Quick topic of discussion for today:
My husband and I notice that cars act weird around us when we are riding our bikes, the most common being that they stop in the middle of the road at an intersection when they have the right of way and we are at the stop sign.
I appreciate that the drivers are being more careful but it would be best if everyone followed the same traffic laws. Makes for a much more predictable experience.
Have any of you experienced this?
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This happens all the time in Tucson...well mostly just near the University. As aggro as most car drivers are toward bikers, the courtesy from some is nice...but i completely agree that it's frustrating when they're just waiting for me to go but i've got a stop sign and they have none. I've even had cars try to wave me through in that situation when there was a cop car sitting right there!
ReplyDeletelol - that's EXACTLY what keeps happening to us! I guess it's nice that they are even noticing us... :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I want a sense of predictability when I ride and to have general idea of what is supposed to happen. It's just safer that way.
ReplyDeleteIt is a proven fact that people act inappropriately and indecisive while driving. The faster a person moves from the speed of "walking" the dumber we humans seem to get. A great read about this is "Traffic" by Tom Vanderbilt.
ReplyDeleteAs for car drivers doing dumb things, I see it all the time and I live in Portland where drivers pay WAY MORE attention and are more attentive than anywhere else I've ever seen in the USA. Even though some might argue the point, auto drivers easily beat bicyclists for dumb actions on the road are easily about 10 to 1. I've been looking at a number of studies, and so far the facts line up pretty accurately with that assumption.
I would say it's good that drivers are aware of bicyclists, period, even if it creates awkward moments like this. I think the increase is biking is relatively new for Phoenix, many drivers don't regularly encounter someone on a bike, and thus they get confused. Although adding to this confusion is almost EVERY bicyclist I've seen in Phoenix over the past 3 weeks is riding on the wrong side of the road! (not you guys, of course). Doesn't really help the driver much when they see a bicycle coming straight at them. I think there needs to be some major bike ed in Phoenix for both sides...
ReplyDeleteO - people riding on the wrong side of the road is my biggest pet peeve. I'm not sure how the best way to educate cyclists about this - any thoughts? Billboards? TV commercials?
ReplyDelete