Friday 27 September 2013

Has No Respect

Cyclists don't belong on sidewalks (although some bike riders will ride on them anyway).

Cyclists belong on the road if they can't find a suitable bike path (always my preference).

This rankles some drivers and scares the heebie-jeebies out of some cyclists, but that's the Highway Traffic Act.

I don't have a problem being on the road, but that's because I bother to follow the rules of the road.  I think other, true cyclists also tend to obey the traffic laws, whereas your average garden-variety bike rider will do so only when convenient, because REAL cyclists know that following the rules engenders respect.

Motorists HATE it when bike riders sidle up beside them at red lights.  It's unsafe, it's illegal - it's disrespectful.

Motorists HATE it when bike riders run red lights and stop signs.  It's unsafe, it's illegal - it's disrespectful.

Which brings us to today's idiot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd8RuAG12GA&feature=youtu.be

Motorists do not respect bike riders, and by extension, cyclists, in this city.  Why should they?  By and large, bike riders and cyclists don't respect the rules of the road.

All it will take to reduce the friction is for bike riders and cyclists alike who ride on the road is to show some respect for the rules.

This seems so simple to me that anyone who can't grasp it seems like an idiot.
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3 comments:

  1. Metatron Ascending28 September 2013 at 14:11

    I'm glad I found your blog! I just moved to Winnipeg from San Francisco, and the cycling situation here puzzles me. In SF, there's a decent network of bike lanes, trails, and a lot more foot traffic on most streets (read: obvious that it's not a place for bikes). But in Winnipeg, there seem to be a decent amount of bike routes ending into nowhere, paths that exit out onto sidewalks, cyclists taking roads over bridges with cyclists taking bike paths over the same bridge, or taking sidewalks where there's no bike paths.

    I've tried looking up legislation on what the official rules are, and there's not any easy place to go. In a lot of major cities, it's just: don't bike on the sidewalk, follow courtesies and the law. In Winnipeg, it seems like they keep putting in weird bike-path-sidewalk fusions everywhere.

    Do you know any good resources I can find that clears things up?

    ReplyDelete
  2. This Idiot28 September 2013 at 15:13

    Jon, welcome to Winnipeg!

    Try this site:

    http://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/MajorProjects/ActiveTransportation/safe-commute.stm

    ReplyDelete

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