true thug
Vehicle code in the US is entirely oriented towards regulating motorists and motorist traffic. The fact that any cyclists follow the vehicle code is baffling to me. Traffic signs and signals have approximately zero influence on the likelihood that I may die as a result of a collision with a motorist. As such, I ignore them and pay closer attention to motorists.
I consider it a predator/prey relationship. Why would the mouse give a fuck about the cat’s rules?
well said.
Vehicle code in the US is entirely oriented towards regulating motorists and motorist traffic. The fact that any cyclists follow the vehicle code is baffling to me. Traffic signs and signals have approximately zero influence on the likelihood that I may die as a result of a collision with a motorist. As such, I ignore them and pay closer attention to motorists.
I consider it a predator/prey relationship. Why would the mouse give a fuck about the cat’s rules?[/quote]
I guess in an ideal scenario, the rules would be well enforced but tailored to the realities of biking. ie running red lights on a bike should be tickited, riding brakeless (atmo), as well as running stop signs when there is a car already there, and of course bike salmoning. But rolling a stop sign once you’ve verified that there’s no one waiting should be fine. To be honest, I don’t find I end up disobeying many traffic laws out there except stop signs. Most other stuff seems to apply pretty well.
Why should cyclists be cited for breaking motorists’ rules? It’s not like a cyclist is going to blow a stop sign and kill someone. In an ideal scenario, the behavior of motorists would change. That’s not going to happen any time soon in the US.
I was unclear. I meant that running a stop sign would be something I would like to see legalized. Running a stop light should still be illegal atmo, because those are at busy intersections where designated go times are needed to keep traffic running smoothly and minimize accidents.
I’d like to see running over cyclists being made illegal.
I’d like to see traffic laws that protect and encourage cycling too.
a cyclist could blow through a stop sign and CAUSE an accident, which results in someones death… just sayin’. i totally agree though, i don’t see why a cyclist shouldn’t be able to stop at a red, and go through IF it’s clear. something drastic needs to be done, because too many cities are reacting to this boom in cycling in a very negative way. if cities really want to be progressive and promote cycling, they need to start with cycling specific laws.
I’d like to see traffic laws that protect and encourage cycling too.[/quote]
I get your point. It’s a potentially valid one. Certainly a discussion that would be worth having once this country can come to a consensus about killing cyclists being a bad thing.
http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2009/11/18/traffic-injustice/
ITT: I feel like one of the hand-waving lunatics. It’s really just that silly. There are people in the world that care about cyclists blowing stop signs, wearing helmets, that sort of thing, but quite a lot of people that don’t seem to care about what is seemingly a more important issue.
Interestingly enough… up here in ND some 4 way intersections (within the city limits) have no stop signs in either 4 directions.
a roommate of mine got jacked at a 4-way, no-stop intersection. kinda rural, peaceful area, but just about every other intersection in the neighborhood is marked.
[quote=halbritt]
I consider it a predator/prey relationship. Why would the mouse give a fuck about the cat’s rules?[/quote]
i don’t think heath’s trying to say that bikes should get to do whatever they want regardless of the situation. i feel like a dumbass waiting at a ped x when i could clearly just walk across the road and not get hurt/hurt anyone else and i feel the same way on a bike. those of us that don’t really think motor traffic rules apply to us think that way because its a COMPLETELY different game, we just happen to be on the same roads and i’m pretty sure years ago lawmakers just said ‘fuck it’ and made bikes have to follow the same rules as cars. veteran cyclists can ignore every traffic rule between A and B and no one would ever get hurt and no traffic would be disrupted.
on a side note, lol, little kids here yell at me when i blast red lights and people have given me shit for being on the sidewalk even when rolling slower than they are walking and there is PLENTY of space.
I don’t know man, as much as I want to say it’s cool to run a red light on a bike (I do it all the time by the way) it doesn’t really make sense to argue that there is no problem with doing it. Like Jamey said, you could easily cause an accident by fucking up. Also, who decides when it’s safe to run a light? Why not let cars make the same call, as long as they are going slow like a bike an not likely to hurt someone while they’re doing it? Sometimes rules don’t make much sense unless you stop to think about what would happen if they weren’t there to protect us from the less responsible among us.
Steve where are you from? I live in Sydney and have done for the last 2 years, Brisbane for 23 before that.
Days gone by I would have been pissed at everyone here giving shit to australia. I don’t really care any more. I recently got a fine for riding through a red light, and talking about the whole situation makes me mad enough to rip my hair out in handfuls - its ok to do it in a car? Where are the police with their $56 tickets when university classes end and people walk through red lights in bunches of 50?
I would be more angry if we did have cycle paths, because I would 1. have to use them, and 2. have to deal with hi-viz supercommuters going 10km/h in a squiggly line. I quite like how things are at the moment seeing as how I have bus lanes to ride in (legally) for 70% of my journey, and at least all the cars are going the same direction (albeit way too close to my right elbow).
Those new laws are ridiculous - when they make ambiguous laws like that I can just see them throwing the book at people like myself whenever they like. Every ride on Sydney roads is dangerous riding.
Where did they just pass that law for lights and stop signs? Iowa maybe?
4 way stop signs with no traffic, cyclists can omit and proceed through them as though they are yields.
Red lights with no traffic may be treated as stop signs.
[quote=EivlEvo]Where did they just pass that law for lights and stop signs? Iowa maybe?
4 way stop signs with no traffic, cyclists can omit and proceed through them as though they are yields.
Red lights with no traffic may be treated as stop signs.[/quote]
think it is Idaho
i was having this convo with someone in Melbourne once and the ‘right on red’ rule came up. he thought it would lead to crashes and mayhem if it was legal to just stop, check and turn if clear at a red light. clearly people’s own self preservation stops them from causing crashes and mayhem all over the USA every day.
Not on University Campuses. Shocking.