Good bus driving.
Hold it right there, punk!
- Thread starter johnbryanpeters
- Start date
Nicely done, indeed.
hell yeah to the bus driver
the governor also just sign a new law into place about leaving a 4' "cushion" when passing a cyclist.
the governor also just sign a new law into place about leaving a 4' "cushion" when passing a cyclist.
Of course the driver will still plead down to a nothing charge and get a slap on the wrist.
Seems like a pretty busy/fast/narrow road for cyclists to be on......just sayin'.
Yeah that was a kick ass move by the bus driver, but it is NEVER going to safe to ride a bike on a road like that in this country. Pass all the laws you want, make everyone hold hands and sing kumbaya, but riding around in the middle of a lane on a road like that and you are going to get to hear whitney houston singing to you through a Marshall amp with Cobain on the guitar.
No clue what that cyclist's options were, but there are a couple roads here that are setup almost identically (2 lanes each direction, no shoulder, no bike lane and the speed limit 30-35mph), and often you just have to suck it up and ride in the traffic. It's either illegal or highly discouraged to ride on sidewalks, and so that's just what you do.
That was a bridge in Bethlehem, so there probably *wasn't* an alternative for the cyclist to take...
Here's part of the route my wife has to take every day when she rides to work. Thankfully it's only a mile long and the traffic is "ok", but it still sucks...
edit: By the way, the speed limit on that bridge is only 35mph, and it's actually the less-traveled bridge (there's a far busier bridge just to the side of it if you're looking at google maps).
That was a bridge in Bethlehem, so there probably *wasn't* an alternative for the cyclist to take...
Here's part of the route my wife has to take every day when she rides to work. Thankfully it's only a mile long and the traffic is "ok", but it still sucks...
edit: By the way, the speed limit on that bridge is only 35mph, and it's actually the less-traveled bridge (there's a far busier bridge just to the side of it if you're looking at google maps).
Last edited:
Depends on the area. Here in Madison people ride bikes on roads similar to that all the time, and there are enough cyclists on the road that people know to look out for us. Not fun, but not suicidal either...
edit: A cyclist was killed on this bridge only 2 months ago. The (79 year old) driver paid a $500 fine and had her license suspended for 6 months.
Last edited:
The driver's actions are obviously inexcusable, but based on the layout of that road, cyclists should not be allowed on that bridge. It's not safe for riders and drivers alike.
The valley trail is on the sidewalk. It has signage and everything. At the pedestrian crossing it warns them about cyclists. Allentown and the Lehigh Valley is possibly one of the most cycling friendly towns in the US. They have a Velodrome there and UCI has a couple of events there every season. Rodale press is based in Emmaus PA (Bicycling Mag and others...).
Why? It's 35mph speed limit, and 2 lanes in each direction. That's NO different (ok, 5mph higher speed limit) than the road that I linked to on google maps. There's nothing wrong with the road, only the assholes driving on it. The 17 year old in the video was driving aggressively (he starts out behind the silver car, and when he hits the cyclist he's *in front* of it), *and it appears that he was trying to pass the bus on the right. The bus starts out in the right lane, shifts over to the left to pass the cyclist, and the driver of the black car tries to pass (illegally) on the right.
Great move by the bus driver for sure! Looks like the cyclist wasn't seriously injured.
You guys do raise a good point however. Much of the infrastructure currently in place in the US does not really take cyclists into account. We all know telling cars to "watch out for cyclists" only goes so far, and often ends with cyclists getting killed. To really address multi-use here, 1 of the 4 lanes could be dedicated to cyclists (complete w/ lane markers and plastic poles), or one of the two sidewalks could be reserved for cyclists (like the golden gate bridge)
You guys do raise a good point however. Much of the infrastructure currently in place in the US does not really take cyclists into account. We all know telling cars to "watch out for cyclists" only goes so far, and often ends with cyclists getting killed. To really address multi-use here, 1 of the 4 lanes could be dedicated to cyclists (complete w/ lane markers and plastic poles), or one of the two sidewalks could be reserved for cyclists (like the golden gate bridge)
Awesome .
.
This is why I don't ride on the road anymore.
Although I was never into riding road. I prefer dodging objects like trees and rocks that dont move on their own.
How is it not safe? There is an entire lane to the left of the rider. It's only "not safe" because drivers are impatient dickheads.
qft
.....
This is what they are doing in cities that are more bike-friendly, especially when the traffic count doesn't require the full 4 lanes. Kinzie St in Chicago is a great example.
We pushed to have that done on a few roads here, but most of them were high-traffic streets that required the additional lanes.
I guess maybe I'm lucky in regards to being able to road ride here. Maybe its the sheer quantity of road riders, the fact that the Olympic Training Center is located here, or just CO in general, but I seriously have only had two "incidences" in 8+years of commuting. Once got the car load of kids who buzzed by screaming, and once with a very narrowly avoided head on with some douche bag cutting a corner. This ass backwards town of course won't fund bike lines or greenways so I guess its a good thing most people are cyclist aware, but I am constantly kind of amazed at the horror stories I read of cyclists in other towns. IMHO its an issue of enforcement and the perception of the auto mobile as king. A 500 dollar fine and loss of driving privileges for 6 months (as in the case Dante sites) is NOT appropriate punishment for someone who's head was so far up and locked that they took a life. Such a lite sentence only enforces the image of the cyclist (or motorcyclist) as some kind of lower caste unworthy of recognition. Were not talking about hitting a stray dog here. Unfortunately however this is not an isolated case, drivers who kill or severely injure a cyclist (or motorcyclists in many cases) are allowed to go with a plea and a slap on the wrist. These sorts of violations are treated like speeding tickets, and until the courts treat them as the severe and often times life changing or ending events that they are, nothing will change with the typical driver.
