Bicycle right-of-way question

[VeloClone]

My favorite is when you come up on a biker in a no-passing zone on a 2 lane highway. Ride behind them and follow the rule of the road and don’t pass, and they get frustrated and waive you by. Sorry man, this is a no passing zone and I am supposed to treat you like a car, so I’ll just stay camped out back here.

I generally will stand up as I near the crown of the hill so I can check for oncoming traffic for them. If it is clear, I will wave them around. It is up to them if they go or don't but I don't get mad if they don't. I'm just trying to be considerate.

I will also check if there is a car behind me at a stop light when I am in a bike lane that becomes a shared bike lane/right turn lane. If there is I will move to the extreme left of the lane and wave them through. I don't have to, but it doesn't hurt to be considerate. Unfortunately many of them are surprised that a cyclist would go to the trouble to do it. But, hey, I am just sitting here anyway, I've got nothing to do until that light turns green. More people should be considerate and there would be a lot less road rage.

 

[StPaulCyclone]

State laws vary. In most cases bikes are viewed as vehicles and should be on the road. However, people are heading places and it gets gray leaving roadways and bike lanes. As a parent, I always give grace to kids on bikes.

I see a lot of bikes on the road not operating within the law and I’ve looked both ways and coasted through intersections too. However, if cars are there, I act as a vehicle. I almost hit a biker when he ran through a 4-way stop this week.

My biggest issue, and one that I always reinforced with my kids, is that if you are riding on the sidewalk you defer to pedestrian (is called a sidewalk) and most importantly you ride in the direction of road traffic!

I cant count the number of times that I have been at a light or stop sign and am looking left before proceeding…only to have a bike ride through, in front of me, from the right against traffic on the sidewalk. This has to be the number urban cause for bike car wrecks.

to answer your question, in the car if defer to the bikes, but as a biker I expect to have to defer to the car as I am acting as a pediatrician.

 

[KidSilverhair]

to answer your question, in the car if defer to the bikes, but as a biker I expect to have to defer to the car as I am acting as a pediatrician.

What does being a doctor have to do with it?

 

[Jer]

Not much pisses me off more than a biker that blows through an intersection thinking they don't need to stop at Stop signs.

 

[RoseClone]

Not much pisses me off more than a biker that blows through an intersection thinking they don't need to stop at Stop signs.

Cars

 

[Jer]

Cars

Well it's equal footing for me. If you're on the road, you obey by the rules of the road - or don't complain if you get hit in the intersection you didn't stop at.

About as infuriating as those mother ******* that stop traffic at stop lights because they're reading on their phone or go slow/swerve doing it while driving.

You can tell this is a sensitive subject for me

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

What does being a doctor have to do with it?

He's there for the kids on bikes.

 

[ForbinsAscynt]

Not much pisses me off more than a biker that blows through an intersection thinking they don't need to stop at Stop signs.

Respectfully disagree because it highly depends on the situation. If there are no cars stopped at the intersection I don’t think a bike should have to stop. Additionally when I’m commuting on my bike I can hear and see much more that is going on around me than the person in a car. If a cyclist has headphones in and is blatantly blowing stop signs then there is an issue.

 

[Jer]

Respectfully disagree because it highly depends on the situation. If there are no cars stopped at the intersection I don’t think a bike should have to stop. Additionally when I’m commuting on my bike I can hear and see much more that is going on around me than the person in a car. If a cyclist has headphones in and is blatantly blowing stop signs then there is an issue.

But why should a biker get to run through a no-traffic stop sign and a car can't? I get the noise factor, but every cyclist I see has ear buds in and half think they own the road.

 

[CysRage]

I was always taught pedestrians have the right of way (and that includes bikes).

But while at ISU I got pulled over riding my bike by a bike cop on Welch for not stopping at a stop sign. The convo went like this:

Cop: i need to see your drivers license.

Me: You're joking right, I'm on a bike and don't have it with me.

Cop: No I'm not joking you didn't stop at that stop sign back there.

Me: I didn't know I needed to there were no cars around.

Cop: Yes you needed to stop.

Me: Then just give me a ticket so I can get to class.

Cop: I'll let you go this time but you need to stop at stop signs, register your bike with the City of Ames and don't ride on the sidewalk.

Me: Ok

Not being a jerk here (I’m a casual biker myself) but why are bikers exempt from stopping at a stop sign? Cars have to stop at stop signs even if there are no cars crossing or stopped, what makes bikers different?

