as a current driver/cyclist/motorcyclist, i have a problem with reckless or irresponsible operation of any vehicle that might have an adverse impact on anyone other than the operator. of course, let's look in a mirror for a moment; how many of us have not exceeded a speed limit? ever missed making a full stop completely behind the line at a stop sign? do we all only make those turns against a red light beginning and ending in the lane nearest the curb? i doubt any of us are faultless.

although it's probably too progressive for many people here to get their heads around yet, there are more and more studies that show that a bicyclist moving through a traffic stop if it is safe for them to do so is less of an impact on traffic overall than them coming to a full stop and having to get started again. (heck, they figured this out in some other countries long ago where they don't even have stop signs, or bicyclists aren't required to treat Stop signs as anything more than a Yield.) while i'm not encouraging disregard for the laws we have here and now, you need to think about what you're asking for; do you really want to be stuck behind a bicyclist as they get back up to speed after a stop, or would you prefer that when your turn comes at the stop he/she already be out of your way if they deemed it safe to do so? remember, *they're* the ones taking the risk, so they're probably more in tune with the consequences to themselves than you might be.

there's already movement to amend laws in some US states and countries to better serve all of the road-using public; it's obvious to most that human-powered and motor-powered vehicles aren't the same and shouldn't be held to the same standard. problem is, traffic laws (like so many things here) are dumbed-down to the lowest common denominator, and responsibility for ones actions isn't a very popular priority. personally, while i'm hopeful that we'll see a day when laws are amended to better suit all, i think it's still a little too much for most Amerikun drivers, and i'm not certain they're ready to deal with the distinctions yet.


cheers!
e


LWB250 wrote:
As a former cyclist, this is in fact the one thing that really peeved me as well.  Cyclists that 
were "selective" in their compliance with traffic laws.  My favorite was the "look 
and dash" when they stopped at a red light and went ahead and went through it of there was no 
cross traffic.

Sort of a double standard thing...

Dan

--- On Wed, 6/10/09, R A Bennell <b...@mts.net> wrote:

From: R A Bennell <b...@mts.net>
Subject: Re: [MBZ] 3 ton Sprinter v. 18lb Trek -- I lose
To: "Mercedes Discussion List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com>
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 3:37 PM
Let us just say that I am tired of
jerks on bicycles who think they can obey the laws when it
suits them but not
the rest of the time.
I will change lanes to give a cyclist his lane if need be
but he better not sneak up the curb and make me do it
again after each light or I am going to be real tired of
him in no time at all. That is my pet peeve with the
cyclists. They run red lights. They ride on the sidewalk to
get to the front of the line etc. If they expect me to
respect their "rights" then they need to abide by the
rules.

Randy

-----Original Message-----
From: mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com
[mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com]on
Behalf Of ernest breakfield
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 4:31 PM
To: Mercedes Discussion List
Subject: Re: [MBZ] 3 ton Sprinter v. 18lb Trek -- I lose


Randy,

    what you present is a great example of 11
people who need to learn
how to drive! why is it you would present that as if the
bicyclist was
the problem?

    driving so fast one can't stop within the
distance they can see on a
lane so narrow they couldn't avoid something as small as a
bicycle seems
like it would be addressed under the category of what our
grandparents
would have called 'Common Sense'. (lets ignore the fact
that it is, of
course, also illegal.) the fact that minimum legal lane
width for
highways is something like 14' while the average car is
something like
10.5' really begs the question of why a motorist who isn't
capable of
avoiding a bicycle in that situation should be driving.
    10 more cars following so closely that they
can't avoid running into
the car ahead of them? sounds like just 10 more examples of
idiots driving.
    apparently, Common Sense ain't.

    moreover, if that road is the cyclists best
choice, how is that the
cyclists fault? if there were a better choice of road, odds
are the
cyclist would use it.
    also, in many cases, if there's a decent
shoulder the cyclist would
use it it were possible; but it seems to be hit-or-miss as
to whether or
not it's maintained in a manner that makes it ridable.
    i've done my share of riding and touring
around, and can vouch that
riding next to full-speed traffic simply isn't typically
the problem you
present it to be, in spite of the fact that many shoulders
are very
poorly (or not at all) maintained.

    here's something that might make your head
explode; the fact that
our roads ever began to be so well maintained in general
that we're even
able to drive them at 60 to 70 MPH is due in large part to
efforts of
the League of American Wheelmen (now the League of American
Bicyclists)
who lobbied heavily for better/paved roads.
    from http://www.bikeleague.org/about/index.php
:
"...cyclists from across the United States joined the
League to advocate
for paved roads. The success of the League in its first
advocacy efforts
ultimately led to our national highway system."

    green? uh, yeah, sure, whatever,... sure,
bicycling is more
environmentally friendly, but moreover, who amongst us
couldn't stand to
slow down a little, and/or get more exercise? what? no high
blood
pressure? no high cholesterol? no extra fat to spare?
forgive the
generality, but it seems that the people who complain about
cycling like
this the most are often the ones who could most benefit
from it.

    go for a bike ride and chill out a bit; see
if you can come up with
something slightly less ridiculous to add to the
discussion!   ;-)


cheers!
e


R A Bennell wrote:
Must be an awful mess to clean up all the wrecked cars
and bodies when a bicycle is on a 2 lane highway where
vehicles are travelling at 60 to 70 mph and one
encounters a bike and there is oncoming traffic and the lead
car
hits the brakes and 10 more pile into the back of him.
Yes, I really do believe we must support those laws to
protect those nice green bike riding fools, oops,
souls from the rest of us fuel guzzling polluters in cars
and
trucks.

Randy

-----Original Message-----
From: mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com
[mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com]on
Behalf Of Ed Booher
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 6:54 AM
To: Mercedes Discussion List
Subject: Re: [MBZ] 3 ton Sprinter v. 18lb Trek -- I
lose
On Sun, Jun 7, 2009 at 1:12 PM, Rich Thomas <
richthomas79td...@constructivity.net>
wrote:
goober too, who confabulated quite a story.
The deputy was not familiar
with the new bicycle laws, so only wrote him a
ticket for improper passing.
  Since no one had witnessed
--R


Here in Indiana, a bicycle is a fully featured vehicle
of the road with all
rights and titles there to: ergo, when passing a
bicycle a vehicle *must* go
*fully* into the opposing lane in the exact same
manner as passing a car
that takes up the entire lane. Even if said bicycle is
to the *right* of the
white line riding the shoulder.

EdB

--
"I'm a Night Elf Mohawk!" - Mr. T.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: 
<http://okiebenz.com/pipermail/mercedes_okiebenz.com/attachments/20090609/1a4ff2f2/attachment.html>
_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/

To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com


_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/

To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: 
<http://okiebenz.com/pipermail/mercedes_okiebenz.com/attachments/20090609/356392b6/attachment.html>
_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/

To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com


_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/

To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com



_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/

To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: 
<http://okiebenz.com/pipermail/mercedes_okiebenz.com/attachments/20090610/ca132406/attachment.html>
_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/

To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com

Reply via email to