my new pet peeve
Bicyclists. They don’t follow the rules, but they flip out on you if you don’t. Which of course, you could easily kill them. But the number one pet peeve I have is when I get into the bicycle lane to make a right hand turn and they pass me on the right. They come barreling from behind screaming, cursing me out, when it is totally legal for me to be where I am doing what I’m doing.
Think about it Mr. Bicyclist. I’m in a turn lane, making a turn. You are supposed to stop and let me turn. If you are really in a rush and want to break the law, go around me on the left. I have a 12 foot long blind spot, so passing me on the right when I’m making a right hand turn is gonna kill one of you someday. But don’t listen to me. Listen to your heroes over at the San Francisco bicycle coalition.
“A right-turning car is supposed to move into the bike lane before the intersection, anywhere from 200 to 50 feet before, first signaling the lane merge, then merging right to the curb lane, then finally making the actual turn when safe.
A bike lane is a travel lane, like a standard travel lane, it’s just not meant to have motor vehicles “traveling” in it. But to make a right turn, any vehicle (bike, car, truck, etc) is supposed to be in the right lane, so a motor vehicle needs to safely merge into the bike lane (yielding to any traffic already in that bike lane), before making the turn.”
So you holy rollin’ bike jackasses who think a truck shouldn’t be on the road, even though your bicycle is made up of parts from around the world that certainly didn’t arrive in S F on bicycle, but rather were trucked in, if you think I care about running over you, you’re right. But don’t think you can sue me while you’re laid up in a hospital bed mourning the loss of your legs.
As an occasional bike commuter I can attest to the double standard. Sometime’s I’m a vehicle, sometimes a pedestrian, whatever benefits me more at the given time. I run red lights and drive all over the street with the singular goal of never putting my foot down to stop and getting from point to point as fast as possible. Of course, I ride a bike with no gears and no brakes which exacerbates the situation but this is who we are.
Comment by Lyle_S — June 13, 2010 @ 9:19 am
10-4!
cyclists can suck tread.
try getting a car lane installed along one of their bike paths. never happen.
Comment by donno — June 13, 2010 @ 11:33 am
i got into it with a cyclist on a photo shoot one day about the attitude. next day he came to work with a fat lip after yelling at a motorist.
fah ha
Comment by donno — June 13, 2010 @ 3:59 pm
As long as you have your signal on, I can’t see any problems. (And if they can’t see the signal, they are setting themselves up to be cut-off sometime). Sucks that they don’t know the rules of the road, but then they have to put up with a lot of cars doing stupid things, so I guess they over-compensate. Personally I find the trucks drive much better than cars generally. (Commercial trucks, not some consumer truck bough off a dealership lot)
Sounds like donno is contributing to pissing off the cyclists who then get pissed off at the cars… cycle of hate.
Comment by Belcat — June 14, 2010 @ 8:07 am
there’s no cycle of hate. it all falls on the individual. like jon was saying, many, many cyclists have a sense of entitlement. they treat the roads like a playground, disregarding signage, lights and laws that are intended for everyone using the street. they do it and think that they’re always in the right because they’re “one less car!” fuck them.
i’ve never been aggressive on the road with a cyclist. i’m a cautious driver and will go out of my way to make a cyclist feel comfortable in proximity with my van, but when i’m doing something legal and some shithead on a schwinn takes his life in his hands to beat the light, he’s the one with the problem. don’t give me the stinkeye.
i’ve ridden a bike too. that’s a wonderful feeling. breaking the rules is part of the fun. weaving through cars, ignoring signs, breakneck speeds. I must admit though, when riding a bike, i never yelled at a motorist because i was being the jackass.
Comment by don no — June 14, 2010 @ 8:35 am
True, I’ve never gotten angry with a motorist, either.
Of course, you know me, I’m more motivated by the couple of dollars in gas money I save and the physical exercise than the righteous indignation in believing I’m saving the earth.
Comment by Lyle_s — June 14, 2010 @ 9:36 am
As a fiscally conservative person myself, I agree with the concept of long term investment in infrastructure for steady returns, which is the paradox I find in fiscally conservative republicans who ignore the infrastructure called earth.
Not that you are that way L dog. But you are my republican sounding board. But you ride a fixie so you got street cred.
Comment by Rolston — June 15, 2010 @ 6:31 am
I ride a bike exclusively, every day. I have no prob w/ you making a right turn, and i know i’m supposed to go around on the left. what i do have a prob w/ is the fact that so many people NEVER use their turn signal. what am i, an oracle? That pisses me off……
Comment by chuck — June 17, 2010 @ 11:44 am
legitimate beef. i want to yell at every inconsiderate person who doesn’t signal.
Comment by donno — June 18, 2010 @ 8:40 am
i’m probably the worst driver out there.
Comment by Rolston — June 19, 2010 @ 2:22 pm