Bicycle question

[Wayne County Hose]

So tell us exactly how this gentleman harmed you so that you feel justified in having attacked him?

Attacked? My, we are using quite liberal definitions now, aren't we.
He was responsible for no harm......yet. This can also be looked at a different way. The cyclist was saved from harm by no longer operating his vehicle in an unsafe manor.

 

[bigtiller]

You guys haven't seen bikes take over a road until you have been to Iowa and got caught up in "RAGBRAI". It is a bike ride across the entire state in 7 days. There are 10,000 registered riders and sometimes double that number that are not registered to ride. They take over the road, not just there lane.

 

[dbdartman]

This is exactly why some bikers develop bad attitudes, he probably swerved to miss something in the road, it wasn't done to purposely impede your progress. Good thing for you they were "young Mr. yuppie" and not the concealed carry State Trooper I ride with. Trying to run down a cop with a car is sorta frowned on in our part of the country!

Sorry, but if young Mr. Yuppie had swerved a foot or two, he'd have been fine & I'd have understood completely. I did ride bikes for many years myself. The fact that he swerved at least SIX FEET, from the shoulder into the center of the traffic lane, then STAYED THERE, said to me that he did it purposely & for no other reason that to mess with me.

BTW, I have more than a couple friends that are state troopers here in NJ, & know they are packing 99% of the time.

 

[sseelhoff]

I remember the case. She was convicted and disbarred. She was also a law professor at SMU and stripped of her tenure.

This was a big case locally. The incident occurred out at White Rock Lake, which is local park that is used extensively for riding and running. The professor, ironically enough, was meeting a friend for a bike ride, and was running late. She came up on the rear of this rider, and was honking and harassing the guy. The roads there are very narrow, and she could not pass due to volume of traffic, so she plowed over him. The rider sustained serious injuries, and was hospitalized with broken bones.

The real issue with this is that this was her second type of incident in which she ran over a cyclist. She had no sense of remorse, and adopted a "he had it coming" attitude, which did not play well with either the cop that investigated, the press, or the jury.

 

[Sigarms]

The real issue with this is that this was her second type of incident in which she ran over a cyclist. She had no sense of remorse, and adopted a "he had it coming" attitude, which did not play well with either the cop that investigated, the press, or the jury.

Well, lets see. You had one lawyer put in the hospital and another kicked out of their profession. Remind me again, what's the problem?

I'm joking of course

Honestly, as upset as I get at some of the local cyclists in my area, I would never use my vehicle as a weapon. Sad to say the court cost would not be worth one satisfying moment (I'm joking again, I assure you).

Not sure where sidearms came into the discussion per this thread, but I would think it would not matter if you were an LEO or private citizen carrying concealed driving a car or riding a bike, you need to be VERY careful of your actions and not let your emotional state "get the best of you".

Thinking about this thread reminded me about a bumper sticker I had a LONG time ago. It stated "share the road with a runner". Guess in my area I should get some of the cyclists a sticker for their bikes that read "share the road with a car"

 

[Bird]

The roads there are very narrow

And winding. It's been a lot of years since I drove around White Rock Lake, but the old Northeast Division police stations was just north of the lake, and I was one of the 3 "Watch Commanders" (Lieutenant) in 1970-71 and again briefly in 1973 at that station. That 9.33 mile trail around the lake was always a pretty drive, but could be incredibly slow, due to heavy traffic, especially on the weekends.

And it's interesting to read the history of that little 1,015 acre lake, which when built 1910 to 1915 was expected to provide all the water Dallas would need for the rest of the century. Politicians missed their guess again.

 

[Sigarms]

Dan

Thank you for conveying your thoughts in a well written manner (something I could never do). You've expressed my feelings better than I ever could via the written word.

I think Scott hit the nail on the head when he mentioned where our society is heading in general.

 

[Egon]

Oh dear me, the mindsets are amalgamating and concentrating in creating mayhem among their opposites!

Do they not realize mere words will change neither mindset. A condition perhaps genetically derived or nurtured since birth.

As I see it caltrops on all roads would do wonders to alleviate the distention shown.

Then we could revert to horse, buggy and foot paths that would see a definite decrease in budgetary road maintenance taxes. No doubt cardiovascular health would benefit and health care costs go down also. It would also alleviate the staggering medical and insurance health care costs of vehicle accidents we are now saddled with. The global warming situation would be helped and dependence on outside energy sources would diminish.

And best of all, more compost for the growing of Tomatoes.

And there may be time to see the rose and smell the rose!

 

[turbo36]

Sigarms you are not alone....

The first run in with bkes happened when we where heading west, came round a corner and going downhill. As we came into view the last bike rider looked back. Saw me and proceeded to pull out and take the whole road. So here I am going 55 in a 55. One of the FEW people since most are doing 60-65 on these rural roads.
Dan

What if it was a group of Nun's and orphans in the road would that have made a difference?

