A Cyclist's Complaint?!

[EmBrooke]

Hi there,
I'm a final year Product Design student with the Biking Bug. I've chosen the theme for my major project to be "Urban Cycling". I'm particularly interested in cyclist's safety and possible ways to increase communication between cyclists and other road users.
As a fellow cyclist I wonder if you could help me with any insights from your time on two wheels. What do you find particularly dangerous/frustrating on the roads, do you feel safe/visible enough?
Any thoughts welcome, thanks in advance,
Emily.

 

[jhuskey]

Distracted drivers
Impaired drivers
Impatient drivers

 

[EmBrooke]

Quote:
"cyberlegend1994: Please don't cross-post, if someone has an answer, it will be posted in your other thread."


Not necessarily! I'd love input from ALL cyclists and realised I was limited but just visitors to the "Commuting and Road Safety" page.

 

[davereo]

Better training for law enforcement in regards to cycling laws. Enforcement of laws and regulations regardless of it being the cyclist or motorist in violation.

 

[Andy0161]

I find its drivers vastly underestimating the speeds cycles go. I've lost count of the times I've been travelling along the main road, and ahead of me a car pulls to the junction. They stop, see me, think 'Its only a bike' and pull out in front to travel the same direction as me thinking They have time. They normally don't and I have to throw my brakes on hard to avoid hitting them. I even admit to being so frustrated sometimes that rather than brake, if theres nothing coming he other way I'll go for a short sprint without slowing, overtake them and cut back in front. Potentially dangerous I know, but like I said: frustration.

 

[Robert 85]

More attention to the development of cycling lanes in the inner city areas

 

[Froze]

Quit wasting tax payers money on big cycling projects just to get political votes. Instead vastly improve the **** poor quality of drivers education the teens are getting today by employing the Smith System of Driving.

 

[libarata]

If bicycle lanes are to be on roads, then they should be regularly swept so as to keep glass cubes and other tire hazards at a minimum. The haphazard repairs and patches that are left in the same manner as those on roads tend to be fairly dangerous to those of us who travel at higher speeds, they should be made as flat as possible!

 

[Froze]

Originally Posted by libarata .

If bicycle lanes are to be on roads, then they should be regularly swept so as to keep glass cubes and other tire hazards at a minimum. The haphazard repairs and patches that are left in the same manner as those on roads tend to be fairly dangerous to those of us who travel at higher speeds, they should be made as flat as possible!

That would be great except all roads today are built cheap but cost a lot, then every two years go back and repair it but repair it even cheaper. This keeps workers working and lots of tax payers money used.

 

[libarata]

That would be great except all roads today are built cheap but cost a lot, then every two years go back and repair it but repair it even cheaper. This keeps workers working and lots of tax payers money used.

Very true, Here in San Diego the bike lanes are atrocious... I find myself swerving around potholes filled with glass and goat heads more often than not. I wrote a letter to the transportation people here and they said there is nothing they can do about it, as they arent scheduled to maintain the bike lanes for another five years, FIVE YEARS!

 

[jpr95]

I'm not a fan of bike lanes and shoulders. Around here, the bike lanes are few and far between and shoulders are often full of debris, glass and gravel. Plus, in either, one is too far out of the line of sight of the drivers coming up behind, so they don't give any berth as they pass.

 

[bigpedaler]

Complaint(s)?

1. As said, impatient/impaired/distracted/uneducated drivers.
2. Utter lack of enforcement of the law re: traffic and personal interactions (tailgating a bike rider, blowing the horn, is aggravated assault, for example).

I don't sweat bike lanes; either they're there or not, going the way I'm going or not. Our MUP system is pretty good, and sidewalk riding is largely legal (not in biz districts, as defined by city). Sidewalk riding isn't the hazard many claim, at least here, as so few people walk anywhere. Many of the main arterials in town are suicide to ride on, but side streets can be sweet. Our present mayor is pro-bike, and there has been a lot of awareness promoted since gas prices went WAY up ('06 time frame).

Harassment from drivers has gone way down, as well. But the distraction factor has exploded! I believe this: if I put a penny in a jar for every driver I saw flapping on the damned cell phone, and took five pennies out for every one I saw NOT on a cell, I'd never run out of coins!

Driver's licenses need to be harder to get AND KEEP, and easier to lose. (I don't have an answer to drivers who drive w/o the license, just DECIDE TO DRIVE anyway....)

 

[Dave Cutter]

Originally Posted by EmBrooke .

...... What do you find particularly dangerous/frustrating on the roads, do you feel safe/visible enough?

I think most (or at least it certainly seems like most) people use their drive time to keep in touch with family and friends... via mobile phone, texting, and mobile facebook. Interestingly I've seen countless pedestrians and even TWO BICYCLISTS who were texting.

People love this kind of communction and other than a police-state level of enforcement... this use isn't going to stop. Maybe a heads-up display that is well intergrated with cloud-base voice activation might make it easier for motorist (AND cyclist) to text, talk, and post while in traffic.

