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Old 06-04-2008, 11:40 AM   #45
You Need a Thneed
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Cyclists sure can be boneheads sometimes. I saw one bonehead biker this morning turning left into the wrong lane of traffic. What annoys me the most about bikers is when they drive the wrong way - against traffic.

That being said, when I bike to work (or wherever), the number of bonehead drivers is at least 10 times as much. EVERY TIME you bike, you almost certainly will be cut off, or someone will pull into a crosswalk without looking (at all), or will be turning right in a merge lane, and not even bother to check if there is a pedestrian or biker in the crosswalk, etc.

When I bike on ther road, I obey the rules for the road. I signal (even though I'm sure that 95% of the drivers don't have a clue what the signals mean), I stay to the right except when I'm required to be in a different lane to make the turn I need to make, I don't pass cars while they are stuck in traffic (places with enough traffic should have a bike path anyway), etc. I do switch back and forth between being a road rider, and being a pedestrian. I don't throw myself in front of cars when I'm a pedestrian, I always make sure cars see me and stop before crossing streets. I don't walk my bike across streets while I'm a pedestrian (that eliminates the advantage of riding a bike), but, like I said, I always make sure traffic sees me and is stopped before I do so. When I'm a pedestrian, I expect that drivers should stop for me (they often don't), and when I'm riding on the road, I don't expect drivers to stop for me. I expect them to treat me as if I was just another driver on the road. I don't think its too much to ask to expect that drivers should understand the traffic laws (you know, the ones they were required to know for the driving test).

The route I ride to work is a mixture of bikepath, road, back alley, grass field, and even a bit of sidewalk. None of the roads are busy roads, they are all just residential roads. I go through one four way stop and one traffic light while riding on the road.
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