Comments on: The new Bike Commuter fashion?

By: LoneRider

LoneRider — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:19:57 +0000

I have to argue that the average cyclist is probably more aware of his surroundings and more attentive than the average driver. For all the drivers who moan about how cyclists don’t know or obey rules they say nothign about fellow drivers who kill people by being drunk or running stoplights. More to the point in my experience, most of what drivers perceive as cyclists being reckless is actually cyclists being safe, it is simply the driver’s ignorance or misunderstanding about proper interaction with other traffic, lane position, etc. The one thing I have noticed is some people on bikes riding against traffic or at night with no lights, but don’t look to the drivers to correct these mistakes and tell them to ride like vehicles!

In the end, most cyclists are probably much safer road users than most drivers simply because they have to maintain a better awareness of many more factors; potholes, open doors, etc — or they could be injured or killed. That’s a powerful incentive. What’s the driver’s incentive to be careful?

By: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:46:47 +0000

@bentsrider….good luck not getting shot for real. What are you going to do when you pull out your paintball gun and someone retaliates with a semiauto?

By: bentstrider

bentstrider — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:44:54 +0000

I’m looking into getting either a Tiberius T8, or a RAP4 T68 paintball pistol for riding up in the Victorville area.
You’ve got motorists who don’t know better, but I’ve come across the malicious ones that like to scream, honk their horns, or even throw things out at you for no reason.
With all the traffic around here, if they even slammed their brakes on after a round struck their rear window, they’d get themselves into an accident.

By: MattG

MattG — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:41:23 +0000

My personal favorite here on the NC coast is the wrong way rider of the ubiquitous beach cruiser. Cruisers are fun (I own one myself) but when I’m barrelling down the road and one of these guys is coasting on the wrong side of the road, he might as well get hit by a car.

I have had to swerve into two ditches because of wrong way cruisers. Neither experience was fun.

By: 2whls3spds

2whls3spds — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 02:54:25 +0000

Ghost Rider,
I can’t find the link to the stats…but here are some more ugly ones from NC. 75% of drivers with revoked licenses continue to drive, 24% of all fatal accidents involve an unlicensed driver. Nearly half of the vehicles/drivers on the roads of NC are unisured/underinsured. NC also has a fairly substantial illegal immigrant population.

Small wonder people don’t feel safe riding on the streets!

Aaron

By: climbinskier

climbinskier — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:27:39 +0000

Forget paintball guns, I say we start an all out war. Drivers vs. cyclists, battle to death, last one standing owns the road. (please see the sarcasm).

By: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:43:54 +0000

+1 on a paintball gun being a bad idea. Jeezus, just get a license plate number!

By: Dman

Dman — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:22:16 +0000

Shooting someones car with a paintball gun is a good way to get shot for real. And I’d imagine it’s illegal.

By: Quinn

Quinn — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:44:18 +0000

yes, I at times hop the side walk or take a longer/calmer route and I do avoid confrontation, however I have thought, many times about carrying a paintball gun, if nothing else to mark a vehicle as an identifier for the cops.

By: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:27:43 +0000

That’s a tense subject — while a lot of cycling folks see some sort of licensing as a way to gain “legitimacy” in the eyes of motorists, MANY others see it as unnecessary and even invasive.

The fact of the matter is: we belong on the roads, license or not. Almost every state’s vehicle laws support this…in other words, we already ARE legitimate in the eyes of the law!

Bob Mionske, cycling lawyer and writer for Velonews, had a recent quote in one of his online articles that really resonated with me:

“Under [most state] law[s], cyclists have all of the rights and applicable responsibilities that motorists have. This means that cyclists have as much right to use the road as motorists have—in fact, I believe that cyclists’ claim to the road is greater. The right to travel is a Constitutional right, while driving is a privilege that can be revoked by the state. Thus, while cyclists enjoy a Constitutional right to travel (and thereby, a Constitutional right to the road), motorists use the road only by permission of the state.”

Hell yes!

And, as for training, many new cyclists could really use some…but so could a lot of motorists out there who have no idea about the laws pertaining to bicycles on the road.