Hello everybody,
I am a semi-dedicated cyclist (read fair-weather commuter). I bike to work most days, about a 10 km round-trip.
As a driver I can't stand when cyclists switch back and forth from "vehicle mode" to "pedestrian mode" and it is a HUGE problem in the city I live in (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada). The city is not set up well for cyclists and most of them either don't know the rules or don't follow them. Since this annoys me so much, when I am on the bike I try to obey the rules of the road anywhere I safely can.
My route consists of a somewhat busy city street, a long stretch of shared pathway along the river and then some university campus roads. I generally don't have a problem with drivers giving me space or cutting me off when I have the right of way. The problem I do have is drivers stopping for me when I clearly do NOT have the right of way. I'll be sitting at a stop sign or in a traffic lane waiting to turn left and some moron will stop to let me through.
I know they are trying to be courteous, but it is a big safety hazard because other drivers aren't expecting this person to stop. What do you do when you're encountered by someone who stops for you when they shouldn't? Do you wave them through? Do you just take the breaks you're given?
It just gets really frustrating trying to obey the rules of the road and then some yutz comes along and in trying to be nice, screws it up for everyone else. I'm likely fighting a losing battle here, since everyone in the city expects cyclists to randomly ride out into traffic and generally not obey the laws.
I am a semi-dedicated cyclist (read fair-weather commuter). I bike to work most days, about a 10 km round-trip.
As a driver I can't stand when cyclists switch back and forth from "vehicle mode" to "pedestrian mode" and it is a HUGE problem in the city I live in (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada). The city is not set up well for cyclists and most of them either don't know the rules or don't follow them. Since this annoys me so much, when I am on the bike I try to obey the rules of the road anywhere I safely can.
My route consists of a somewhat busy city street, a long stretch of shared pathway along the river and then some university campus roads. I generally don't have a problem with drivers giving me space or cutting me off when I have the right of way. The problem I do have is drivers stopping for me when I clearly do NOT have the right of way. I'll be sitting at a stop sign or in a traffic lane waiting to turn left and some moron will stop to let me through.
I know they are trying to be courteous, but it is a big safety hazard because other drivers aren't expecting this person to stop. What do you do when you're encountered by someone who stops for you when they shouldn't? Do you wave them through? Do you just take the breaks you're given?
It just gets really frustrating trying to obey the rules of the road and then some yutz comes along and in trying to be nice, screws it up for everyone else. I'm likely fighting a losing battle here, since everyone in the city expects cyclists to randomly ride out into traffic and generally not obey the laws.