Rant: reckless cyclists

[Monique Y. Herm]

So the other night, I'm driving back to work after dark. As I'm driving along a 40 mph road with two
lanes on each side, I see this dark thing shoot out in front of me, and I slam on my brakes.

Yup. Some dude on his bike, wearing all black clothing, had chosen that moment to jet across all
four lanes. If I had been using that split-second to change the radio station, there's a good chance
this person would have been smooshed.

So please, guys -- wear bright clothing at night, not to mention a light. Try to cross at an
intersection, where drivers are expecting to have to watch out for cross traffic. Don't assume that
drivers will see you, or that they have good brakes.

I'm sure no one here needs these admonitions, but I feel like saying it anyway.

--
monique

 

[S o r n i]

Monique Y. Herman wrote:
> So the other night, I'm driving back to work after dark. As I'm driving along a 40 mph road with
> two lanes on each side, I see this dark thing shoot out in front of me, and I slam on my brakes.
>
> Yup. Some dude on his bike, wearing all black clothing, had chosen that moment to jet across all
> four lanes. If I had been using that split-second to change the radio station, there's a good
> chance this person would have been smooshed.
>
> So please, guys -- wear bright clothing at night, not to mention a light. Try to cross at an
> intersection, where drivers are expecting to have to watch out for cross traffic. Don't assume
> that drivers will see you, or that they have good brakes.
>
> I'm sure no one here needs these admonitions, but I feel like saying it anyway.

What's sad is that if you posted this to wreck misc., you'd get flamed (but only by a few nut cases,
thankfully) for being a "cager".

Experienced road riders don't do the type of thing you describe, but "pedestrians on bikes" are
truly unpredictable. Lucky for BOTH of you that you were alert this time.

I'm driving down to the beach area in a bit, and I guarantee I'll see some idiots on bikes. Riding
on wrong side of road, on sidewalks, across intersections diagonally, you name it. Scary stuff.

Bill "always on the lookout" S.

 

[Stephen Baker]

Sorni says:

>I'm driving down to the beach area in a bit, and I guarantee I'll see some idiots on bikes. Riding
>on wrong side of road, on sidewalks, across intersections diagonally, you name it. Scary stuff.

Time to thin the herd? ;-)