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[XAL]

Oh it was an article someone else posted, http://abc7news.com/traffic/san-francisco-bicyclists-protest-outdated-traffic-laws/892465/

A shitton of cyclists intentionally gathering into the same area in protest proves what exactly?

Never are there even remotely close to that many cyclists in the same area in any part of the city at any time.

Asking them to stop is hardly unreasonable. The protest makes it look unreasonable by fabricating a literally absurd amount of bike traffic that never exists in day to day life outside of a critical mass event.

 

[way more]

Why are cyclists allowed to rape people on the open road while it's illegal for the rest of us to do it? Don't you see the discrepancy? Separate but equal has failed us.

 

[slick7rick]

Cyclists in SF are the absolute worst assholes on the road. They run red lights and stop signs and glare at you when you have the right of way. Bastards.

 

[wenis]

Fuuuuuck, I might need to start carrying a baseball bat around when I'm walking around. It's dangerous out here for a pedestrian.

 

[80s Bad Guy]

The problem with cyclists is that they want all the benefits of being a vehicle on the roads with none of the downsides. This happens everywhere in the world. They are, by far, the most self-entitled group of commuters around.

While I support people who ride bikes, this is generally true. Road laws are only general suggestions to them.

 

[entremet]

I'm an avid cyclist, but yes some of us can be assholes. I saw a dude almost hit a woman by going full throttle through a red.

He could've easily killed her.

Personally, I follow the rules of the road as much as I can as it's already dangerous cycling in a city enough as is.

 

[outunderthestars]

While I support people who ride bikes, this is generally true. Road laws are only general suggestions to them.

Show me any stretch of en road and I will show you an average speed higher than the posted speed limit.

Road laws are treated as suggestions by everyone, regardless of vehicle. That said, Idaho Stop's will only encourage cyclists to ride in a more dangerous manner.

I am a certified cycling instructor who rides over 7500 miles a year, and other cyclists co tinue to annoy and embarass me as well. People ride/walk/drive like jackasses because there is little to no enforcement of existing traffic laws. Until that changes everyone will continue to be annoyed while on the roads.

 

[Angelus Errare]

So car drivers should be able to treat stop signs as yield signs too right?

They already do...

 

[ferr]

Bicycle rights! Whole Foods is corporate!

They already do...

Illegally, though. That's a rolling stop which you'd easily get ticketed for.

 

[lastflowers]

I feel bad for reasonable bicyclists. There are a minority of fanatical assholes that color my opinion on all of bicyclists.

 

[80s Bad Guy]

Show me any stretch of en road and I will show you an average speed higher than the posted speed limit.

Road laws are treated as suggestions by everyone, regardless of vehicle. That said, Idaho Stop's will only encourage cyclists to ride in a more dangerous manner.

I am a certified cycling instructor who rides over 7500 miles a year, and other cyclists co tinue to annoy and embarass me as well. People ride/walk/drive like jackasses because there is little to no enforcement of existing traffic laws. Until that changes everyone will continue to be annoyed while on the roads.

That's true. And bikers tend to be really visible, so probably easier to single out. I agree that ticketing the bad ones would be a good start. I live in Austin and haven't had any issues sharing the road, but I do often see bikers make things dangerous by choosing what is convenient for them over the safety of everyone else.

 

[Big-E]

Vancouver better not get any ideas. I can already guess the mayor and council are salivating at this prospect. Tons of cyclists in Vancouver straight run reds and stop signs. No rolling stops for them.

 

[inm8num2]

This is a bad idea. Cyclists need to stop at stop signs.

If it's a quiet, inactive street in a neighborhood then rolling through after checking traffic is fine, but that should be the exception and not the rule.

 

[GeordieMark]

This is exactly what most cyclists in London do. Personally, I think its better and safer if cyclists stick to the same rules as the rest of the traffic, for the benefit of themselves, drivers and pedestrians.

 

[Calamari41]

The problem isn't when bicyclists yield at stop signs. The problem is when they pretend they don't exist at all. Where I am at least, bicyclists don't even so much as look side to side before blasting through.

