O.K funny thing happend on my way home from work today I got in a little scuffle with a biker ridng in the midle of the street. Just so you know I 'am a rider as well so I no both sets of rules for the road. So anyways this guy was riding in the middle of the road and twenty feet away is the Gateway trail that he could be riding in but nooo. So I got in the wrong lane (left lane) so I could pass him but thought I would give him a little Rumble as I passed him, no it wasn't a total WOT but trying to let him hear I was passing him. Well he must of craped his spanex cause as I got to the light he eventualy caught up and gave me the business. I try to stay out of situations like this but I almost got out of the car #%$^#@ but lucky the light turned green. Oh maybe I should post this in official spotted thread cause spotted Blue 05 or 06 WRX with gauge pillars, said whats up as I passed by. You saw the whole thing WoW that guy was mad!!!! Subaru Love ************* D
I've done it, I have horns in my back, whenever I have excessive gas like I will this Sat after eat pho
Totally done that before. I really dislike bikers that bike in the street. Especially when there is a perfectly good path or sidewalk inches away... Dirty D what are the rules for that?
Biker's are technically supposed to be on the road, NOT the sidewalk. But they're also supposed to follow traffic laws. BTW, I'm an occasional bike rider, but I hate seeing a biker on the street when I'm driving. Even if they're doing everything right, lol. Also, if there's a bike path, then they should use that.
I've been planning on doing this! Sheen and i have gone over all of the stuff for getting it done, just need to pick up an extra set of horns. Flush mounted in the bumper skin on a toggle switch that i can flip on for tailgaters...and leave on til they back off! I'm not a fan of people risking all of our lives because they are impatient. My buddy told me to mount rear facing floodlights, but that would get me in alot of trouble! lolol
I've thought of removing my fogs and replacing with train horns on my bugeye..ac doesn't work so swap out ac compressor for a small air compressor lol
Well when I'am biking I do not ride in the middle of the road I stay to the side and I know when a car is comming up on me and pray there not texting anyone.
The biggest thing that gets me is riders who blow right through stop signs or red lights. Yes, I know you're legally allowed to "share the roads" Follow the damn laws I have to! And then they give you the finger or scowl at you when you remark something like "Hey, you know what a red light means right?"
I know they are allowed to ride in the street, but it just bothers me to have to try and "avoid" them because they are riding too far into the lane at slower speeds. I see nothing wrong with being on a sidewalk, but then again.... I live in Fargo, we are not that big and crowded there.
There seems to be a trend among mpls bicyclists to avoid employing common sense whenever possible. I had one guy fly off the handle at me because he decided he was going to pass me on the left while I was making a left hand turn off a one-way. His claim was since he intended to use the crosswalk (he was riding in the road) then he is a pedestrian. While true that technically bikes are afforded the same rights as a pedestrian in a crosswalk... come the **** on. You're going to bomb down the road and then get pissed off when you roll up in someone's blind spot while they're taking a signaled left hand turn? What, exactly, did you expect to happen? I also have no love for bikers who insist on riding busy, narrow roads with bike paths on either side. There bike path is there because it is dangerous for you to be on the road in that spot. Quit being a douche just because you can.
This sort of thing reminds me of probably the wisest thing I think my dad ever said. Yes, the laws of the state say that pedestrians/bicyclists have the right of way at all times, no matter what and no matter where. HOWEVER, the laws of physics dictate that my 3000 pound piece of steel on wheels will win in a fight at 60 mph. It's better to use common sense and stay alive than be a self-important dumbass and dead. The laws of reality will always override the laws of man.
As an avid cyclist this is all old news. Do some roadies that know better still choose to ride like jack-hats? Yep (I can even name their bike shop kits!). Do some drivers behave like ignorant rednecks just because (they are)? Yep. Riding on sidewalks is illegal in many (most?) areas. We also have a lot of very nice bike paths. However, for experienced riders the bike paths can often prove more dangerous than roads - witness any of the downtown lakes' area trails - runners on the bike path, kids riding on the bike path (in all directions, randomly stopping, etc.), idiotic teenage girls trying to learn how to in-line skate on the bike path, did I mention idiots with poorly or uncontrolled pets? Cyclists have the right to take the lane - i.e. it is much safer/easier to do this around Calhoun or Harriet where you can maintain speeds with car traffic. Also note that cyclists are allowed to roll lighted intersections under certain conditions because they can't trip the sensors on their own so not they're not always breaking the law. As others have said, common sense goes a long ways. Ride like a jerk, expect to get honked or cussed at. That being said, share the road and don't bully people with your car - that's cowardly behavior. You might think it appropriate or funny in the heat of the moment, but if you cause an accident - you are culpable. Further, if you buzz someone for no reason, don't act surprised if the next thing you hear is the *kiss* of a Kryptonite lock against your precious car toy. Such retaliatory behavior is equally bad and only escalates things unnecessarily, but I've seen that scenario play out many times... Can't we all just get along? Namaste. Bros.
