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davis_squareRiding my bicycle from Harvard to Davis at rush hour, I observed the following:
1) While I was stopped at a red light, three separate cyclists passed me from behind, in order to run the light. While this is both illegal and foolish, at least they had decent visibility and could presumably see (as I could) that there were not actually cars about to squish them flat.
2) I then passed a cyclist wearing earbuds but no helmet (on Mass Ave at rush hour).
3) Coming out of Porter, I nearly ran into a car pulling some sort of U-turn shennanigans because the visibility was poor and I couldn't see the car until I was almost on top of it. I stopped to wait for the car to finish its shennanigans. I heard two cyclists approaching to pass me from behind, simultaneously, one from either side. Since I was pretty sure they couldn't see the car, I put out a hand to gesture Stop. The left-hand cyclist stopped; the right-hand cyclist kept going. No actual collision, but I bet both he and the driver were pretty surprised.
4) Heading into Davis, I saw a pedestrian enter a crosswalk and stopped for him. The cyclist behind me kept going, nearly ran him over, and pulled up short at the last minute.
5) We then both tried to pass a van that was stopped at an intersection where it should have had the right of way, only to discover that in fact it was stopped to allow pedestrians to cross in a crosswalk (in this case, against the lights, right after the right-arrow turn onto College Ave) -- again, there was pulling up short but no actual squishing of pedestrians. (Minus points to me for disobeying my own rules.)
There are two morals to this story:
1) The rules of the road are there to let everyone have their turn to go without smacking into each other. Ignore them, not only at your own peril, but that of everyone around you. This goes for cars, bikes, and pedestrians too -- if you cross against the lights at College ave, you're impeding the flow of traffic from the right-arrow, and you're risking a driver/cyclist not seeing you in time to stop.
2) If someone has stopped in front of you (either your vehicle type or a different one), they have most likely stopped for a good reason. Possibly to avoid running into something that you cannot yet see because you are behind them. It is not a good idea to pass someone who has stopped for a reason, because you are likely to run into the thing they have stopped to avoid running into.
(Also, though not a moral of this story, I can't help but mention another fellow-cyclist peeve of mine: if I'm stopped at a red light, and you come up behind me to stop at the light too, you should fall into line behind me, rather than jumping the queue. This is understood for cars, mostly because it's usually not possible to do otherwise. Why do cyclists not consider it impolite to queue-jump? It seems quite rude to me.)
1) While I was stopped at a red light, three separate cyclists passed me from behind, in order to run the light. While this is both illegal and foolish, at least they had decent visibility and could presumably see (as I could) that there were not actually cars about to squish them flat.
2) I then passed a cyclist wearing earbuds but no helmet (on Mass Ave at rush hour).
3) Coming out of Porter, I nearly ran into a car pulling some sort of U-turn shennanigans because the visibility was poor and I couldn't see the car until I was almost on top of it. I stopped to wait for the car to finish its shennanigans. I heard two cyclists approaching to pass me from behind, simultaneously, one from either side. Since I was pretty sure they couldn't see the car, I put out a hand to gesture Stop. The left-hand cyclist stopped; the right-hand cyclist kept going. No actual collision, but I bet both he and the driver were pretty surprised.
4) Heading into Davis, I saw a pedestrian enter a crosswalk and stopped for him. The cyclist behind me kept going, nearly ran him over, and pulled up short at the last minute.
5) We then both tried to pass a van that was stopped at an intersection where it should have had the right of way, only to discover that in fact it was stopped to allow pedestrians to cross in a crosswalk (in this case, against the lights, right after the right-arrow turn onto College Ave) -- again, there was pulling up short but no actual squishing of pedestrians. (Minus points to me for disobeying my own rules.)
There are two morals to this story:
1) The rules of the road are there to let everyone have their turn to go without smacking into each other. Ignore them, not only at your own peril, but that of everyone around you. This goes for cars, bikes, and pedestrians too -- if you cross against the lights at College ave, you're impeding the flow of traffic from the right-arrow, and you're risking a driver/cyclist not seeing you in time to stop.
2) If someone has stopped in front of you (either your vehicle type or a different one), they have most likely stopped for a good reason. Possibly to avoid running into something that you cannot yet see because you are behind them. It is not a good idea to pass someone who has stopped for a reason, because you are likely to run into the thing they have stopped to avoid running into.