 

[outunderthestars]

The problem isn't when bicyclists yield at stop signs. The problem is when they pretend they don't exist at all. Where I am at least, bicyclists don't even so much as look side to side before blasting through.

This sadly happens way too often. Again, getting police to actually enforce traffic laws would be a great start.

Allowing cyclists to yield at stops will only encourage them to blow through those stop signs at even higher speeds.

 

[TheExecutive]

It's not a stop sign if you don't have to stop. Pretty simple concept here folks. It in no way benefits anyone's safety by legally allowing people to ignore road signs- whether someone is present or not.

 

[Fuchsdh]

It's absurd.

Bicycles are vehicles and should be treated as such.

Yep. You're either a vehicle, or a pedestrian, but cyclists usually just try to be whichever's convenient, to the endangerment of themselves and others.

 

[Calamari41]

The best is when they blast through stop signs while riding on the sidewalk and going in the wrong direction. All while towing a baby cart thing.

 

[Enduin]

Everyone should stick to the same rules, especially in heavily populated cities where it's already dangerous and crowded enough that accidents occur with far too much frequency. Bicyclists are not easy to see in urban areas. Parked cars, normal traffic and such things easily obscures them. Allowing them to "slow" roll stop signs is just asking for trouble. People already do it, making it legal will just result in even more people pushing the boundary further.

I wish more people biked. It's better for you and for the environment and quality of life of neighborhoods, but when you're on the road everyone should be following the same rules. We are already too lax when it comes to enforcing driving laws, last thing we need is to start legalizing these bad behaviors in cyclists and convoluting an already shitty situation.

 

[Krauser Kat]

i dont think anyone who hasnt rode a bike for more than 25 miles through a city has any right to this conversation.

Places where this law is in place, has lower collisions with cyclists.

Drivers of cars break laws as much as cyclists do but result in many more thousands of deaths a year.

If you want a bike to be a vehicle. treat it like one. NO PASSING on a two lane road, ever.

 

[theepicoftyler]

I hope Idaho stops come to every state. A yield sign doesn't mean "blow through an intersection", it means proceed through when safe to do so.

Additionally, on my bike I can see around me much easier than when I am driving a car. None of my peripheral is blocked, and I can see around me much easier than if I were driving a car. Blind spots are much smaller and much easier to check. In all but the densest traffic and urban areas, I can see all sides of the intersection well in advanced of me actually arriving there. I should be able to take advantage of that.

I understand that their are bad cyclists out there, but the sooner we embrace better laws across the board, the better. Cars don't trust cyclists, and cyclists don't trust cars and that is 100% more dangerous for everyone.

 

[CodonAUG]

i dont think anyone who hasnt rode a bike for more than 25 miles through a city has any right to this conversation.

Places where this law is in place, has lower collisions with cyclists.

Drivers of cars break laws as much as cyclists do but result in many more thousands of deaths a year.

If you want a bike to be a vehicle. treat it like one. NO PASSING on a two lane road, ever.

I dont think anyone who hasn't been president can critique Obama.

 

[The Jackdog]

i dont think anyone who hasnt rode a bike for more than 25 miles through a city has any right to this conversation.

Places where this law is in place, has lower collisions with cyclists.

Drivers of cars break laws as much as cyclists do but result in many more thousands of deaths a year.

If you want a bike to be a vehicle. treat it like one. NO PASSING on a two lane road, ever.

okay, no filtering through traffic either.

 

[kess]

Ya know what's the worst? Bikers on the wrong side of the road, against traffic.

you fuckers

 

[markofhavoc]

We have sharoads in California (shared roads) and I hate it. You share the lane with bikes, and they act like cars until it suits them better to pretend they don't follow the rules of a car. Not all bikers are the same, but still

 

[styl3s]

I feel bad for reasonable bicyclists. There are a minority of fanatical assholes that color my opinion on all of bicyclists.

Out of all the cyclist i have ran into i have only had 1 bad experience and it was on a heavy traffic road and the guy was going at least 20-25mph under the speed limit and had a long line of cars behind him and instead of popping up on the sidewalk where nobody was he tries to wave people around him WHILE CARS were coming.