 

[Nader_uggghhh]

My biggest bike pet peeve is people riding hilly 2-lane highways. I'm in eastern IA and 2 or 3 times every year I crest a hill and there's both a cyclist and oncoming traffic. I really don't feel like killing someone and they should feel like not dying.

 

[houjix]

Well it's equal footing for me. If you're on the road, you obey by the rules of the road - or don't complain if you get hit in the intersection you didn't stop at.

About as infuriating as those mother ******* that stop traffic at stop lights because they're reading on their phone.

You can tell this is a sensitive subject for me

What bugs me are the ones that do not understand the rules pertaining school buses with the stop arm out. Just yesterday on University in West Des Moines and a guy stopped in the left eastbound lane when a bus was stopped with the arm out in the westbound lanes. A. It a road 4 lanes or greater and there's a median. You do not have to stop if going in the opposite direction. I've seen the same thing on EP True where it is also 4 lanes. Buses are not allowed to pick up kids from the opposite side of the street in those conditions, so quit stopping.

 

[CysRage]

Bikes on streets are treated the same as vehicles, not as pedestrians. As an ISU student I was given a ticket for riding my bike through a stop sign by Ames police. It was out by the towers with no traffic around. I tried to fight it and lost. The judge looked at me and said "you're guilty" and then looked at the cop and said "don't ever bring something like this into my court again."

What is the judge trying to say to the cop? Yes he’s guilty but I don’t want this in my court again. So the cop shouldn’t have shown up so the case and ticket was thrown out?

 

[ISUTex]

I'm mainly asking for bicyclists' opinions. Here is the situation:

Car is traveling north on a two lane street with bike lane markings on the right edge of the street (I'd call it more of a bike route marking than a dedicated bike lane). A small group of bicyclists is also traveling north on the sidewalk at a reasonable rate of speed, but slower than vehicles. The car goes past the bicycles and needs to make a right hand turn into a parking lot of a grocery store. The car will get to the entrance/crosswalk first, but the bicyclists would likely need to slow down (yield to the car). Who has the right of way, should the car stop on the road and wait for the bikes to pass or should the bicyclists slow down to yield when they see the car's turn signal from behind?

(For anyone wondering I was an observer of the above situation while outside the grocery store. The car started to turn, but then stopped just prior to the crosswalk when the saw the bicyclists still approaching at the same rate of speed. The bicyclists then stopped and everyone was aggrieved.)

The car should run over the bicyclists. They're worth 50 points each. Lawnmowers and golf carts are only worth 10.

Seriously though, the car is supposed to stop if the bikes are traveling on the street.

 

[RoseClone]

But why should a biker get to run through a no-traffic stop sign and a car can't? I get the noise factor, but every cyclist I see has ear buds in and half think they own the road.

Oh, come on. I ride A LOT and rarely see this. Walkers and runners, yes. Every one???

 

[simply1]

Well it's equal footing for me. If you're on the road, you obey by the rules of the road - or don't complain if you get hit in the intersection you didn't stop at.

About as infuriating as those mother ******* that stop traffic at stop lights because they're reading on their phone or go slow/swerve doing it while driving.

You can tell this is a sensitive subject for me

Bike blows though, kills themself. Car blows through, kills…

 

[simply1]

Not being a jerk here (I’m a casual biker myself) but why are bikers exempt from stopping at a stop sign? Cars have to stop at stop signs even if there are no cars crossing or stopped, what makes bikers different?

Bike in states with the Idaho Stop laws are exempt if there is no other traffic. I’m not aware of any state where bikes are exempt in all cases, and I don’t see anyone here arguing that.

 

[simply1]

Oh, come on. I ride A LOT and rarely see this. Walkers and runners, yes. Every one???

I rarely see that out here, and there are a lot of cyclists commuting.

 

[ForbinsAscynt]

Just think of the Idaho stop as a perk for lowering carbon emissions or attempting to lower the obesity rate.

 

[CysRage]

Bike in states with the Idaho Stop laws are exempt if there is no other traffic. I’m not aware of any state where bikes are exempt in all cases, and I don’t see anyone here arguing that.

I don’t see anyone here arguing either but I see it weekly that bikers blow through stop signs and don’t even look at the cross traffic. They are usually the ones wearing cameras too so are they trying to prove something if they get hit?