(Also, though not a moral of this story, I can't help but mention another fellow-cyclist peeve of mine: if I'm stopped at a red light, and you come up behind me to stop at the light too, you should fall into line behind me, rather than jumping the queue. This is understood for cars, mostly because it's usually not possible to do otherwise. Why do cyclists not consider it impolite to queue-jump? It seems quite rude to me.)
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 09:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 09:52 pm (UTC)i've seen scooters and motorcycles even go so far as to swerve onto a sidewalk, to get ahead and through faster.
then again, i've had a jeep use the bike lane and the sidewalk to get ahead. must've been something REALLY important.
ALL users of the road and sidewalks SHOULD exercise proper caution, but many do not. so it goes.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 09:58 pm (UTC)[Unknown site tag], I'm glad to know there are conscientious cyclists out there. I wish you luck in encouraging more of the same.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 10:10 pm (UTC)/sarcastic rant.
I can't tell you how many times I've been given dirty looks by people crossing Dover st when I'm trying to get through because I have a green light and they have a giant RED HAND. IIRC from my driver's ed class, I believe pedestrians have the right of way when it is their turn; not ALWAYS.
Seriously though, it amazes me as I drive through the city how "entitled" a lot of pedestrians and cyclists feel they are; the fact that they CAN disobey rules, (which, cars can too but it's not as easy to sneak around that corner as a person on legs or two skinny wheels), doesn't mean they should. And no, I am not talking about everyone. Of course, that one bad apple does spoil it for the bushell, but considering all the bike accidents that have been happening in the city of Boston this summer I would hope people would be more careful.
Maybe I"m more sensitive to this plight cause years ago, I did get into an "accident" with a pedestrian. I turned right onto JFK ave (I think it's JFK ave...) in Harvard sq (having the green arrow to do so), only to have some Harvard law student run accross the street, hit my car, roll over the hood, and cut his ear, bleeding all over his fancy suit he was wearing for his interview. [Smart cookie that one. Wonder what he's doing now.]
Turned out he was OK cause I insisted on taking him to the clinic. (I work in a hospital...I'm paranoid that way...).
But yeah, what you said.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 10:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 10:24 pm (UTC)I have to cross Mass Ave to get to work; the drivers are actually usually good about stopping (not being an idiot, I cross - in a crosswalk - when I have the light), but I have never once had a cyclist stop. Some come within inches of me. Personally, I'm always tempted to shove them as they pass.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 10:25 pm (UTC)I don't see the problem here, because there's usually room for 3 or 4 bicyclists to stack up side by side in a traffic lane. Also, bicyclists may be able to stop just beyond the crosswalk instead of behind it.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 10:31 pm (UTC)I just wanted to let you know that I'm with you for all of your road-awareness and conscientiousness in traffic, stopping for pedestrians and cars and so forth. Yay, good-citizen-cycling!
I do, however, "jump queue" fairly frequently at a traffic light, and don't consider it rude, so I thought I'd toss out there why, and see if it sounds legit to you. It would be good for me to get a reality-check on this; maybe I *am* being rude? Here's why I don't think so, but what do you think?
I "jump queue" at a light when I am certain that I am riding at a significantly faster pace than another cyclist. For instance, I might have turned onto Beacon at Prospect and noted the pace of the cyclist in front of me. I've caught up very easily, but didn't pass before the intersection at Inman because of heavy automobile traffic. While traffic is stopped, and the rider in front of me is stopped, I can safely pass. When the light changes and we all take off again, I'll continue at my pace, the other cyclist will do the same, and no one will be at risk or inconvenienced.
If, however, I "wait in line" behind a cyclist who I know I'm riding faster than, then I will have to pass in traffic, crossing out of the bike lane into the car-lane and back into the bike lane—which adds a bit more danger for everyone. There are plenty of cyclists who ride faster than me, and I don't cut in front of them in order to make them pass me again, and I certainly wouldn't expect them to "ride down" to my speed. It doesn't make sense to me that all cyclists would ride at the pace of the slowest cyclist on the road... at that pace I could not afford to bike the distance I do to work. I'm really happy that people ride at all speeds, and it seems to me that while stopped at a traffic light might be the best time to re-adjust the order we're all riding in so everyone continues to have a safe and happy commute.
Does that make sense? Is it really rude? tell me more.