I wanted to get out of my car and pink the bike up with him on it and throw him. Every other cyclist i have ever ran into in that situation would either move over enough to let people pass without getting into a head on collision with another car, get on a sidewalk if it were there or would go the speed limit. Thank god there are very, very, very few cyclist in my area though.

 

[The Jackdog]

We have sharoads in California (shared roads) and I hate it. You share the lane with bikes, and they act like cars until it suits them better to pretend they don't follow the rules of a car. Not all bikers are the same, but still

this. this right here.

act like a car when its convenient and a pedestrian when it suits them.

i KNOW not all bikers are the same. I KNOW cars can be more dangerous. Starting ticketing people on bikes with the same frequency first, then we'll talk.

Im driving a multi-ton piece of metal with an engine inside it that could crush you, its my responsibility to ensure i dont effing kill you, but then youre gonna treat a red light like a yield and not even look?

cool man.

 

[Timeaisis]

Cyclists are so annoying. They always want it both ways. They want to be treated as a pedestrian sometimes, a car others, and a unique "cyclist" when neither of those are most convenient.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

It's sort of like crossing the street on foot when the light is red: you have done your due diligence, checked for cars coming both ways...the coast is clear...you cross the street.

Same principal.

 

[The Jackdog]

It's sort of like crossing the street on foot when the light is red: you have done your due diligence, checked for cars coming both ways...the coast is clear...you cross the street.

Same principal.

so youre saying its the same principal as coming to a red light, checking both ways, and then proceeding?

So.........its the same as.............idk........stopping at a stop sign?

 

[GloriousBagel]

From my experience from my vacation to San Francisco, bicyclists are assholes. I was walking across Golden Gate Bridge and bicyclists are assholes. Riding hella fast across the bridge almost hitting tourists, one of them almost ran over my little sister, I had to yank her closer to me so she wouldn't get hit.

Asshole had the nerve to scold me.

 

[outunderthestars]

From my experience from my vacation to San Francisco, bicyclists are assholes. I was walking across Golden Gate Bridge and bicyclists are assholes. Riding hella fast across the bridge almost hitting tourists, one of them almost ran over my little sister, I had to yank her closer to me so she wouldn't get hit.

Asshole had the nerve to scold me.

I blame Strava for making things worse. Morons are trying to climb the leaderboards for small segments of road.

 

[Desi]

I like this law. Wish it would come into effect in Baltimore. This city is too hilly half the time to bike any considerable distance. I hate having to drive and park when biking takes the same time or less.

 

[adamsappel]

Out of all the cyclist i have ran into i have only had 1 bad experience and it was on a heavy traffic road and the guy was going at least 20-25mph under the speed limit and had a long line of cars behind him and instead of popping up on the sidewalk where nobody was he tries to wave people around him WHILE CARS were coming.

I wanted to get out of my car and pink the bike up with him on it and throw him. Every other cyclist i have ever ran into in that situation would either move over enough to let people pass without getting into a head on collision with another car, get on a sidewalk if it were there or would go the speed limit. Thank god there are very, very, very few cyclist in my area though.

So he was acting exactly like a car, which people seem to want, yet you are mad that he didn't break the law and act like a pedestrian instead, which people are complaining about.

 

[outunderthestars]

So he was acting exactly like a car, which people seem to want, yet you are mad that he didn't break the law and act like a pedestrian instead, which people are complaining about.

Well said.

 

[genjiZERO]

I know non-cyclists seem to hate this, but it can be a whole lot safer over-all for the cyclist.

It's not a stop sign if you don't have to stop. Pretty simple concept here folks. It in no way benefits anyone's safety by legally allowing people to ignore road signs- whether someone is present or not.

That's not true. It's in part safer because very often cars don't pay attention to bikes at stops, and additionally a cyclist can't generate the same momentum a car can from rest so there are safety concerns there too.

 

[Yaboosh]

Drivers don't hate cyclists because cyclists are assholes, drivers hate cyclists because they are a slight inconvenience to them.

Drivers make dangerous maneuvers that endanger cyclists lives because the cyclists are an inconvenience to them. A cyclist could do everything right but half the drivers out there would hate them because they may have to drive slightly slower for a short bit.

