The Chainlink

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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If only that had a flipphandle installed...

Liz said:

Today I saw a cyclist cram them self to the right of a box truck with its right turn signal on.  There wasn't enough room between the curb and the truck for the cyclist, so they did this by putting one foot on the curb and tilting the handle bars.  

 

Hey Dougie! :u) I was waitin for u since so many mentions had occurred. Miss ya!

I would respond that often times that wave happens when there is other traffic. What if the other traffic didnt see the wave? Now i'm the bad guy. Or worse yet if there is cross traffic and they don't see it. Now i'm in harms way. If everyone follows the rules the chances of incident are cut down. It also makes liability easier to figure out when someone f's up.

No bad behavior last night or this morning.Surprising. :-)

I thought that was addressed adequately by Brian and Laura on the page before.

I've kind of given up hope but it would be nice if NING would do something about the clunky forum interface which seems to make it hard to follow a whole discussion before responding.

Gabe said:

Hey Dougie! :u) I was waitin for u since so many mentions had occurred. Miss ya!

I would respond that often times that wave happens when there is other traffic. What if the other traffic didnt see the wave? Now i'm the bad guy. Or worse yet if there is cross traffic and they don't see it. Now i'm in harms way. If everyone follows the rules the chances of incident are cut down. It also makes liability easier to figure out when someone f's up.

No bad behavior last night or this morning.Surprising. :-)

I've never been waved on into other traffic by anyone in a car, the only times I am waved on is at pretty much empty intersections.  Even if that is the case if the car waving you on has the right of way and you have the legitimate next right of way if they wave you on there should be no conflict with the other road users.

 

Regardless it's not like their wave puts you in danger; you still have to make the choice if you proceed into the intersection.

 

My bigger point is this:  A lot of people here are acting pissed off and annoyed because drivers are trying to give them the right of way...  People are doing something they think is nice and you are getting exasperated and annoyed about it; personally if somebody wants to concede the right of way to me I am going to take it and be thankful that they noticed me and were considerate.

 

I mean really, if a person sees you there, acknowledges your presence and then allows you the right of way in favor of themselves what harm has been done?  People do it to other drivers all the time...

 

Gabe said:

Hey Dougie! :u) I was waitin for u since so many mentions had occurred. Miss ya!

I would respond that often times that wave happens when there is other traffic. What if the other traffic didnt see the wave? Now i'm the bad guy. Or worse yet if there is cross traffic and they don't see it. Now i'm in harms way. If everyone follows the rules the chances of incident are cut down. It also makes liability easier to figure out when someone f's up.

No bad behavior last night or this morning.Surprising. :-)

Two points:

The harm is that it propagates the image that bikes aren't real vehicles expected to abide by traffic laws like everyone else. This sets up confusion and anxiety on the part of drivers and cyclists, creating a less safe environment for cyclists.

Second, I have spent a chunk of time driving in Chicago and never been waved through a four-way stop where I didn't have the right of way by another driver. If we both arrived at the intersection at precisely the same time, that's one thing, (and a very rare occurrence), but if I arrive detectably later in my car, I wait my turn. I do the same thing when I'm on my bike. It's an easy rule to remember, "I wait my turn", I don't see why it should be somehow different if I am biking.

notoriousDUG said:

I mean really, if a person sees you there, acknowledges your presence and then allows you the right of way in favor of themselves what harm has been done?  People do it to other drivers all the time...

 

Oh Shawn! That was almost me tonight. Thank goodness there was not traffic on the road. Scarey stuff that dooring. I yelled to the driver "They call that dooring." He called back "Well how am I supposed to get out of my car?" OK, back to the cool thread of reckless bikers. Thanks.


Shawn C. said:

To the rider/salmon riding upstream (west) on Lawrence (near Cicero) yesterday afternoon: You avoided being doored, but at my expense of swerving into oncoming traffic!

 

 

Drivers don't normally need to look for rapidly moving vehicles going the WRONG WAY when opening their door.  In that case, you were the idiot.

Michelle Gregorek said:
Oh Shawn! That was almost me tonight. Thank goodness there was not traffic on the road. Scarey stuff that dooring. I yelled to the driver "They call that dooring." He called back "Well how am I supposed to get out of my car?" OK, back to the cool thread of reckless bikers. Thanks.


Shawn C. said:

To the rider/salmon riding upstream (west) on Lawrence (near Cicero) yesterday afternoon: You avoided being doored, but at my expense of swerving into oncoming traffic!

 

 

To the idiot with a giant cardboard box on your handlebars,

 

Salmoning, and weaving between parked cars and traffic on Clyborn isn't smart.  It is even less smart to blow the light at Halsted by darting the wrong way from behind parked cars.  Amazingly, everyone dodged you.  

Cars wave other cars on all the time; waving you on is not a product of people not thinking you have to follow the rules it is a product of people trying to be nice. 

Stephanie said:

Two points:

The harm is that it propagates the image that bikes aren't real vehicles expected to abide by traffic laws like everyone else. This sets up confusion and anxiety on the part of drivers and cyclists, creating a less safe environment for cyclists.

Second, I have spent a chunk of time driving in Chicago and never been waved through a four-way stop where I didn't have the right of way by another driver. If we both arrived at the intersection at precisely the same time, that's one thing, (and a very rare occurrence), but if I arrive detectably later in my car, I wait my turn. I do the same thing when I'm on my bike. It's an easy rule to remember, "I wait my turn", I don't see why it should be somehow different if I am biking.

notoriousDUG said:

I mean really, if a person sees you there, acknowledges your presence and then allows you the right of way in favor of themselves what harm has been done?  People do it to other drivers all the time...

 

The "wave" is of particular irritation when you sit at stop and the windshield of the car is a mirror due to the streetlights above the car. And you know the driver is waving and swearing but as a frail bike you are not willing to tempt fate by riding infront of a proven idiot in a couple of tons of machinery.

When I ...gasp...am in my car all hand signals are given with my arm hanging out the window so as to be in PLAIN sight for all including the vehicle behind so they don't get impatient and blast around me putting my good efforts in jeapardy with the life and property of the target of my largess.

Jeff

The Chicagoan

Salmoning with a box on his handlebars? Maybe he was trying to control the human population 1 biker at a time starting with himself. ;-)

Joel said:

To the idiot with a giant cardboard box on your handlebars,

 

Salmoning, and weaving between parked cars and traffic on Clyborn isn't smart.  It is even less smart to blow the light at Halsted by darting the wrong way from behind parked cars.  Amazingly, everyone dodged you.  

What is the solution then Joel? I was in the bike lane, it was dark so I didn't see him sitting in his car. I was NOT rapidly moving, in fact haven't rapidly moved on my bike in a long time. Again, this is not on topic of the thread so I am sorry to post here....but you say I was the idiot? What is the solution Joel?

Joel said:
Drivers don't normally need to look for rapidly moving vehicles going the WRONG WAY when opening their door.  In that case, you were the idiot.

Michelle Gregorek said:
Oh Shawn! That was almost me tonight. Thank goodness there was not traffic on the road. Scarey stuff that dooring. I yelled to the driver "They call that dooring." He called back "Well how am I supposed to get out of my car?" OK, back to the cool thread of reckless bikers. Thanks.


Shawn C. said:

To the rider/salmon riding upstream (west) on Lawrence (near Cicero) yesterday afternoon: You avoided being doored, but at my expense of swerving into oncoming traffic!

 

 

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