TexasCHLforum.com

dicion wrote: Apparently, Most people don't know that someone on a bike, has as much a right to use a lane on a road as your car.

You are absolutely correct. Even those who do know this seem to want the law to only apply when it is punitive for cyclists (having to unnecessarily stop at a stop sign when there is no other traffic in place, etc.) and not when it benefits the cyclist's safety (riding in the main lane when it is not wide enough to safely allow cars and bikes to ride side by side).

That being said, I also frequently see Cyclists that think they are above the law that applies to vehicles. This includes, but is not limited to:

- Not Stopping for stop signs or Traffic Lights - Sorry, if you're on the road, just because you're only doing 15-20mps doesn't mean you don't have to stop and yield. You do.
- Not signalling for turns and lane changes

As a cyclist, my safety comes first. The nit-picky laws which were obviously and clearly intended to apply to cars are secondary. My front brake is where most of my stopping power is (and you might know that bicycles are much harder to stop than a car going the same speed) so for me to take my left hand off of the handlebar and lose access to that brake in order to signal a turn or lane change is just plain stupid. And if I can take off early from a stop light when there is no cross traffic and avoid interaction with the 100 cars that are stopped at that light when it turns green gives me a major margin of safety so I will do it and risk a ticket. I'd far rather pay a $80 ticket than end up in the ER again after some dufus passes me on at an intersection only to turn right right on top of me. And as for stop signs... well I'll give you a dollar for every car you see that actually makes a complete stop at any stop sign when there is no other traffic. In all of my years of driving and riding a bike on the street, I have never seen it happen, ever. If you don't follow that law to the letter in a car, why do you expect cyclists to do it on a bicycle?

- RIDING THE WRONG WAY IN THE BIKE OR MAIN LANE OF TRAFFIC
(Actually had some yahoo do this the other day, dude was in my lane, COMING AT ME... seemed oblivious. I guess he figured since he was on a bike, everyone should have to swerve out of the way for him)

This comes from the mixed message that people send cyclists especially when they are children. They say, "pedestrians should walk opposing traffic along the left side of the road", so then later on they hear that cyclists are pedestrians (so they should do things like use the sidewalk or whatever) and then they think they will have to ride opposing traffic. It's deadly and foolish. It shows a distinct lack of proper education about cyclists rights on the road.

seamusTX wrote:Another case: Asheville, North Carolina, yesterday, midday -- A man was riding a bicycle with his 3-year-old son in a child seat on a busy road.

AFAIK, Asheville, like Austin, has a larger than average population of cyclists and might invite more altercations between cyclists and drivers such as this.

I think one major element of "road rage", particularly when it concerns bicycles, is pride and ego. Many drivers just cannot tolerate being passed or seeing someone else on the road find some advantage through traffic that they have not found, etc. I think this is one foundational element between drivers and cyclists, when drivers see a cyclist whiz by stopped traffic on the shoulder and they get angry because they are stuck there in their car, or they figure since they are in a car they should at least be able to get where they are going faster than a cyclist. This extends to these guys who have a car or, particularly around here, a truck that is a crutch to prop up their egos and they just are offended that some spandex-clad sissy thinks they can share the road that belongs to real men with trucks.

I also see this a lot to a lesser extent since I drive a small sports car which can be moved much more easily through traffic compared to a big truck, etc. Drivers of big trucks sometimes seem to want to feel like they can intimidate drivers of smaller vehicles so I get these knuckleheads occasionally acting out. In fact even last night some redneck decided it was necessary to pull behind me at a red light on a busy highway, turn on his high-beams and shout obscenities. I don't exactly know what his problem was. For all I know he had the wrong car. I was pulling into a gas station after the red light and I was glad he didn't decide to take his argument into the parking lot and get out of his car and try and intimidate me with a crowbar. I'd sure hate to have to shoot somebody just because he is an egotistical donkey who can't control his temper and does something stupid like trying to get even over some perceived traffic misdeed.