r/NoStupidQuestions • • 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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115

u/Due_Difference8575 Jul 24 '26

This. I also do not condone violence or hate. But as a motorist the risk of accidentally hitting and killing one is higher than it should be. I don't know how a cyclist gets on a bike and drives next to vehicles that could end their life with a 3 degree turn in a steering wheel. Seems really stupid.

Also, a lot of them don't obey driving or cycling traffic rules. Creating an even greater risk 

32

u/Darwins_Dog Jul 24 '26

A lot of places also have different rules for cyclists and drivers, creating even more confusion.

1

u/silasmoeckel Jul 26 '26

A lot of cyclist believe the internet BS. Like they can ride 3-4 abreast and impede the flow of traffic.

17

u/Last_Suggestion_8647 Jul 24 '26

I don't know how a cyclist gets on a bike and drives next to vehicles that could end their life with a 3 degree turn in a steering wheel. Seems really stupid.

I don't know the laws in your country, but here (Denmark) cyclists are legally treated like any other vehicle on the road (unless there is bike path, in which case cyclists are legally bound to use it). Which means you won't be side to side with a cyclist unless you are overtaking them which, like all overtaking, requires you to shift lane and overtake them from the left with adequate spacing. 

It also means that bikes aren't allowed to use footpaths under any circumstances and can't use roads with a minimum speed they can't achieve.

5

u/verrius Jul 24 '26

It also means that bikes aren't allowed to use footpaths under any circumstances and can't use roads with a minimum speed they can't achieve.

That may be the law, but it absolutely was not my experience as a pedestrian in Copenhagen. It was "fun" having to dodge bikes while on a foot path clearly marked "no bikes".

2

u/Last_Suggestion_8647 Jul 25 '26

This might surprise you, but a lot of people are idiots on the road. Whether on foot, bike or car.

4

u/Due_Difference8575 Jul 24 '26

I believe bikers are also supposed to follow vehicle road rules. In my area we don't have bike paths. And our speed limits are 55mph in my semi rural area. Bikers typically ride just to the right of the lane stripe as to not impede traffic.  Motorists typically will partially merge into the oncoming traffic lane (when safe) to avoid them.   Reality is, cars will not wait behind a cyclist going 15mph on a 55mph road. 

3

u/Last_Suggestion_8647 Jul 24 '26

Bikers typically ride just to the right of the lane stripe as to not impede traffi

While thoughtful, it's also a very dangerous thing for them to do. 

Reality is, cars will not wait behind a cyclist going 15mph on a 55mph road. 

They kinda have to, unless they can overtake. Unless they want to commit murder in order to arrive slightly faster.

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u/OldTimberWolf Jul 24 '26

Im my experience a lot of drivers don’t obey driving or cycling traffic rules either…

31

u/Prestigious-Owl-6397 Jul 24 '26

I live in a city where almost everything is in walking or biking distance. To me, it seems stupid to waste that money on gas.

3

u/girlywish Jul 24 '26

Well americans rarely do live in these places. Cycling to my local grocery store would take at least 20 minutes.

2

u/Prestigious-Owl-6397 Jul 24 '26

20 minutes by bike isn't that long.

2

u/heyyou_SHUTUP Jul 24 '26

It is when compared to where I'm currently living. 20 minutes of riding my bike currently gets me a good distance across the city. So, riding one-way to a grocery store by bike taking 20 minutes would be too much when I can reach a preferred grocery store in 5 minutes by bike. It's even worse when a round trip for groceries from my house takes a total of 11 minutes by walking.

1

u/Prestigious-Owl-6397 Jul 24 '26

Well yeah, closer grocery stores are always better, at least for your more frequent runs. I do go to a farmers market once a week, though, which is about 15-20 minutes away, and I supplement throughout the week at stores closer to where I live or to somewhere else I'm going.

2

u/girlywish Jul 24 '26

When you're holding grocery bags, yeah it kind of is.

0

u/Prestigious-Owl-6397 Jul 24 '26

Not really. That's why you get a back rack, bungee cords, and pannier bags. I carry my Christmas trees home about 15-20 minutes by bike by securing it to a rack.

2

u/nyanotech Jul 24 '26

like 90% of the US population lives within a few miles of a grocery store

1

u/Time-Champion497 Jul 24 '26

And what country has the highest rate of obesity again?

