So I saw this on my hometown paper’s website. http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/93941669.html
Check out the (usual) responses from (probable) fat, lazy non riders. Can anyone come up with a good, blanket response we can cut and paste anytime this happens, which seems to be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy to frequently lately?
well the most common response is this
" Quite often I see them run red lights, blow stop signs, turn in front of cars that would normally have the right of way. We are now being told that we, by law, must share the road with cyclists and streets are being proclaimed as bike-friendly."
I even had some woman yell at me at a store yesterday because she saw two cyclists riding side by side on a narrow road and somehow it was my fault.
I would come up with something along the lines of just because you’ve seen other cyclists ride dangerously, does not give you the right to put someones life in danger. Also, 99.9% of motorists run red lights, run stop signs, speed, don’t look where they are going does that give the cyclist the right to seriously injure them? Cyclists need to start acting responsible and cars need to stop blaming people for things they did not do.
Also, I ride a lot and I can’t stand cyclists when I drive. They do act completely irresponsible, but so does every car on the road. It is just a part of society these days. My favorite quote is “it’s not hard to be considerate”
I think a simple solution would be for law enforcement to enforce laws, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon.
Also, I ride a lot and I can’t stand cyclists when I drive. They do act completely irresponsible, but so does every car on the road. It is just a part of society these days. My favorite quote is “it’s not hard to be considerate”
Amen.
***I think a simple solution would be for law enforcement to enforce laws, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon. ***
… too true. I can’t count the amount of times I see people talking on handhelds or texting while driving (both illegal here) with no regard to the law. The police aren’t enforcing them because it’s hard. I, on the otherhand, in the last 3 weeks have gotten a ticket for leaving the door of my car unlocked in a mall parking lot, and for parking in a no-parking zone from 7:30-8:30 AM during ‘Maintenance Season’. (and no, they didn’t sweep the streets). Both of these tickets were issued by police officers, not Green Onions.
Police don’t try and pull cyclists over alot for moving violations, I suspect, because it’s difficult. A semi-competent cyclist is much more maneuverable than a police car, and the chase is frustrating. Here in Quebec, they tie in moving violations on bicycles to your driver’s license, complete with demerit points. I’d be the first to contest this, since the punishment for me is more severe than someone without a license. The cops don’t want the hassle.
Motorists are frustrated because we get in their way. So, we put in bike lanes which - guess what - invariable deprive the drivers of a lane. So society spends money and allocates resources, and it’s in all the media. Then, when the drivers see us on the roads, they’re upset because we should be ‘on the damned bike lanes’…
I don’t usually rant about this stuff, but it’s been top of mind lately…
My wife had a good point yesterday…
She said “You spend all this time trying to get aero/reduce your frontal area and you’re surprised that cars can’t see you guys?”
Brad
***I think a simple solution would be for law enforcement to enforce laws, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon. ***
I, on the otherhand, in the last 3 weeks have gotten a ticket for leaving the door of my car unlocked in a mall parking lot
the fark do you live? All of my of my gripes with my municipal government just evaporated by comparison. Jeebus.
***I think a simple solution would be for law enforcement to enforce laws, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon. ***
I, on the otherhand, in the last 3 weeks have gotten a ticket for leaving the door of my car unlocked in a mall parking lot
the fark do you live? All of my of my gripes with my municipal government just evaporated by comparison. Jeebus.
Montreal. The insurance companies lobbied the gov’t years ago to make it illegal to leave the doors unlocked in a public parking lot; I would assume the number of thefts went down, but now when the end 'o the month is coming around and they’re down on their quota, they just prowl the mall parking lots… believe me, nothing like seeing a marked cruiser with 2 officers in it patrolling the mall… great use of tax dollars…
Montreal. The insurance companies lobbied the gov’t years ago to make it illegal to leave the doors unlocked in a public parking lot; I would assume the number of thefts went down, but now when the end 'o the month is coming around and they’re down on their quota, they just prowl the mall parking lots… believe me, nothing like seeing a marked cruiser with 2 officers in it patrolling the mall… great use of tax dollars…
This represents everything that is wrong with government.