Todays bright blinkys/flashers make being seen as certain as it gets. But lots of cyclist only buy the cheapie low-light blinking units. But even a bright colored shirt is in most cases enough.

 

[alienator]

Complaint(s)? Driver's licenses need to be harder to get AND KEEP, and easier to lose.  (I don't have an answer to drivers who drive w/o the license, just DECIDE TO DRIVE anyway....)

Absolutely right.

 

[Dave Cutter]

Originally Posted by alienator .


Absolutely right.

Yes... of course... how could anyone think that was silly.

Our American culture has many enemy's that wish to destroy our culture. Would that really be a good idea...... making the major part of the nations transportation system harder to function?

Pitting cyclist against motorist, black against white, blue collar against office worker. To what end... what is your logical goal? Cut the cyclist death rate from 550 a year to what? And do the stats show that drivers are a big part of those death rates? What?.... you mean the BIGGEST contributor to cyclist deaths are cyclist own behaviors???? So... I bet the next thing you cyclist (???) would demand is making it harder to be a cyclist... right? Don't be tricked by those who say they are friends.... these anti-drivers/motorist/cars people are NOT a friend to cyclist.

Traffic can be scary! If you find it too scary... there are areas of cycling that don't include riding on the roads. Also.... there are other sports. Cycling isn't for everyone.

 

[qdc15]

This project was about Urban Biking, not Sport Biking and the project was completed over a year ago.

Most bicycles, like most cars, are used for transportation not sport. Suggesting people ride on mountain bike trails instead of the roads that connect them with their destinations is a foolish idea I see repeated ad nauseum from someone who has been told why this is a nonsensical recommendation.

 

[dhk2]

Originally Posted by alienator .


Absolutely right.

+2. Traffic enforcement is shockingly weak here in the southern US. After losing a close friend to a negligent motorist who "didn't see the cyclist", I learned that killing a cyclist via negligent driving is not a criminal offense, providing the driver is not DUI. One driver actually stated she looked down to search in her purse for a cellphone as she hit and killed a cyclist, and faced no criminal charges. The general rule in AL is that unless police see the driver commit the offense, they cannot be charged with any violations. Makes life easy for the police/sheriff, but makes driving and cycling here pretty dangerous relative to other states or "first-world" countries.
,
When my friend was hit and killed in rural TN, the "3 Foot Law" never came up. Apparently it's meaningless as long as the driver says "didn't see the cyclist", and appears sorry/sad that he just hit and killed a fellow human due to his inattention to the first basic rule of driving. The guy deserved jail time, but wasn't even given a ticket.

Since the greatest cause of cycling deaths here on our no-shoulder roads is being hit from behind by negligent and/or speeding drivers, I use a rear-view mirror and a bright flashing taillight (DiNotte) for all road rides. Plus, planning routes on low-traffic roads helps alot too. I know a couple of commuters, but it's a risky thing here which I wouldn't do or recommend. Without bike lanes, and with high posted speed limits and the "10 over ain't speedin" mentality, the morning rush hours have proven particularly dangerous for cyclists.

Final defensive action I've taken is to increase my UM coverage to the maximum available. Seems many of the drivers who hit cyclists around here are either uninsured and "judgement proof" as the good southern lawyers like to say. Or, they carry the state-mandated minimum of liability insurance, which provides for a whopping $25K maximum for injuries to any one person. I like to think my life is worth more than that.

 

[Dave Cutter]

Originally Posted by qdc15 .

This project was about Urban Biking, not Sport Biking and the project was completed over a year ago.

Most bicycles, like most cars, are used for transportation not sport. Suggesting people ride on mountain bike trails instead of the roads that connect them with their destinations is a foolish idea I see repeated ad nauseum from someone who has been told why this is a nonsensical recommendation.

BULL... in America it is only.... you and three other people who choose to use bicycles for transportation instead of sport. OK... a little humor there. But cycling is by far much more sport or plain on TOY here other than transportation. Most stats I've read put less than 3% of all American bicycles as used for transportation. Ether way it is... choice!

 

[Dave Cutter]

Originally Posted by dhk2 .

1. ... Since the greatest cause of cycling deaths here on our no-shoulder roads is being hit from behind by negligent and/or speeding drivers,

2. .... Seems many of the drivers who hit cyclists around here are either uninsured and "judgement proof" as the good southern lawyers like to say.

1. Please post a link to that stat.... I've never seen or heard of anything like that... it would be interesting to see where you got that.

2. "Seems" would mean subjective... so I guess you maybe pulled that figure out of you hat. And... unless your southern lawyer yourself... I'd guess that "judgement proof" comment was sorta made-up as well.

So... what is your goal here? Are you pedaling insurance?

 

[qdc15]

Originally Posted by Dave Cutter .

BULL... in America it is only.... you and three other people who choose to use bicycles for transportation instead of sport. OK... a little humor there. But cycling is by far much more sport or plain on TOY here other than transportation. Most stats I've read put less than 3% of all American bicycles as used for transportation. Ether way it is... choice!

I choose to live car free. Please stop telling me to take up the sport of mountain biking! It's a meaningless rejoinder.