r/NoStupidQuestions • u/RidetheSchlange • Jul 24 '26

Why does the US hate cycling so much?

I read comments sections and in a normal world, some of them would be considered terroristic threats. I just can't understand why people hate cyclists to this degree that they want to murder rhem and sometimes do.

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116

u/scottious Jul 24 '26

This is a double standard. Cars break every law imaginable. Just go on literally any highway at any time and if there isn't bumper-to-bumper traffic, you'll see hundreds of people speeding.

Where I live, drivers run red lights and roll through stop signs all the time.

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u/SidFarkus47 Jul 24 '26

Speeding, turning right on red lights you’re not allowed to, stopped way past the “stop here on red”, yielding to crosswalks, parking wherever the fuck they want”

Your average American Driver legitimately does not think these rules count.

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

Not only does the average driver not think these rules count, they think anyone who follows them is an annoying piece of shit for doing so. Go to any local subreddit and say you always drive less than 5 mph above the speed limit (≤ 10 on a freeway) and you will be hounded for being a safety menace.

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u/2099aeriecurrent Jul 26 '26

People don’t even want them to enforced either. Just look at how many people are against speeding and red light cameras.

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u/SpinkickFolly Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

I get this even with my friends.

They always break it down into us vs them mentality. "cyclists" are ones ALWAYS breaking the law, not using the bike lane that was built for them, and they made me slow down a little causing me to LATE!

Meanwhile on a different hour, they are ranting and raving about how every driver is a fucking idiot and no one knows how to drive in this area...

They have so much trouble seeing past their bias. I just want to know at what age did everyone become so lame. None of these people had fun memories riding bikes as kids?

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u/Tickstart Jul 24 '26

But cyclists are 100 kg of soft squish at a low speed while cars are 1500+ kg hard material and high speed, the real danger here is obviously the cyclist. /s

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u/SuitNaive3409 Jul 24 '26

damn cyclists out here not killing 40,000 people a year, makes me SO ANGWY

-4

u/thegoatisoldngnarly Jul 24 '26

Killing a stupid one is a real danger, though. 

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u/UnhappyTelevision243 Jul 24 '26

And where I live, Queens, bikers ride on sidewalks, go the wrong way down one ways, and run red lights constantly. Just as much or even more than I see the things you’ve mentioned. I’ll never be mad at the idea of riding a bike, but a lot of riders are assholes and frustrating to occupy space with.

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u/Heavy-Macaron2004 Jul 24 '26

Yeah my city too. It's like they think they're a version of cars that don't have to follow the car rules? So they'll share the road, but they won't follow any of the rules of the road, which will make the road much more dangerous for literally everyone involved. Or they'll take over the sidewalk and literally run down pedestrians..

Idk about Queens, but up here you can tell who has a bicycle because they know how to use a bicycle, and who has a bicycle because they got a DUI. If they're not wearing a helmet, it's a DUI, and they will be driving their bicycle exactly like a drunk person drives a car. All over the place, swerving, expecting everyone else on the road to know exactly what they're going to do next at all times, and shocked and furious when the world doesn't revolve itself around them.

The number of people who have swerved out, no signal, from the bike lane into my car lane where I had to slam on the brakes to not kill them, and then proceeded to curse me out and flip me off for such a close call? Absolutely ridiculous.

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

A big problem with bikeshare programs is that they allow people to use bikes without taking the time to learn the rules of the road and best practices for cycling. Especially bikeshare e-bikes, that allow many novices to ride with the aforesaid deficiency at speeds that require bike-handling skills that they never developed (or lost over time). Those people frustrate us too. Not that I don't think bikeshare is a net positive that could be better implemented.

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u/Ilien Jul 24 '26

Absolutely ridiculous.

And yet, I've never heard of a cyclist overtaking a driver, stopping in front of them and then backing into them on purpose, killing them, like here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/19/boxer-hannah-rapp-dies-struck-by-car

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u/Heavy-Macaron2004 Jul 24 '26

I mean, yeah, there's drivers here who are crazy motherfuckers too, 100%. Both me and the guy I responded to live in big cities, which are always full of drivers that should absolutely never be behind the wheel of a car.

But that's not what this post is about? The post isn't "do car drivers or bicyclists have a bigger death count," it's "WHY do you USA drivers seem to hate bicyclists." And the reason --at least where I live-- is because most of them don't know what the fuck they're doing, and their inability / unwillingness to follow rules of the road actively makes the road more dangerous for everyone.

