Bicycle Rant
Some bicyclists annoy me. Not the responsible ones who stick to safe roads with wide shoulders or even better, actual bike paths, but the ones who insist on riding their bikes on narrow two-lane roads that do not have shoulders but do have lots of hills and curves. There is a road between Greg’s job and mine that we take since we carpool, and it is one of these narrow two-lane roads with no shoulder and a huge hill. And there are always bicylists riding up it. Which forces drivers to either a) hit their brakes and progress slowly up the hill after them which is extremely slow going since the hill is quite steep or b) swerve into the other lane to avoid hitting the bike and risk being hit by a car coming the other direction. Due to the large hill, you cannot tell if someone IS coming from the other direction. Greg says I shouldn’t have to swerve, but the road is so narrow that I am afraid I am going to hit them, and then it would be my fault. I just feel angered that they are not only putting me in danger of hitting them, but they are also putting my life in danger by my having to swerve into the other lane to avoid them. Today though, I had two guys who were riding their bikes side by side up the hill, which left me absolutely no choice but to swerve into the other lane and pray no one came over the hill from the other direction. I made sure my horn greeted them as I went by, and it wasn’t the friendly short beep.
Growing up, my family would ride our bikes all over. Those family bike rides are great memories of my childhood. But I specifically remember that we would get far over to the side of the road whenever a car would approach.
Okay, I am done ranting now.
well what’s the statute of limitations as far as your liability goes? I mean.. if AS you’re passing, one of them hits a pebble, slips and their head goes under your front tire.. that can’t be your fault can it?
I think we need to change the laws.. if a motorcycle driver isn’t wearing their helmet and is swirving in and out of traffic and dies on someones car, that can’t be the cars fault! If a kid rides his bike into somebodies car, that can’t be their fault. Personally i think brains should be held more accountable then a vehicle. You can’t stop a car on a dime, but you can resist being stupid.. well.. some people can.
Sorry for commenting on this old post, but attitudes like this bug me. The cyclist may be trying to commute to their job, just like you are trying to commute to yours, and so this may be the only choice of road they have to get where they are going. Cyclists should not have to ride in a position (ie the edge of the road where you are likely to brush them with your mirror) that is unsafe to them merely for your convenience. If you don’t know where your brake pedal is you should get off the road or stick just to limited access expressways (oh wait they don’t go all the way to your destination either) It would be impossible to use a bike for transportation if one subscribed to the notion of pulling off the road whenever a car came by.
Like it or not, bicycles are defined as vehicles under the highway traffic act. It is the responsibility of the overtaking vehicle only to overtake when it is safe. If its not safe you go up that hill slowly. If its safe to pass, you move over and do so safely. Its not rocket science.
I still stick by my opinion. In this particular area, it is highly doubtful that a bike is their only method of transportation. And I will never be crazy about the idea of having to go less then 5 mph up a hill that is more than half a mile long because there is a bicyclist who insists on taking the lesser safe road instead of the bicycle-friendly road (or one of the many nicely paved and maintained bike trails) that are just as easily accessible to them. But then again, that is why I called this a “rant.” It is just one girl’s opinion. 🙂