I'd have a little more sympathy for people waiting in cars if it didn't take them 1/8 the time to get where they're going that it takes pedestrians. Waiting out a light is just a tad more excruciating when you're standing in the rain, especially if you've already spent an hour walking through it.

As for cyclists... Well, I'm one. The road just isn't built for us. The bike lanes stop and start all the way through town, so if you're like me and you can't keep up with cars (I have a bad knee) then you'll be switching from sidewalk to road pretty frequently, which isn't very fun for anyone. The alternative, sharing a lane with a car, is fun if you like taking your life in your hand. There's also a ton of debris in the bike lanes this time of year, as it seems the function of streetsweepers is to push branches and leaves directly into our path. There's standing water too, often from flooded storm drains. And there's also those motorists who think it's funny to swerve into the bike lane and pretend they're going to run you off the road, or drop clotheshangers into the bike lane 20 ft. ahead of you, or throw things at you, or scream and nearly knock you off balance from the start as they drive past... Oh, and all the blind right turns in town that cars zip around without taking so much as a glance toward the crosswalk. Or the crosswalks without traffic lights, where 1 out of 20 cars will stop for pedestrians. Some cyclists (like me) react to these things by becoming ultra-cautious, but others react by developing a deep, bitter hatred for cars and cutting them off every chance they get. Sometimes I'm tempted. Competing with a ton of metal can be pretty enraging.

If you guys would like to improve these things, I'd suggest greatly expanding the bus system and connecting the bike lanes that are currently separated. But I know that will never happen.

I'd add that we pedestrians and cyclists need to remember to wear light or reflective clothing at night. I had to learn that just because I as a pedestrian can see a car coming, doesn't at all mean they can see me.

And I cringe when I see cyclists zip across a busy road at night or weave through traffic, especially when they don't wear helmets or reflective gear.

I guess the answer is for us to figure out how to share the road. There are probably stories of all combinations on who creates problems for the rest of us.

Just because bicyclists burn less gas doesn't mean they're perfect and infallible. The problems with people not obeying traffic laws come from drivers, riders and pedestrians alike. Just because cars are faster and heavier doesn't mean they're the worst.

I would quickly lose track if I tried to count all the jaywalkers, or all the bikers in black without helmets or reflectors.

If bicyclists stopped weaving through cars, stopped deciding arbitrarily when they wanted to ride on the sidewalk (so much for equal traffic laws), stopped riding against traffic on a one-way, stopped holding up traffic while pedaling less then 10 mph, stopped riding through red lights, and most of all STOPPED NEARLY RUNNING INTO ME (which has happened more than once from a bicyclist yet never from a driver) then I'd have more respect and empathy for them.

But wherefore thou alone? Wherefore with thee Came not all hell broke loose?
John Milton

Rob, thank you for your kind words, much appreciated.

I wrote the original post after witnessing several speeding cars, some near misses between cars and pedestrians, and hearing from many people that they were seeing the same general craziness.

One of the many things Oly needs is more sidewalks and maintenance of sidewalks that exist now.

This is my favorite post so far today. Especially that last bit.

Yes I do, in fact I'm one of the few people I've noticed who knows what Yield means or how to use a four-way stop. Two speeding tickets in 2002 which suddenly turned my yearly rate into my quarterly rate was one factor, having a near-death moment around that time was another. I'm religious with rules of the road now.

 

There is one infraction I believe I'm in violation of: If I'm not mistaken I'm supposed to keep a garbage bag in the car. In fact, I remember an incident back in the 90s where someone was handcuffed because of it. It made the paper. (There were other factors in that incident, and if I remember right the guy mouthed off one too many times so the officer pointed out the lack of bag and cuffed him.)

 

Back to your original question: even if I didn't follow all the rules that would just prove that I'm a bad or unsafe driver. It doesn't authorize other drivers to commit the infractions and it doesn't give overall permission for bicyclists to have free reign.

 

...those who fear life are already three parts dead.
Bertrand Russell

Thanks for posting that info about the traffic laws as they relate to cycling.

I don't think it is reasonable to expect anyone to follow the law perfectly all the time. What is a reasonable expectation is for people to try to do it. If your speedometer goes a little above 25 mph in a 25 mph zone, I don't think anyone will cry foul. But if you're consistenly traveling over the posted speed, then that is an issue that needs to be addressed.

I am sure there are also statutes about unnecessary acceleration, etc. I think what Norm said is correct, as long as everyone is considerate and careful, things will be much better.

And that's why there's a problem now, because there are enough breaches of respect and considerate/thoughtful behavior to make this a real issue.

Pedestrians have right of way over bicycles and cars. Cars in turn need to watch out for bicycles, because, after all, bicycles are vulnerable. That's what it comes down to. This is about safety.