Quote:
Originally Posted by gasman
You are right in that what causes most of these accidents is the person in the vehicle are unaware of bicyclists, but they are also unaware, or uncaring as to how their actions impact others.
Last year I was cycling on a residential road that was a designated bike route. A minivan approached me from the rear, pulled wide to pass me on the left, and immediately hooked right in front of me to turn right, the result was that I ran into her bumper and was extremely lucky I wasn't seriously injured or killed. The drivers response, a middle finger through the back window. This woman was "aware" that I was there, as evidenced by her wide left turn, but she simply wasn't smart enough, or aware enough to realize that there wasnt enough room to pass me before her turn.
To suggest that rules are skewed towards cyclists... they follow the same rules of the road as a car so I don't really get that. if 93% of the time the car was at fault, that means that 93% of the time the car broke the rules, not the cyclist, I don't see how you read that stat any other way. Just because there are more cars on the road than bikes shouldn't matter, if you aren't able to drive a car without hitting someone, then you aren't fit to drive.
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i'd say a fair number of bicyclists don't follow the rules of the road as a car. they basically switch between following rules as a pedestrian and a vehicle depending on what suits them.
just the other day i watched a bicyclist go down 6th ave as a vehicle until cars were backed up at a red light. he then proceeded to weave his way to the front. others like biking as a vehicle until cars are backed up, then they jump the curb to be a pedestrian to skip to the front before rejoining the road.