After seeing so many folks on bicycles blow right past STOP signs, one has to wonder at the rates of illiteracy among cyclists. Some also appear to be color-blind as they behave identically whether a stoplight shows green, yellow, or red.
Now I'm betting some of you reading this either don't understand why I complain about this or actually do this while riding your own bike. Let me point out why this concerns me and why it should concern you: it is not safe because it is not predictable. Traffic signs (and laws) help make the behavior of all vehicles, including bicycles, predictable. If all vehicle operators know what to expect from the other vehicles on the road, the chances of getting into an accident are reduced.
Imagine if there were no laws and no signs. Nobody would know what anybody else was going to do from moment to moment on the road and there would be utter chaos. You would not know if the car in front of you was going to stay in its lane, speed up or slow down, suddenly turn - either direction, or perhaps decide it was time to come to a full stop to look at the map in the middle of the road. Yes, there are people that drive like this all the time, but thankfully not the majority (yet).
Generally, you know at a STOP sign that each vehicle will stop, hopefully check for other traffic, and proceed when it is their turn or is safe. When a cyclist blows through a stop sign, they put themselves and others at risk. I've seen and heard vehicles come to a screeching halt to avoid hitting cyclists that ran a stop sign. Cars swerving to avoid the bike that suddenly whips in front of them can also end up hitting the curb or other cars, causing injury and/or damage.
Please, if you ride a bike, be predictable, be legal, and be safe. Yes, it's a pain in the butt to come to a stop on a bike and then have to start back up. But, you know something? The same could be said of stopping a car. Coming to a stop and starting back up uses more gas than continuing at the same speed without stopping. Does that mean drivers should start running stop signs to reduce their carbon emissions? Uh, no. (They should start riding their bikes instead!)
Cyclists, also keep in mind that drivers tend to judge all cyclists based on the experiences they have with any bike on the road. If you do not obey the traffic laws, are rude or inconsiderate, they often assume all cyclists are the same and treat them accordingly. It's not fair, especially considering the rude and dangerous drivers we cyclists encounter on a regular basis. So make the effort to be a good influence on the road whether you are biking or driving. It's the smart thing to do.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
Amen! I'm all for cyclists, but I recall once stopping at a stop sign as another cyclist blew the stop sign to my right. Had I run it like him we would have had a terrible collision. I hope he remembers me yelling at him. Arg.
So, you're back on your wheels?
Katie - the unaware ones scare me. I do not want to hit one - ever - but some of them sure don't seem to take any precautions on their own behalf!
Risa - not as much as I'd like. We're trying to ride on weekends some; I need to get my strength/health back!
Great post - that exact same issue is a big one out here in DC.
The difference between cars behaving illegally and bicyclists behaving illegally is that cars are pretty much always putting other people in danger, while cyclists very rarely are. Also, traffic laws were very clearly designed for cars- many do not make sense for bicycles. That's why I hope "Idaho stop" laws are implemented by other states, so bicyclists are more reasonably accounted for in traffic law.
Should bicylists obey traffic laws? In general, yes. But I don't know why I hear so much noise about scofflaw cyclists but so little about scofflaw drivers. I don't know anyone who consistently drives the speed limit on highways, and in many neighborhoods in my area, it's rare for cars to come to a complete stop at signs.
Roy - I suspect it's a problem everywhere.
Sarah - as I tried to point out, cyclists running stop signs & lights here are putting others in danger. Especially themselves. In a contest between a car and a bike, guess who's going to lose? Stopping as required when a vehicle is present is self-preserving!
Don't worry, though, I will give bad drivers equal time. They are awful up here.
I will admit to doing rolling stops at 4-way stops when there aren't any cars at the intersection. I'll have to say it's an extremely rare occasion to see a car come to a complete stop at a stop sign. I'm also annoyed at how difficult it is to cross major intersections in town. The speed limit on these streets is 30 or 35 and if all the cars were traveling at that speed it would be no problem to get across. But of course most of them are going 40 or 45 so it's often impossible.
I have also been honked at by cars while waiting for the signal to change to green because they want to make an illegal right turn on red. And the number of cars that race through signals after the light has turned red, don't get me started. We've also had children and adults who were bicycling in a designated bike lanes killed by drivers texting and swerving into the bike lane.
Yes, there are a lot of boneheaded bicyclists and they risk hurting themselves but there are far more boneheaded automobile drivers in my town and they can hurt (or kill) others and themselves. We all need to be more conscious of our driving habits.
PS I also drive a car so I'm not just a bicyclist.
My word verification is "caring" :o)
DC - texting drivers scare the crap out of me, whether I'm on a bike or in a car. And speeders and red-light runners - also scary.
I do think that being both a driver and a cyclist makes one more aware of the dangers posed BY and TO each, hopefully resulting in safer operation of whichever vehicle one is in. We need to put all the bone-headed drivers on bikes for a week and let them see the traffic world through new eyes...
Putting one's SELF in danger is far less ethically problematic than putting OTHERs in danger, as even the most attentive car drivers do every day. Until automobile-caused traffic and pollution deaths are dramatically reduced, I feel that complaining about even the most egregious cyclist behavior is like complaining about a child's bad table manners.
Sarah - do you want to be the driver that is unable to stop in time (when you have right of way) and runs over the cyclist that just ran a stop sign? I don't!
And, sorry, but I'd have to say a child's bad table manners are a reflection on its parents.
Good thing this is my blog and I can say what I want, huh? :)
Thank you for your post. And the same rules apply to Scooter/Motorcycle riders.
I understand the frustration of seeing bicyclists put themselves in danger, but have you looked up the actual laws? In my community, bicyclists are supposed to treat stop signs as yield signs. It is completely legal to "blow" a stop sign on a bicycle, though the cyclist should check for traffic first. Also, once a bicycle has stopped at a red light, it is also completely legal to go if there is no traffic.
lemontree - good point. Laws do vary from region to region. I have, however, read all of the state, county, and city laws applicable to bicycles here. Bicyclists must obey the same traffic laws as motor vehicles.
Fine for running a stop sign or stop light in the county is $115. In the city, the fine is $162 for running a stop sign and $217 for running a stop light. Blowin' through either one here is an expensive choice! And yes, they do periodically do sweeps where the local bike cops enforce these laws.
Oh, man. Those cyclists drive me insane when they act like the rules don't apply to them. In the last year, I think I've seen ONE who followed the rules of the road.
Post a Comment