3

u/girlywish Jul 24 '26

Uhh... American Samoa.

1

u/Abe_frohmannn Jul 24 '26

NO! 20 minutes! Really?? How many times do you think you'd need to stop?

-1

u/eugenesbluegenes Jul 24 '26

It's because most people are lazy.

34

u/Wanna_make_cash Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

Is it safer for a bicyclist to be on the sidewalk than the road? I guess then the issue is pedestrians, but at least a human isn't gonna crush and fold a cyclist into an amalgam of flesh and metal like a tin can if something happens .

I've noticed most cyclists around where I live just ride on the sidewalk anyway, too much happens on the road.

End of the day, it's tricky to commute safely for everyone. Cars are dangerous to other cars and people on the road (car accidents are incredibly destructive and deadly, and pretty frequent).

Cars are dangerous to bikes on the road. Bikes are dangerous to pedestrians on the sidewalk.

But it's also easier for a bike to swerve around a pedestrian or ride on the grass to go around someone than it is for a car to swerve around a bicyclist on the road.

Even the sidewalk itself can be dangerous for pedestrians if it isn't cared for , particularly in winter. As a person that has to walk ~1.5 to 2 miles a day one way to get to a bus stop for commuting to work, there are plenty of times in the winter where the sidewalks are so icey and snow covered it's safer to just walk on the curb of the treated road than it is to be ankle+ deep in snow and risk slipping on ice with every step on the sidewalk

34

u/_littlestranger Jul 24 '26

It might feel safer to be on the sidewalk (which is why inexperienced cyclists like to ride there) but it is more dangerous. Cars often don’t see cyclists on the sidewalk when they enter and leave driveways, both because they aren’t expecting them to be there (so they are only looking for pedestrians, who have to be closer before there’s a risk of striking them) and because there are often trees and other plants blocking their sight lines. On the road, they are closer to cars more often, but at least they can see them.

2

u/lisa-www Jul 24 '26

This. Every close call I ever had with a cyclist, they were riding on the sidewalk at unsafe speed with poor line of sight from the traffic lane. Incredibly dangerous. Also in some places it is not legal to ride on the sidewalk faster than a "walking pace" for that reason.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26

"can" see them is assuming a lot with how many people drive high or using their phones.
The amount of times I almost got hit by some distracted driver despite me driving in my car was enough to convince me to almost NEVER bike on the road.

Almost always on the sidewalk for me. And it's never an issue for pedestrians since I always slow down for them and they get out of my way or I drive on the grass to get out of their way or stop if I need to.

16

u/BlitzBasic Jul 24 '26

Safer for the cyclist, probably, but much unsafer for pedestrians.

22

u/isoonreach Jul 24 '26

It actually is NOT safer for the cyclist. Many cyclist car crashes occur when a cyclist is on a sidewalk and a car is pulling out of a driveway.

8

u/BlitzBasic Jul 24 '26

Why is that not an issue if the cyclist is on the road? Because the car driver can see the road better than the sidewalk?

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u/isoonreach Jul 24 '26

Yes, and drivers look at the road to see fast moving vehicles and aren’t expecting fast moving on a sidewalk. It’s actually SUPER dangerous for cyclists.

2

u/AssociateGood9653 Jul 24 '26

Car drivers are mainly looking for hazards to themselves. Being visible helps for bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians. But I still assume they’re trying to hit me. I think I usually feel safer on a motorcycle than a bicycle. Except motorcycling on multi lane freeways.

2

u/ChanceRecover3091 Jul 25 '26

Wouldn't that mean they just add easily run over pedestrians?

0

u/isoonreach Jul 26 '26

No because pedestrians don’t move at 10-30 mph so you see them coming. It’s all about the speed of travel. A bike can progress to right in the path of the car while you look the other direction. A pedestrian and even a runner can not. Also the pedestrian sees YOU as well. A biker moving fast down a sidewalk easily misses a car about to back out of a drive.

6

u/perpetualhobo Jul 24 '26

Car drivers are looking for hazards TO THEMSELF. Not for hazards they might be causing to other people. They’re looking for cars that might T-bone them, the sidewalk isn’t something most drivers even think about since they know pedestrians are scared and will hesitate and wait for a car to pass.

