Do you know how to ride a bike?

[M A V I C]

[quote davester][quote M A V I C]...Well, they know how, but they don't know the rules of the road.

The first no-no I see often is people riding bikes on the sidewalk. My understanding is that's illegal in this state...
Do you know the rules of the road? What state do you live in? My understanding is that in most states (California, Oregon and Washington for sure) there is no state law prohibiting riding on sidewalks, although many municipalities have laws regulating sidewalk riding (usually restricting such riding to residential areas and/or to children).
Sorry, you're right. I can't remember if it's a state (WA) law or local law that forbids them from being on the sidewalk in business areas.

[quote davester]I'm definitely a "stop at the stop sign/traffic light" type, but I also think that in many cases this one size fits all law is silly. There is a lot of incentive for a bike rider to coast through such intersections when the coast is clear because it takes so much energy to stop and start (it's also more hazardous in many cases to unclip, put your foot down, then start up again than it is to simply slow down). A bicycle coasting slowly through a stop sign where sight lines are clear and no traffic is around is not hurting anybody, and is not a threat to anybody.
I stop at lights, always. And I wait for them to turn. I figure having to get going again is just part of my choice as a bike rider. I have seen plenty of times when a cyclist thought there was no traffic coming but was wrong. The intersections in this area aren't your average four-way intersections with clear visibility. All too often I see a cyclist assume it's okay for them to break the law, and instead they either cause or come close to causing an accident.

By not stopping, they don't get enough time to see if the intersection is clear. If they made the choice to just follow the laws, this wouldn't be an issue to begin with.

Another thing to consider is that bike riders learn to ride on the street many years before they can get a driver's license and there is virtually no instruction available to these people as to what the rules of the road are...they only learn the rules when they get a driver's license, many years after their riding habits are established. I'm not sure why there is so little emphasis on bike safety in the US. I don't know if it is still this way, but when I was growing up in England, bike safety was taught in school, usually in sessions given by the local police, and using simulated roadways and signage laid out on the playground. However, when I moved to the US, it was apparent that bicycles were considered toys, and not serious vehicles as they were in England.

Well, the laws are very clearly posted on several easy-to-find web sites and take all of about five minutes to read.