Bicyclists Scofflaws
 

Today I was driving down Rt 101 in front of Crispers at the 4 way stop sign. I stopped at the sign. However, there were about 10 bicyclists who did not stop at the sign but just kept on going. About a month ago I was waiting at the stop light at Rio Grande with my left hand turn signal on to go to Morse Blvd. There were 2 bicycle riders that passed me on the right and proceeded to make a left turn onto Morse even though they had a red light.

I'm not trying to condemn all bicyclists but apparently there are some here who fail to obey traffic laws. :ohdear:

John

I have seen them many times breaking the law. I often wonder why they don't ride their bicycles on long stretches of country roads where intersections are less.

As an avid cyclist, I blame the police.

There are laws in Florida and most states that define bicycles as vehicles subject to the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles on the roads.

If police would enforce those laws, word would get around that breaking those laws is a bad idea.

I was once on my bike in the left-turn lane at a traffic light and the driver of the pick-up next to me in the straight-ahead lane said "I didn't think you guys had to stop for red lights."

Ignorance is widespread. It would help if police would study the laws relating to bicycles and enforce them.

the concept being one is innocent until they get caught....hmmmnnn!

btk

I've seen many s-l-o-w bicyclists on the streets here in TV who seem to have no clue that cars and trucks can't get around them because of oncoming traffic.

I wish also that bicyclists would wear bright irridescent lime green or orange vests or shirts to be seen by car/truck drivers.

I saw the same thing start to happen on stillwater and morse. as I had right of way, I made it clear with a blast of my horn that I had no intention of stopping. I was confronted by one of the cyclists at which point I asked him if he was ignorant of the meaning of the word stop.
he was being quite a big bum cavity, luckily I could match him in output.
:girlneener:

cybrgeezer: Naw cops too busy chasing down golf carts that exceed 19mph to wate their time with bicylist that can push their unit into the 20's mph. Question if a bike can excced 20 mph is it then also a vehicle and hence an unlicensed vehicle as is a golf cart? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Don't know about Florida, but I can tell you I did get a ticket for speeding on my bike in California. I'm good about stopping at stop signs and lights and have no problem with yielding the right of way, but I like to go fast. Back then, I was in good enough shape that I could easily get my bike up to 40 mph on a flat street (and did). I got the ticket, went to court, took traffic school and paid my fine. I was breaking the law. Plain and simple.

Now, I'm going to stick my neck out cause I'm too tired and lazy to look it up and guess that Florida has the same laws as California -- if you're on a bike ALL traffic laws must be obeyed and a rider can be ticketed and get a moving violation (which means points on the license) just like someone in a car. It would be nice if the police would ticket one or two of the scofflaws. It might make it a little safer for all (including the bicyclist).

My experience as a cyclist has been that both those on bikes and those in cars don't seem to know that bikes have the same rights and rules that a motor vehicle has. Bottom line though, is that when you are on the bike, you are in no position to play games in traffic against cars and trucks. The cyclist has to be extra alert on the road. Sounds like these cyclists that you are all describing have no sense at all and give the rest of cyclists a bad reputation.

I would think that the vast majority of cyclists know the law and know they are breaking it. The reality is it is a royal pain to regain momentum when you have to stop, especially when you've been going at a good clip and enjoying the heck out of your ride. When you're in a pack, you have the advantage of numbers and the excuse that you need to keep up with the group and, thus, you can all feel safe in breaking the laws (which is why I could only go group riding on country roads through Napa/Calistoga). Not necessarily the smartest idea, but it seems to work for them. Personally, I think those who run stop signs/lights had a strange desire to become a bike messenger in NYC or SF. (The fact that at least one is killed or severely injured monthly seems to be irrelevant.)

I look at it as a very long vehicle and allow them all to stay together in a group. Motorcycles do it as well. No big deal to me.

If you're talking about roundabouts, I tend to agree with you. But I have a different opinion about stop signs and red lights. I witnessed a near collision at an intersection when a flock of bicyclists went through a red light. They were turning right at the light, but the motor vehicles didn't know that and a car slammed on the brakes and almost got rear-ended by the car behind. The second car skidded to the right and almost collided with the traffic waiting at the red light. Just as bicyclists expect to be treated as another vehicle on the roads, they must reciprocate.

As with motor vehicle traffic, there are some good drivers/bicyclists and some bad ones. As another poster said, in a meeting between auto and bicycle, the bicycle loses.

When a group of motorcyclists get to a light, those that have green (and yellow) go through, those who hit it on red, stop and wait. Bicyclists seem to think they need to stay with the group rather than stop.

I do agree that they should be treated as a very long vehicle -- if you're going to pass them, you pass the entire group, not just a couple of bikes at a time. If you're going to turn right and they're going straight, you wait for all of them, not just some. But they have obligations and laws to follow. They are not one vehicle -- they are a group of individuals packed together. That means that the individuals should EACH obey the traffic laws, not just the leader.

yeah but it's REALLY a pain in the neck to recover, if you can, from many broken bones and abrasions when the car with right of way doesn't see you breaking the law until they are breaking you. it could leave a mark, I'm just saying.......
:sigh:

BigLew -- No argument from me. As I said, when I used to ride, I stopped. It was never one of my life ambitions to be a bike messenger and I've had enough broken bones to not want to go out of my way to get one.