I am fine with bike lanes and bicyclists. But this irritating behavior needs to stop. (Atlanta: eat, cars)

[red92s]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

It is.

So, people need to understand that this is what cyclists are being told to do and drivers need to respect it. They're not being jerks.

As for the darting and ignoring stop signs/lights, they shouldn't do that. One caveat though, cyclists will often almost stop at stop signs and roll through. The reason is uncliping from the pedals, putting a foot down, and getting back up to speed takes awhile and holds up traffic. It's generally seen as a courtesy to the cars. This does not include whizing through the stop sign or going when it's not their turn. Those people are jerks.

Who is telling them that's what they should do? It's certainly not the DOT.

Unless a bike lane, wide curb lane, or shoulder exists, do not pass traffic on the right. Unless you’re in a designated bike lane, do not pass cars stacked up at a traffic light order to position yourself at the front of the line. It is safer and more courteous to pull up behind the last car in the line and wait your turn.

Why should motorists "respect" cyclists who are intentionally riding in an unsafe and discourteous manner?

[bu2]

Originally Posted by JPD

It probably is safer if there are multiple cyclists, but I fail to see how it's true across the board for cyclists to move to the front of the line, as CQ would surely claim if he had the guts to participate. As a cyclist stopped at a red light, the only cars at that moment that need to be aware of your presence are the ones behind you, so it's no safer to be at the front of the line (which is arguably less safe, for reasons already stated by others) than it is to be at the back or in the middle of a line of cars.

Its clearly illegal unless there is a bike lane.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

It is.

So, people need to understand that this is what cyclists are being told to do and drivers need to respect it. They're not being jerks.

As for the darting and ignoring stop signs/lights, they shouldn't do that. One caveat though, cyclists will often almost stop at stop signs and roll through. The reason is uncliping from the pedals, putting a foot down, and getting back up to speed takes awhile and holds up traffic. It's generally seen as a courtesy to the cars. This does not include whizing through the stop sign or going when it's not their turn. Those people are jerks.

Except that its not true. Its rare that I see a cyclist treat a stop sign as anything other than a yield. So much so that it is always notable when they actually stop or nearly stop.

In fairness a lot of Atlanta motorists do the same, but its maybe 10-20%, not 95%.

[ATLondoner]

Thankfully no car drivers in Atlanta break any rules and for that I guess we should all be grateful.

[CCATL]

Originally Posted by ATLondoner

Thankfully no car drivers in Atlanta break any rules and for that I guess we should all be grateful.

No that this should be another cars vs bikes thread, but I really need to take pics of all the illegal activity I see motorists do for some of the people on this thread. Yesterday I was in the bike lane on Decatur St, and a woman was driving while typing something on her iPad. Yes, you read that correctly - driving and typing with an iPad on her steering wheel. On the same trip, I also so a guy driving at least 50mph on Peachtree by Emory Hospital, and cutting people off as he went, then proceeding through a light just as it turned red.
Countless drivers run red lights, to the point that I always look both ways on a green now. And then add to that the HUGE number of people texting and driving - like countless amounts of people - and the lack of stopping fully at stop signs.

Point is, much of the biking behavior people complain about also happens by drivers, you just don't notice it until they hit you. Many of the same people doing something illegal on a bike do so when they're driving, and many people driving make decisions that are technically illegal everytime they get in a car. It goes both ways. The threads about "bikers need to stop this" really need to end - we could also make one about drivers, which would get much longer solely due to the much larger population of people driving and doing something illegal.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by CCATL

No that this should be another cars vs bikes thread, but I really need to take pics of all the illegal activity I see motorists do for some of the people on this thread. Yesterday I was in the bike lane on Decatur St, and a woman was driving while typing something on her iPad. Yes, you read that correctly - driving and typing with an iPad on her steering wheel. On the same trip, I also so a guy driving at least 50mph on Peachtree by Emory Hospital, and cutting people off as he went, then proceeding through a light just as it turned red.
Countless drivers run red lights, to the point that I always look both ways on a green now. And then add to that the HUGE number of people texting and driving - like countless amounts of people - and the lack of stopping fully at stop signs.

Point is, much of the biking behavior people complain about also happens by drivers, you just don't notice it until they hit you. Many of the same people doing something illegal on a bike do so when they're driving, and many people driving make decisions that are technically illegal everytime they get in a car. It goes both ways. The threads about "bikers need to stop this" really need to end - we could also make one about drivers, which would get much longer solely due to the much larger population of people driving and doing something illegal.

You don't like it because people are calling out that most bike riders are inconsiderate, self-absorbed jerks while riding their bike (they may be great people off the bike).

There are definitely some jerks who drive. But its not nearly as high a percentage. Most drivers in Atlanta are remarkably considerate relative to other metros.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by bu2

You don't like it because people are calling out that most bike riders are inconsiderate, self-absorbed jerks while riding their bike (they may be great people off the bike).

There are definitely some jerks who drive. But its not nearly as high a percentage. Most drivers in Atlanta are remarkably considerate relative to other metros.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.
You have no data to back up your claims that most cyclists

inconsiderate, self-absorbed jerk

and that drivers are not nearly as high.

[CCATL]

Originally Posted by bu2

You don't like it because people are calling out that most bike riders are inconsiderate, self-absorbed jerks while riding their bike (they may be great people off the bike).

There are definitely some jerks who drive. But its not nearly as high a percentage. Most drivers in Atlanta are remarkably considerate relative to other metros.

[brown_dog_us]

Originally Posted by red92s

Who is telling them that's what they should do? It's certainly not the DOT.

Here is a quote from the document you linked to:

Unless a bike lane, wide curb
lane, or shoulder exists, do not pass
traffic on the right

The cyclist can ride up to the front on a bike lane, wide curb lane, or the shoulder to position themselves per the DOT. I'm not trying to argue that it's right, safe, or courteous. My point was that this is what cyclists are told to do, and people need to understand their not trying to be jerks.

If you think it's bad then call the DOT and work to get the language changed.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

Here is a quote from the document you linked to:



The cyclist can ride up to the front on a bike lane, wide curb lane, or the shoulder to position themselves per the DOT. I'm not trying to argue that it's right, safe, or courteous. My point was that this is what cyclists are told to do, and people need to understand their not trying to be jerks.

If you think it's bad then call the DOT and work to get the language changed.

I think that far more often, what many of us see is cyclists doing these kinds things when they DO NOT have a bike lane, shoulder, etc. I have also seen them pass stopped cars riding BETWEEN two lanes of traffic, which is beyond stupid. If they have a dedicated lane then of course their actions cause little to no problem.