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The good, the bad and the clueless
Mon, September 20, 2010 When I wrote my last article about cyclists running stop signs and red lights it brought many comments for and against.
According to some, it seems you can be on either side and still see yourself as a good safe cyclist, it is not black and white, it is a matter of opinion.
Those who ride through red lights, say they do so for their own safety, and though the letter of the law says a bicycle is a vehicle and as such should stop and wait like every other vehicle. The red light runners say it is a stupid law.
There are many stupid laws, and not just traffic laws, but as a society can we pick and choose which ones to follow? Or just those we can break because they are not adequately enforced.
Take the speed limit, a good law most will agree and without it there would be even more carnage on our roads. Most people drive at five miles per hour over the speed limit; they feel there is a good possibility they can get away with that.
A few years ago when gas prices started to go sky high, I read an article that said that cars are most fuel efficient at under 60 mph. After that you are burning extra fuel just trying to overcome wind resistance.
Being a cyclist I knew all about wind resistance, so I started limiting my speed on the freeway to 60 mph. In most cases this was the speed limit anyway.
Then I realized it was ludicrous to drive everywhere else at 5 mph over the speed limit, just because everyone else does. So now I drive at the speed limit everywhere; I save on gas, I save on wear and tear on my vehicle, and I am never going to get a speeding ticket.
Traffic often backs up behind me, and people get annoyed and will come flying past me at the first chance they get, and I wonder why are they putting themselves through all that stress. I get to my destination just the same as they do.
I am following the letter of the law, if others want to go faster than the limit, why should I be forced to do the same and allow myself to be intimidated by some monster truck that is tailgating me.
The same thing when I ride my bike, I will stop for a red light. If I am first in line I will stop in the middle of the lane leaving enough room for any car who might want to turn right on red.
When the light changes I stay in the center of the lane until I clear the intersection, then I move as far to the right as is practical. Like driving my car at the speed limit, I am following the letter of the law.
If I am not first in line at a light I will wait in the line of traffic, and stay out in the lane momentarily, long enough to make sure everyone knows I am there and I am not going to get “Right hooked,” then I will move over to the right and let the traffic flow by.
Anyone can change their driving habits or their bike riding habits. All it takes is the will to do it, but if you can see no fault in the way you drive or ride it is not going to happen.
As for the clueless, they are the most accident prone. They are the people on bikes who ride on the sidewalk the wrong way and suddenly appear in front of a car making a left turn. They are the people who ride on the wrong side of the road at night with no lights.
These people behave like pedestrians on bikes. You cannot argue that pedestrians cross against red lights all the time, therefore it is okay to do it on a bike. As a pedestrian I feel a person is the most vulnerable road user of all, and they should do whatever is necessary to survive.
If I choose to ride a bike, I am no longer a pedestrian, I am a vehicle and I feel I should behave as one. And at least no one can say I am a bad cyclist, anymore than they can say I am a bad driver because I drive my car at the speed limit.
I may be viewed as an annoying old fart of a driver; or an annoying cyclist on the road maybe, but that is just someone’s opinion
Reader Comments (18)
Dave, again I partially agree with you and partially disagree.
I've written a lengthy response here: willcycle.blogspot.com/law-is-ass
I more or less agree with this -- the world would be a better place if we stopped making up our own rules and stuck to the ones on the books.
However, I disagree with the need to queue up behind traffic at a light. Cars do not have to wait behind a bicycle moving slower than motor traffic, so it follows that bicycles do not have to wait behind cars moving slower than them. Quid pro quo.
I have been an avid racer, century rider and commuter for over 30 years. Currently I ride a bicycle as a full time job. I am the sergeant in charge of the Bicycle Patrol Unit in my city. Our main mission is patrolling the 21 miles of green belt path and the 7 or 8 parks that the green belt path connects along the river that splits our city.
Idaho State law gives bicyclists all the rights, privileges and responsibilities as a motor vehicle when the bicyclist is on the roadway or adjacent bike path. Idaho State law gives bicyclists all the rights, privileges and responsibilities when the bicyclist is on a sidewalk or in a crosswalk.
