So, a 30 second delay is worth startling and possibly injuring or killing a cyclist?

 

Cyclists are entitled to the road. Im a cyclist myself


lets take an example. If you are coming up on a right turn into a parking lot, and you overtake a cyclists just before the entrance to said parking lot, you are to STOP and let that cyclist PASS.

cutting in front not only endangers that cyclist, but gets you a traffic citation/ticket


Just putting an example out there

 

In road rage incidents it never matters who is in the right or wrong people just fly off the handle so to re-phrase is it worth getting shot to prove you were in the right?

 

13fit, that was almost the identical situation I was in, and since cyclists are to follow the rules of the road... consider that bicycle as a car... a car coming up on the shouder on the right cutting another car off that's turning right will be at fault if there's a collision. I did honk at the cyclists, as I was able to stop for him, since I had to in order to avoid hitting him, I needed to alert his attention to the other cars that were coming toward him that he wasn't aware of - he was going straight into a busy intersection and for some reason did not check for oncoming vehicles.

Although my horn did not get HIS attention, it DID get the attention of the other drivers, and that cyclist carried on... although I seriously wonder if he survived the rest of his ride that day.

 

I can relate to this whole issue on both sides.I ride both bikes and motorcycles here in Socal and I see both motorist and cyclist acting like jerks.

I've lived and worked in the Venice beach and Santa Monica area for the past 45 years and we have plenty of bike lanes and paths for bikes.The problem is a lot of cyclist have the impression that they do not have to follow any rules at all.

They will ride side by side like in a parade blocking a traffic lane when there is a bike lane available.This pisses off drivers and is dangerous for everyone.

They do not stop at stop signs or red lights but just blow right through them and look at you like you are crazy.I'm not a honkaholic and rarely use my horn in the car or on my motorcycle/bikes

I just avoid the situation if possible and keep on riding because on a bike you are no match for a car or truck.The funny thing is I had a 150cc Genuine scooter that came with a Stebel horn that is ten times louder then my Fit horn
In the end we all just have to respect each other on the road and do our part to keep it safe for everyone.

 

IMO, if you are unable to maintain the speed limit, you should not be on the road.

This should go for any type of Vehicle and any type of Driver/Rider.

 

as an avid bike rider, here's how I see it:

no bell, no helmet, no brains.
those who wear those stupid outfits are the biggest losers. They routinely take on 2000 pound vehicles and ride in traffic because they are too cool to ride on a bike path. They behave like the entitled pedestrians who think they can just walk into a crosswalk and everyone should bow to their whims. To both of them I say: you've got one chance to be wrong. Is today your day?
There is a good side however; the colorful gear does make a nice hood ornament.

 

^I call those guys Lance Armstrongs and they are THE WORST. Usually found in affluent neighborhoods, definitely too cool for school, and usually found in packs. Socal beach neighborhoods are overrun with them LOL

I've run into a few with brains but expect the worst every time.

 

And you are willing to beep at someone and have them crash off the road and possibly die? That would be a great news article in the paper...

"fitfreak user rages; Driver honks at fellow forum user, causing him to crash into a guard rail and be paralyzed forever because the driver is in such a big rush drinking is 32 oz mountain dew to wait for 30 seconds until it was safe to pass. the rider will never get to drive his Fit again"

Don't get me wrong, I agree with the whole "if you are right and dead, it doesn't matter" but you didn't talk about asshole cyclists. You are talking about them in a whole.

The same way people think the Honda community is a joke, they are all slow, the 16 year old kid with the 20 foot wing, etc. We still know there are normal people who aren't idiots that have some sort of taste. Show some decency for human beings and try not to kill someone who is just exercising.

 

Why would honking the horn at someone make them crash?

 

Not sure if you are trolling or not, but i'll be a good guy;

It has the same effect as someone saying "boo" behind you while you are watching a intense movie or reading a book. When you are riding on the road, you are focused on pot holes, staying as safely to the right as you can, and focused on your riding. You can usually hear the cars behind you and sort of sense them, but sometimes they sneak up on you. a quick "beep beep" usually isn't scary and MOST of the time doesn't make you jump. When you hold the horn it scares the crap out of you. You have no idea if the person is out of control or just pissed you are on the road. You can't keep whipping your head around to see what is going on, so you trust the people driving, the same way you would on a car. You are HOPING the person behind you is stopping at the red light you see, too.

If the road is narrow and you are stuck behind a rider, trust me, they don't want you to be behind them either. We appreciate you waiting until it is safe. I will sometimes wave people past me to encourage them to pass when no other cars are coming.

