Comments on: A whole litany of faults

By: chi_bike_commuter

chi_bike_commuter — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:45:43 +0000

Chicago has both 3-foot passing and “dooring” laws.

There was a bit of publicity when City Council passed the ordinances last year, but these laws — like most other traffic laws in this city — are ignored. The ordinances have no noticeable effect.

Chums, get a rearview mirror, be visible and ride defensively. Assume that most of your colleagues on the road are morons. (Because they are.)

This mirror’s really good:

http://www.rei.com/product/605686

Yours Truly, Mr. Safety – A Chubby Middle-aged Bike Commuter

By: Dave G.

Dave G. — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:17:47 +0000

The sad thing about this whole issue is that people (in cars) are treating people (on bikes) with disrespect sometimes. And people (on bikes) are treating people (in cars) with disrespect sometimes. Additionally, I was riding home one night from work last summer and came upon a pair of adult men riding bicycles on a city street weaving between the right lane and the left lane. I passed them with caution and wondered to myself if they had a death wish. A few blocks later I’m signaling to turn right and one of these guys nearly t-bones me on my right-hand side as I attempt my turn! And guess what…no legislation in the world is going to completely solve the problem of treating each other with respect. Watch your back.

By: Greg Cantori 100,000 Bicycle miles

Greg Cantori 100,000 Bicycle miles — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:00:08 +0000

Continuing along the civil rights theme, falling victim to the ‘if one of us behaves badly then we will all be blamed’ theory is exactly the internal strife the civil rights leaders hotly debated internally. In other words if someone broke the law by drinking from a white water fountain or sitting in the front of the bus or even condoning violent resistance (as the black panthers did) then we’ll all be blamed for their actions. Frankly, I also hate seeing lawbreaking cyclists (although helmets are almost never used by adults in Europe) we cannot allow ourselves to fall into the ‘why, they are all like that” stereotype trap. The fact is each of us are very different and individual in our behaviors on the roads. You don’t think ALL motorists are homicidal maniacs just because one nearly hit you running a red light or speeding do you? Our cause is right despite the poor behavior of other individuals. Our cause for equal rights, access and responsibilities on the roads supersedes any single individuals actions and the we must prevail if we’re ever going to see larger numbers of bicyclists in the USA.

By: burnsey

burnsey — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 05:02:24 +0000

Any bill in favor of bicyclist is a go in my book.
I do shudder every time I see an unhelmeted bicyclist in the wrong lane, no lights, no concern for what is happening around them, and clearly, no clue.
That alone does more damage to my commute than any law, for or against, bicyclist.

By: phillip

phillip — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:19:28 +0000

bike paths are cool except many don’t go anywhere close to civilization. For instance, in So Cal, (Inland Empire) bike paths are made over old railroad tracks so the biker has to go on city streets part of the way. They are great for recreation; straightaways, no crowds, open at any time etc. But isn’t the point of “commute by bike” to utilize the bike as a part of conservation? To work? To the store?

I think it will take an absolute tragedy for Americans to change and consider bikes. Like, “All Americans can only fill up their cars twice a month” Then maybe govt will make an effort to make street riding safer and maybe the cyclist will abide by city laws.

By: siouxgeonz

siouxgeonz — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:13:45 +0000

Oh, but I also hear the “we must all be positive” stuff … while I do think the worst thing to do is to get on this guys case when, after all, he didn’t even entertain the opinion we should go to the Bike Path and let the roads be for cars, and *that* is some serious progress. He might even let his daughter bring one of us home for dinner

By: siouxgeonz

siouxgeonz — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:00:08 +0000

… and while, indeed, there are many ways in which we *can’t* compare this to the civil rights movement, we can still learn from it. We are a minority and some people *do* think we’re beneath contempt and many more think we are asking unreasonable privileges adn depriving others of their rightful ones.
One obvious difference is that people can change and *truly* become one of us.
I *do* want to know how many people will die – and have it considered, somehow, the expected results of an “acceptable risk” since we can’t be expected to make things safer for cyclists (I live in Boub territory). How often is “I just didn’t see him!” going to mean “okay, say you’re sorry, and have a nice drive home.” That doesn’t even work with speeding tickets – you have to go to those safety classes… but actually, I just wondered if that response was simply rewording Mr. Dylan…

By: kit

kit — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:38:09 +0000

I ended my comment on the wrong note. I just think we need to keep things positive rather than sounding like a whining group of outsiders, giving drivers more reason to see us as radicals rather than neighbors and friends.

By: Greg Cantori 100,000 Bicycle miles

Greg Cantori 100,000 Bicycle miles — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:22:31 +0000

Actually our movement is akin to a civil rights movement –
The international bill of Human rights Article 13:

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
Our supreme court also added that intimidation on our roads is a form of restriction on those rights. To wit – harassment or close passing can all lead to enough intimidation to keep many people from bicycling.

That said, we need to look at how to engage the majority (in this case car drivers) in supporting our efforts – My premise is that drivers want less cars, (less traffic) and through our bike commuting we grant them that wish and therefore we deserve their full support.

By: kit

kit — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:26:56 +0000

Let’s not get a complex about this. If we go around talking about how horribly dangerous the roads are we’re going to be pushing the balance in the wrong direction.

There is a sea change going on right now that is propelling our movement forward. We are certainly a minority group on the roadway but this is no civil rights movement comparable to Martin Luther King’s struggle.