Idaho State law allows a bicyclist, on a roadway, to "roll through" a stop sign if they slow and proceed in a safe manner. A bicyclist is also allowed to proceed through a red light if they come to a full "foot down" stop and they are able to proceed through the red light in a safe manner.
However, as members of the Bicycle Patrol Unit, we always come to a full "foot down" stop at stop signs. We always come to a full stop at stop lights and wait for the green light to proceed. We always "take" the appropriate lane and then move to the appropriate side of the road as soon as safely possible.
Why you say? Because most motorists do not know the law and some are looking for any reason to "slam" the cops. The poor people are "trapped" driving their cars and look for any reason to point fingers at cyclists.
As a cyclist you can be "DEAD" right. It doesn't mean much when you are being transported to the hospital or your remains are being lowered into the ground. I have responded to countless accidents in my over 23 years as a cop and know what I am speaking of.
The bottom line that all are held to, by the case law and the U. S. Supreme Court is to be "reasonable". A criminal or civil jury would be hard pressed to rule against you if you acted "in a reasonable and prudent" manner.
Dave, I appreciate your last two blog entries and appreciate the wise and reasonable way you impart the information.
However, willcycle......you are a scary dude.
Dave, I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on the issue of red lights (although it seems Idaho is remarkably forward-thinking in some of it's laws).
And yes, you are ABSOLUTELY right in that EVERY cyclist skipping a red light will annoy car driver, possibly leading to increased animosity. Yes, even cyclists who SAFELY skip red lights.
Does that mean I am wrong in my argument? I don't think so - perhaps we have different arguments but they aren't quite polar opposites. As again highlighted in a recent UK Department for Transport report, car drivers don't actually want to share the roads with cyclists at all, regardless whether they obey all laws or not.
It is unfortunate, and it isn't going to change. Many (most?) car drivers are firmly stuck in the era of endless oil and even the oil companies are denying that stocks are being depleted.
Until there is radical change, such as what the Netherlands experienced starting back in the 60's, the status quo sadly will probably remain.
PS: Sarge, I have been called many things, but scary isn't one of them. :-)
William NB...
No disrespect meant. Your analogies just seemed a little extreme to me.
As long as the laws that are written by legislatures are reasonable, I have to be law abiding and reasonable myself. Society usually only mandates that the reasonable ones be enforced in most cases. The unreasonable ones are usually ignored by the respective community and the police who serve the community.
I live out in fairly open country surrounded by mountains. I have never been to the UK but I am sure the terrain,political environment and infrastructure is quite different.
I think education is the key and my Bicycle Patrol Unit is constantly putting on Bike Safety Presentations to drivers training classes, grade school classes and corporate commuting groups. We are concentrating on the drivers training classes as they are more motivated to learn the laws so they can receive their licenses.
Be safe.
Dave...Sorry to hijack your blog.
I see many of these clueless riders on bikes, really like the way bicyclist is a word you guys use. Over here it's bikie, rider cyclist or for those that ride road racing bikes everywhere we are known as road men.
The other day I actually got past at a red-light by a mountain biker doing no hands with a bag of fish and chips he was eating. There is a real lack of road awareness here in the uk by a lot of people on bikes. Young people nowadays don't take the cycling proficiency test anymore. Everyone did 30 years ago.
Red lights, just don't run them. You are asking for trouble , and for what to save a few seconds.
Here in the uk we now have boxes at lights to give us priority over cars and trucks. This means we have a box the full width of the road about two lengths of a bike to safely be in whilst at lights. They are coloured red gee or blue and have come a long way in the fight to get motorists to actually recognize and respect cyclists.
Ive often been amazed at the attitude here in the uk towards riders. Motorists will slow down and steer clear of horses all day yet skim past cyclists with inches to spare. They respect horses more than someone on a bike. Europe is totally different. Not sure about America. We have a long way to go
Dave, you say you move as far to the left as practicable.
Have you moved back across the pond?
Rider,
I confuse my left with my right all the time when writing these posts, luckily not when I'm riding. It must be a flash back or something. Thanks, I've corrected it.
Dave
@Dave: I have mixed feelings about this. I tend to avoid pavements/sidewalks and I do stop at red lights, but where I ride there are few junctions that red-light-jumping in order to get ahead of other traffic and be safer is required. Other places have more of these junctions, and I can understand why some people RLJ in those circumstances: better illegal than dead/injured.