This.
I have hope that the dooshbag gets the book thrown at him. If he had stopped I wouldn't... but seeing as he tried to flee... I have hope.
This too. I avoid riding on roads like the plague. My commute involves about 1.5 miles at the end which requires riding on a similar road (except not so busy - it's in a business park). And I handle that stretch the exact same way that guy does - ride SMACK in the middle of the right lane.
I wrote a blog post on this exact idea yesterday, although it was in relation to the delivery guy in Manhattan that Tracy Morgan "doored" earlier in the week. It was an hour after sunset, and the delivery guy didn't even have (according to Tracy) the base-level of lights legally required for riding after dark.Pesqueeb's article said:
I literally stop at every red light and wait till it turns green, just as if I were in a car. I roll deserted stop signs at ~7mph, just like I would do in a car. I take up my full lane as required by WI DOT and wait in line at the lights just like everyone else...
edit:
The Wisconsin DOT agrees with you (not sure about other state's laws).
Wisconsin DOT said:Narrow lanes
Ride in the center of the lane.
Keep at least three feet between yourself and passing or parked traffic.
Wide lanes
Ride just to the right of the actual traffic line, not alongside the curb.
Keep at least three feet between yourself and the curb or from parked vehicles. Motorists should be passing you with at least 3 feet of clearance.
Last edited:
Colorado agrees. There are two locations on my commute home where I practice this religiously.
^^^^I still think that a MASSIVE problem is education for both drivers and cyclists. If the cyclist doesn't know to take up the whole lane, they hug the right shoulder, get buzzed by impatient drivers, and then don't ride on that section again. If drivers don't know about that, they just think we're arrogant assholes purposely holding up traffic.
I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of the attraction.
Sad but true. But its easier to say no bikes, or bikes must use sidewalk than to educate a nation on patience and safety. Restricting bike use may seem like a step in the wrong direction, but i think its obvious which solution will result in less loss of life.
No. F'ing. Way.
Restricting bicycles is NOT the answer. If every city had the option to just ban bicycles from a dangerous section instead of having to *pay* money to upgrade it to accommodate cyclists, how many do you think would fork over the millions of dollars in cycling infrastructure spending, and how many would just sign an ordinance that said "no bicycles allowed"?
I'd bet that the vast majority would choose "option 2" and just pocket the cash. If you look at a satellite view of the bridge in question, there's *no* alternative anywhere near it. There's a busier bridge to the West, and what looks to be just as crappy an option to the East.
Fahy Bridge, Bethlehem, Lehigh, Pennsylvania 18018 - Google Maps
It honestly looks like Fahy bridge is the best option, as it's not part of a through street/highway and so I'd bet that the traffic on it would be lower than either of the other two options (which don't have bike lanes/paths either). To ban bicycles on all of these bridges would mean it's almost impossible to use a bike to get across the river there, or at least that's what it looks like to me...
Very good point.
I think one of our biggest problems here in PA, is that "rednecks" like to try and run cyclists off the road on purpose. Just last week I had some guy TRY to run me off the road twice with in one block. He looked me right in the eyes both times and swerved to hit me. Couldn't catch up to him to get his plate or even just confront him...
The valley.... bicycle trail is on the sidewalk? Before the comments were disabled on the youtube site, the Bethlehem Police Dept stated something to the effect of: The pedestrian walkway was deemed unsafe, and therefore the temporary walkway was created on the street. Bicycles are legally prohibited in that temporary walkway, and so the cyclist was doing the correct thing by riding in the street.
They also said that it's going to be ~4 years before the state gets around to fixing the pedestrian walkway....
I've started having thoughts like this lately also, this coming from someone who logged 3k+ roadie miles a year at one time (mostly commuting). To me it's sad; ...but when I look back at the choices I get to make when it's time to go ride any one of the bikes I own, I choose the roadie less & less, in favor of riding trails without having to bring along that feeling like I need an extra set of eyes looking over my shoulder all the time.
...that, and the fact that with trails, for the most part if I stay involved with the land manager/owner, often I can make changes to the trails to make the trail riding experience better for all. It's not so easy to do that on the road...
Last edited:
Compare the number of fatalities in cars to the number of fatalities on bikes, then let's talk about what will result in less loss of life.
Bicyclist Deaths in 2010: 618
Cars killed 24,474 in 2009
Preventable medical mistakes and infections are responsible for about 200,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
Clearly the solution is to keep doctors out of hospitals.
Also relevant:
Srsly. THe average driver is ritardondo.Also relevant:
The average person is ritardondo. Not a reason to stop living your life, including choosing to bicycle among motor vehicles.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
- George Carlin
- George Carlin