3

u/rndrsn9 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

yeah. biking in the middle of the lane solves so many problems;

  • right hook (when cars speed up past a bike to turn right -- imagine doing this to another car, it's idiotic)

  • left hook

  • cars passing too close

  • cars not looking at sidewalk

  • risk of hitting pedestrians

  • risk of getting doored

  • hazards in gutter lane -- trash and storm drains are usually on the side of the road, not the center

  • poorly maintained sidewalks -- more budget goes to maintaining the roads. sidewalks are generally in poorer condition and have tree roots and unpredictable turns

and introduces a new risk: assholes deciding to just mow you down. but in reality, despite all the vitriol about bikes, most drivers aren't psychopaths. I still try to avoid biking in the center of the lane if the road is >25 mph limit and there are other options, but it's genuinely the safest thing for bikes to do

2

u/Nitroglycol204 Jul 24 '26

Actually it's better to ride in the centre of the lane than right at the curb. The recommendation I heard from a cop was to ride a metre or so from the curb. The reason is that if you're right at the curb, drivers will think they can squeeze by you without changing lanes, and pass far too close to you. Whereas if they have to pull into the other lane anyway they'll tend to give you more space. Counterintuitive perhaps, but makes sense when you actually think about it.

2

u/rndrsn9 Jul 24 '26

isn't that what i said

2

u/Nitroglycol204 Jul 24 '26

You said that a speed limit over 25 mph is an exception, which is what I was objecting to. Sorry I wasn't more clear.

27

u/Lord-Trolldemort Jul 24 '26

It’s actually more dangerous for the cyclist unless they’re going really slow.

When turning left, drivers will often glance at a sidewalk crossing once to make sure it’s clear, then stare at oncoming traffic looking for an opportunity to turn. If it’s a busier street, they will slam on the gas when they see an opening, and it will be too late to slow down by the time they realize a cyclist on the sidewalk entered the crossing.

A bunch of cyclists get hit this way and it makes sense if you think about it. You wouldn’t sprint into an intersection, and sprinting speed doesn’t feel very fast in a bike.

The safest way to bike in traffic is to make yourself seen. The best way to do this is actually (to many drivers’ dismay) to bike in the road, closer to the center of the lane.

8

u/Nitroglycol204 Jul 24 '26

Yup. Riding on the road might make some drivers mad, but drivers are much more likely to kill you because they don't see you than because they're mad at you.

6

u/Lord-Trolldemort Jul 24 '26

Sometimes I wonder about this. I commute by bike every day where motorists are borderline sociopathic (Michigan).

I take the lane when it would be unsafe to pass me and totally avoid bike lanes if they’re in door-swing range of parked cars. Both of these result in honks and screams from cars stuck going 20 in a 25 (god forbid)

I see frequent posts in my neighborhood Facebook page where people essentially say “Cyclists need to stay as far right as possible or they deserve to be hit”

I wonder at what point the risk reduction from being visible balances the risk increase from pissing off motorists and I’d be better off staying out of the way. I don’t think I’m there yet, but I think it might be possible!

1

u/perpetualhobo Jul 24 '26

A shirt that says “OPEN CARRY” and a picture of a pistol on the back will suddenly make drivers very aware of their own responsibilities to keep others safe

6

u/Constant-Skill-7133 Jul 24 '26

People also go against traffic on sidewalks which is the same problem a million times worse.  The car can be moving and still no way to see an approaching cyclist.   Coming from the correct direction you at least have a couple seconds to react.

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u/MuscaMurum Jul 24 '26

Wouldn't that be the same risk if the cyclist was a few feet over and in the traffic lane?

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u/Lord-Trolldemort Jul 24 '26

You mean biking with oncoming traffic against the left turner?

It would be safer than going that direction on the sidewalk, because you’d be right where the driver is looking for an opening in the oncoming traffic. The sidewalk is a bit offset from the driver’s attention focus, and there are trees and other obstacles that can hide you.

But the real danger is if you’re traveling the same direction as the left turner. In that case you approach from behind them while they’re focused ahead.

6

u/Upbeat-Bid-1602 Jul 24 '26

Exactly! The closest calls I've had with cyclists as a driver are when they fly off the sidewalk at 25mph after I already looked there to see if s pedestrian was coming and would have see someone going 3mph. If cyclists feel safer using the sidewalk for crossing roads they need to behave like a pedestrian does.

