Pedal vs. Metal

In metro Atlanta, I have noticed a spike in the number of cyclists, along with increasing smugness concerning cyclists' "rights". Even on virtually abandoned roadways, cyclists seem to expect automobile drivers to be extra vigilant when driving near them; in my view, anyone who purposefully exposes themself to a potential collision with a 2-ton object moving at 45+ miles an hour is not on the evolutionary fast-track. Sure, it would be great to have more public bike trails, or even roads with wider shoulders, but the reality is, in Atlanta, roads are primarily designed (and taxpayer funded) to move automobile and truck traffic from point A to point B in a safe, efficient manner. Cyclists have become yet another special-interest group who expect the vast majority of us, having given up bike-riding ourselves around age 12, to make space in our lives and daily grind for their Lance Armstrong-fueled fantasies. Get out of my way, silk pants...

It's real easy to always blame the motorist in these cases. While I do not hate cyclists, they could make the whole stiuation easier by following the traffic laws as they are required to do. This means no red light running and no riding on the sidewalk. Also, they should signal turns and move over to the extreme right hand shoulder to allow faster cars to pass safely. And finally, no speeding! (Yes, cyclist can and do speed!)

I live in Minneapolis and drive alongside bike commuters everyday. They do not usually obey stop lights and signs so one has to be very alert and anticipate that they will not stop and will dart in front you at will. Once a car driver is aware of these habits, watches for them and slows down, it is quite easy to accomodate both bikes and cars. A car driver must always be aware that in the tangle between cars and bikes, lives are at stake. I would rather drive slower and defensively that risk taking the life of a bike, no matter how dangerously he/she are riding. Bikes are here to stay, car drivers must adjust.

Unfortunately, this article points up the fact that most cyclists fail to recognize that they are "moving vehicles" and therefore follow the same rules of the road as cars, not pedestrians. Maybe if more of the mainstream media, newspapers/ty/radio, reminded us all of this, there would be fewer incidents.

shariwall- you better get your head on a swivel out there. hit 3 times and still at it. next time you might not be so lucky, i hear a lot of these cyclist's are carrying consealed weapon's, that seems real smart. that's how lance armstrong lost a testicle i think.

Let's face it: If you commute less than 6 miles and do so by driving your car alone, then you're making American dependence on foreign oil worse and you indirectly support terrorists. This even aside from the environmental impact. That said, bicyclists should stick to traffic rules and regulations and car-owners whould be aware of the local Traffic-law statures that specify the legal position of a bicyclist as a road-user and being part of traffic, but not being a motorized vehicle.
I bike because I like it and because it frees me from shelling out money that is going to be used against me.
I like it for my health, my wealth and for my sense of self reliance and I see it as my patriotic duty to use less imported oil-products.

Let's face it: If you commute less than 6 miles and do so by driving your car alone, then you're making American dependence on foreign oil worse and you indirectly support terrorists. This even aside from the environmental impact. That said, bicyclists should stick to traffic rules and regulations and car-owners whould be aware of the local Traffic-law statures that specify the legal position of a bicyclist as a road-user and being part of traffic, but not being a motorized vehicle.
I bike because I like it and because it frees me from shelling out money that is going to be used against me.
I like it for my health, my wealth and for my sense of self reliance and I see it as my patriotic duty to use less imported oil-products.

maybe if our mayor elect would spend less money for bike boxes that allow bikes to always go to the front of the line and institute a bike licensing program that might just make some money for the city in the form of license fee's and id plates for bikes just like cars amd motorcycles have. we keep hearing "share the road" lets level the playing field and make it all fair.
allow bicyclist who scoff at laws to be identified by the bike plate number just like the drivers of cars!

Only in Texas would you ride against traffic. In most states you are legally bound to the right lane. Remember, cyclists must stop at lights and may proceed after yielding, even if it is still red. And, as far as stop signs, no stopping in necessary if you yield to cross traffic.

