Not often seen of either adults or kids these days, but it seems the bicycle as transportation has seen quite a reduction over the years. When I was a kid, we could garner a veritable army of bicycle propelled kids!
Douglas
RWNPhoto wrote:
Probably had an accident before, like me. You ride scared after that... or some do anyway.
Unfortunately, that "fear" (i.e. cars are bigger, can't stop as quick, etc.) doesn't always register with folks during their proper training / formative ideals about riding.
There have actually been TWO different, life altering, incidents near my home (less than a mile) where riders on the BIKE TRAIL ... have ignored the stop signs and been hit crossing a country road.
douter wrote:
Not often seen of either adults or kids these days, but it seems the bicycle as transportation has seen quite a reduction over the years. When I was a kid, we could garner a veritable army of bicycle propelled kids!
Douglas
I hear ya ... we "lived" on our bikes when we were kids.
So the real question is were you operating your camera while operating a motor vehicle?
<former cyclist (commuter, errand runner and endurance events) here - sometimes it makes perfect logical sense (and is safer) to move through traffic contrary to signals and signage designed for multi ton vehicles. most times it makes sense to follow the flow and traffic signals>
bmike-vt wrote:
So the real question is were you operating your camera while operating a motor vehicle?
<former cyclist (commuter, errand runner and endurance events) here - sometimes it makes perfect logical sense (and is safer) to move through traffic contrary to signals and signage designed for multi ton vehicles. most times it makes sense to follow the flow and traffic signals>
I appreciate the "sometimes" ... but, mostly my observation has been that it's not a matter of safety that folks disregard the signals, it's a matter of them thinking that they are not subject to the same "Rules of the Road" (they have their own idea of what those rules should be as they pertain to themselves) as other traffic. And yet, as a cyclist they expect the respect of the other vehicular traffic.
I reckon my salient point of the image here, is I respect this guy for stopping ... when he so easily could have not stopped (minimal traffic pattern), even if "safely" crossing against the signal.
RustyBug wrote:
I appreciate the "sometimes" ... but, mostly my observation has been that it's not a matter of safety that folks disregard the signals, it's a matter of them thinking that they are not subject to the same "Rules of the Road" (they have their own idea of what those rules should be as they pertain to themselves) as other traffic. And yet, as a cyclist they expect the respect of the other vehicular traffic.
I reckon my salient point of the image here, is I respect this guy for stopping ... when he so easily could have not stopped (minimal traffic pattern), even if "safely" crossing against the signal. ...Show more →
Don't disagree in general. I'm way more of a fan of how Europe handles mixing vehicles, people, bikes, trams, busses, etc.
You didn't answer my question though... hoping though that because you are someone who is strict about the rules of the road that the cyclist looked back and thought 'the dude in the passenger seat taking pictures abides...' otherwise, well. Kettle, black, pot.
bmike-vt wrote:
Don't disagree in general. I'm way more of a fan of how Europe handles mixing vehicles, people, bikes, trams, busses, etc.
You didn't answer my question though... hoping though that because you are someone who is strict about the rules of the road that the cyclist looked back and thought 'the dude in the passenger seat taking pictures abides...' otherwise, well. Kettle, black, pot.
Depends on where you are. I didn't use a car in San Diego and got around mostly by bike and by tram, train or rental car when nec. Behaving as any other vehicle worked.
In NYC now, it's a more, ahem, dynamic environment. While the city has added a great number of lanes, it's an incomplete network that is encroached by all other types. It's more like riding in a video game with pedestrians, joggers, taxis, buses and perhaps worst, Citi bikes & meal delivery e-bikes that behave randomly. Rules of the road are do not hit anyone and don't get hit. A bit of speed can be your best defense.
A LOT of people use Citi bikes, which is great. But, I continue to marvel on January nights in freezing rain, how many well-dressed men and women blast by on narrow icy wet streets. Incredibly, I haven't seen any accidents, either. It must be something like "roundabout theory" - everyone is so terrified that mistakes are few.
taildraggin wrote:
Depends on where you are. I didn't use a car in San Diego and got around mostly by bike and by tram, train or rental car when nec. Behaving as any other vehicle worked.
In NYC now, it's a more, ahem, dynamic environment. While the city has added a great number of lanes, it's an incomplete network that is encroached by all other types. It's more like riding in a video game with pedestrians, joggers, taxis, buses and perhaps worst, Citi bikes & meal delivery e-bikes that behave randomly. Rules of the road are do not hit anyone and don't get hit. A bit of speed can be your best defense.
A LOT of people use Citi bikes, which is great. But, I continue to marvel on January nights in freezing rain, how many well-dressed men and women blast by on narrow icy wet streets. Incredibly, I haven't seen any accidents, either. It must be something like "roundabout theory" - everyone is so terrified that mistakes are few....Show more →
I get the point about cultural difference in application. I have driven cars in foreign countries where learning the cultural norm was valuable. That's different from blatantly disregarding the traffic rules, for your own convenience, because you feel they don't apply to you.
We have have a bike trail about a mile from the house. It is serene through the tree lined countryside. There are clearly marked stop signs on the trail at the intersections, where it crosses the road.
Sadly, we have had two critical incidents in recent months ... both, life altering / death accidents because the cyclists just "rolled" through the stop signs. And, that wasn't even in city traffic.
