Do you follow the traffic laws?

EoinC

I ride a fixed wheel in Malaysia. If there are road rules here, someone forgot to tell the roadusers about them. Traffic Lights over here are viewed as having the same application to road usage as Christmas Lights. It's a battlefield out there, but I still enjoy riding amongst it.

friedmikey

I'm a "most of the time". The occassional exception for me is stop signs. I still slow and give right of way where it's due, but rarely come to a complete stop. Everything else, I pretty much follow to the letter. It's just not worth the risk and the fines. Like someone else said, it makes you a better rider anyway.

On this note, there's one maneuver I often see that completely baffles me. I stop at a red light. A rider comes zooming past me from behind and out into the intersection. But he doesn't go straight across the intersection - instead, he swoops right, then left, then right in one quick move, as if to deceive us into thinking he didn't actually just run the red light. It's a silly attempt to stay "legal". Who are these people kidding? You're still going to get the ticket for running the red (right turn on red after stopping anyone?), you're going to get a ticket for an illegal u-turn, and you're still going to get creamed by that car that's crossing the intersection on the green. Learn to balance and sprint.

__________________

..:: M t T a m B i k e s ::..

coolworx

I'm the same way... we have a lot of rural 4-way stops, that if I see a car as I approach, I wave thru and just time my crossing without having to brake.

But I wait "in line" at busy lights, and never ride up ahead - I figure those folks already were polite enough to safely pass me, no need in making them pass me again!

steve-d

I've ridden motorcycles and cycles. There's a similarity. To a degree (albeit a lesser on on a bicycle) you have to assert yourself to get the car drivers to observe and respect you as a user of the road.

I'd never ride a motorcycle in the right half of the lane of travel. No respect--the drivers would push you off by passing you in the same lane.

Similarly, I tend to ride a bicycle in the travel lane about two feet inward. Similar to England. Some drivers hate it, and honk and come close. Most move way out of the way. Some tractor trailer drivers are really scarry.

Stupid? Death wish or a desire to avoid a puncture by roadside debris?
Don't know.

Steve

Livos

Hi LightCycles,

To simply follow traffic laws - as motorized road abusers can - is simply too dangerous on many occasions.
Only unexperience bikers do so I find.

I'm relatively observant and follow the rules as good as possible, but there are clearly many (minor) occasions where I break the rules for safty reasons. Police is usually hopeless and has no idea of what is safe if it comes to bikes.

Cheers, Livos

Orange Fish

I'm an "almost always" guy. I stop at all traffic lights and stop signs, unless I'm on a group ride, in which case most people will roll through slowly while checking for traffic, or stop/check/yell "clear."'

However, I believe that the drivers should be subject to the same awareness that we are when looking out for those coffins on wheels. So I make it a point to represent cyclists in a positive light as much of the time as possible, but if a driver is blatently disregarding a cyclists (or my) safety on the road, I make that person aware of it if possible. Luckily there can be quite a bit of stopping in my area, so it gives me time to catch up. Usually it pisses them off to be told in a calm voice that they are wrong by some skinny, spanex-clad guy with no more than 2 wheels to propel himself forward. But oh well...

**end of my post - rant on drivers below**
I hate when cars (or big ass, ugly, gas guzzling, SUV's) come up behind us, get pissed, roar around us, and then get to the next stop light or sign 3.2129 seconds before us and have to sit there for another minute anyway. So for those people, I ride right up next to (or in front of) them and give a little smirk to show how stupid it was to rush like that.

Chris516

The only law I have a problem with, is where they leave a major judgement call up to the cyclist by, the use of vague, ambiguous language in the traffic laws.

Minnesota Statutes from 2004

Chapter 169
169.222 Operation of bicycle

Subdivision 1. Traffic laws apply. Every person operating a
bicycle shall have all of the rights and duties applicable to the
driver of any other vehicle by this chapter, except in respect to
those provisions in this chapter relating expressly to bicycles
and in respect to those provisions of this chapter which by
their nature cannot reasonably be applied to bicycles.
If we have the rights, the drivers AND, the cops don't care!!!!

Subd. 4. Riding on roadway or shoulder. (a) Every person
operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as close as
practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except
under any of the following situations:

(3) when reasonably necessary to avoid conditions, including fixed
or moving objects, vehicles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards,
or narrow width lanes, that make it unsafe to continue along the
right-hand curb or edge.

THAT IS HOW IT IS ALL OVER THE CITY(DULUTH, MINNESOTA)!!!!!

(c) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway or shoulder shall not
ride more than two abreast and shall not impede the normal and
reasonable movement of traffic and, on a laned roadway, shall
ride within a single lane.

WHILE THE 'TWO ABREAST' PART MAKES SENSE, A CYCLIST ONLY IMPEDES
THE TRAFFIC WHEN, IT IS TOO HAZARDOUS TO RIDE ON THE SIDE OF THE
ROAD!!!!! THAT MEANS I HAVE TO 'TAKE A LANE', WHETHER THEY LIKE
IT OR NOT!!!!

THE MAJORITY OF DRIVERS.....THE COPS AND, SOME CYCLISTS EVEN,
DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LAW AND, THINK OF IT AS 'ABSOLUTE'!!!

I GUESS VAGUE AMBIGUITY IS 'ABSOLUTE'!!!!

I BLEW BOTH MY TIRES OVER THE WEEKEND, FOLLOWING THE
'ABSOLUTE'!!!!

Christopher

ChangMan

I usually follow the traffic laws when on busy streets around LSU when the school year is in session. In the summer time though, the university is a ghost town, so there aren't many cars out. Joggers on the other hand ...

g-brown

I hardly ever follow traffic laws, only when I have to for my own safety. I'm not stupid about it, but I consider myself a "pedestrian" when I am on the road and battling traffic. I've been riding on the road for 30 years and the last time I was hit by a car was probably about 20 years ago, and that was when someone was coming out of a parking garage at full speed. Some things you just can't avoid.

To be honest I love to piss off motorists; I more or less give them the same courtesy they give me on the road, which is nil.

riptide

One of the hardest things to break is a bad habit, and I think bad cycling habits do become bad driving habits. I think we owe it to our fellow earth dwellers to be courteous and considerate and that traffic laws are something that have a lot of careful thought behind, based on often bitter experience.
I note that I have traveled overseas very little, but I have heard a lot of people say in the USA we handle traffic very well.

Chris516

Well, I have lived in Europe(I now live in Duluth, Minnesota) on two different occasions and, I think they handle the traffic, better, over there. I have also travelled to Europe, many times.

I do agree about being courteous n' considerate, where the driving laws are concerned, except that, I don't drive.

Christopher

Don Shipp

Laws are not guidelines or suggestions. If you are using a vehical in public, you are accepting that you have an obligation to obey all the laws relating to the use of that vehical. If you can't do that; walk. And be careful crossing the road.

__________________
"Boudreaux pissed me off, what should I do?"
"Nothing, just shut up and take his advice."

EoinC

...Except here in Malaysia where not even the Police obey the Road Rules. The one time that the Police do remember the Road Rules is when they are on their collection drives - "You were driving at 90kmh. You must pay me RM100." "I was not driving at 90kmh. I have not gone above 80kmh." "OK, sir, move along..."

GrantRichardson

Why not just ride on the sidewalls to be safe? I live in a rual area on a fram. The closet town to me is 8 miles. I will be moving to probably Americus GA once i get married in May. I want to ride my bike there to the store and so forth but i am scared to rid in traffic. I will not even ride on the main highway by my house. I just ride on county roads. What are the rules for bikes? I know we have the right of way but that scares me when a car running 70 mphs come up behind you when your going 10mph