Re: Bad bicycle reporting on Channel 5 in Kansas City

[Jym Dyer]

> ... it is both polite and legally required to single up when
> a car approaches to pass.

=v= That's a statement that needs qualifiers. There are times
when bicyclists should take the lane, and "around a curve" is
pretty much a classic example of that. To "single up" in such
a situation sends out a dangerous message. It is not impolite.

=v= There is widespread expectation that if a motorist in front
of you slows down, there could well be a valid reason, even if
you can't tell what it is from your perspective. Bicyclists
should be given the same consideration, and not an iota less.
<_Jym_>

 

[jj]

On 20 Feb 2005 06:02:31 -0800, Jym Dyer <[email protected]> wrote:

>> ... it is both polite and legally required to single up when
>> a car approaches to pass.
>
>=v= That's a statement that needs qualifiers. There are times
>when bicyclists should take the lane, and "around a curve" is
>pretty much a classic example of that. To "single up" in such
>a situation sends out a dangerous message. It is not impolite.
>
>=v= There is widespread expectation that if a motorist in front
>of you slows down, there could well be a valid reason, even if
>you can't tell what it is from your perspective. Bicyclists
>should be given the same consideration, and not an iota less.
> <_Jym_>

The perception of the cops is important as well. Too often they seem to
consider bikes as 'being in the way' or not belonging on the road as their
first reaction and then, if at all they seem to dimly recall 'oh, yeah,
bikes are 'vehicles' too'. But when it comes to applying the law there
seems to be a 'nod' to the drivers - like 'dumbass bikers should have known
not to go there, or do that', and they get some kind of pay-off from
blaming the biker - a sort of 'blame the victim' mentality.

As a driver, I sort of understand this - too often we see pedestrians in
the same light - with a 'get the hell off my street' mentality. I mentioned
previously how last week a driver started gesticulating and honking at me
when I was limping across the street in a cross-walk right in front of the
court-house and he noticeably exaggeratedly swerved to go around me. OK the
'don't walk light' was on, but turned after I started across and he was too
far away to see what that light said.

Driver anxiety goes way up when they are stopped or sitting still in
traffic, and dramatically decreases when they start moving again. Try it,
noticing how there's an impulse to 'get moving' especially if you have
somewhere to go or are in a hurry.

So perhaps we have this free-floating anxiety and when it's a biker we
attach it to them as though they're purposely -causing- us to be delayed,
to slow or stop, when intellectually we know they're not intentionally
doing anything to us specifically.

jj

 

[Zoot Katz]

Sun, 20 Feb 2005 10:41:55 -0500,
<[email protected]>,
jj <[email protected]> wrote, in part:

>
>Driver anxiety goes way up when they are stopped or sitting still in
>traffic, and dramatically decreases when they start moving again. Try it,
>noticing how there's an impulse to 'get moving' especially if you have
>somewhere to go or are in a hurry.

Like our tolerance for noise, I believe it's also linked to the
perception of the activity's economic importance. Somebody on a
bicycle is "playing" in the street. A truck-load of spilled lumber is
"serious business".
The truck can cause them hours of delay but they can understand it.
They find it much harder to accept cyclists rights as legitimate road
users when the activity is seen as sport or recreation.
--
zk

 

[Leo Lichtman]

"Zoot Katz" wrote: (clip) when the activity is seen as sport or recreation.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I think you have identified a real problem. And it occurs on a subconscious
level, so the person can feel resentment, even approaching "road rage,"
without even knowing that it is based on bias. I can cite from my own
experience: I often drive by a major horserace track. The traffic
conjestion in that area can be horrible, and I find myself feeling
resentment toward "those people," because I feel that I am being hindered in
my "legitimate" travel by their indulgence is a slightly "unsavory" pastime.

 

[Bob]

Jym Dyer wrote:

> =v= There is widespread expectation that if a motorist in front
> of you slows down, there could well be a valid reason, even if
> you can't tell what it is from your perspective. Bicyclists
> should be given the same consideration, and not an iota less.
> <_Jym_>

Agreed. The flip side though is that, except for the special
considerations the law grants, we shouldn't be given *more*
consideration either. Too often in this NG guilt and innocence is
ascribed solely on the basis of whether the act is performed by a
cyclist or a driver. For instance, many here seem to believe that a
cyclist "filtering" through motor vehicle traffic stopped at a red
light is not passing illegally though in fact, in Illinois anyway, they
are. Let that filtering cyclist get doored and there are more than a
few in this group that will call for a public hanging. ;-)

Regards,
Bob Hunt