08-23-2006, 04:06 AM
Mavic, those who do obey the rules for cyclists here locally are probably well under 10%, probably closer to 3-5%.
That 95% or so make it so hard for those like my wife to commute to work safely, even when 3/4 of her commute is on bike paths.
I was riding in a friend's car about 6 weeks ago, and he was just livid about a cyclist up ahead, and the cyclist hadn't even done anything wrong....yet. Of course when he did, he proved my friend right. But, remember, my friend was pissed before anything negative had even happened. So many here are predisposed to assume that cyclists are jerks, and don't obey the law, much less common courtesy, that they have run-ins with cyclists. And the cyclists have done it to themselves, for the most part, by being arrogant. Remember, the average car driver will completely forget the one conscientious cyclist, because the other 19 they saw that day were jerks. And when they do notice a cyclist being safe and courteous, it is the rare exception, and is soon forgotten, because the next cyclist is a complete asshat.
That 95% or so make it so hard for those like my wife to commute to work safely, even when 3/4 of her commute is on bike paths.
I was riding in a friend's car about 6 weeks ago, and he was just livid about a cyclist up ahead, and the cyclist hadn't even done anything wrong....yet. Of course when he did, he proved my friend right. But, remember, my friend was pissed before anything negative had even happened. So many here are predisposed to assume that cyclists are jerks, and don't obey the law, much less common courtesy, that they have run-ins with cyclists. And the cyclists have done it to themselves, for the most part, by being arrogant. Remember, the average car driver will completely forget the one conscientious cyclist, because the other 19 they saw that day were jerks. And when they do notice a cyclist being safe and courteous, it is the rare exception, and is soon forgotten, because the next cyclist is a complete asshat.