06-04-2011, 05:14 PM
davester wrote:
This kind of polarizing argumentation is absurd. Most bike riders are also car drivers. Many car drivers are also bike riders. There are reasonable intelligent people in both clubs, just like there are reactionary morons in both clubs.
A couple of observations:
1. Many car drivers bitch and moan about bike riders not stopping at stop signs. Reality check: It doesn't matter from a safety standpoint. Also, few car drivers actually stop at stop signs. They think that they do, but it just feels that way because slowing down to 4 mph feels like a stop. Just stand at a stop sign and watch...you'll see that the cars don't stop any more than the bike riders.
2. Traffic rules are designed to stop people driving deadly 4,000 lb monsters from killing others. It is plain stupid to apply the same rules to bicycles. Also note that a car driver has 200 hp available at the twitch of a foot. The same stop and start motion for a bike involves massive energy output on the part of the cyclist. Idaho has adopted intelligent bike traffic laws that allow running of red lights, stop signs, etc if due care is exercised. Most of the country remains mired in stupidity. The law is an ass.
3. If a car driver breaks a law, chances are good that somebody else's life is at risk. If a bike rider breaks a law, chances are good that only the bike rider's life is at risk.
+1
I ride a bike, and I run stop signs all the time if there isn't any traffic.
At traffic lights, I stop just like the cars do. If I'm going straight through an intersection, I will proceed as soon as the last car making a left hand turn in a designated left hand turn lane makes it through the intersection. Yeah it's illegal, but I also check to make sure there aren't any police around.
:-)