Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-14-2008, 07:31 PM
 
Location: Austin TX
1,590 posts, read 4,568,562 times
Reputation: 458

Advertisements

So this bicyclist without lights in the dark (7:35pm) in the Left Turning lane on Mesa Drive turning onto Spicewood springs called me an A..hole and all the really nice words my kids have not learned yet when I nicely tell him to put some lights on his bike..he was such a jerk I wish had run into his sorry rear and called the Police to ticket this SOB for not having lights on a vehicle in traffic....

I am truely amazed with this guys apparant ignorance to the 4000lbs vs 200lbs accident! I just didnot want to kill him by accident !!!!!!!!!!

Are there laws here that excempt bicycles from the rules that govern the road for all others?

Last edited by S6Sputnik; 02-14-2008 at 08:19 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-14-2008, 07:48 PM
 
8,231 posts, read 17,288,460 times
Reputation: 3696
Share the road....I've driven by plenty of CARS with no lights, I have yet to lecture them or call the cops to give them a ticket. I don't know if bikes are required to have lights (we do) but I know pedestrians don't need to have lights and in cars we yield to them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-14-2008, 08:17 PM
 
Location: Austin TX
1,590 posts, read 4,568,562 times
Reputation: 458
Quote:
Originally Posted by mimimomx3 View Post
Share the road....I've driven by plenty of CARS with no lights, I have yet to lecture them or call the cops to give them a ticket. I don't know if bikes are required to have lights (we do) but I know pedestrians don't need to have lights and in cars we yield to them.


By golly I was not lecturing I just jelled one word "LIGHTS". Bicycles who occupy the Center PART OF THE LEFT TURN LANE are different from pedestrians on the sidewalk IMHO ..this guy was in dark clothes and between the rear/ brake lights of the car ahead of me in the DARK, I could not see him until about 2 feet from him, that is not right!
FWIW I ride with LIGHTS on my bike!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-14-2008, 08:21 PM
 
Location: Great State of Texas
86,052 posts, read 84,321,515 times
Reputation: 27718
Yeah S6..there's quite a few bike riders that own the road so be careful.
I beep at them when they ride 3 and 4 across the lane. I don't mind sharing but the road is for cars. And yes, bike riders in the streets need to make themselves visible at night if only to protect themselves.

I myself barely missed a bike rider at night for the same reason..no reflectors, no lights and he was wearing dark clothing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-14-2008, 08:22 PM
 
Location: Hutto, Tx
9,249 posts, read 26,644,673 times
Reputation: 2851
I think that Bikes are supposed to be following the same rules of the road that people driving cars are. At least that's what I keep hearing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-14-2008, 08:29 PM
 
575 posts, read 2,492,940 times
Reputation: 149
Quote:
Originally Posted by S6Sputnik View Post
I am truely amazed with this guys apparant ignorance to the 4000lbs vs 200lbs accident! I just didnot want to kill him by accident !!!!!!!!!!
Well I would like to chime in on this issue, I think that....

Oh wait, someone's knocking on that cyclist's front door.....

It is Darwin, and he is ready to take him out of the gene pool...

I just hope it's not one of us nice folks, because that type of guilt, no matter how unjustified, doesn't go away quick.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-14-2008, 08:52 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
2,357 posts, read 7,885,231 times
Reputation: 1013
From what you've said, this incident was probably not your fault but the biker's and he/she reacted in an defensive, anti-auto way many bikers seem to project(some of it was that you probably scared the sh*t out of them...)

I bike around town a lot but I personally think that Austin is not too advanced in this way yet. However, bikers need to take some responsibility for their safety as well. Riding defensively helps. It is really important to share the road but it's a style of driving that takes time to acquire. It's actually illegal for bikes to ride on sidewalks, since it's dangerous to pedestrians. Although I think that there is probably more rudeness on the part of many drivers who find bikers to be a nuisance, it's evident by some biker's cavalier street etiquette that they project a certain smugness towards autos and their drivers. As far as I'm aware, bikes are required to follow the same traffic regulations as motorized traffic. Some bikers clearly don't, which undermines the culture and safety for everyone else who chooses to bike. Sharing the road is a two-way street(sorry, I couldn't resist the lazy pun)

I don't believe it's required by law to have a rear/head light, but if you bike at night, it makes a hell of a lot of sense to have one. Here's a great web resource for all things bicycle-oriented here in Austin.

Bicycle Austin | Bicycles as Transportation

This link mentions using head/tail lights (check #8)

Bicycle Safety: How to Not Get Hit by Cars
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-14-2008, 09:30 PM
 
Location: Austin TX
1,590 posts, read 4,568,562 times
Reputation: 458
Thanks for the links!
I grew up and learned to drive on the narrow streets of Copenhagen with bikes all over the place, so you won't find me making a right turn without checking for bikes first TO THIS DAY. I don't hate bikes nor do the usually bother me one bit.
I was just amazed that someone would curse me out for suggesting that he become VISIBLE to me. After all I would have to live with it too if I hit him!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-14-2008, 09:57 PM
 
8,231 posts, read 17,288,460 times
Reputation: 3696
I don't want to defend anyone who curses or is unfriendly, but it's annoying also to see how rude many motorists can be with bicyclists...especially on Mesa, where there is a BIKE LANE, motorists think nothing of driving right in it, even if there are bicycles present. That's just galling. Bicicylsts pay road taxes, too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-14-2008, 10:43 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
2,357 posts, read 7,885,231 times
Reputation: 1013
Quote:
Originally Posted by mimimomx3 View Post
I don't want to defend anyone who curses or is unfriendly, but it's annoying also to see how rude many motorists can be with bicyclists...especially on Mesa, where there is a BIKE LANE, motorists think nothing of driving right in it, even if there are bicycles present. That's just galling. Bicicylsts pay road taxes, too.
Yea, there's a lot of animosity towards bikers(and pedestrians for that matter). Apparently, a lot of motorists find bikers and pedestrians to be inconvenient to their motor-quest. Seems to me that if someone's out there using their own body to get around, they should be shown more respect. I've had people pull up to me at traffic lights and unkindly tell me I shouldn't be on the road with that "thing".

Kind of amazing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:54 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top