I have noticed a series of these articles being published on corporate owned media outlets over the past few months. All of them are the same premise bike vs. car. The responses on the discussion boards are all the same; cyclist are dangerous and don't pay taxes yada yada yada. There is a pattern in the United States that is starting to develop. If the pattern continues many entities will lose a lot of money. Oil companies will not own people the way they do now. Auto manufacturers will sell fewer and fewer cars. The big one is the pharmeceutical industry. Drug manufactures will not sell as many blood pressure and cholesterol pills to fat overweight America as they used to. If the trend continued to the numbers that say China or Europe has; that would mean lower share prices and returns for these specific industries. Yes we must stop this trend now. I have an idea lets get the corporate owned media in the United States to stir up a controversey that does not really exist by high lighting a few incidents and shoving them down peoples throats week after week. The oulets will have to print the stories after all we pay for the advertising that keeps them in business. Most of the American population is not educated enough to understand statistics and probabilities and if they keep reading the same story week after week they will naturally think there is a growing problem. If we throw enough money at it we can create this problem in time for the election. It should be easy. Liberals are very arrogant and outspoken; and conservatives are reluctant to change, blind party loyal and incapable of thinking for themselves or acting different than the rest of the pack of sheeple. We will just screen the discussion board so it mostly contains the conservative comments; and will let a few liberal ideas slip through in order to fuel the fire or create the perception of a threat. After a few more weeks we will give most of America the impression that this change is bad. They will rally behind the cause and persuade our lawmakers to stop this trend now. After all it is in the best interest of the shareholders and the economy to protect the big business. People don't need choices anyway. If we tell them they should be driving a car then thats what they should be doing. In no time at all we will have them back on the couch or behind the wheel of one of our giant inefficient SUVs. Buring more oil, taking more pills, and producing enough diabetic offspring to ensure profits for generations to come. Man my wallet is getting wet just thinking about it. Its a good thing the American public lacks the intelligence to see how things really work.

Try being a pedestrian in Oregon. I use crosswalks properly and still have had many close calls with cyclists and cars. The difference is most of the drivers will at least give a wave of apology. Cyclists will more often than not just yell for you to get out of thier way.

I live in rural Indiana. Our roads are barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other let alone trying to get around cyclist that are riding three and four wide. The biggest complaint we have is cyclist not being considerate of the drivers trying to get around them and not obeying the stop signs. We have encountered several Hilly Hundred riders blowing through stop signs (that are coming out of blind corners) and almost hitting them. We have been almost ran off the road ourselves....in our vehicle because they are on the wrong side of the road and not paying a bit of attention! I don't only fault the cyclist, but also the state of Indiana. They want to host all of the events, but won't make the roads wide enough so that they can safely do so. One thing that would help the cyclist is don't be so arrogant! The comments on here from some of the cyclist, no wonder people hate you! You are the ones that make it hard for the legit cyclists out there. I have no problem sharing the road with someone who follows the same laws and rules I have to.

I sometimes commute 6 miles one way to work and have made an error or two in traffic on the crowded,bike-unfriendly roads of Union county New Jersey.My attempt at signaling "I'm sorry" is to shrug my shoulders up,hang my head down and raise my hand like a basketball player admiting to a foul..I try to acknowledge car drivers who leave me space by a touch to the helmet and wave.
Training for the Avon 3-Day breast cancer walk stressed the importance of making eye contact with the driver before crossing paths.A small light strapped on my helmet shined on the dashboard or hood helps signal my presence. Happy biking,X-ray Ray

I live in Texas and I have been hit thrice while riding. The first by an Austin attorney anticipating a green light in downtown Austin, who then took off immediately after I peeled my bike out from under her car; second, by a 2 strike felon who blew out of a strip center without even slowing down (but at least stopped to render aid!); and third by another biker, who ran a red light and was going so freaking fast that he t-boned me on my bike!
Here are my thoughts, if you are a cyclist and choose to run a red light, ride without lights, helmet etc then it???s your choice and you will reap the consequences. Just like vehicular collisions, auto-bicycle collisions happen. You have to arm yourself with everything you can to make yourself both safe and visible to all ??? vehicles, pedestrians & other cyclist. The bottom line is this: If you ride or drive with your head up your proverbial butt, then you are just an accident waiting to happen. Unfortunately, in the case of an auto-bicycle collision, the bike always looses!

It's frustrating to be sitting at a red light and a cyclist blows through. When I ride my bike I obey all the traffic rules. If you want to ride for exercise and don't wnat to stop, find a deserted stretch of road.

I'm not against cyclists of any kind, I'm against the way they blatantly abuse the fact they're the smallest thing on the road. I've seen motorcylists ride on the sidewalk to get though or around traffic. I've seen bicyclists blow through red lights and stop signs because it's a pain to stop at each one. I was taught that a bicyle followed the same traffic rules that a motor vehicle follows. Lights between dusk and dawn, ride on the right hand side of the road, signal turns and stop for red lights or stop signs. If they don't follow them, they should be ticketed or held accountable for accidents as a motorist would be. There also should be a class, like drivers ed, for kids starting to ride bikes to teach them the right way to ride.