Happy Riding!
no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 10:43 pm (UTC)On the other hand, I still live in awe that drivers stop at crosswalks where there's no intersection or light... where I grew up (NY), that was unthinkable! You might as well wait for doomsday than get across the street.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 10:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 11:16 pm (UTC)Yes, faster bikes can and should pass slower ones -- though they should pick appropriate times to do so -- and stopped at a red light is a safer and more convenient situation to do so than in moving traffic when space is tight.
On the other hand, I frequently get queue-jumped after I've been at the light for a longish while, by people who have probably come enough distance in that time that they don't have evidence of how fast I go relative to them. (They can guess by the fact that I have a milk-crate on the back of my bike that I'm not a speed demon, and they'd be right. But that's a guess.)
Also, in some intersections, it's a lot easier to get through if you get right off the mark when the light changes, before all the cars start turning or whatever (Inman Sq. comes to mind). In that case, I'd argue that the faster cyclist going first does more damage to the (presumably-less-skilled) slower bicyclist than vice versa -- not only have you taken the easier position from the weaker biker, but depending on the timing, if you zip right past them you may startle them and/or force them to yield, losing them yet more of their ability to zip through themselves. (I say "you" for ease of grammar, but I recognize this latter point is no longer about the peaceful-rearranging-while-everyone's-stopped situation you were talking about. :) )
But apart from that sort of you-are-actually-impeding-my-progress situation (which I admit is not most of them), and apart from passing-me-because-you-want-to-run-the-light... You're right that there are good reasons why one might steal place from a fellow-cyclist at a red light. I guess the trouble is, your fellow cyclist mostly doesn't know what your reason is. (Again, if you're on a spiffy bike and kitted out in spandex, I might make an educated guess that you plan to go fast, but it's a guess.) So there I am at the light, and everyone who arrives later decides that they have some good reason why they should get to go first...maybe they're right, maybe they're just rude and feel entitled, I can't really tell the difference most of the time.
I don't see an obvious fix to that issue, though. (In fact, the reason I mentioned it in a public forum was an attempt to raise awareness about how it looks from the other rider's perspective, because it is mostly a communications issue.)
no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 11:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 11:29 pm (UTC)This is the reason one shouldn't jump the queue.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 11:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-12 11:49 pm (UTC)#
With apologies to Maslow....
Date: 2010-08-12 11:56 pm (UTC)I've had two bad "bike vs car" incidents in the last day alone - with me being on the bike. One was on Sherman St. with lots of horn blowing and hand waving from some ditzy woman in a huge SUV because I wouldn't hug the parked cars and risk getting doored/mirrored in order to let her pass and get on with her important life. The other was someone passing me with inches to spare rather than waiting a few car lengths so I could move over to let her pass.
While I appreciate the complaints about people on bikes, many justified, in terms of paying attention to their surroundings and overall safety (e.g. not texting/talking on the phone, etc.) cyclists are the most aware (since we are the most at risk).
no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 12:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 12:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 12:17 am (UTC)we had a bicycle nazi in my town in NY. he'd make sure you had a bell, a light, proper reflectors, and all that. probably a good thing.
even in the rural areas, we got folx riding around in dark hoodies with dark pants on unlit bikes without reflectors. dangerous fun i'm sure.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 12:21 am (UTC)If I were a cyclist, I'd be unbelievably tempted to weave, zing through empty intersections, and occasionally even jump the sidewalk. And I'm a serious rule-follower-type.
If only someone (the Davis Square Bike school woman?) would/could fund a public education campaign on the bike laws. And I would approve of serious ticketing of bicyclists.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 12:54 am (UTC)I'm 100% with you on this. I also take it as quite rude when it happens to me.
Also, I agree with shadesong about the cyclists on Mass Ave. I often cross at the intersection with Somerville Ave, and even when you have the walk signal most cyclists don't even slow down, and many make no attempt to avoid you. I'm also tempted to knock one over, or just keep walking and brace for impact. I really don't even need them to stop at the light, just slow down and yield to pedestrians in the cross walk.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 12:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 01:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 01:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-13 01:15 am (UTC)(I know bikes should basically follow all the rules cars do, but there are exceptions. It's legal, for instance, for a cyclist to pass a row of stopped cars on the right, provided there's room to do so safely, and to ride on the sidewalk unless prohibited by community laws. http://www.massbike.org/resourcesnew/bike-law/ )