@Daz H: kids are doing the cycle proficiency test, except it's now called Bikeability - it's been updated for today's cycling environment. There is a fear that Cycling England, which runs the scheme, may be axed by the Coalition government though, so the recent gains in trained young cyclists may be lost.
Let's not forget that for about a generation, kids have been taught to fear the road and ride on the pavement by their parents. And who, quite frankly, can blame them? Bring on Dutch-standard infrastructure. Having said that, I don't especially want my kids mixing it up with motor traffic. All it takes is one idiot.
The keys to bicycle safety are very simple:
1) Be conspicuous.
2) Be predictable.
There is no such thing as "[getting] ahead of other traffic and [being] safer." What makes passing traffic at an intersection more dangerous than being passed between nodes? You have the same lights and arrows as other vehicles, they are there for the same safety reasons. Use them.
Following traffic laws and being aware is how you get to be an old cyclist. You can put whatever spin you want to on why the laws don't apply to you, but blowing through red lights and stop signs is a fast track to impact. If the issue was just about non-functioning lights with no cross traffic, it would be different. Seeing cyclists blow signs and lights makes most auto drivers insane. And that's not a worthy goal.
That is pretty much my approach. Red lights get a full stop or at least a creeping track stand. I roll 4-way stops a bit faster than 2-way but still slow enough to stop if I need to. What's the big deal?
On coast highway here in north San Diego there are many big club rides and they always blow the stops and lights. I see drivers being annoyed. I stopped at the San DIego Bike Club booth at a local bike trade show some time back and commented on the rude behavior of the clubs and was basically told to pound sand. For that I would get a good giggle out of seeing the whole gang getting cited.
-Rob
I understand the reasons for cycling by-the-letter. I am rigorously law-abiding most of the time. But what about situations like...
Suppose a cyclist is confronted with a situation where motor traffic is stopped dead, or crawling at a pedestrian pace, for a block or more. Should he wait in line with the cars, inhaling noxious fumes for ten minutes, when it would be easy (and really quite safe) to slip through in two?
What about in heavy traffic that is moving, but is stopped by red lights every 1 or 2 blocks. Between lights the cyclist will be passed by several cars. At the next red light, should the cyclist wait in line behind the cars that have passed him? If he does, his progress will be significantly impeded. He might be set back a whole city block over the course of several lights. In fact, this set-back is likely to be compounded by the fact that more cars will pass him as he works up to speed from the full stop he must make every time a light turns red (supposing this is a commuter/utility cyclist and not an unencumbered recreational rider on a racing bike). But if he passes the stopped cars (which moments before passed him, most likely without changing lanes), he will average about the same speed as motor traffic, and will minimize periods of acceleration/deceleration during which motorists would be tempted to pass him.
I hope I illustrated those two scenarios well. The second one is a little complicated, and I may have gotten some of it wrong, but I'm just presenting it the way it seems to me from experience and reflection.
@Tim, my commute involves a stretch of road where red light jumping will put you ahead of traffic. Unfortunately then you have a large number of cars heading your way like a plug and no bike lane. So there I am in the middle of the right lane with upwards of 20 cars heading my way at 40 mph all trying to dice it out to pass me. Now I do a red light lag. I leave after the plug races off. This gives me a relatively serene section of road and the few cars trailing the main group have plenty of time and room to see me and go around. Much nicer. I get to the next light about the time the next plug from the previous light catches me.
Tim, all countries should take a good look at the Dutch system. I did 70 miles last night in perfect weather but still had to contend with the couldn't care less motorists. If I was 14 again and just setting out on my new road bike I'd panic for sure.
Sorry I didn't see you just starts to get on your nerves after 25 years
From one old fart to another, I agree. I practice being true to my understanding what is right. BTW: I find that 40-45 gives the best MPH as that is when the vehicle shifts into the highest gear and has the lowest RPM. It higher gas consumption from that point on.
Sadly, most drivers don;t view bikes as vehicles too. As for beating the red light I don't do it because it is against the law and partly to avoid increasing the animosity of drivers over cyclists. Some of them are not very eager to share the road and I will just add to their hatred when I beat the red light and get away with it.