David Brodbeck wrote:
On Jul 16, 2007, at 5:21 AM, William Pursell wrote:
David Brodbeck wrote:
On Jul 14, 2007, at 7:43 PM, Paul Johnson wrote:
I've yet to collide with another cyclist who was following the rules.
I have to say that, as a driver, it's the unpredictability of
cyclists I find distressing.
As a cyclist, I find the unpredictability of drivers distressing.
Cyclists who ignore traffic rules are idiots who give responsible
cyclists a bad image. Drivers who ignore the rules of the
road are homicidal idiots who kill people. I dislike
irresponsible cyclists, but irresponsible drivers
are far worse.
I agree, but as a responsible driver it bothers me that I would almost
certainly get blamed if I accidentally hit a cyclist who was doing
something irresponsible and dangerous -- because in the view of
cyclists, the evil polluting motorist is always in the wrong; and in the
view of the police, cyclists seem to be outside the law. (When have you
ever heard of one being ticketed for a traffic violation?)
I don't think that is the view of most cyclists. Most cyclists
are also drivers, but the converse is not true, and most drivers
seem totally unaware of the fact that road they use is populated
by non-automobile traffic. Most drivers think nothing of
cutting in front of a cyclist to park and then throwing their door
open, apparently having never even seen the person they just
passed and endangered. Most drivers think nothing
of tailgating aggressively, honking at and verbally abusing
cyclists, and generally refusing to acknowledge the cyclist's
right to use the road. It is probably true that cyclists
get away with more minor traffic violations than do drivers,
probably because a primary purpose
for traffic rules is to prevent people from being killed,
and it is usually the cyclist who needs protection.
If a cyclist is riding against the flow of traffic, or comes
off the sidewalk and rams you, I am certainly not going
to blame you, and neither will the police. If you make
a right turn (assuming you live where they drive on the
right hand side of the road) and take out a cyclist that
you didn't see passing you on the right in a cycle lane,
I hope you get a jail sentence. (Not you personally, but
apparently I still have a lot of pent up hostility to
all the jokers who've endangered my life on the road.)
I am sorry for going on like this in this forum, since
this really doesn't belong here, and I'll (try to) let
the thread drop now.
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