Community Chat

[Noel7]

Try getting through this on your way to work, the hospital, wherever. 

[software]

@AngusandBuddhasMom  I agree with you

Bikers should be licensed, registered & insured, just like I am in my car.

Bikers are a nuisance, they think they own the road, they don't stop at stop signs or red lights if they don't want to.

[Noel7]

Bikers taking over a well used tunnel in the city:

It's very common for bikers to show up anywhere and everywhere in protest.  In protest of what, I don't know.  This stuff isn't just in anyone's mind.

[millieshops]

@AngusandBuddhasMomI don't know the statistics -  and I do know our own experiences rarely match what mega-data can tell us.  Nevertheless, I have 2 friends who lost husbands to cars driven through intersections -  one through a stop sign and one that came through a red light.  I'm at 2 to nothing and hope it stays that way.

[Golden_Oldie]

This year the county put down a wide bike/walking lane on a curved ramp road. There are trees on the side hill, deer are coming out onto the road all the time.  There is nothing that can be done to make it safer for all.

[suzyQ3]

I like the idea of bike lanes and "sharing the road" and singing Kumbyaya in theory, but not in practice.

The idea that such changes will reduce the number of cars is ridiculous. Very few people bike to work, at least in my neck of the woods. And the one street that I take all the time is so narrow to begin with that if a bicyclist shares with me, I just crawl behind him the whole way.

And I've seen only a handful of bicyclists that take any responsibility in terms of following the laws in place for safety.

[Mominohio]

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@Its Me LuLuBelle2 wrote:

Here in NY we have thousands of miles of bike paths throughout the state.  Several years ago a law was instituted whereby motorists must "share the road" with bicyclists.  My issue with this is many times we the car driver are forced over solid yellow lines on blind curves as there are no shoulders and we have to move to accomodate cyclists.  I have written to all of my local representatives and two different governors stating that if we have to "share" the road with cyclists, then I think they should be paying their share of road taxes too (that's part of what registration fees go towards).  Cyclists should have to take a road test, be licensed and registered if they are going to drive on public roadways.  They, by law, are supposed to follow all traffic laws and sadly many don't.  I almost creamed a guy about 2 years ago.  I was on a major 4 lane road, had a green light and a cyclist blew through his red light in front of me.  I was standing on the brakes not to hit him. This at times has gotten to be one of those hot button issues for me with some of my cyclist friends.  They feel the motorist is responsible for THEIR safety and I say they're responsible for THEIR safety.

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Well stated! 

I live rural, and while there are few bikers out here, Amish buggies are our problems. They are slow moving, and only recently agreed to putting lights on them at night. We have a lot of hills on state highways with speed limits of 55, and it gives you heart failure when you crest a hill, and there they are in your lane, especially after dark, as their lighting is minimal. 

When I do drive in a metropolitan area that has a lot of bikers, I admit I'm a bit on edge when there are no bike lanes, because many bikers don't follow the road rules and make stupid and quick moves. I'd rather there be bike lanes to keep them out of car lanes altogether.

[Pandalady]

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@Noel7 wrote:

Someone ought to tell the family of the 71 year old SF man hit and killed by a bicyclist that his death is all in their minds.

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@Noel7  I agree. Also tell my 59 year old primary care physician (he was my doctor for over 20 years) who was hit and killed this past April while training on his bicycle by a "distracted" driver!

[onlyshopsonline]

They seem to use bike lanes in our area to actually manage the flow of traffic.  They've put them in, in random spots.  They start out of nowhere and then end a few blocks later.

Not much help for bikers.

[ANewHue]

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@Its Me LuLuBelle2 wrote:

Here in NY we have thousands of miles of bike paths throughout the state.  Several years ago a law was instituted whereby motorists must "share the road" with bicyclists.  My issue with this is many times we the car driver are forced over solid yellow lines on blind curves as there are no shoulders and we have to move to accomodate cyclists.  I have written to all of my local representatives and two different governors stating that if we have to "share" the road with cyclists, then I think they should be paying their share of road taxes too (that's part of what registration fees go towards).  Cyclists should have to take a road test, be licensed and registered if they are going to drive on public roadways.  They, by law, are supposed to follow all traffic laws and sadly many don't.  I almost creamed a guy about 2 years ago.  I was on a major 4 lane road, had a green light and a cyclist blew through his red light in front of me.  I was standing on the brakes not to hit him. This at times has gotten to be one of those hot button issues for me with some of my cyclist friends.  They feel the motorist is responsible for THEIR safety and I say they're responsible for THEIR safety.

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I agree completely.  In NYC a large majority of the cyclists are careless and daring.  A few years ago a guy on a skateboard was coming straight at us at a high speed, my DH didn't see him luckily I did and my DH swerved to avoid him taking out our front end. Now if he hit us who's insurance would have paid for damages and possible inquiries.  Also, in NYC when making a left turn in many areas you need to get in a separate lane which crosses with bicycle lanes.  I have nothing against bicyclists or skateboarders but in my experience they just add more frustration to driving in NY.  Dodging the crazy cabs is enough. And this is on weekends.