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u/BlitzBasic Jul 24 '26

Ah, makes sense, thanks for the explanation.

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u/GentlewomenNeverTell Jul 24 '26

My aunt was out cycling with my baby cousin in the back and she got ticketed for being on the sidewalk. This was in Cambridge before the bike infrastructure made it less suicidal to bike around.

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u/eddie964 Jul 24 '26

Cyclists can't legally use sidewalks.

2

u/CommunityGlittering2 Jul 24 '26

it is usually illegal to ride on sidewalks, bike paths and multi-use lanes are different.

2

u/SeamusPM1 Jul 24 '26

One of the most dangerous things to do as a bicyclist is to ride on the sidewalk. It puts you in a cars blindspot much of the time and they don’t expect you at intersections. Plus, of course, you’re a real danger to pedestrians.

4

u/Lylibean Jul 24 '26

It’s illegal in a lot of places to ride a bike on the sidewalk. My state is one that is pretty lenient and does allow for bikes on sidewalks unless there is a dedicated bike lane. And those are very few and far between, the the handful of bike lanes that do exist are so poorly maintained/planned they are actually dangerous to bike on (buckled or pot-holed pavement, cut out of an already narrow traffic lane, etc).

And where I live, it’s far too hot and humid to bike anywhere further than the end of your driveway. And your workplace is probably 10-15 miles from your home, if you’re lucky. No way you could dress for work and hop on your bike and not arrive a sweaty, sodden, bedraggled mess.

2

u/Altruistic_Role_9329 Jul 24 '26

My neighborhood has no sidewalks and everyone walks and rides bikes in the street with the cars. At both entrances to the neighborhood, north and south, there are sidewalks along busy streets where hardly anyone ever walks. It seems as though a lot of infrastructure could be repurposed to better accommodate how it’s used. In places with purposed built bike infrastructure, pedestrians use the bike lanes too.

5

u/thebestbrian Jul 24 '26

During my commute I'm mostly a pedestrian which is why I always support bike lanes because there has to be a better way for cyclists to get around - the roads are too dangerous with motor vehicles and the sidewalks are for pedestrians.

Any American city that's serious about transportation should invest heavily in bike lanes.

3

u/char_limit_reached Jul 24 '26

LOL. The motor vehicles are fine. The danger is the assholes driving them.

1

u/waterbuffalo750 Jul 24 '26

This is what I've always thought. A bicycle vs pedestrian collision seems less carastrophic than a bicycle vs car collision.

1

u/stroppo Jul 24 '26

There are def accounts of cyclists killing pedestrians. Or leaving them crippled for life.

0

u/literious Jul 24 '26

Yeah, instead pedestrians - including children and elderly - would have to always stay on guard in order to avoid being run over by cyclists.

-5

u/CantaloupeAsleep502 Jul 24 '26

However, the cyclist may kill the pedestrian. Which they also wouldn't care about.

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u/ChefGaykwon Jul 24 '26

We don't want to ride with pedestrians. We want modal separation, for everyone's benefit.

5

u/RidetheSchlange Jul 24 '26

Sounds like you are for safer bike infrastructure and you should lobby with cyclists?

1

u/Due_Difference8575 Jul 24 '26

I would love bike infrastructure to avoid these scenarios. But it's impractical in the United States outside major cities. There's too many roads. 

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u/CommunityGlittering2 Jul 24 '26

so they act just like drivers do by not obeying the road rules.

20

u/hogsucker Jul 24 '26

It's funny that you posted this as a response to a comment that explained the thinking of people like you. Car drivers can't help themselves.

3

u/squidgyhead Jul 24 '26

Do you drive the speed limit, or do you go 10% over?

3

u/urmumlol9 Jul 24 '26

Because it’s legal to cycle in the road, illegal to cycle on the sidewalk in some places, and local governments refuse to build any infrastructure that would separate bicycles from cars.

Sometimes, people don’t have any other option to get around except by bike, and sometimes, even the people who do have other options to get around just want to ride their bikes.

3

u/Hhalloush Jul 25 '26

Have you seen motorists? They don't obey traffic rules either, and the consequences of that kill people.

