Think of this as a Missed Connection.

You blew the red light east bound on Lawrence at Damen at 5:26 pm this evening.

 

There was enough time for the biker in front of me to make it half way into the intersection, northbound on Damen, before you came whizzing past my front wheel.

 

I yelled "You're an idiot!" at your big haired chick, self, and you looked back at me. I meant it!

 

I woulda testified for any of the cars, that managed to not kill you, if they had.

 

Keep riding like a tard!

love,

gabe

 

Witness bad behavior during your commute? Feel free to post. Maybe that lovely human can read it and think they are famous. Maybe you can also inspire the whole generation of kids to shower but we can start with small things.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Weeks on September 11, 2019 at 5:45am

I agree. The same thing applies (IMO) when there are cars waiting at a red light and a cyclist goes right on through. What must they think of us?

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on September 11, 2019 at 6:45am

yes, but that isn't a reason to justify lacking in safe accommodations. I hear this pro-car argument all the time - oh, cyclists are law breakers. We are more likely to break the law to keep ourselves safe especially if we lack safe accommodations and protected bike lanes. OTH, motorists break laws out of impatience and distraction. And with so much of the population driving SUVs now and using their phones, I'm far more worried about them then one cyclist that blew a red (especially if they did it when the intersection was clear). p.s. We deserve safe accommodations NO MATTER WHAT. I would like a world where parents can ride and walk with their kids to school without worrying about dangerous speeding cars. This morning a few of the cyclists in the DC area had their kids brought to tears because of trucks and motorists speeding and breaking the 3-feet rule. 
footnote: I follow the laws 90% of the time and reserve the rest to keep me safe. 

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on September 11, 2019 at 7:01am

In this case, cyclists have actually been given bike lanes. There is absolutely no justifiable concerned-for-one's-safety reason for a cyclist to ever ignore a school crossing guard. You are supposed to stop, period.

Obviously cars are the bigger concern - it's why the crossing guard is there in the first place - but this is nevertheless unsafe and bad for community relations behavior for cyclists. This all gets back to the larger issue - if we want to be treated as legitimate road users, we have to respect the most vulnerable other users. In this case, beyond the kids/parents it's also the poor crossing guard standing in a crosswalk in a neon vest holding a stop sign.

Permalink Reply by ad on September 11, 2019 at 8:05am

^^^^this.  It is 100% possible to believe the City (and the country) lacks acceptable bicycle infrastructure and accommodations, get upset that drivers (and the general public) use cyclists' bad behavior to in part justify not making concessions on those points, BUT STILL get upset that cyclists do things like blow past a crossing guard in the middle of an intersection with a stop sign while kids are crossing.  

I don't buy into the driver narrative that any sort of bad behavior by cyclists justifies not keeping cyclists safe, but I also do not buy into the counter-narrative that by calling out obvious bad behavior we see in the cyclist community as cyclists that we're feeding into the driver narrative.  

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on September 11, 2019 at 8:53am

Agreed, there's no excuse for cutting through a crossing like that and putting pedestrians in harm's way. I was referring to a bigger picture comment. 

Permalink Reply by ketoguychicago on September 13, 2019 at 1:31am

Carter O'Brien is absolutely right, not only regarding the crossing guard situation but likewise in the broader context of which those rules are a part.   

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