 

[theepicoftyler]

I know non-cyclists seem to hate this, but it can be a whole lot safer over-all for the cyclist.



That's not true. It's in part safer because very often cars don't pay attention to bikes at stops, and additionally a cyclist can't generate the same momentum a car can from rest so there are safety concerns there too.

Driver's would inevitably bitch about how long it takes me to get through a through a 4-way stop uphill after coming to a complete stop vs. rolling through and maintaining some momentum to proceed. Even though most of them would apparently prefer I stop even though I can see them slowly approaching the intersection to stop (they're going to stop right? No just roll through a stop sign) from a long distance away.

 

[Krauser Kat]

I dont think anyone who hasn't been president can critique Obama.

its much harder to be president. Then get on a bike and realize how fucking terrible car drivers are at keeping away and driving safely around bikers. I do both on a daily basis and treat both with respect.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

So he was acting exactly like a car, which people seem to want, yet you are mad that he didn't break the law and act like a pedestrian instead, which people are complaining about.

The usual for a bike thread.

I agree with this law. Bicyclists may be assholes but they don't kill 30,000 people a year.

Yep. People are trying to pretend their cycling rants are about safety, but I don't see anywhere near the same anger toward what's actually doing the majority of killing, law breaking, and injuring out there.

 

[ezrarh]

I agree with this law. Bicyclists may be assholes but they don't kill 30,000 people a year.

 

[crazygambit]

You guys realize this doesn't change anything when there are other vehicles at the intersection, right? Bicycles would still be required to a full stop when a vehicle is present at a stop sign.

Sometimes taking out limits actually decrease accidents (bicycle helmet laws and roundabouts are prime examples of this) and improve road safety for everyone.

The reason there's a STOP sign and not a YIELD sign at that intersection might very well be because there's no way to see the other vehicles coming until you get really close and stop at said intersection.

 

[jdw_b]

I agree with this law. Bicyclists may be assholes but they don't kill 30,000 people a year.

Just what I was about to post. People need some perspective.

A minority of cyclists ignore the law and cause inconvenience / frustration. Whereas a minority of Drivers ignore the law and kill people

 

[outunderthestars]

The reason there's a STOP sign and not a YIELD sign at that intersection might very well be because there's no way to see the other vehicles coming until you get really close and stop at said intersection.

Especially when almost every driver exceeds the posted speed limits and/or is on their smartphone.

 

[The Jackdog]

Especially when almost every driver exceeds the posted speed limits and/or is on their smartphone.

you get mad at people for generalizing bikers and then do the same thing with drivers.

no, everyone in their car is not speeding and texting at the same time.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

you get mad at people for generalizing bikers and then do the same thing with drivers.

no, everyone in their car is not speeding and texting at the same time.

I want to know what roads you're on where nearly everyone isn't speeding. Going the posted speed limit on purpose is really illuminating.

 

[fuzzyset]

How would this work? I've never seen a yield sign opposite a stop sign; it's always for merging. If a car is stopped at a stop sign, does the biker yield to the car? The car isn't moving and hasn't entered the intersection. This just seems to give more leeway for bikers to blast willy nilly through a stop sign. This is from someone who will roll through a neighborhood 4-way stop if I can clearly see all directions are empty.

 

[The Jackdog]

I want to know what roads you're on where nearly everyone isn't speeding. Going the posted speed limit on purpose is really illuminating.

i live in a city, its somehow not mad max and people in 25-30 zones generally go 25-30 and stick within 5 mph minus a few outliers.

i know, society is crazy right

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

So much for pedestrian safety. The lobbies are so concerned with themselves that they never look at it from a holistic angle. These types of stops are TERRIBLE for pedestrian safety. I can't speak to San Francisco, but here in Philly streets are too narrow, and too full of parked cars to properly see pedestrians at most crosswalks, even when you're right up on them. Everyone needs to stop at stop signs.

Also, what a ridiculous protest. How about they line up with normal traffic patterns instead of a long line and stop at the stop signs. How about they not filter to the head of traffic at stop signs. It's so ridiculous.

Pedestrian safety has to come before vehicular convenience.