I think roads were built by commerce, for commerce. Bicycle "tabs" do not cover the costs to keep the roads in shape. Cyclists do not seem to keep speed anytime I've seen them. Bicycles should not slow down cars or trucks. I give them as much room as they want, because they swerve around trying to avoid pop bottles or whatever else in the road. We need new laws, what should they look like?
No they don't. Pedestrian laws, for example, are very specific depending on what exists at and is marked at an intersection. And the only time a pedestrian has the right of way while NOT at an intersection is in a designated crosswalk. However, hit a pedestrian with your car ad see if you can win the lawsuit. So, yeah, we unfortunately need to drive defensively and assume that all pedestrians are morons.
FTFY. Soupboy is right. This is old news. It's never going to change. Too many folks are addicted to the allure of playing the victim brimming with righteous indignation. Even if it requires them to risk their lives (or others) for a shot at it. It's a pervasive attribute of our society, not limited to this topic. Anyway, on the legal side of things... I don't think our current laws are all that bad, with the exception of the crosswalk thing. Allowing any kind of vehicle to cruise down a traffic jammed road at 20mph and magically become a pedestrian by swerving into the crosswalk at the last possible second is pretty f'n stupid. I have no issue sharing the road when it means everyone is safer for it. I'd like to see more dedicated bike lanes on our roads. Any additional laws are going to be ignored by "problem" bikers anyway so there's no point in trying.
Lol. Agreed! Almost all of the time, it's a safe assumption. In order for a bicycle to be a pedestrian it must be walked through the crosswalk. It's the rider that becomes a pedestrian once his feet are on the ground. So, if nozzle was still on his wheels, he was a vehicle in a crosswalk. Ticket the bastard!
I don't remember reading that stipulation. IIRC it just said bicycles have the rights and responsibilities of a pedestrian when in a crosswalk.
Here it is: https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/getpub.php?type=s&year=current&num=169.222 (d) A person operating a bicycle upon a sidewalk, or across a roadway or shoulder on a crosswalk, shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian and shall give an audible signal when necessary before overtaking and passing any pedestrian. No person shall ride a bicycle upon a sidewalk within a business district unless permitted by local authorities. Local authorities may prohibit the operation of bicycles on any sidewalk or crosswalk under their jurisdiction. (e) An individual operating a bicycle or other vehicle on a bikeway shall leave a safe distance when overtaking a bicycle or individual proceeding in the same direction on the bikeway, and shall maintain clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle or individual. (f) A person lawfully operating a bicycle on a sidewalk, or across a roadway or shoulder on a crosswalk, shall have all the rights and duties applicable to a pedestrian under the same circumstances. So... this implies that unless the "local authorities" explicitly prohibit it, they can ride. Not sure if Mpls has anything like that.
Yep. I was just looking that up. Hmm. I'm recalling a distinct memory in drivers ed. The law must have been revised since then. (about two decades ago...) Too bad. I liked that stipulation.
Subd. 4. Riding on roadway or shoulder. (a) Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations: (1) when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction; (2) when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway; (3) when reasonably necessary to avoid conditions, including fixed or moving objects, vehicles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or narrow width lanes, that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge. My little episode last Thursday the biker was right in the middle of the road and did not have a clue what was going on. When I passed him I gave myself and him space between us. I think the Hella's would of done more damage.Anyways I wasn't the one in a rage atleast not until he came after me and threatened me. *******Thanks for all of the inputs**********D
I must have misunderstood my dad's implications. Granted, he's been retired for 12 years now and the last he brought it up was when I was young so the law may have changed as well. From the civil side, however, I can see exactly what you mean. Either way, I would think that a settlement for surviving family is still little consolation for the fact that they could have avoided being hurt in the first place.
Furthering the Bike v. Car v. Stanced Amish Buggy situation is that (i) our roads are often beat to piss - pot holes, frost heaving, debris, etc. - forcing cyclists to venture further out into the road than most likely necessary in other geographies, and (ii) the whole cross-walk thing varies from one municipality to the next. Just try pedaling the greenway from the west to east metro you will find the standards vary. Some require that the bike/running path users stop and yield to car traffic and others just the opposite. In this respect, there should be *one* standard, equally applied everywhere. Keep the rubber side down. Bros.
