Pedal vs. Metal

I bike in to work however I behave the same as if I were in a car. I stop at lights, stop signs and I'm aware of my sourroudings just as much as I would as if I were in the car. Cyclists running red lights or biking with the attitude that everyone needs to just look out for them and not be aware of their own surroundings are just as bad as someone who willfully or through negligence runs down a cyclist. I'm disgusted by the increasing lack of a sense of personal responsibility in our culture.

I live in Portland. I'm a motorist and a bicyclist and I see very unsafe bicycling everyday. There are areas up in the hills where it's curvy and a car is going around on the road at 40-50 mph and there's no spot for a bicycle because the road is so narrow. There's only room for 2 cars, one going each way. I go around a corner, see a bicyclist and have to go completely in the other lane, which is unsafe for both parties. There are certain areas where you just shouldn't ride.

I live in Portland. I'm a motorist and a bicyclist and I see very unsafe bicycling everyday. There are areas up in the hills where it's curvy and a car is going around on the road at 40-50 mph and there's no spot for a bicycle because the road is so narrow. There's only room for 2 cars, one going each way. I go around a corner, see a bicyclist and have to go completely in the other lane, which is unsafe for both parties. There are certain areas where you just shouldn't ride.

Bicycles have been around much longer than cars as a form of transportation and will be in record numbers as gas prices continue to rise. Motorists need to be respectful and slow down and give plenty of room to a bicyclist as sometimes road debris causes a bicyclist to have to swerve. For those people who only ride for recreation riding on trails and bike paths is great but if you are going from point A to point B you probably need to be on the road. As for the bicyclists that don't follow the rules of the road you ruin it for everyone that does, and shame on you. Motorists, you need to understand that you can kill or seriously injury someone with your car so be respectful and slow down even if the bicyclist is not being lawful. Someone needs to be mature in a possible dangerous situation and it might as well be you. There are many reasons people choose to ride bikes as a form of transportation and all are deserving of common courtesy and respect and SAFETY!!

a biciycle rider should have to obey the traffic laws the same as a car . giving turn signs. stopping at lights etc. I have had a lot of riders just turn in front of me close from a side road, many run red lights and think every one should just give them the right of way.
I spend a lot of money just to be able to put my car on the road and what do these bike riders do? they do not have to buy a lieance, buy ins., get inspected etc and yet a lot of them think they own the road and they do not get a ticket when they disobey the traffic laws, and if the they cause an accident, involving a car,well, guess who is going to be faulted!!!!
bicycles riders should have there own lane and stay there and have to pay their share for the right to use those lanes...

Great to see more bikes on the road (good exercise) but, inexperienced and "demanding" cyclists, are giving us a bad name. They are just asking for a fender up their b _ _ !!!
Police need to crack down on red lights, when we lived in Calif. it was a $100 dollar fine.
As for the helmet laws - some states are "age discriminate". Either you require everybody to wear a brain bucket, or no one...

I bike in to work but I obey all traffic laws as if I were in a car. Yes motorists need to be aware of cyclists but cyclists also have a responsibility toride their bikes in a lawful manner. The arrogant cyclists out there who think they are outside the law and have a ridiculous sense of entitlement are as bad as someone who willfully runs down a cyclist.

oh, and I even had a driver tell me one time to use the sidewalk- when in fact it's a ticket to bike on the sidewalk. I'm a commuter, so I use the streets because most of the time paths don't go where I need to.

i think we need to develop an "anti-portland"policy...that would solve all of these problems...

Bicycles, like cars, are part of traffic. They have a right to be on the road as well as an obligation to follow traffic laws. Most cyclists I know also own a car and therefore have also paid for the maintenance and upkeep of roads. As fuel prices increase, so will the number of alternative forms of transportation. We need to all share the road. To answer the question "what are cyclists doing on the road especially during rush hour?" In Portland, we are going to work. In Portland, biking is a primary mode of transportation.

Yeah, well I'm a biker and have been a driver too and all this anger & hate towards bikers is the reason so many of us get injured in hit and runs. You have 2 tons of metal protecting you. We have... a helmet. Motorists need to have a little more compassion and common sense and PATIENCE in general, and this reflects how they are with cyclists. I'm embarrassed for my friends when I'm in their car and they start getting bent out of shape over a biker who is obeying the law becuase they're being impatient ***. LOOK before you open your door and we won't have to ride practically in the middle of the street to avoid getting doored. Let us have the right of way when you're turning, just like you would to a car or pedestrian. Give us THREE FEET of space- it's the law. Know the laws before you get up a biker's ass about what they're doing and check your own behavior.
The laws should be changed to reflect and protect how people REALLY bike- right of way at stop signs, for example! NO ONE stops at every stop sign on their bike and for good reason (imagine having to get out your car at every stop sign), but most proceed with caution! So get off your high horses- i mean, how many drivng laws do you break every day?
Wherever you are going to in your car in such a hurry, just remeber- it's not worth someone else's life.

http://www.laneshare.org/index.html is an orginization for MOTORCYCLES in which 4 states have laws to allow for Lane Splitting (or white lining, go figure). Not for bicycles. I believe the MB's looked at stop traffic and air cooled engines as the reason. CA is not a legal state yet it seems to be one of the bigger abusures of the practice. One site I read at treats this as a serious game of chicken, giving advice on how to do it. Each of the states leagalizing the practice have specific rules such as limiting it to stopped traffic, emergency lanes only (MA), or during traffic congestion in WA,OR,TX (define congestion??). This isn't meant during a typical days 5 car backup at a light. So now I'm educated.