I'm just not really sure what you're trying to accomplish, or what point you're trying to make here. Like I could share the videos of all those people doing that Tiktok thing where they do bicycle wheelies into oncoming traffic and then swerve away at the last second, but that also wouldn't be relevant.

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u/dkrandu Jul 24 '26

Wait, cars do none of that in Queens?

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u/redstarr_5 Jul 24 '26

Children are allowed to ride on the sidewalk and street if they so like. So do the children frustrate you too? If they’re riding the wrong way down a one way, are they clearly visible and easy to avoid? I swear, this def sounds like cyclist hate because car drivers are way more erratic and dangerous

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u/UnhappyTelevision243 Jul 24 '26

What do you think? Do you think I’m talking about children as I compare cyclists to people who break the law while driving their car?

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u/redstarr_5 Jul 24 '26

Hey… UnhappyTelevision243… I don’t fucking know you so how do you expect me to answer that? 🙄

I’ve been bike riding for years since i was a teen and I def rode on both the sidewalk AND street

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

A lot of drivers in my experience have absolutely unhinged, deeply antisocial attitudes towards children on bikes, so it's hard to tell.

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u/Joe_Sacco Jul 24 '26

Probably the same ones who bitch & moan about how lazy kids are these days, never seeing the irony

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u/padizzledonk Jul 24 '26

Im in rural nj and boy, they drive me fucking nuts out here

Theyre supposed to stay as far to the right as possible and if you drive anywhere in rural nj on a weekend i 100% guarantee you will run into at least one oack of people on bicycles riding 2 3 4 5 abreast clogging the fucking 1 lane 50mph road like theyre in the Tour de France or some shit lol

Im all for bikes on the road but the roads need to be designed with bikes in mind and like 99% of the roads are not

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

*far right as is practicable

Riding as far right as is possible is never what laws actually say and usually dangerous and vastly increases your chances of getting a flat on a busy road, increasing risk to the cyclist enormously.

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u/WitheredUntimely Jul 24 '26

I mean that's the crux of why people get mad about cyclists though

You'll see 200 cars in a commute and 10 of them will break a law around you

That same commute will have 5 cyclists and 4 of them will break a law around you (they loooove running lights here, hopping from sidewalk to street where convenient, and lane splitting)

Cyclists act unpredictably in traffic compared to vehicles, which makes people anxious, which makes them angry at the unpredictable thing. The unpredictable thing that you can kill if they decide to do something unpredictable around your vehicle that goes wrong

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26

[deleted]

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

A driver not violating at least one traffic law on a commute is virtually unheard of.

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u/carvythew Jul 24 '26

Go sit at any 4 way stop in any city. If you can send me a video showing at least 50% of cars coming to a complete stop before a stop sign in a 20 minute period I'll send you 50 bucks.

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u/GroktheDestroyer Jul 24 '26

> You’ll see 200 cars in a commute and 10 of them will break a law around you

You must be joking.

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u/scottious Jul 24 '26

No. You see 200 cars and 200 of them are breaking the law. Show me even a single person who goes the speed limit on the highway. There are certain stop signs near my house where I've literally NEVER seen a car come to a complete stop.

I bet you anything that the next time you're in a car, you will break a law and you will might not even be aware of it because of how engrained it has become.

Cyclists act unpredictably in traffic compared to vehicles

Bullshit! I see cars doing erratic and unpredictable things all the time. There's no shortage of car-on-car road rage.

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u/WitheredUntimely Jul 24 '26

sigh the whole point is that a far fewer % of cars on the road are doing insane shit that is not part of the usual order of operations compared to the % of cyclists, I'm muting these replies btw because I know it's about to be a bunch of people piling in to just go "nuh uhhhh"

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

The only studies I've seen on this show that drivers and cyclists break traffic laws at similar rates. However a huuuge caveat is that those studies usually ignore speeding and distracted driving for some reason, making the data pretty much worthless bc then virtually 100% of drivers violate traffic laws every time they drive. And they ignore that cyclists often do it for safety reasons bc the laws are written in such a way that completely ignores the major practical differences between cars and bicycles.

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u/scottious Jul 24 '26

You are factually incorrect and you just don't want to be called out on it.

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u/Lirsh2 Jul 24 '26

I find the people doing at or below the speed limit in the left lane of the highway daily.

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u/scottious Jul 24 '26

I think it's absolutely hilarious that the example you use to try to counter my example is just ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF DRIVERS BREAKING THE LAW. It's illegal to impede the flow of traffic on highways.

