A Memo to Commuter Cyclists
Posted April 15, 2008 - 1:22pm by John Himpe
Spring has sprung... and like mosquitoes, horseflies and armchair quarterbacks, another pest has started to creep out of the woodwork.
The commuter cyclist.
Don't get me wrong. I like going for a ride as much as the next guy. I've got an awesome bike... and I love taking it out on a trail when I get a chance.
But... that said... commuter cyclists are increasingly becoming huge pains in the rear. They live by their own contradictory code of ethics which takes a rocket scientist to figure out.
They consider their bikes to be vehicles. That's the justification they give for deciding to hog the entire lane in front of me while we're stopped at a stop light. But, if there's no traffic coming from the opposing direction, they'll cross the road on a red light.
Then, there are times when they figure that the road is too good for them... and so they co-opt the sidewalk as their own 'express lane', showing blatant disregard for pedestrians or the law.
The worst of the commuter cyclists have to be the idiots who don't consider winter to be a time to put the bike away. In -40 temperatures and with a foot of ice on the road, they continue to bob and weave along what has become 3/4 of a lane, tying up traffic and showing reckless disregard for everyone's safety.
If you're a commuter cyclist and I've offended you... sorry. Your actions offend ME!
Please. Do us all a favour. Get together as a group and make some choices. Either get off the road and on to the sidewalk or off the sidewalk and on to the road (and stay on the shoulder!) Or better yet, restrict your travels to (SURPRISE!) bike paths and back roads where you can go WHEREVER you want, and none of us will care. (Just have the common sense to pull to the right if a motorized vehicle is coming up behind you.) Whatever you decide, let us know... okay? It's getting really tough to read your minds.
John Himpe is the Program Director of Rawlco Interactive and is a regular blog contributor to NewsTalk980.com and NewsTalk650.com.
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John, I think you've got a
John, I think you've got a really good point here.
I have a bike, I ride it to work. I don't take the major road ways, I don't interupt the flow of traffic, and I have no problems. There are cyclists who are capable of being responsible drivers. There are, however, cyclists who ruin it for everyone.
For example, I'd like to draw everyone else's attention to the front page of the Regina Leader Post today. The photo? Ambulance workers asssisting a cyclist was struck by a car because he tried to cross traffic THAT HAD A GREEN LIGHT.
Having a bike doesn't leave you entitled to bend the rules of the road. Too much traffic? Ride on the sidewalk. Too much pedestrian traffic? Ride on the road. What about 4:45pm when traffic is nuts in both places? Then what? You weave in and out as your rush home. What makes you any different from the idiot who weaves in and out of traffic at 90 km/hr on the Lewvan during rush hour?
Bikes may be vehicles by law, but perhaps they should stick to their designated lanes and paths. Regina has more than plenty of them. The only cyclists who are injured in those areas are the ones who fall off on their own.
The current laws state that
The current laws state that bikes are vehicles, which is just silly. I think bikes should have to be on the sidewalk. Yes, there would still be injuries and maybe the odd death, but I still think it would be a lot safer than having people on bikes weaving in and out of traffic.
yeah, but
If bikes weren't vehicles, then how is a cyclist going to get to where drivers can (left turns for instance)? Wouldn't you rather have cyclists obeying traffic lights, instead of having to watch for a bike flying into a crosswalk when you're turning?
What we really need is traffic like this.
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Saskboy of AbandonedStuff.com
terrible
Sorry John, but this blog post of yours is terrible. Cyclists don't "consider" their bikes to be vehicles, they are in the law. That's why riding on the sidewalk is illegal for instance, and why we don't have to (and if you were really concerned for safety) and shouldn't dart to the right to let impatient drivers pass us in what is our lane too. It's frequently too dangerous to ride near the shoulder, either from debris on the road, or doors that open widely into our way. If there were enough bike lanes, we wouldn't have to be in *your* way.
What we really need, instead of terribly biased and inflammatory discussion like your venting, is more bike lanes and better DRIVER and cyclist education. The only vehicle-bike accident I've been involved in, the driver was 100% at fault. SGI tried to screw me over because even THEY didn't realize that a bike is a vehicle in law. If you think it's bad reading a biker's mind, how do you think cyclists feel, when they are the ones more likely hurt by an accident? Try a little empathy, instead of going for the hot button issue in the complete wrong way.
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Saskboy of AbandonedStuff.com
We'll agree to disagree :)
We'll agree to disagree :)
I might try empathy... but I only ask that full time commuter cyclists try some common sense in return. They need to get off of major roadways which were never designed with cyclists in mind. It's a shame that the roads weren't... but it's an unalterable fact. No amount of posturing is going to change that... and until I can drive down the street without having my car bottom out in a five-foot-wide pothole or sand pit (and I'm thinking of one in particular in the Nutana neighbourhood in Saskatoon where I nearly did some serious damage to my car the other day), I don't see a pressing need for more bike lanes.
When I choose to ride my bike in to work, I tend to like going off the beaten trail... it gives me a chance to see parts of the city I normally wouldn't, and I sometimes even get to work a little faster than if I had gone the normal way. There are as many good back-roads and alternate routes that are underutilized which cyclists could be using... yet they seem intent on going where the flow of traffic does.
disagree
At this point I'm going to have to disagree to agree.
"but it's an unalterable fact. No amount of posturing is going to change that... "
That's already demonstrated as wrong, John. In Regina there are now downtown bike lanes, with more to come through the Cathedral area, that are in planning right now. Join the cycling revolution, or get left behind... a cyclist. When gas hits $1.50 this Summer, more people are going to have to learn to put their road rage in check, and your condoning of the bad attitude is not going to help matters. In fact, I'm telling you this because I think you're endangering lives.
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Saskboy of AbandonedStuff.com
Not at fault
Don't be so quick to blame the bikers. You should first blame the government law makers that empowered them to do these acts when they decided that a bicycle was to be considered the same as a motor vehicle.
I actually find myself
I actually find myself agreeing with you John. My favourite is the narrow road, where you wait and wait until finally you are able to safely go around the cyclist. Then, a few blocks up you hit a red light and stop. The cyclist then squeezes by you (and all the rest of the traffic that waited to get around), forcing everyone to do it all over again.