Sadly the responses are similar when you read the comments regarding the accident on Friday in Quebec.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/05/14/quebec-cycling-accident.html
I think things will get worse before they get better and it will take an entire generation even if things started with greater awareness and education. Look how long it took to change attitudes about drunk driving
Montreal. The insurance companies lobbied the gov’t years ago to make it illegal to leave the doors unlocked in a public parking lot; I would assume the number of thefts went down, but now when the end 'o the month is coming around and they’re down on their quota, they just prowl the mall parking lots… believe me, nothing like seeing a marked cruiser with 2 officers in it patrolling the mall… great use of tax dollars…
This represents everything that is wrong with government.
It’s not just government. This kind of thing happens in business too. What to governments and business have in common? They’re both run by people. That’s the problem. Unfortunately I don’t see a fix coming anytime soon.
Sorry, but everytime I read about a cyclists getting hit by a car, I give the car driver the benefit of the doubt. Why do you immediately assume drivers are always at fault? The number of poor and unsafe cyclists on the road is staggering.
****** I, on the otherhand, in the last 3 weeks have gotten a ticket for leaving the door of my car unlocked in a mall parking lot
Kinda off topic, but how do you get a ticket for not locking your door? Is someone going around checking for locked car doors?
It’s not just government. This kind of thing happens in business too. .
The problem I am referring to is government allowing itself to be run by businesses
Sorry, but everytime I read about a cyclists getting hit by a car, I give the car driver the benefit of the doubt. Why do you immediately assume drivers are always at fault? The number of poor and unsafe cyclists on the road is staggering.
As is the number of poor and unsafe car drivers
****** I, on the otherhand, in the last 3 weeks have gotten a ticket for leaving the door of my car unlocked in a mall parking lot
Kinda off topic, but how do you get a ticket for not locking your door? Is someone going around checking for locked car doors?
Yup. 2 officers, 1 car. 1 officer drives up and down, the other walks, looking for unlocked cars. When they find one, the officer in the car writes the ticket while the other continues to walk the lot. They graciously place the ticket on the dash, and lock the door of your car…
Edit to add: the ticket, with ‘costs’ is $52.
At this point in my life, I don’t need to get plastered by a car, of course it is largely out of my control. However the one minuscule bit of control I do have is “when” I choose to ride, if I can’t ride on completely down hours for traffic, I’ll spin on my trainer. Drivers are becoming way too aggressive toward cyclists, it’s pretty much a them against us thing.
If your car was stolen with the doors unlocked and the keys in the car(running) would your insurance cover it? Here is a simple solution LOCK your doors! So when someone steals from your unlocked car will you complain about that too??
I am friends with the rider that got hit. I also ride by the place where he got hit and left for dead 6 days a week. The area where he was riding is marked as a bicycle training route. It was also 8 am on a saturday morning. The road is not heavily traveled on weekdays. It is even less heavily traveled on weekends. I did a three and a half hour ride out there today, and saw maybe 30 cars. The driver who you are giving the benefit of the doubt hit my friend, who was going the correct way and not turning, since there is no place to turn near where he got hit, going 55 miles an hour, on a clear stretch of open road about 5 miles from the city, and left him for dead. A driver who had an outstanding warrant for a DWI, among other things which I don’t recall. Also cars have to give cyclist 3ft when passing in Louisiana. There is absolutlely no excuse for that.
Wow, thats one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.
If your car was stolen with the doors unlocked and the keys in the car(running) would your insurance cover it? Here is a simple solution LOCK your doors! So when someone steals from your unlocked car will you complain about that too??
Actually, if someone stole from my unlocked car I would complain, just like I’d complain if someone came in through my unlocked front door and stole my TV or robbed me. Property rights are just that… I agree that the doors should be locked, I though I had; if it’s an insurance company initiative, then hire students for $10 an hour to drop warnings. $52 tickets is just a blatant cash grab…