I believe i've been accused of being a cycle-nazi. I believe because of the injuries caused to pedestrians by cyclists avoiding traffic and using paths.

Interesting story. Around here, all the main roads have a cyclist lane between the sidewalk and the cars and, except when turning, you better not even encroach on it.

That's funny, cause around here all the cyclist lanes have roads...

@Ora - I don't have a problem with that.
As I posted there, I am fully in favour of the government penalising bad cyclists as well. Those who jump red lights put everyone in danger, since cars make the generalisation that all cyclists are the same.
However, most of the people commenting on that article are going on about how they pay road tax and we don't, so we should just deal with it.

They pay road taxes because they do the damage to the road. Cars are far harder on the roads than bikes and trucks/lorries are the hardest.

That said, I could see requiring cyclist to get a cycling license for a fiver every year. I'm sure 5 pounds wouldn't hurt the average cyclist once a year and it would shut the commentors up.

the cyclist was more to blame than the driver in that video. he hit the van about 40ft before the parked car (58 sec into the vid). why couldn't he simply let the van pass and then move in behind it? there was plenty of time to do so. all he had to do was coast for two seconds.

i believe the cycle lanes should be on foot paths with a grass separation between them and the roads (for safety of the non-motoring public) but this is not always feasible...

i would of course be willing to sacrifice a lane of traffic wherever this would make it feasible.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/210889/portlandia-bike-rider

lol i dont bike myself, but i do live in austin, and we are like the bike capital of.... at least the south. so i have fair bit of experience being on the other end.

that said.... i try really hard to give them a wide berth. but that's not to say they don't sometime act carelessly themselves. i wish *I* had had a camera for the time a crowd of literally a dozen cyclists ALL rode past me while I waited at a *red light,* then when I started to try to overtake them (nearly impossible as they took up most of the road), they basically scared me into not doing it because they swerved allll over the lane, making me afraid of killing one.

but those are relatively rare occurrences. i think it is much worse the other way. here in austin (and i imagine elsewhere) many of us motorists have a bumper sticker that read "please be kind to cyclists"

@trip - Not sure on that case, but I agree its far from certain.
However, every cyclist I know can testify that at least once they've been knocked off by bad drivers. One of the ones who recently hit me cut across me (she tried to overtake and turn left at the same time) and sure enough I hit her inside - I didn't have time to react. Then, she pulled over and had the cheek to claim I owed her for a new door mirror!

also :( can't comment trip, my browser wouldn't download the video...

one thing i will say though is this: i don't know what it's like in the UK but i have noticed that cyclists seem to think the rules of the road don't apply.

they run stop signs, don't signal their turns, go the wrong way on one way roads, and even run RED LIGHTS.

so i really have no sympathy if one of those people gets a broken arm as a result.

I'm not sure that's the best instance of careless driving.

All that cyclist needed to do was slow down.

I have never seen a cyclist stop for the full cycle of a red light. Never. Then again, I live in Ann Arbor, home of the most pretentious and egocentric student body I have ever seen. Pedestrians are even worse than cyclists. They'll walk casually across the street wherever, whenever.

@SD - Trust me, there are a lot of us who do. Unfortunately its the other ones who cause all the fuss, if only because most drivers wish they could get away with doing it too.

I came scarily close to killing a cyclist once.

I was driving through campus and a bus was parked in a bus-stop such that I couldn't see people beginning to cross on the crosswalk. Because of this, I slowed down so I could see pedestrians pop out from the front of the bus. However, I did not expect a cyclist to barrel through the crosswalk at full speed. Had I not slowed down that tiny bit beforehand, he most certainly would be dead.

yeah lol sacred my experience may have something to do with it being near the university campus.

i myself admit that as a pedestrian i will usually cross the street if i think i can make it - if the cars coming are too squeamish to maintain their present speed then that's their issue. lol. so i guess i can see both sides of it.

so maybe our experience is with pretentious "invincible" young people, not with cyclists in general.

i cycle where i live (philly), and the issue here is that drivers hit cylcists and don't bother stopping, whether they kill them or not. while drivers are supposed to yield to bike riders, i'm not going to force the issue like that guy did. i understand i'm going to lose in an accident with a vehicle every time, so i make sure to protect myself. if that means that i have to slow down my pace, then so be it. it's better than getting hit.

