Bicyclists suck!

[OilKiller]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Nothing speaks levity like manslaughter or vehicular homicide.

Think you are taking it a little too seriously. Not sure anyone was seriously hurt or killed, but I don't think that was the point of Fotze's post.

Edit: I would like to add, of course I do not condone running people down.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

It is somewhat odd how few bike lanes there really are. The only one I ever see is on 26 Street SW.

Calgary does have one of North Americas largest pathway systems though, yes it may not be as efficient or quick as a straight line on a street but at least there is bike vs pedestrian not bike vs vehicle if something goes wrong.

[Weiser Wonder]

Originally Posted by mrgreen

As a relative newcomer I've found Canada SO over the top on safety compared to other parts of the world (namely Europe). Who cares if someone doesn't wear a helmet? It's fine. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. No big deal. People seem genuinely scared that 'something' is going to happen to them here. If it's the law I'd expect people to wear them but if not,...whatever. As for bikes, there are good and bad riders, as there are with drivers.

You say that like it's irrational to think something will happen to you as you ride among big metal things going 50 km/hr. People get in bike wrecks all the time. Two of my friends who are big riders both had major accidents recently.

[rd_aaron]

I drive a lot more than I bike, but when I bike, I try to stay out of the way of traffic as much as possible. For example, I have to ride up Macleod trail and there's no way I'm riding on the road under the bridge between 9th and 10th ave. There's way too much traffic and it's either way to narrow for a car to go between me and another car, or I'm going to slow down traffic trying to go up the hill.

If I'm on the road and I come to a stop sign, I stop. The people who ride down the road and switch over to pedestrian status so they can blow through deserve to get in an accident.

I mostly just try to be as predictable and as distant from traffic as possible. I ride on the sidewalk a decent amount but I usually only encounter a handful of people on my ride to work and I go pretty slow when passing them. Fortunately for me, about 80% of my ride is on bike paths.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

This one grinds my gears the most. On a street with a number of lights, you end up having to pass the same cyclist many times over, because they refuse to "act like a vehicle" and line up with the rest of the traffic.
They instead create an imaginary bike lane that they can crawl up to the front of line with.

I can't say that I have ever seen a cyclist line up at the back of traffic at a light, never.

I do if the road is narrow and it's going to be a PITA for cars to pass me. Otherwise who cares? If you're hitting the same red lights over and over, obviously the average speed of the bike is just as fast as yours.

Lots of places its legal for bikes and scooters to jump to the front:

[Byrns]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Calgary does have one of North Americas largest pathway systems though, yes it may not be as efficient or quick as a straight line on a street but at least there is bike vs pedestrian not bike vs vehicle if something goes wrong.

And I see plenty of cyclists ignoring them. ie Memorial Dr. where they choose to ride on the road and not on the path. Or on the Trans-Canada between Canmore and Banff...

[malcolmk14]

As a relative newcomer I've found Canada SO over the top on safety compared to other parts of the world (namely Europe). Who cares if someone doesn't wear a seat belt? It's fine. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. No big deal. People seem genuinely scared that 'something' is going to happen to them here.

fixed your post

[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by OilKiller

Think you are taking it a little too seriously. Not sure anyone was seriously hurt or killed, but I don't think that was the point of Fotze's post.

Edit: I would like to add, of course I do not condone running people down.

Did you watch that video? No one was seriously hurt? What the hell. No wonder some cyclists are paranoid.

[OilKiller]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Did you watch that video? No one was seriously hurt? What the hell. No wonder some cyclists are paranoid.

Well, I clicked it and got the jest of it. No, I did not watch the entire thing that closely.

Anyway, let's move on. I don't think Fotze was posting it because he likes running down people on bikes.

[Tinordi]

Well seriously watch it again and see the mismatch between cyclist and car. It's actually very appropriate to this discussion. That little hatchback made mincemeat of about 10 cyclists, with some possibly seriously injured.

[MarchHare]

Lots of places its legal for bikes and scooters to jump to the front:

Is Calgary one of those places where it's legal? No? Then cyclists shouldn't be doing it here.

[Coys1882]

What's the story behind that video anyway? Was the guy stroking out behind the wheel or was he really just a nut?

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Byrns

And I see plenty of cyclists ignoring them. ie Memorial Dr. where they choose to ride on the road and not on the path. Or on the Trans-Canada between Canmore and Banff...

Well there could be several reasons not to use the path. It could be crowded. Or it could be that the speed limit on the paths is 20km/hr. If you're on a road bike you'll be doing much more than that, and you've got every right to be on the road, so why woudln't you?

[kevman]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

fixed your post

Except there are all kind of stats backing up the use of seatbelts (I think, never really checked )

If your idea to reduce cycling head injuries is to reduce the number of cyclists then yes, helmet laws work.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by kevman

Not to derail the thread (if there was actually a direction) but I too find the helmet while biking thing completely blown out of proportion. People spend WAY too much time trying to get involved with other peoples lives.

Here's the issue- let's say I'm a motorist who is at fault and hits a cyclist. If the cyclist is wearing a helmet the chances of serious injury go down significantly. That can have ramifications towards insurance; and even the "how bad I feel about the incident" factor.

I was cycling with a buddy when he got hit by a vehicle. He landed helmet first and actually broke his collar bone. The helmet was trashed; but he was OK once his collar bone healed.

The driver/ his insurance had to pay a few thousand in damages; instead of a 6 or 7 figure lawsuit.

[MelBridgeman]

Most people I know who have been injured OR killed on their bike was because they were drinking and biking..

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Well seriously watch it again and see the mismatch between cyclist and car. It's actually very appropriate to this discussion. That little hatchback made mincemeat of about 10 cyclists, with some possibly seriously injured.

It was posted by fotze, stop taking it seriously.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by kevman

Except there are all kind of stats backing up the use of seatbelts (I think, never really checked )

If your idea to reduce cycling head injuries is to reduce the number of cyclists then yes, helmet laws work.

You don't think there are stats that back up the fact that wearing a helmet makes riding a bike safer? Really?

[kevman]

Originally Posted by valo403

You don't think there are stats that back up the fact that wearing a helmet makes riding a bike safer? Really?

Of course there are stats showing that by enforcing helmet use you reduce the amount of cyclists on the road and therefore reduce the amount of cycling related head injuries.

If we ban cycling we will effectively eliminate 100% of cycling related head injuries. Just sayin...

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Is Calgary one of those places where it's legal? No? Then cyclists shouldn't be doing it here.

Actually it is. You can't pull in front of cars like that, but you can legally cut to the front between traffic and the curb.