Have you had any interactions with unsafe Divvy riders?

At a recent Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council meeting, someone said they felt Divvy riders are less likely to be aware of, and/or compliant with, important rules of the road than other cyclists. I'm working on an article on the topic.

In my experience, it's not uncommon to see Divvy riders pedaling on sidewalks, or against traffic, although I'm not sure whether this behavior is more common among bike-share users, or if it just seems that way because the bright-blue bikes are conspicuous.

What's your take on the issue? Have you had an run-ins with unsafe Divvy riders? Ever had a conversation with one? Was the person a day pass holder or an annual member? A visitor or a local?

Thanks,

John Greenfield

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Permalink Reply by Tristan Jackson on September 23, 2014 at 8:57am

i say he builds a model city and runs a double blind experiment. maybe two model cities... one populated by your average divvy rider and the other by chainlink members

Rich S said:

Oh your discussion title and OP made it sound like you were looking for unsafe rather than illegal. Two different things.

Any responses you get will be anecdotal. I personally don't think I see higher rates of lawbreaking by Divvy riders. I would even say less relative to people riding their own bikes. But I've never counted or kept track. Since you are researching for an article I suggest picking a busy intersection or stop sign and get some data. Note the number of cyclists you see on Divvy vs. non-Divvy and record instances of laws being broken. Do that at a few places for a few hours each and you'll have some data that will likely be representative of reality.

Otherwise it's just opinions and hearsay.

John Greenfield said:

I agree with you on most points clp -- I'm not arguing that these folks on slow bikes are creating a a major safety problem, at least not for other people. I'm just curious if other people feel they've observed a higher rate of lawbreaking among Divvy riders, and if lawbreaking Divvy riders tend to be newbies to Chicago cycling.

Permalink Reply by Justin Sondak on September 23, 2014 at 12:09pm

This summer I witnessed two serious but avoidable Divvy accidents. A rider on the Michigan Avenue sidewalk adjacent to Millennium Park couldn't find her balance when she got going and tipped over, slamming into a small child. Later that month, two Divvy riders going opposite directions collided on the lakefront path at Queen's Landing. Stupid, brainless accident but at least they seemed unhurt.

Divvy's slower speeds prevent these accidents from being worse, but they do add to sidewalk crowding and make people perceive cyclists to be less safe.

Have you had any interactions with unsafe Divvy riders?

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