Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was in a situation recently where I was turning left onto a one way street. Just when I was about to turn, this guy on a bike going the wrong way almost ran into me! Then he had the nerve to flip me off and call me rude names! I was so mad that I wanted to chase him down and knock him off that bike!!
If you are going to ride a bike on the road, you need to obey the traffic laws, just like anyone else! I'm sure your seven year old doesn't know the difference, and people would understand, but it would probably be good to let her know!
Many bikers feel that they are somehow superior and deserve more respect than people driving cars. But my train of thought is - cars are way bigger than bikes, and move much faster. We people on bikes need to watch out for them and respect their rules. As a driver, too, I know how hard it is sometimes to see bikers coming up along beside you. As a biker, you really need to be aware and not assume that the cars are watching out for you. You have to watch out for yourself - and follow the rules of the road that everyone using the roads must (should!) follow.
I wholeheartedly agree. I don't mind very much when a cyclist is riding IN traffic (although being stuck behind him while people pile up behind me, unable to see why I am going so slow, is tedious), but it drives me nuts to see cyclists breeze through red lights or ride two or three people across in the bike lane. Their careless disregard is so dangerous.
I drove home yesterday and as I was driving along, I saw my 7 y.o. riding home from school and she was riding on the wrong side of the road.
Now what our kids do is ride on the concrete sidewalk / footpath along the side of a largish road but then when they turn into our street, there is no concrete footpath, so they ride on the road. This was where I saw her.
There is not much traffic in our street and our house is on the same side of the road as she was riding. So this had the advantage that she does not have to cross our road when coming home from school and a second advatage is that she can see on comming cars.
But I believe the law is that you should ride on the correct side of the road the same as the cars do.
Thoughts?
when I was a child, we were taught that we were supposed to ride our bicycles against the traffic... personally, it seems dangerous...
I think you should check to see what the laws in your city/town say, and, if possible, opt for the sidewalk if it's legal to do so.
But I believe the law is that you should ride on the correct side of the road the same as the cars do.
Yes but I dont feel safe riding with CARS BEHIND ME!!!!
If some car were to swerve right towards me I WOULDNT BE ABLE TO REACT IN TIME!! -- I usually always ride my bike with cars in front of me..... I just feel safer!!
What do your local laws say? You should already know the laws because you should have been drilling them into your kid's head to the point where she can recite them verbatim before allowing her to ride unsupervised.
I have always heard that you should ride against traffic so you can see on coming cars. It's unlikely a cop would care one way or the other but I would rather my kid ride against traffic even if the law was to ride with traffic.
I have always heard that you should ride against traffic so you can see on coming cars. It's unlikely a cop would care one way or the other but I would rather my kid ride against traffic even if the law was to ride with traffic.
And if they get hit anyway, they can get ticketed, like if they are riding the wrong way down a one way street and they get hit because the driver DOES NOT have to look both ways for traffic, only in the direction the traffic would naturally be coming from. The driver can even sue them for any damage to their car, like scraped paint or dents.
And if they get hit anyway, they can get ticketed, like if they are riding the wrong way down a one way street and they get hit because the driver DOES NOT have to look both ways for traffic, only in the direction the traffic would naturally be coming from. The driver can even sue them for any damage to their car, like scraped paint or dents.
Do you have something to back this claim up or this is what you heard? Please cite your source to this legal opinion.
And if they get hit anyway, they can get ticketed, like if they are riding the wrong way down a one way street and they get hit because the driver DOES NOT have to look both ways for traffic, only in the direction the traffic would naturally be coming from. The driver can even sue them for any damage to their car, like scraped paint or dents.
If my kid get hit by a car a ticket would be the least of my concerns. By riding against trafic I would hope that the kid could see a car coming and get out of the way. Going with the flow you don't see it coming.
As a teen, I always rode against traffic. I figured I'd rather see a car coming for me so I could have a chance at diving out of the way, vs have a car hit me from behind.
I'm aware of what the law states.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.