Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

This news article annoys me.

The headline reads:
Drivers slow to adjust to Dunsmuir Street bike lane; often break the rules

Yet further down the page we get:
Two vehicles illegally turned right at the corner in only 15 minutes.

Followed by:
The Sun saw 30 cyclists ride by in 15 minutes. While seven were required to stop at a red light, four didn’t bother

So according to the article, it's the cyclists who are breaking the rules more often than the car users. The self righteous ones are a law unto themselves.

Harumph :thumbdown:

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Bicyclists in Toronto routinely ignore the laws. A person on a bike is a vehicle when it suits and a pedestrian when that suits. Generally, I say, "good luck to them", we're all breaking some law whenever we're awake and sometimes when sleeping. They lose my support immedidately however if they wear helmets and especially if they're clad in lycra, it's not the Tour de Bloody France. Poseurs!

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

I will confess to wearing padded lycra shorts (only padded on the arse, I hasten to add).

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Is there text across the bum?

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

I always stop at reds, obey the laws etc....otherwise how can I expect motorists to obey the rules?

simples :cool:

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

I used to walk about a mile through London from the station to my office and I was regularly nearly mowed down by cyclists going through red lights at pedestrian crossings.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Cyclists rarely obey the rules. Of course when I was a cyclist I was very obedient and everyone else was at fault.

Do other areas have cyclists cycling on the left side, so towards the traffic? I can almost understand this especially when it's children at least they see the car before it knocks them down.

When it happens in the town though there's a problem with passing them if the road isn't wide enough to move out. When you are following a cyclist and can't pass at least you can slow to their speed if the twit is approaching you then what? You have to stop or risk pass with narrow clearance??

pah

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

It seems to be a bit different in my neck of the woods. It is very geared up to cyclists. There are, apparently, 170km of cycle lanes and paths in Ottineau. It's roughly six miles from my place to downtown Ottawa. I can do all but a few hundred yards of that without sharing the road with cars. Pedestrians are not an issue. People here do not walk.

We did a 3-hour trip around Gatineau yesterday, along rivers, through parks etc. All very nice, and very little of it on roads. Cycling is hugely popular here; I wonder why?:rolleyes:

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

We tried walking round Ottawa one Sunday morning and were almost knocked over by a group of runners. About 40 of them were running towards us and it was as if they hadn't seen us. They should have runner's lanes too.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Yes. Born-again runners can be a bit selfish.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Oh dear goodness, what a mental picture to conjure so early on a Monday morning.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Ditto except that it was in Oxford back in the early 80's - there was no signage that a race was going on and it was only by the grace of god that we didn't get flattened. One of them kicked my son's pushchair out of the way and nearly toppled it over. In retrospect it was quite funny but at the time :eek: :curse:

J :)

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Yes I got my OH some of those but he wears them under his trousers ;)

J:)

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Exactly. They should especially leave middle-aged-women-with-hangovers alone.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Yep, we tell the story as a funny one but it was a little scary when we realised that the runners at the back couldn't see short fat me.

Was it Hash House Harriers? I wondered if they were in Ottawa too.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Only when I'm cycling, dear. They are quite good, though. They make up for my lack of natural padding.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Saw a news report on TV a few weeks back. The VPD guy they had on said that 80% of accidents between cyclists and cars in Vancouver were caused by the cyclist doing something stupid.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

I am a jogger and normally go with some one else, we are pedestrians!! Just b/c we are moving a bit faster, people who walk do not get out of our way either, so tit for tat. You walk 3 and 4 people across the sidewalk and when we come thru single file half the time we are going around you on the busy road....WALKERS GET OVER....we are entitled to the sidewalk as much as you are!

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Surely it's up to those approaching from behind to safely navigate through? ;)

I jog with an air horn to alert those walking that i'm approaching.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Maybe they should dish out a few tickets:

The main Vancouver ‘cycling’ offences and their respective fines:

• Without a helmet: $29
• On sidewalk: $109
• Two abreast: $109
• While not astride seat: $109
• Carrying passengers: $109
• While attached to vehicle: $109
• Without hands on handlebar: $109
• Without due care and attention: $109
• Without reasonable consideration: $109

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Are helmets mandatory? Admittingly I do not have helmet so don't have one to use when we ride.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

In BC they are.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

seems In Ontario they are not for over 18s

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Cobblers, 40 people running towards me in a crowd where the chuff was I supposed to move to?? There was nowhere to go apart from into another runner.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

I'm guessing you are joking about the airhorn there but any sound alarm to warn people assumes that the other person can hear. I'm sick of cyclists and runners on the pavement/sidewalk who assume that I can hear them approaching and make no allowances but just bash on through.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

I hate cyclists, around here they are a bigger threat to me as a pedestrian then cars are since they love to ride on the side walk and of course they expect me to get out their way even though they are not supposed to be on said side walk.

Luckily the cops around here are finally starting to crack down and issue citations to bikes.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

I am kidding about that. I use a Vuvuzela ;)

I am serious about the part of the "passer" though. If i'm walking by the river in London and somebody wants to jog past me then it's up to them to do so safely, not me.

Must be a pain with people assuming we all have 20:20 vision and excellent hearing, Fled.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

On my way to work today I observed

1) A pedestrian cross the road , straight into the path of an oncoming streetcar

2) a streetcar driver sail through a red light

3) A car that nearly knocked me over because it was reversing back round an intersection , having missed its p[hase on the lights

4) a cyclist cut me up twice , once on the sidewalk and once on the pedestran crossing bit of the intersection

5) a woman infront of me , who, due to a combination of speaking on cell phone and wearing stupidly high heels , was capable of walking so slowly that she was in danger of being overtaken by tectonic plates. However she was capable of weaving so that noone could pass

My conclusion?

Everyone out there, driver , pedestrian,cyclist, is a freaking idiot when i'm trying to get to work :sneaky:

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

On my way to work today I observed

a chipmunk on the road

a beagle on the road

a deer on the road

a cat on the road

My conclusion?

It aint just people that are freaking idiots.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

No racoons?

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Only dead ones.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

oh, I thought that was a list of roadkill. I suppose the beagle on the list should have told me otherwise.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Oh no, all of those were alive and needed steering around. I didn't make note of all the dead things.

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Heh. Ditch!

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Re: Cyclists: Lawbreaking Rebels
 

Ah. Yes, you're right. Mowing him down was poor form on my part.

Note though that I was, at least, on a road. You wouldn't catch me in this sort of caper.