Why cant Cyclist's follow the rules of the road?

I wonder why cars and cyclist but heads all the time on this topic? Each groups feels a sense of entitlement to the road. Why cant we share the road. The laws are setup to share the road, the car drivers don't agree and the cyclists are riding two abreast, each trying to claim there part of the pavement. The unfortunate part the cyclist will loose every single time.

Each needs to allow the other on the road, and make it safe for both. Bikers also need to stop for stop signs and lights. Cars need to look out for bikers on the road.

Even in motorcycle groups we have the similar things happening. One groups feeling thier sense of entitlement, ruining it for the rest of us.

We need to make our roads safer for our kids to ride on. What happen to curtosey?

Does one bad apple spoil the whole bunch?

Vehicle drivers need to stop being so aggressive in traffic!

Rene

Our Gang Bicycle Club

NE Illinois

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 25, 2011 at 8:21am

cyclist's's breaks are an important part of every brakefast!

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Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on May 25, 2011 at 8:24am

Ya know, drivers of the cars tend to bend them as well...and they do have incentives to do otherwise.

magomawe said:

I agree with riding predictably. I think more cyclists need to do that which includes signaling for turns and stopping at red lights.

That being said, people are going to act according to their incentives. Coming to a complete stop wastes a lot of momentum, so few cyclists will do so at stop signs. I think everyone should yield and stop if a there is a car or bike that is waiting to cross their path. But if there is no one there, why would a cyclists do more than yield? Similarly if there is a red light and no one is coming, after stopping, I don't see a problem with going through the red light. That is clearly illegal, but if it doesn't inconvenience anyone in motion and the cops aren't going to ticket cyclists ... then there appears to be no incentive to follow the rules completely.

Since the rules were written with cars in mind, bikers will always bend them at their will, unless their will be incentives to do otherwise.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 25, 2011 at 9:17am

Heading out early on the red to cross an intersection when it is clear but has not turned green is actually safer than waiting for the light to turn green and having to start out competing with the rush of cars all trying to jam into the intersection with you.

In Chicago there is always one or two cars in the right lane that need to drag race the cars in the left lane for position since the right lane often ends in parking at the other side of the intersection. These guys will just as soon run over or crowd out a bike so they can get ahead of one or two cars rather than wait and merge.

I feel that waiting for the green and getting involved with this multi-car melee in the middle of the intersection is a bad idea and if it means breaking the law to run through early on the red when it is clear so be it! Laws are supposed to serve people -not the other way around.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on May 25, 2011 at 10:52am

Korvas Black said:

I once took part in a door-slamming argument over whether or not "overexaggerate" was grammatically acceptable. It wasn't then, and it isn't now.

Now we are getting into the territory of extreme hyperbole!

I once heard one of the Chicago Public Radio hosts use that phrase and my wife and I figuratively laughed our asses off! Oh, no! -not the extreme hyperbole!

Jeff Schneider said:

http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/for-christ-and-petes-sake-...

Robert Beck said:

The reason cyclist's cannot follow the rules of the road is because it is cool to blow stop signs, ride through the red light at intersections, ride against traffic on busy streets, but most importantly ride with no breaks in the city!!!! Hooray look at me I'm riding a bicycle with no breaks!