share the road". Plain and simple, difference in speed. In a city street where a bike easily cruises at the traffic's speed, whatever. Even if the bike is a bit slow, whatever. When I'm on a 6-lane road packed with cars going 50mph+ during rush hour, you shouldn't be riding the shoulder screaming for your "3 ft." to the guy who is trying to give you the most room. Quite frankly, you shouldn't be traveling on that street at all.

If it was legal, would a biker take the highway? Hell no, that's ridiculous. If bikers want respect, they need their own lane, because the nature of the automobile and the bicycle are two hugely different beasts. They in no way should share a roadway.

dinobot666 > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 17:37

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ITT:

Dude, cyclists run stop signs all the time and are a bunch of tightly wound bundle of sticks!

They shouldn't be on the road because they don't pay the same kind of road use taxes that I do when I drive my car!

That's a summary of every single bicycle/car related post on the internet ever.

Victorious Secret > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 17:39

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They can learn the rules of the road if they want to use it.

No lane splitting. No cutting between lanes. Not skipping red lights.

They want it, they can have it. Follow the same rules we do or GTFO.

I've had a few close calls from cyclists who disregarded such rules and almost became a splatter against my car. I didn't feel sorry for them just as I don't feel sorry for people in cars who make the same mistakes.

dinobot666 > Übel 11/05/2013 at 17:40

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The problem with this argument is that a bicycle with an average sized rider on it causes next to no wear and tear on a paved road. Cyclists pay sales tax on many other things that pay for overall infrastructure improvement. It's a total non-point.

Übel > George McNally 11/05/2013 at 17:44

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Let's be honest, you didn't "have" to use the bear mace. At that point it was not a matter of self defense, and you were just out to get some petty revenge by using an inoordinate amount of pepper spray designed to ward off a half-ton pissed off bear on some douche in a pickup truck. What the actual fuck makes you think that's okay, let alone funny?

Übel > dinobot666 11/05/2013 at 17:49

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As is the argument in the lead of the thread, which claims they have a right to the road because they do not pay for it. I was simply pointing out that at least motorists pay for the roads. The fact that cyclists get a free ride in no way gives them more right to use the road, and this is coming from a guy who spent a year of his life commuting by bicycle.

George McNally > bikertool1 11/05/2013 at 17:55

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It was a headrush......I got home, closed the garage door and thought to myself...holy shit- I just maced somebody.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 11/05/2013 at 17:58

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Haha, so true. I rarely come across cyclists on my daily routes, since I mostly keep to the major avenues which are too narrow and fast to be safe for cyclists (and drivers, for that matter), but another type of "vehicle" that gives me headaches more often than it should are skateboarders.

It's one thing when you're a cyclists trying to get from point A to B, like veryone else, but it's another thing entirely when you're on top of a wooden board and actively trying to score near misses with cars and busses and just generally placing yourself in danger.

bikertool1 > George McNally 11/05/2013 at 18:01

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When I punched in the van door I went straight to the bike shop where I worked and told my manager the story... his only words were "You probably shouldn't have done that." He was probably right.

Of course, when I got doored by a guy in an old Lincoln, all I said was "I'm O.K., it's fine!" My back hasn't been the same since (22 years ago).

deadpedal > Rainbow 11/05/2013 at 18:38

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I think the rules are generally the same as Oppo.

Don't be a dick.

I'm always surprised just how huge people think their cars are when they are doing a needless 17 point turn, or not going around a car making a left (where legal) because they don't think their 6 foot wide car will fit through that 10 foot hole. But inevitably they are the same people who think their car is 3 feet wide while passing a bike on a blind rise/curve.

I see both points of view, and mostly the problem is there are a lot of stupids out there. I know, I know...newsflash.

i-do-strange-things > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 11/05/2013 at 18:58

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Yup! And I dont give a shit about if you're drafting-or flying in some other formation they do in the Tour De France-SINGLE FILE schmucks! How would you feel if I decided to tuck out to the side of the car in front of me + went in YOUR lane?

You have bike lanes I can't use—you have bike paths I can't use-so when you are out on a regular general road -SHARE THE FUCKING ROAD!

maximillious > Casper 11/05/2013 at 18:58

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I didnt read your whole post because I am at work. But in my ride across the USA on a bicycle I had countless cars veer into the shoulder, a turn lane, a bicycle lane and more times that I am even comfortable with their mirrors almost took off my head that the heads of the riders around me. I almost had to watch one of my closest friends die because someone was texting. I watched the car mirror go within inches of the back of their skull, and five minutes later we saw the woman pulled over. When we spoke to the officer and told him what happened just minutes before he said "Good to know, I pulled her over for texting and inattentive and reckless driving"

Casper > maximillious 11/05/2013 at 19:04

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Ok?

George McNally > Übel 11/05/2013 at 19:35

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Absolutely-I was completely wrong.

I was pissed at the time because this dude ran me off the road on purpose.

Unfortunately, I'm not someone that backs down from a confrontation...it's gotten me into trouble before.

My adrenaline was way jacked up-if I had to do it over again-I probably would have not done what I did.

Übel > George McNally 11/05/2013 at 19:37

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Maybe you should keep some party poppers on that bike instead of bear mace :p Much safer.

maximillious > Casper 11/06/2013 at 00:00

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Interesting... I clicked cancel... kept getting distracted...