I don't know about traffic laws in your state but in Michigan you must not travel at a speed greater then you can stop in the assured clear distance the speed limit is irrelevant if the conditions don't allow the posted speed. No where does it say an approaching driver has the right of way if someone or some thing is already in the roadway. So if you come around a corner or crest a hill and can not stop if something is in the roadway it is your fault. In the case you described above you were wrong, not the bicycles.

We are singling out bikes here but I come across many more obstructions on my way back in forth to work then bikes. How about school buses, garbage trucks, skateboarders ( yes skateboarders) cows, pigs, chickens deer and police cars , the list goes on and on . You may want to believe you have the right of way and can zoom down the road without due caution but the law is very clear, the object occupying the road in front you owns it not you.

 

[dmccarty]

Be cautious at all times. Don't be a jerk on the bike, and don't be a jerk in the car. It's that simple.

I agree but you can only be so cautious. Its the speed differential that is the problem. As was pointed out earlier the speed differential of bikes and walkers on walking/bike paths, its the same problem but worse with cars and bikes.

There is only so much a driver can do with a 30, 40, 50, mph speed differential on roads with short sight lines. You add visiblity issues of darkness and sun the risk is just increased.

My drive home yesterday and drive in today I saw 6 bikers in heavy traffic. One guy this morning I have never seen before. There USED to be a guy I would see every day driving on a road that is more heavily traveled than the roads I mentioned before. He has not been seen in weeks. I wonder if he got hit. His biking causes massive backups.

Your list of examples is not bloody enough to change the law it will take a big massive accident.

Later,
Dan

 

[Sigarms]

What if it was a group of Nun's and orphans in the road would that have made a difference?

I don't know about traffic laws in your state but in Michigan you must not travel at a speed greater then you can stop in the assured clear distance the speed limit is irrelevant if the conditions don't allow the posted speed. No where does it say an approaching driver has the right of way if someone or some thing is already in the roadway. So if you come around a corner or crest a hill and can not stop if something is in the roadway it is your fault. In the case you described above you were wrong, not the bicycles.

We are singling out bikes here but I come across many more obstructions on my way back in forth to work then bikes. How about school buses, garbage trucks, skateboarders ( yes skateboarders) cows, pigs, chickens deer and police cars , the list goes on and on . You may want to believe you have the right of way and can zoom down the road without due caution but the law is very clear, the object occupying the road in front you owns it not you.

First of, a group of Nuns and orphans wouldn't be that stupid.

As for your examples of "obstructions", school buses and garbage trucks are performing a fuction for our local society. Do I wish the vehicle in question would hang the first left or right we come upon? Yes.

Apologies, but I've never seen a skateboarder on my local roads. If I come across a turtle, I'll stop on the side of the road (if permissable) and put the little guy in my car and take him home down back to the creek. If I see a cow on the road, I'll stop and look for the nearest house and ask the person there if they know who's cow it is, which I've done before, and I'd do the same for pigs, however I've never seen them before on the road (as well as the chicken example). I do have a neighbor down the road that has a bunch of guinea (sp?) hens that seem pretty stupid, but I ALWAYS slow down to let the buggers cross the road (however, one night when I took the dogs out, those hens walked all the way over to my place. All heck broke lose and I couldn't figure out what was going on in the dark until I got the flashlight out of the garage and all I saw was feathers flying everywhere. Sorry sidetracked, but it was funny at the time and those hens made me think of it. I did call to apologize to my neighbor for a couple of hens I know he was going to be missing).

Per this thread I am now curious if the local authorities can do anything about bike riders, and if anything, I'll bring it up at the next local town meeting.

As I've mentioned before, most of the "attitudes" I've observed by cyclists in my local area is a "screw you, I'm on a bike and it's my right".

Sooner or later, because people don't ride with the same principles that you do, cyclists will lose their rights to ride on speciffic roads because enough people will get fed up with it.

Now, you want to get into a real argument, why can snowmobilers ride in Yellowstone but it's illegal to kayak the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone?

 

[turbo36]

First of, a group of Nuns and orphans wouldn't be that stupid.
As for your examples of "obstructions", school buses and garbage trucks are performing a fuction for our local society.

So are you making the argument that anyone on the road must be performing a function for the local society? What law book are you reading????

The bottom line is that the bikes have a legal right to use the road as the law allows, if they violate the law then the police (not Johny vigilante) should uphold the law. If that right to use the road bothers you then it is your problem until you get the law changed.

 

[Sigarms]

How about school buses, garbage trucks, skateboarders ( yes skateboarders) cows, pigs, chickens deer and police cars , the list goes on and on . You may want to believe you have the right of way and can zoom down the road without due caution but the law is very clear, the object occupying the road in front you owns it not you.

How about dogs?





Took the pic a couple of weeks ago. No need to worry, I wasn't trying to run him over, just take this high energy level guy out for a long run in the rain.

 

[marimus]

If riding in a group we stay two abreast until a car closes on us and then we move into a single line.

You as a cyclist, are in the absolute minority if what you have said above is true. Every single week, I encounter many cyclists who ride 3 and 4 abreast.

 

[silverdollar6]

The cyclist may be in the right, but it will not bring him back to life.