being polite on the road..question

[rbelisle1]

So, after my little experiance with the rude biker, I decided maybe I should talk to some of my co-workers who ride with various clubs... I came to understand that there are some nice ways to do things.. Of course this info is from guys who ride together. So, there is some jabs at each other as to how they do things. That got me to thinking about communter riders and how to be polite with my fellow travelers

Here are some of my questions...

Stop lights. Should I yeild to obviously faster riders or should I just take my turn as we cross and then let the passing begin, once underway and safe from traffic? Is saying something to riders who cut in line out of place????

Stop signs and lights. Red means stop right... is it ever ok to run a stop sign or light????? AKA California roll....

Cars parked on the side of the road. There are a few cars parked on the side streets that I ride on. I normally swing wide to avoid car doors opening, but what if a car is comming up behind me? I normally slow and let the moving car pass, then I pass the parked car. Is this the best idea???? I ask because sometimes the moving cars slow down and are waiting on me to swerve out in front of them.. They sometimes almost come to a complete stop.

Cross walks.. As I try to cross ( with the light), cars are in the walk way. they see me and some want me to go in front of the. I always go behind them...Polite????

Passing other riders under way..Left side passing is correct???? Should I announce my intentions???? Say something?? Ring my bell???? Blast past them silent and deadly?????

Thats all I can think of, any answers or situations that I have missed?????

bob in phx....

 

[nomad85]

When passing other bicyclists a simple "on your left does the trick nicely"

Personally I take up a lane if there are parked cars, I don't want to die. I also go around 25-30 mph at most times, but I still get some cars blowing by me in a huff...

I do a rolling stop or blow through most stop signs, unless I cannot see the entire intersection, I usually stop at a red light until it is clear, I feel no guilt crossing if there is no traffic, if a cop ever tells me otherwise I will change my behavior.

When there is more than one bike at a light if we can't fit side by side, I let the the person go ahead if they were there first, but usually I pull up beside and say hello, then we start off at the same time, and I quickly leave them in the dust, unless we are still talking.

I am not a hardcore bicyclist, but I do some road and group rides/tours when I am not using the e-bike.

 

[dogman dan]

When I first started commuting last march, the walkers on the bike path were pretty used to having it all to themselves in the dark of morning. A good horn, and a bit of courtesy went a long way, stopping to chat whith each group of regulars to let them know they needed to move aside fast when they heard my horn but only enough to let me by. At first I got a lot of dirty looks when I passed at 25-30 mph. Sure it took a lot of time, but now I ride that path no problems and had I not done that, I'd still be slowing down for every pedestrian.

Out on the street, it's a bit different. But obeying all traffic laws on busier streets even when empty is a must do starting point. Having said that, I have also modified my route to include as many low traffic residential streets as possible so I can do a slow and look instead of a stop, at stop signs. If a car, or a cop, appears in my view, I can still stop in time but if all clear, I keep rolling. If you want any courtesy from the drivers of a vehicle that could easily squash you, you better give them some too, if it doesn't endanger you in the process. The one thing I still have problems with is the crosswalk. The guy turning right has to wait for the green because of traffic, and when the crosswalk says walk, the driver wants to make his right turn. I edge out enough to make my intention clear, but not enought to get tagged, and then point at the walk signal. Most drivers stop, some will just slow down and squeeze past. Enough drivers have now seen this, to get the idea, and I am slowly training drivers at this intersection to pay attention to walkers and bikers on the bike path crosswalk. Without roadrageing anybody, I'm gradually getting the drivers to realize they have to yeild when the crosswalk light is on.

 

[Anonymous]

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[dogman dan]

A few more thoughts,

At the stop lights, let anybody on a bike by that wants it. Be sure to whistle a cheery tune as you pass him later so he knows you aren't straining. Who cares about the line up when you have an ebike?

Parked cars that might open a door into you indicate a severe need to find a different route. Seriously, if a safe route can't be found, life is short enough without looking for a way to hurry up your death. I do a 15 mile commute, but I won't ride a road that is extra hazardous. In bigger cities this may be impossible, but in my medium size city lots of safer routes are there, and thanks to the motor, a few extra miles don't matter.

 

[buzzfirst]

In Florida bikes are vehicles and must obey all traffic signs/signals. Running a sign or light here will get you the same ticket as in a car. I live at the beach and the majority of cyclist here give us in the minority a bad name. It is a laid back atmosphere and no one is in a hurry, but everyone expects to give and get courteous treatment.

 

[SamSpeed]

A story about car doors. I learned to ride in Chicago around 1963. Streets were all full of parked cars and I was always aware of the possibility of someone opening a door. So one day I saw a car pull to the side to park well in front of me. This was a 4 lane 35mph street. My intuition said he would be opening his door just about the time I'd pass.

I was always taught to stay over to the right but this time I looked behind and it was sortof clear so I took the lane and passed just as the guy opend the door to get out. I was just a kid but somehow felt real grown-up at that moment.