Note, I'm not defending all riders. As a fellow cyclist myself, the people that ride two abreast on busy roads and clog up whole lanes, run red lights are stupid and have a death wish. I don't need to take one of them out and ruin my whole day.

 

Nope, not trolling as I started the thread about changing out the horn. The cyclist I honked at did not flinch. If someone is that terrible a rider that they would lose control completely if startled, then why would they choose to ride their bikes along with normal auto traffic? People honk from time to time, for many reasons, so needing to avoid honking seems counter productive.

 

Just because he didn't flinch, doesn't mean his heart didn't jump into his chest :P

Some riders have thick skin.

As for the terrible rider, your right. This falls into the "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" category. Generally, if the guy does look like a "Lance Armstrong", he is probably more adapt to riding and I would be less sketched out to pass him. It's the average casual person that is swerving all over the road if they were drunk that scary me to this day.

Most riders will avoid busy roads as much as they can. They have more cars, more traffic, more of a chance to get into a accident or altercation with someone. As much as you don't want us to be on the road, we don't want to be on the roads with you

Having said that, most drivers do this as well. We will take side roads to beat traffic on quieter roads with lower speed limits to get home faster to ours kids after a long day at work.

A quiet mountain road around here can quickly become a shortcut to beat traffic because the 3 lane highway is jammed up and you've lived in this town long enough that this road is the fastest way.

That quiet road is where most cyclist try to hide from the dense population, heavy traffic, hustle and bustle of 'murica.

If you (or anyone else) can take anything away from this, "beep beep" is greater than "HONKKKKKKKKK"

 

Well after all this I will say I don't honk at bike riders, I just pass them.

The "drunk looking" bike riders ride on the sidewalks around here, they don't dare take it to the street. The only bike riders I see here on the street are geared up and ready for war and rightfully so.

 

Thanks BC! Well said. I am a cyclist. I obey all traffic rules. I still get drivers out there that give me the international peace sign, and give me a "fly by" just for the hell of it.

 

I hate the bikers in my neighbourhood. They are a danger to even pedestrians. They bike on the sidewalk, wrong way on a one way street, NEVER obey stop signs even if the cross traffic have no stop sign. I constantly save their lives in my car by checking for bikes in places no sane person would bike however or by slamming on my brakes, other drivers that either suck or dont know the extent of the suicidal biking strike and kill one of them every now and then.

I don't bother honking and bikers in my neighbourhood. I might eventually damage wear out my horn. When they die, god is their judge.

P.S. I bike frequently, as close as I can to parked cars looking inside to see if a granny is getting ready to door me. I don't cut off cars at an intersection by biking through stop signs. If ever I am travelling the wrong way on a one way, I take for granted cars don't see me, because a driver wouldn't expect traffic coming the wrong way on a one way. I've never been hit by a car.

 

Seems to me this is at least partially a lack-of-law-enforcement issue.

 

I'm noticing that people have differing opinions based on the type of city they live in, not just from this thread, but elsewhere on the net and in conversations I've overheard and been a part of. Nashville, TN, where I live is a lot like that show "Portlandia" and its just a fad right now to be on a bicycle, and its just a reality in the south that a lot of drivers on city roads have really large vehicles with blind spots that are quite dangerous and not much patience for the hipsters (that word is not meant as an insult - just visit this city and you'll see for yourself the fads, it won't take you more than five minutes). In other parts of the country, it sounds like things are quite different.

 

I think it is also important to remember that in many places, it is illegal for bikers to use the sidewalks, so they MUST use the roads if there is no bike lane. Irregardless, in many cases, it is safer for cyclists on the road than on sidewalks.

 

According to my GPS plots, my average speed while riding a bike (depending on the course I take) is 20mph or so. That's the average meaning I'll go slower, and I'll also go faster. I can't do that on a sidewalk.

Here in Kansas, everyone is extremely respectful of cyclists. In return I tend to stay as far to the side of the road as I safely can so that they can continue on their trip without interruption. On some roads there will always be interruption so I try to make it as quick and painless as possible.

I'm not defending all cyclists out there (as there some real assholes), but probably 90-95% of cyclists I run into are just out there to have fun and if they suck up a little of my lane then so be it. There's no need to be pissed off about it as they have just as much of a right to be on that road as I do.

Cycling is an absolute blast and can offer the same rewards as a spirited drive in your car if done correctly. All of the same techniques are there, just to an extreme since your legs are doing the work instead of an engine. I'm glad I live in an area where everyone shares the road as well as we do because it makes it even more enjoyable when you don't have to worry about the vehicle coming up behind you pulling some stunts with you for a laugh.