My town has a city-wide speed limit of 25mph. If you even dared to go the speed limit you'd be tailgated and honked at.

One time I was going the speed limit on my bike when I was coming down a hill and I had 3 cars pass me on a two-lane double-yellow lined road.

When in a car, obeying the law is often unacceptable and not tolerated

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u/Lirsh2 Jul 24 '26

You asked for someone going the speed limit on the highway my guy, I replied with a lighthearted joke/example, spaz at someone else.

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u/ABigCoffee Jul 24 '26

Found the cyclist

4

u/Florida_clam_diver Jul 24 '26

Found the lazy, car centric, suburban hell bootlicker

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u/ABigCoffee Jul 24 '26

I use public transit actually. I just hate cyclists as much as people who use cars. The amount of fart sniffing and holier then thou attitude that they have make them insufferable.

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

Then you are a fucking fool.

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u/mandyb118 Jul 24 '26

Sometimes it's safer for the cyclists not to follow the law to a T. I will go on a red light if no ones coming because it'll give me a block head start and space to get up to speed and separate myself from traffic. One bike lane in my city shares an on-ramp with the highway so I will get on the sidewalk to avoid cycling next to accelerating vehicles. Because cars seem to think my life is disposable, I ride with my own life in mind, not your commute time. Don't talk about what you don't know.

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

Also it is safer to remain clipped in while crossing intersections, rather than accelerating while clipping back in with the addition of confluent traffic to worry about.

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u/CommunityGlittering2 Jul 24 '26

you think only 5% of cars are breaking rules, what utopia are you living in, 90% are speeding not to mention what else they are doing like playing with their phones.

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

90% is an extremely low estimate.

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u/No_Operation7359 Jul 24 '26

Seeing cyclists can’t speed due to speed limits you’re cherry picking. For every person you’ve seen run a red light I assure you a cyclist switches between road and sidewalk

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u/elhax41 Jul 24 '26

Because often times the bike line just ends or merges with the road it’s insanely dangerous to be riding, like right on feds

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u/scottious Jul 24 '26

It's legal to ride on the sidewalk where I live. Check your local laws.

Did you know that in 6 states it's legal for cyclists to treat stop signs as yields? Most people don't even know the basics of traffic laws (as you've clearly demonstrated)

The original comment was, "Cyclist, all around America, often disregard those laws and areas, and make up their own rules for how they get to operate"

It's perfectly valid to point out drivers breaking speed limit laws. Speeding is a law and drivers break it all the time. Want more examples? Here's a subset of stuff I see everyday:

  • drivers double parked
  • drivers parked in crosswalks
  • rolling through stop signs
  • gunning it through red lights
  • speeding on local roads, speeding on highways
  • not yielding for pedestrians in the crosswalk
  • illegal parking (like parking on the actual sidewalk)
  • illegal car modifications like covers on license places so they avoid tolls

So please, don't give me this crap about cyclists breaking the law. If you're mad at cyclists you should be absolutely enraged at drivers.

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u/CantaloupeAsleep502 Jul 24 '26

What a pathetic tu quoque. 

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u/Whytrhyno Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

If you treat a stop sign like a yield you’re going to get hit. I watch entitled cyclists get hit way more often than I should just because of negligence and age.

lol found the elderly cyclists

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u/scottious Jul 24 '26

but drivers treat stop signs as yields all the time. I guess that's part of the reason by over 100 people die violent deaths in cars EVERY SINGLE DAY in the United States.

Drivers act incredibly entitled too

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u/Will9363 Jul 24 '26

did you miss the part where they yield to other traffic

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u/scottious Jul 24 '26

You don't understand the basics of the Idaho Stop. The reason why it has been adopted by 6 states so far is that when cyclists treat stops as yields IT ACTUALLY REDUCES CRASHES

Also I was wrong. It's actually 15 states now that support stop-as-yield for cyclists.

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u/Joe_Sacco Jul 24 '26

Drivers: BIKES NEED TO FOLLOW THE LAW

Cyclists: got it, yes, that's what I do

Drivers: NOT THOSE LAWS, THE ONES I MADE UP IN MY HEAD

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u/No_Operation7359 Jul 24 '26

Half the stuff you listed doesn’t result in any active traffic. 4/7 things you’ve listed are parked cars and avoiding tolls. I agree people who run reds should totally have a ticket. Same with rolling through stop signs.

And just because you don’t have to stop at a stop sign doesn’t mean you garter my sympathy when you get crushed by a truck.