And, of course, I do see the other side of it too, because I've been hit by a car as a pedestrian while in a delineated crosswalk (and with right of way), and hit as a cyclist while I had right of way, but I've also been hit while driving a car, both by a cyclist and by a car.

I was in a friend's car once when he was honest to god hit by a pedestrian. He was stopped at a stop light, and a pedestrian jay-walked into the side of his van, apparently they were too focused on watching the traffic coming from further down.

Have to say, bad cyclists are very often the older ones.
I guess its because they've survived this long, and put up with bad drivers so far, what could go worse

"I was in a friend's car once when he was honest to god hit by a pedestrian. He was stopped at a stop light, and a pedestrian jay-walked into the side of his van, apparently they were too focused on watching the traffic coming from further down."

lol i've come close to doing this myself.

i've been wrecked by drivers too, figle. two times i've had drivers clip my back wheel, sending me sprawling. Neither bothered to stop to see if I was ok.

@SD: i'll be honest, i run red lights, but only after stopping to make sure no cars are coming.

but srsly i think this show has potential i'm bummed i dont have ifc


http://www.hulu.com/watch/210889/portlandia-bike-rider

I bike everywhere, and one sunny day someone decided to U-turn across a double yellow into me. Concussion, torn meniscus, chipped elbow...I have the fear when it comes to cars, I give them all the road they want. I see dumb cyclists, and dumb drivers, but dumb drivers have the ability to hurt a lot more then themselves. Here in Seattle, people are generally aware of cyclists.

Always wear a helmet, and use lights.

that does look funny, thucy.

i will say this: the bike messanger posers who ride fixed gear bikes with pedal brakes are a huge pet peeve of mine. they're usually the clowns who plow into pedestrians.

*messenger

Agreed. "real" cyclists are the one who might skip red lights but will at least keep to the road.

Ten years ago or so I was driving past a line of parked cars and a van when some old twit (at least 50) on a pushbike just cycled out from behind the van straight across the road! He didn't slow down! He didn't even look! Just straight out and - BANG - instant hood ornament! He ended up in hospital and I had some explaining to do to the car hire company and the cops. Fortunately the cops found a witness, so I was in the clear. I don't know if the hire company ever went after the cyclist - I never heard anything about it again.

*real* cyclists... that are more pure! Others are just some weird variant...

I ride my bike 3 miles to work each day in Oregon, but we've got bike lanes on all the busy roads. Generally don't have a problem. It does really annoy me going through campus where all the college kids ride like crazy and ignore all the rules of the road.

I can't imagine cycling busy roads without bike lanes.

Well to claim they're all as sensible as me would be untrue.

Since we seem to be reaching agreement, I'd like to quietly huff at particularly slow cyclists. The ones that dawdle along and won't jump a GREEN light, let alone red.

I remember back in my college days taking a phys ed class and they gave out a sheet that had the number of calories burnt doing various exercises. For cycling they had different numbers for different speeds, but only up to 15mph (~24kph). I usually would be going 20mph (~32kph) back in those days.

Now in my late 30s, after having kids and a car and not riding much until this last year, I'm out of shape but getting better and 15mph seems decent. Until some guy whizzes past me and I feel like an old fart.

Next time someone rushes past you, tag along and slipstream them. Saves you effort, gives you something to think about, gets you there faster, and almost always annoys the guy in front :P

As someone who doesn't cycle, but walks a lot, I get very annoyed by cyclists cycling in pedestrianised areas and on pavements not meant for cycles. A bicycle is a VEHICLE and as such should stay on the road, or on designated cycle paths / cycle lanes.

if you ride often, you'll get there, alderian. i'm 36 and replaced my car with a bike about a year ago. the first month was brutal. even with a max 5% percent grade in the city, i'd get winded going short distances. now i can traverse the city no problem.

for an example of the roads i usually ride:

http://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1T4TSNA_enUS378US378&q=10th+and+tasker,+philly&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=S+10th+St+%26+Tasker+St,+Philadelphia,+PA+19147&gl=us&ei=FqFITfzROYep8AaqutiUBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ8gEwAA