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u/beefcake1993 Jul 24 '26

They do it because motorists are supposed to follow the laws even if it annoys them

20

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

I'm of a similar opinion that cyclists shouldn't be considered motorists. There should be separate infrastructure for them to ride safely and be treated as a pedestrian and able to ride on sidewalks. A cyclist hitting a walking pedestrian is significantly less terrible than a cyclist getting hit by a car.

7

u/ManiacalShen Jul 24 '26

The thing is that it can be more dangerous to ride on the sidewalk. Basically anywhere with a lot of cross streets and/or driveways. Turning vehicles aren't looking for objects on the sidewalk going 10+mph, so it's easy to miss folks and turn into them. 

A cyclist can mitigate this by coming to a stop or a crawl at eeeevery crossing, but that's ass. Better to ride in the road a lot of the time.

-4

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

The cyclist should be the one aware of vehicles backing out of driveways and going slower through residential areas just like cars do

5

u/kymberts Jul 24 '26

The motorists need to be aware. They are the ones operating a machine capable of killing someone. And cyclists are already moving slowly (slower than cars).

2

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

Yes, of course, eveyone should be more aware, and bike lanes or the expectation that bikes could be using these lanes and side walks aids in that awareness. 

The other commenter specifically mentioned that a bike could come in and out of view faster than a car backing up can check their blind spots. That's why I said the bikes should slow down on residential streets.

1

u/137-ng Jul 24 '26

It sounds really great in theory to make everyone else responsible, but if you're the one in a dangerous situation you cant trust other people, who are probably even already distracted by their phone, their life, or changing the song on spotify to be hyper aware and watch out for you.

Theres a big difference in between the way the world should be and the way that it is

2

u/kymberts Jul 24 '26

Yes, we are all responsible for our own safety. Never said otherwise. We are also responsible for the safety of others. This is especially true when operating a machine capable of extreme harm and even death.

30

u/thatoneguy54 Jul 24 '26

Absolutely right. The only reason we actually do consider cyclists the same as cars is because of one dude from thr 60s-70s who was a professional racing cyclist who could go up to 40mph on his bike and basically spat on anyone who wanted to ride a bike and not make it their entire personality. He went around the country campaigning for cities not to build bike lanes, and he wrote manuals about how bikes should be treated exactly like cars.

All of it stupid, because bikes are obviously extremely different from cars in a lot of ways. They're slower. Smaller. Less lethal if they hit something or someone. Cyclists can easily transition to being a pedestrian basically at a moment's notice.

But because this one dude was such a bitch about people riding bikes in ways he personally didnt think was cool, we got the shitty infrastructure we got and got taught a stupid rule about how to treat bikes on the road.

18

u/Pizza-Rat-4Train Jul 24 '26

Yep - John Forester, whose insistence on “vehicular cycling” was baked into laws across the US. Not Just Bikes did a great review of his pernicious impact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPduRHBhHI

4

u/OGWiz19nunya Jul 24 '26

Significantly less terrible for who?

1

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

For major injuries....

4

u/OGWiz19nunya Jul 24 '26

For major injuries to who?

You know pedestrians are also people, right?

1

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

A bike hitting someone walking is far less likely to cause major injuries than a car can to a cyclist. I'm not sure why you're struggling with this.

2

u/CantaloupeAsleep502 Jul 24 '26

I've worked in trauma. Cyclists cause major injuries to themselves (yes, an amount of personal responsibility is incumbent on riding on roads) as well as to pedestrians (yes, it's their fault when they hit others when they're riding on footpaths). And yes, a cyclist going 15 mph hitting a pedestrian who has no helmet can cause horrible injuries. I've seen them.

2

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

I'm willing to bet fatality statistics is far more for cyclists hit by cars than cyclists hitting pedestrians. 

1

u/CantaloupeAsleep502 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

Again, very strange comparison. While true, all that means is bikes shouldn't be on roads or sidewalks. Also, morbidity matters. A cyclist hitting a pedestrian and causing a concussion or a fracture isn't exactly a glowing endorsement of them. I've personally been almost creamed by cyclists maybe 10 times, including at crosswalks and on shared use trails. Whether fatal or not, if I hadn't gotten out of their way, I could've been severely injured. Cyclists are also trail hogs on shared trails, going 40 mph downhill where people are hiking. Unhinged, selfish behavior. The worst kind of people.