So ever since then, I shy away from the far right. There's litter, glass, sewer grates and all manner of junk. Especially in the bike lanes around here. I just try to be polite and blend in while staying safe. And sometimes the safest route is to be a bit bold.

my 2cents

 

[Zoot Katz]

A story about car doors. I learned to ride in Chicago around 1963. Streets were all full of parked cars and I was always aware of the possibility of someone opening a door. So one day I saw a car pull to the side to park well in front of me. This was a 4 lane 35mph street. My intuition said he would be opening his door just about the time I'd pass. . . .

It was within my first two months of riding a bicycle as an "adult" that my opinion of drivers became fixed.
A forties-something matron in a gold Benz convertible rolled a stop sign and turned right directly in front of me. I braked and swerved to avoid a crash.
Then after I'd caught up in traffic she did an unsignalled change into the right lane. I braked and swerved again.
Then she pulled ahead about 70 yards before throwing the door open into my path. Three times in as many blocks left me shaken so I stopped and asked, in a remarkably calm voice, "Lady, do realise that's the third time you've tried to kill me?"
Her answer; "So what".
Since that day in 1970 I've regarded them all as scum.

 

[africanandy187]

I cant believe someone said that to you!Some people out there just dont give a crap do they. if someone did that to me then said that id just kick their door or punch their mirror. then they'd change their attitude.

 

[Zoot Katz]

I cant believe someone said that to you!Some people out there just dont give a crap do they. if someone did that to me then said that id just kick their door or punch their mirror. then they'd change their attitude.

I did that once too. It's nothing of which I'm proud. After kicking the door I reacted in shock to the pain by cleaning the mirror right off. I'd been used to riding the Dnepr in steel toe gum boots. Bastard looked me right in the eyes as he started steering into me when his lane ended at the intersection.

I've had a brush pass bully get his comeuppance by his own hand.
After five blocks and four aggressive actions meant to be intimidating, I gobbed on the guy's hood as I passed him stopped in traffic. He got so angry he accelerated right into the back of the 5 ton truck stopped ahead of him. I turned at the next block.

Another guy and I had been passing and re passing each other since he was waiting to get onto the bridge and through downtown, about 8 kilometers of Friday afternoon rush hour. I smoked the last stale orange before the viaduct with nobody behind me. Fool is the first off the line and doing close to 60 MPH in a 60KmH zone. His little truck mirror missed my shoulder by maybe three inches. He immediately looked in the rear view mirror for my reaction. He got the 1000 yard stare. He began to sweat when he saw I was going to catch him at the bottom of the exit ramp. He pulled a panic turn into cross traffic on a red light. The light was green when I hit it and was soon drafting the last vehicles in the pod before it started to split up for the next intersection. Loverboy was boxed at the light and frantically rolling up his windows when the left turn signal I wanted sequenced on so I made my turn on the fly and blew him a kiss. He'd freaked himself out worse than I could have by reacting in the expected manner.

Another one that turned out funny was the dude in the MB SUV. When he checked his mirror for a reaction I just looked at him like an over flowing toilet bowl. So he flips me the bird and I spit. He shakes his fist and I grab my crotch. Fool pulls over slams on the brakes and jumps out into the street! After I skillfully avoided hitting him he punched me in the back. I figured he wanted to talk so I turned at the next corner and started back along an empty sidewalk. When I got within earshot I started reciting his license plate number aloud. When I was about 15 feet from the hero he bolted, scurried back to his coffin and took off. I filed a police report and was visited by two constables for a statement. The plate number didn't match the vehicle description and they wanted a description of the driver. Later an anonymous call came to say that because I didn't have a witness they'd not likely be able to successfully prosecute the guy for assault but, the plates on the Benz were the plates off the guy's Chevy compact. Both cars were towed and impounded and it was going to cost him lots of money to get them back.

Those are memorable incidents in four decades of riding. Most of the time there is no conflict except with the inevitable boneheads you'll meet. Competent, knowledgeable and skilled drivers are as quickly forgotten as law abiding cyclists. Overly polite drivers can mess up things as thoroughly as any other anomalous type of behaviour. I hate them because they're too often encouraging unsafe or illegal maneuvers.

Riding in groups, whether regimented club rides, booze cruises, sanctioned disease rides or just a bunch of fellow commuters requires communication. It's not hard to do on a bike. So what if they're strangers. There's a common bond, as much as the different cliques will deny it, among people awheel under their own power. I find "nice bike", "gravity sucks" or whatever pops into my head to be good ice breakers at a stop signal. I don't care who moves to the front of the queue. The hills or wind will sort things out and the next set of lights will have us all bunched back together. I always give those people wearing orange safety vests an extra wide margin when passing. They look to be easily startled and I wouldn't want to startle them. One of my bikes has a bell and u-lock that make noise on bumpy pavement so I try to remain out of earshot of other cyclists until I'm ready to pass them and then I usually say hello or something equally lame.

A few of the things I consider rude when riding in a group are:
Blinking tail lights - Please put them on solid.
Drafting by strangers - Ask if it's okay to suck my wheel. Otherwise stay out of my slipstream or at least two meters back.
(Drafting and racing is generally considered bad form among commuters.)
Cyclists who yell at other cyclists - "GET A HELMET!", "GET A LIGHT!", "ON YOUR LEFT!", etc. fukoff already.

Some of the rudest and least traffic-savvy cyclists I've ever ridden with are the ones with bike racks mounted on their cars.