“I like to give them a scare or two by bangin’ on the horn”

Aug 6th 2009

By: RL Policar

11 comments

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KNX1070 News Radio has a show called Money 101. The host recently commented about Bikes Vs. Cars…

Parts of his topic complimented the cyclist and other times he was darn right against them. What do you think?

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Jay

August 6th, 2009 at 15:49

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Nothing new here, just the same old sweeping generalizations lumping all cyclists into the “running red lights/acting as if the road is theirs by birthright” barrel. It’s a shame to hear these opinions espoused from a forum with that much reach, but if anything it’s a reminder of the prejudices that an alarming number of drivers have against bicyclists.
Ghost Rider

August 6th, 2009 at 16:06

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Amen, Jay — nothing new here.
ha1ku

August 6th, 2009 at 17:24

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It works both ways. We can’t allow a few thoughtless/selfish people on the road modify our behavior for the worse.

Courtesy is contagious
Robert

August 6th, 2009 at 18:18

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Whew…..could that audio have been played any faster? I think I may have to play that one again. I am not too offended by it….radio stations do this crap to get ratings anyways. I didn’t really hear anything about saving money in that message.

One response that I can think of would be to challenge those particular “Bike Critics” to ride to work one day and see for themselves the challenges we have to face. I get frustrated hearing stories about cyclists running red lights. This is my 2nd year of commuting and about half of the lights I have to go through on my steel bike don’t ever trigger for me…..and absolutely zero will trigger when I take my aluminum mountain bike. I often have to wait 3 or more cycles (that can take up to 10 minutes or longer) before a car comes in my lane to trigger it. I did call the state highway department once and they were friendly, but there is only so much they could do to increase the sensitivity of the sensors. They also stated that they wouldn’t put in a crosswalk for just one person….so I guess someone needs to die or get seriously injured at an intersection in order to change it. Well…that ends my rant of the day…..
Gabriel

August 7th, 2009 at 06:04

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He didn’t repeat it verbatim, but he did give a permutation of my pet peeve argument about respecting cyclists on the road: “When they obey the rules, I will”.

Which always makes me think “When THEY stop robbing banks, I bill!”

But seriously, I think Ha1ku has it — being excrucuatingly polite is the best strategy.
Chris

August 7th, 2009 at 06:59

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@ha1ku: There’s hope, friend.:

” Sen. Bill Stouffer’s Dead Red bill allows bicyclists & motorcyclists to proceed through a red light if the actuator failed to detect the vehicle. [Signed by Governor; becomes law August 28th.]”

From MoBikeFed Website: http://mobikefed.org/2009/08/update-wrapup-of-2009-legislative.php
Little Tiny Fish

August 7th, 2009 at 10:08

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Wisconsin allows cyclists to run red lights after 45 seconds specifically because of those sensors.

Also, @Robert, I think critics should ride their bikes for more than a day. It’s not the one thing that happens in one day, it’s the little things that ultimately add up. If you have to deal with one person honking at you one day in your life you’ll say it’s not that bad. When you deal with it every day–as well as people parking in bike lanes, opening doors, pulling out, throwing stuff, etc.– Then you start to get a picture of how cycling can be stressful and dangerous.
Marrock

August 7th, 2009 at 11:27

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S.S.D.D.

Still sad to see it’s so common as to become a cliché though.
N.I.K.

August 7th, 2009 at 13:17

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I don’t want to hear any “when they obey the rules” bullcrap from anybody who speeds up to catch a yellow or exceeds the posted speed limit. Slow day in radioland = flacid extremism pandering to aggressive pea-brained yokels. The end.
Robert

August 7th, 2009 at 16:34

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@ Little Tiny Fish: Yeah, but some of the critics are not in very good shape, at least some of the people I meet. As a result, a sudden increase in exercise may not be a good idea for their health in the short term!

I do think there are changes for the better as far as cycling goes in the USA. I am more of a pedestrian/cycling ‘advocate’…since I do running and biking. As a visitor to this site from Fort Wayne, Indiana….I guess it was rated the 4th fattest city in the US a few years back, I am seeing new bike paths get constructed and sidewalk improvements. A few of us at work have pushed to get better bike parking and it was successful, but it took time. Change is definitely not going to happen overnight….which is hard to fathom in today’s fast food\instant gratification culture.

I would say that education goes a long way in helping to reduce the “Anti-Cyclist” mindset. There are a lot of people that haven’t rode a bike in decades and don’t realize all of the hazards that they face. It think we all have to be ‘cycling advocates’ in some respect in order to push for change.
Darrren

August 8th, 2009 at 02:19

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@ Chris & @Little Tiny Fish: Legal doesn’t make it safe. Not sure if we have similar laws here, but a few lights even if it is legal would be far from safe. In fact I would go as far as saying during normal hours you couldn’t run the light safely.

I’ve always thought that marking where to put a bicycle/motorcycle tire to trip an induction sensor would go far further than just increasing the sensitivity. Many lights that are difficult to trip are easy if can figure out where the sensor is. If it was marked you could make it work the first time. It would also make it easy to test if I a bicycle or motorcycle could trip it.

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“I like to give them a scare or two by bangin’ on the horn”

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