I use both my bike and my car for transportation. I encounter an increasing number of bicyclists on the road these days; never once have I encountered one of them acting badly like the cyclists described in these angry postings. However, I encounter moronic and dangerous drivers nearly daily, both on and off my bike. Recently, I was stopped (in my car ) at a red light, in the right-hand lane. When the light changed, I proceeded to pull forward but had to slam on my brakes to avoid being creamed by the driver in the lane next to me who decided to make a right hand turn from the left lane (crossing right in front of me!). I honked and the imbecile had the audacity to flip me off! So, my conclusion is that the moronic bike riders you people are complaining about are people like yourselves who have switched to a two-wheeled form of transportation. I guess you reap what you sow. Regardless, though, I will do what is right for me, regardless of what you guys think and laugh myself all the way to the bank. I will also live longer, because I'm in better shape from all that cycling and I follow cycling safety rules religiously--you'll never catch me riding along a freeway or other unsafe street--that's insanity.

Yeah, well I'm a biker and have been a driver too and all this anger & hate towards bikers is the reason so many of us get injured in hit and runs. You have 2 tons of metal protecting you. We have... a helmet. Motorists need to have a little more compassion and common sense and PATIENCE in general, and this reflects how they are with cyclists. I'm embarrassed for my friends when I'm in their car and they start getting bent out of shape over a biker who is obeying the law becuase they're being impatient ***. LOOK before you open your door and we won't have to ride practically in the middle of the street to avoid getting doored. Let us have the right of way when you're turning, just like you would to a car or pedestrian. Give us THREE FEET of space- it's the law. Know the laws before you get up a biker's ass about what they're doing and check your own behavior.
The laws should be changed to reflect and protect how people REALLY bike- right of way at stop signs, for example! NO ONE stops at every stop sign on their bike and for good reason (imagine having to get out your car at every stop sign), but most proceed with caution! So get off your high horses- i mean, how many drivng laws do you break every day?
Wherever you are going to in your car in such a hurry, just remeber- it's not worth someone else's life.

I can't believe the ignorance of motorists. It's so indicative of the big-car-big-American attitude. As long as we harbor such sentiment we will never dig ourselves out of the ecological and financial mess we've dug and created. What does it matter that people pay taxes on roads they use? What's wrong with sharing the road with others, pedestrians, cyclists? There was HOV or fast lanes created for motorists with passengers, and I've seen people grumble when others use the fast lane without passengers. I bet we're the only society with these attitudes, that roads are meant for vehicles becuase in our little square paradigms we equate cars with roads, not cyclists or pedestrians. This is not a tax question or sidewalk or speed issue, it's about inane power and selfishness.

An Oregonian motorist should face stiffer penalities if he collides with a cyclist. As for the self-righteous cyclists, they obviously feel that they are in the right and a few of them of taken things into their own, just as you cars-are-for-roads self-righteous idociacy demonstrate in this blog.

We do have a sign for "I'm sorry." Rub your right hand in clockwise circles (top, left, bottom, right, repeat)against the center of your chest. At the same time, put a sorrorful expression on your face. That works in American Sign Language and should work for others, too.

One last comment before I sign off, and one that will hopefully cure the situation with the arogant of the cyclists. In Florida, no matter what type of vehicle you're operating, be it car, golf cart or bicycle, when one is "on wheels" they're legally a moving vehicle subject to traffic laws. (If you don't believe so, watch what happens when you're riding a bike with an open alcoholic beverage and a Sherrif pulls you over. DUI, pure and simple.)

Since cyclists wish to share the road with motorists, I suggest Florida make it a uniform, state-wide law that all cyclists have an operators license and tag to operate the bicycle. This would require a proficiency test to ensure the cyclist knows and understands the prevailing laws. Too, a registered tag would be required, with proof of cycling insurance required before the tag is issued. At this point, it would be readily apparent who is complying with the laws....those having a registered tag and a valid license. .As an added bonus, cycling insurance would alleviate some of the burden on the state health care system as well.

In a time of economic downturn and governmental budget cuts, as more cyclists take to the roads to save gas, the added revenues to the state and local municipalities should be welcome, More importantly, it might save lives and bring the rogue cyclists in line if they were held accountable for their actions by law enforcement.

I am a part-time cyclist and driver living in Minnesota. There are a multitude of bicycle paths available to riders. However, there are those who use the parkways and streets as they feel they bike too fast to use the paths (but too slow to keep up with traffic!) thereby holding up traffic. I have many times seen them blow off stopsigns and cut across traffic to make a left hand turn without signaling. I don't like stopping my bike for every stop sign. If there is no traffic at the intersection, I don't stop, but if there is traffic (motorized or pedestrian) within a block I definitely stop as I am not looking to be the cause of or involved in an accident or incident of possible hostility. Unfortunately, I have seen almost as many instances of poor ridership and disregard for others by cyclists as not. I applaud cyclists for their use of bikes for exercise and alternative transportation, but they are not above the law or common courtesy.