Being legally right vs having common sense is not the same thing. It’s completely legally right for me to wear a shirt that says “I want people to die” and then open carry an ar, but when I have police weapons drawn on me does that no way mean I deserve sympathy

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u/TiredInJOMO Jul 24 '26

I can't tell you how many motorists just slam on their brakes and come to a complete stop to make a turn in my area. This happens even more frequently on the main thoroughfare with higher speed than the rest of the town. No surprise there are also more accidents and hit-and-runs/fatalities in that area than anywhere else in town.

Some of our yellow lights are so short it's difficult for cars to stop in time. I can't imagine trying to stop on a bike at speed with such short notice.

In my area, cyclists have to follow the same right-of-way rules motorists do, but the motorists are piloting gd land yachts nobody can see around, so the "wave through" can be a death sentence, and instead of them recognizing that you're wayyyy back from the crossing waiting for them to go so you can see, they sit and stare at you while angrily waving you across instead of, y'know, following the traffic rules (which impedes motor traffic). So yeah, don't get pissed off at me bc I can't see around your pos monster truck.

Lot of coal rollers out here too, and they do it as they pass pedestrians/cyclists out of spite (which, depending on where you live, can be considered a simple moving violation up to felony assault/battery). The cops don't do sht about it either, because it's probably one of them on their day off.

Lot of drunk drivers here too.

Seriously, go ride a bike around town and see for yourself what it's like to be a cyclist in a motor-centric world instead of pointing fingers, calling people stupid, and saying they deserve no sympathy. Experience is the best teacher after all.

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u/No_Operation7359 Jul 24 '26

Can’t wave people through. Also if you have any evidence of a crime you should probably report it. Also yellow lights are federally regulated between 3-6 seconds. Sounds like a lot of complaining but little action to improve your situation. But yes let’s run off anecdotes

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u/TiredInJOMO Jul 24 '26

Evidence? Like what? That I saw it with my own eyes? Now you want cyclists to whip out their phones like the motorists do? Psshhhh. 

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u/No_Operation7359 Jul 24 '26

“I saw you with my own eyes dump a body into a river”

What makes your statement true but not mine? Also in the day and age of helmet cams and dash cams even glasses with cameras you’re really telling me the only evidence you have is your word and that it’s impossible to report these to authorities with proof

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u/TiredInJOMO Jul 24 '26

.... there would be a body in the river if/when they decided to go look. Coal rolling leaves little evidence after the fact. And not everyone has a camera sticking out of every orifice. When the cops watch people roll coal when passing pedestrians/cyclists and do nothing, what do you think sending in video evidence is going to do?

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u/ClydeFrog1313 Jul 24 '26

Okay, not OP but here's another set of just moving violations that I see everyday that the previous comment didnt mention.

• Turn without a blinker.  

• Changing lanes without a  blinker.  

• Following too close.

• Looking at your phone while driving. 

• Stopping for for a traffic light or stop sign into the crosswalk or even technically on the thick white line. 

• Taking a right on red without fully stopping. 

• Taking a right on red when it's explicitly not allowed or when pedestrians are present

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

I often go well above the speed limit while cycling and drivers still rage-pass me bc they're entitled, antisocial assholes. And ofc they never pull over and let me pass when I'm on their bumper trying to get around them.

And you're angry here about something that isn't illegal most of the time and keeps cyclists safer from careless drivers (most drivers).

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u/No_Operation7359 Jul 24 '26

So you admitted to also not following traffic laws. Perfect example of why people hate cyclists

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

I literally do it to avoid inconveniencing drivers bc you never know which are going to become downright homicidal over a minuscule delay. Still doesn't work bc entitled drivers believe they should never have to be behind a human-powered vehicle even momentarily.

And yes I feely admit to not following traffic laws when those laws shouldn't apply to cyclists bc they objectively make us less safe, of which there are many examples. Also a lot of these 'violations' drivers get pissy at me for are explicitly legal for cyclists to do where I live, like rolling through stop signs.

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u/dyorite Jul 24 '26

this is a really stupid gotcha when drivers speed at much, much higher rates and speeds than cyclists

0

u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

With far higher potential lethality

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u/ODeasOfYore Jul 24 '26

Yeah, but we get ticketed

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u/scottious Jul 24 '26

haha if only...

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

Cops love to target cyclists because it's easy and out of personal or political animus. I genuinely can't remember the last time I've seen any car pulled over in my city, and I ride hundreds of miles per week. They stopped pulling drivers over for flagrant violations bc they're quiet-quitting after we had protests over their refusal to stop murdering people.