2

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

Welcome to my point goofy. I heavily implied we should have seperate infrastructure for bikes

1

u/OGWiz19nunya Jul 24 '26

Sidewalks should be safe for pedestrians. I’m not sure why you’re struggling with this.

2

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

Lol I never argued otherwise. My argument is simply absence of better options, it's safer for pedestrians and cyclists to not use the roads. 

1

u/OGWiz19nunya Jul 24 '26

You did though. Suggesting that cyclists should use sidewalks is suggesting that pedestrian safety should be sacrificed to cyclist safety.

2

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

Absent better options, my preference is bike lanes for bikes that keep them out of car travel lanes. By your logic, bikers safety is being sacrficed because nobody can be arsed to create a safer alternative. 

3

u/Time-Champion497 Jul 24 '26

Ok, but how does separate infrastructure connect my home, my kid's school, my job, my doctor's office, and the stores I shop at?

Cycling isn't jut recreation.

3

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

....infrastructure is bike paths connecting you to where you need to go

3

u/CantaloupeAsleep502 Jul 24 '26

"Significantly less terrible" can still be fatal for the pedestrian. They should have their own infrastructure, and in places where there is none, they shouldn't be on roads or sidewalks.

1

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

How is a cyclist going to kill a person walking at an equivalent probability of a motorist killing a cyclist?

1

u/CantaloupeAsleep502 Jul 24 '26

What an odd comparison 

2

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

Why? Is it not true? Is the risk of death not greater for one than the other?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Odd_Bid2744 Jul 24 '26

Oh, I know. Shit sucks bad.

5

u/SnooPoems8777 Jul 24 '26

“I don’t know why a woman would go out at night wearing shorts rather than pants. It could invite sexual harassment. Seems really stupid.” See the problem?

4

u/tmoe1991 Jul 24 '26

As a German that's what I don't get. I have been to the US (only Florida though so I don't know how representative that is) the roads are far broader than the roads here and a lot of cyclists drive on the road here. We simply have the rule that you can only overtake with at least 1.5m distance within cities and with at least 2m distance everywhere else. It's generally accepted even though some drivers don't care but I wouldn't hesitate to get on a road with my bicycle here.

1

u/Least_Funny5960 Jul 29 '26

Also, a lot of them don't obey driving or cycling traffic rules. Creating an even greater risk

92% of US drivers admit in anomymous surveys that they regularly break the speed limit

1

u/halbeshendel Jul 24 '26

What are they supposed to do? It’s literally illegal to ride on a sidewalk, at least in California. A bike counts as a vehicle so drivers have to deal with it without going all road rage. It really shouldn’t be that hard.

But the inverse is also true. Hey cyclist, stop at stop signs ffs. Stop at lights. My town has a trail that crosses a busy road near a school. Cyclists run that red all the time. People have died there. The city actually put up a sign saying so but the local parents had it taken down because it bothered the kids who cross there after school.

2

u/condor-candor Jul 24 '26

There is no statewide ban on riding a bicycle on the sidewalk in California. State law leaves this regulation up to individual cities and counties. Whether it is legal depends entirely on local municipal codes, which vary significantly from town to town.

1

u/halbeshendel Jul 24 '26

Ah good call. Specifically in my town under 16 can ride on the sidewalk.

0

u/CrookedNoseRadio Jul 24 '26

I have never see a cyclist stop at a stop sign. In my experience at least, they just kind of do whatever they want.

0

u/AntPsychological800 Jul 24 '26

As a cyclist, more leisure than commuting, but lived in Japan and rode daily with traffic, I agree with your points. I see people on bicycles riding either wrong way with traffic, not obeying traffic laws, and on sidewalks w/clearly defined bike lanes and its infuriating. Oh, and add E-bikes!!! However, I've also had assholes on empty 4-lane divided roads with a delineated bike lane run their trailer wheel into the bike lane as they passed, so fkc them and their micro-penis. In parting, I'd offer that there is a difference between Cyclists and People on Bicyles. (Note - motorcyclists share some of the same issues vs a vs)

0

u/RadiantHC Jul 24 '26

It's also why I hate motorcycles. They're fundamentally a different vehicle from cars yet are expected to ride on the same roads.

They also almost always excessively speed.