Cyclists
 

This morning I was happily driving along behing a truck, when suddenly the truck swerved out to the left. A split secong later I had to do the same to avoid hitting an idiot who decided to ride his bike on the left side of the road, against the flow of traffic. WTF?? :eek: Why do people do that here? Is there some kind of safety logic I'm missing here, cause I just don't get it. Seems bloody dangerous to me.
Back in the UK cyclists used to piss me off when they ride through red lights on pedestrian crossings, but this is getting close to beating that now.

Re: Cyclists
 

I have to agree. I used to ride my bike in the UK, but I wouldnt even buy one here. Drivers are terrible and the cyclists are worse. Not many cycling proficiency badges here :D

Re: Cyclists
 

My US husband absolutely insists on cycling against the flow of traffic and thinks I'm a total head case for not doing the same! We often go out cycling at the weekend. Seems that the majority of cyclists here feel the same as my husband ... I don't really understand it, but I do know that when I'm driving I hate seeing the cyclists coming at me, especially when most of them seem to have little regard for motorists.

Same with pedestrians really ... they all seem to think they have more right to be in the road than the motorists do. I particularly hate the school run when all the school kids just stand about in the road and seem to get visibly irritated when I want them to move out of the way of my car!

Re: Cyclists
 

Oddly in FLA the pedestrian does have the right of way. Its a fine and possible points for not giving way to a pedestrian and not only on crossings.

Re: Cyclists
 

My wife told me that this is what they are taught to do that as it is safer :confused:

Having said that I have never seen a "real cyclist" riding against the flow of traffic around here.

Re: Cyclists
 

There was a question about this on my driving test --- I remember 'cos I got it wrong. I, of course, thought you were supposed to cycle in the same direction as traffic not against it. Probably varies from State to State though.

Re: Cyclists
 

What's a cyclist? Or even a pedestrian for that matter? Think I've seen a few on old films...

Re: Cyclists
 

They have the right of way here in CA too ... just irritates on me the school run because they seem to think that motorists can just wait while they stop in the middle of the road for a chat with their mates! We get the same behaviour where we live ... kids gather in the evenings, not on the sidewalk, but in the middle of the road ... and look at you like you are a total pain in the a### when you want to get by in your car!!!

It also took me a while to get used to the fact that motorists would stop and let me cross the road at junctions when I was out walking ... in fact, I used to keep walking to where I could cross without a car stopping for me!

Re: Cyclists
 

My family didn't know what a cyclist was ... but only because they call it biking here!

As for adult pedestrians ... they seem to be labelled here as 'too poor to own a car' or 'drunks/alcoholics/drug addicts'. My husband used to hate it when I would go out walking because of what he thought other people would think.

Re: Cyclists
 

Yes, as a "cyclinfool" myself, I have to say that there are "cyclists" (people who know how to ride a bike properly), and "people on bikes" (no helmet, going the wrong way, crossing red lights, weaving all over the place, etc.).

I think the "against the flow" thing is a misconception from the correct recommendation that walking against the flow is safer (which it is - you can see cars coming at you and jump out of the way if needed, so if you have to walk in the road that is the safest way to do it). Problem with doing that on a bike is (a) you take up more room, (b) you can't jump out of the way, and (c) you are going about 3-8 times faster than a walker, which gives drivers almost no time to react.

Two other things:

In the thousands of miles I've ridden in the states, I've rarely had problems, but when I do they're big ones (like people throwing objects at me, or literally driving straight at me).

I sometimes have to cross on a red light (if I am the only vehicle and cant "trip" the light). This only happens in low-traffic (e.g., rural) roads, and I always wait to be sure the light won't change, and also wait until it's clear so I don't give some weak-hearted driver a cardiac arrest.

Re: Cyclists
 

Perhaps they thought you were a deer or other large prey animal.

Re: Cyclists
 

OMG that's crazy... you can tell people aren't used to cycing. Just go to any major cycling city, and you'll see that this is wrong! I lived in switzerland for a few years; they have strict rules, and i've been stopped by the police on my bike. Don't they realise that this is a mode of transport? You walk against the traffic, but you certainly don't cycle about it. that'd cause a lot of accidents at crossroads etc; and (not a US problem) what about roundabouts???!!!

Re: Cyclists
 

Well, in Tennessee (where I used to ride), there is the "roadkill" law, so maybe they had some little 'uns at home to feed ...

I did get hit once with a Big Gulp, right in the chest. Start of a ride, hot day, felt nice and cool .... until it started getting sticky.

Re: Cyclists
 

Its beyond me why they do it - and when you get to a junction it really gets f***ed up!!

Re: Cyclists
 

That was exactly the problem I had. With a large truck in front of me, I had no way of knowing that the "man on the bike" was there until I was practically running him over.

I can understand running a red light on your bike if you're in the middle of nowhere where no one will see it, but there have been a few times I've nearly got hit whilst crossing on green man at a pedestrian crossing.
Actually, the worst one was when I stepped off a bus and got hit by a bike, because the lazy sod thought it would be quicker to go past the bus kerb side than go around it. :mad: