What's your experience when sharing the road with bicyclists?

The City of Pittsburgh's hiring last week of its first bicycle and pedestrian coordinator has drawn cheers from the pedaling crowd, but has inflamed some motorists who resent cyclists who don't obey traffic laws. [ Read Post-Gazette story ]

What's been your experience when sharing the road with bicyclists?

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 I recently moved here from a very cyclist friendly city. I have found the majority of bicyclists here to be be rude and entitled; they don't obey the traffic laws, they weave in and out of traffic and wear black or all dark clothes at night. I don't want to tar ALL Pgh. bicyclists with this brush. But a large majority who use the main roads are a danger to both themselves and motorists.

I hope that this new poistion is put in place to educate BOTH the cyclists and motorists

 I can see your point.  Although after reading Lance Armstrong's book I am shocked to hear you call Texas bike friendly.  Possibly that one person changed the entire state.

I have been biking around the city of Pittsburgh for the last five years.  It makes me angry when I see bikers riding recklessly through traffic, mostly because this makes the road harder for all bikers. 

The fact of the matter is that there is culpability on both sides.  There is entitlement by both the bikers and the motorists.  Motorists in this city are extremely agressive toward bikers.  They believe that they are entitled to the road over the biker and will do all that is necessary to get the biker "out of their way."

When I encounter agressive drivers I do my best to chase them down to the next light and then calmly explain why their actions are uncalled for and dangerous.  I do the same thing to bikers who ride recklessly. 

As with most things the answer to this problem lies in stomping out ignorance.

I agree....it's on both sides. I thought the original article did a good job of explaining both sides of it.

I do want to say though that for as many rude cyclists as there are, there are twice as many rude motorists. Cyclists can do a better job of following the rules, but I can't tell you how many times I have been nearly hit as an angry driver swerves recklessly into the oncoming traffic lane to get around me – while I was keeping at the same speed as traffic and following the rules. They honk, they flick you off, they yell things at you. It's really nerve-racking to a cyclist to have a huge SUV barreling down on you when you are going the same speed as all the other cars on the road....a driver that's breaking the laws and threatening your life with a huge vehicle. What did it accomplish? Congratulations, you got ONE car ahead of me and now you're stuck right behind that person. Does it make you feel better that you've shown your "superiority" to the person on the lowly bicycle, freaking them out and putting people in danger?

Drivers need to put themselves in cyclists shoes. Even though you may be a courteous driver, many times the reasons cyclists get so defensive is because of other (more aggressive) driver's actions. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff that we are subjected to on the roads. It's insane.

I'm very happy that other motorists feel the way that I do in regards to the hiring of a bicylcle and pedestrian coordinator.  The fact that the city is investing money, albeit grant money, into a project like this one is beyond me.  The last time I looked there seemed to be many more pressing issues that have gone unresolved.  But beyond justifying the move on that level, I have to agree with the other motorists who have publicly commented thus far.

I travel into the city every day and need to travel throughout the city on most days.  It is very rare that I don't encounter someone on a bicylce breaking the traffic rules.  Bicyclists weave through traffic, make unsafe lane changes, blow through stoplights/signs, and generally make the roads a more dangerous place than they need to be.  There also seems to be an apparent arrogance on the part of many of these bicyclists as they act like they have more of a right, not an equal right, to be utilizing city roads.

If the city plans on putting an emphasis on better enforcing traffic laws for motorists then I would hope that this new coordinator takes a long, hard look at where the problems actually originate.

Shayne, I challenge you to spend one day commuting through the city on a bicycle. Put yourself in the cyclist's shoes, and then report back. Let me know if any of your opinions change once you are abused by drivers on the road. There's only so much one can take before you start to assert yourself a little more on the roads.

Personally, I don't worry about bicyclists when I drive my car. I just concentrate on my driving and let them do their thing, whatever that may be and if I should happen to hit one because the bicyclist broke a driving law and/or did something stupid, then so be it; I can't control that so I won't let it concern me and that'll be on them.

I'm much more concerned w/bad and rude drivers which I see each and every day zooming through red lights, tailgaiting, improperly using signals, (like stopping or sitting at the side of the road w/the turn signal on instead of flashers activated for example) blowing through stop signs, passing in a no passing zone, continually blocking intersections, pulling up past the white stop line, stopping in the middle of the street and blocking all traffic to have a nice conversation with either a pedestrian or a person in a vehicle travelling the opposite direction, and many more infractions too many to list. 

The main problem how I see it is that not only are many people terrible drivers, they habitually have "knee jerk" reactions to both physical and mental stimuli and then want the government to fix their own inadequacies with more laws.

Don't worry about the bicyclists, worry about your own driving first!

I commute by bike to work a couple times a week and haven't had any problems with hostile motorists, at least so far.  I obey traffic lights and signs and in general bike very defensively.

As a motorist, I try to give bicycles plenty of room.  It's certainly true that some bicyclists are rude and disobey the rules of the road, but that's true of some drivers as well.

Requiring bikers of all ages to take a defensive bicycling course would go far towards solving the problem on the bicyclists' end.  It would also be great if drivers were required to take a refresher driving safety course occasionally, too.

 Shayne,

My bike starves terrorists.  Your SUV buys them lunch.  If there were more bikes the roads would be less dangerous, and diabetes wouldn't be such an epidemic.

Jamie

 Mermaid,

I agree with you.  I have been biking to work 3-4 days a week for the last few months.  I have tried to bike as courteously as possible.  I have had nothing but good experiences recently.  I don't know if it is a sea change or not but recently bike and car have been getting along swimmingly.

The last few months however may not be statistically significant as my prior experiences were nothing short of life threatening.  We shall see.

Jamie

 As someone who drives through Oakland and Shadyside everyday, I see bicyclists who routinely run red light, ride on the double yellow line and weave in and out of traffic. Do cyclists believe they are above the law? As a motorist, I have to pay extra attention to the cyclists and their antics. I am all for sharing the road, but not on these terms. And unfortunately for them, someday their luck might run out as they do as they please on the road.

As a cyclist, I had a motorist scream at me to get off the road. As a motorist, I've had bike messengers swerve out in front of me, ignoring the rules of the road.

The responsibility is shared. Courteous motorists who are willing to share the road with cyclists need to be met by cyclists who obey traffic lights, stop signs, and act cautiously. In general, everyone needs to slow down and do some deep breathing. :) 

One thing that is very important, even critical, to keep in mind is that we should never point of other's bad behavior as a way to justify our own lapses in good behavior and judgment.

Everyone on the roads regardless of whether in a motorized vehicle or on a bicycle is required to obey all the laws of the road along with exercising good and proper judgment when encountering others who may not be doing so or when encountering things not specifically addressed by the laws.

For instance, a driver should not use, for instance, a bicyclist running through a red light to justify not passing another bicyclist in the same manner they would on a two-lane road. In other words, the driver should not pass the bicyclist if there is approaching traffic that will not permit the driver to move sufficiently to his left to pass the cyclist with plenty of room between the passenger side of the vehicle and the bicyclist.

The driver should also not pass the bicyclist when approaching the crest of a hill or a curve in the road as the driver will not have the proper sight lines to insure that he or she can safely pass the bicyclist and not run the risk of also hitting oncoming traffic. A driver should never pass a bicyclist to then make a right hand turn in front of the very bicyclist he or she just passed.

Drivers should never try to pass a bicyclist when approaching an intersection regardless of whether there is a Stop sign or traffic lights. The driver could end up creating an accident where better judgment would not have.

We should all remember that we are to maintain control of our vehicles at all times. Therefore, we should always be expecting the unexpected when driving. We should never have the attitude that we are powerless to prevent an accident when someone else does something unexpected and that we should just accept it.

To conclude, we should all show everyone else whether behind the steering wheel of their vehicle or on a bicycle the same respect and courtesy that we want others to show us.

I have had both goood and bad experiences dealing with drivers while on a bike. In January of 2006 while I was riding my bike I was hit by an SUV. I was travelling straight through a green light and he was turning left in front of me. He ended up hitting me head on. It could have been much worse, but it would not have happened had he been paying attention. I have also been yelled at on numerous occasions.

For the most part I try to follow the rules, and I agree when either cyclists or drivers don't obey basic traffic laws then people are likely to get hurt. I just see this as something evolving. The more people who take to the roads the more drivers will be forced to learn to deal with them. And on the other side the more cyclists who break the law while cycling the more likely that police will start giving out tickets.

As drivers become familiar with driving around cyclist some of these issues will be lessened.

Why does the story say

State Rep. Ron Miller, R-York, has proposed legislation that would bar drivers from turning in front of cyclists that are going straight, and compel motor vehicles to give bikes a 4-foot berth when passing them.

Isn't any turning vehicle obligated to yield to a vehicle going straight?  This is already law. 

Bicycles are vehicles, with the same rights and obligations as cars and buses.  Passing a law like this just perpetuates the misconceptions that lead to these problems.