Keywords there being, on or off the bike. Off the bike, walking beside it sure, you're a pedestrian, on your bike, riding a vehicle.
>I don't always signal, because bicycles have this major flaw that your breaking/steering tools work best when you have both hands on the handlebars.
I don't always signal because cars have this flaw where you need your hands on the steering wheel and you have to take it off to flick the signal switch.
There are lights you can get to signal on bikes, if you're not comfortable signalling using your hands, maybe invest in one of those. It's just dangerous to turn in traffic without signalling. That shit causes accidents. I don't know the laws there, but here if a cyclist causes an accident because they turned without signalling, they're considered responsible the same as a car would be. Cops will also ticket you.
>Also, the lawless cyclist trope, while often true, is often a case of the lawlessness you are unfamiliar with.
I dunno about the trope, I was speaking from personal experience.
Honestly, I get pissed at drivers and pedestrians that do dangerous shit by breaking traffic rules.
>as someone who is literally making it easier for the cars on the road BY NOT DRIVING TO WORK, I wish I got a little respect instead of the barely tolerated contempt I get a lot of.
You're not a superhero by riding a bike. You're not making it easier, you're adding one type of obstacle for everyone to look out for. One that's small, fast and fragile and behaves unpredictably. Maybe instead of demanding respect from everyone, use situational awareness and understand people are probably pissed at you, because they're worried about killing you. Acting like you can just ride anywhere, anytime with impunity makes the act of not killing you more difficult.
>> As a cyclist, I get to decide if I'm a pedestrian or a vehicle. I can pop on/off my bike at will
> Keywords there being, on or off the bike. Off the bike, walking beside it sure, you're a pedestrian, on your bike, riding a vehicle.
Sorry, that's just a wordo. I can pop on/off the road/sidewalk _on my bike_. I assume context would have made that clear. It's legal to ride on the road AND the sidewalk in my city.
> You're not a superhero by riding a bike. You're not making it easier, you're adding one type of obstacle for everyone to look out for. One that's small, fast and fragile and behaves unpredictably. Maybe instead of demanding respect from everyone, use situational awareness and understand people are probably pissed at you, because they're worried about killing you. Acting like you can just ride anywhere, anytime with impunity makes the act of not killing you more difficult.
This is the most ungenerous read of my comment I can imagine. In any case, I can see that you want to be angry and right. Good day.
I never expected people to get so worked up about my comment. It was more of a 'oh yeah, here's some of my shitty traffic experiences involving cyclists' if there's some commonality to what others have said, maybe these are actual issues. It was really just supposed to be some musing about these things.
Honestly I spend more time worrying about people in cars. The only times i've come close to death on a road were from idiot drivers. Bikes have frustrated me but they've never almost killed me and thankfully, i've never been involved in any situations where i've almost killed a cyclist and I really never want to be.
If you are a regular bicycle commuter, rather than demand respect from everyone after ranting about how the rules of the road don't apply to you, maybe take these issues into account as you travel and understand sharing the road doesn't just mean people need to be aware of you and get out of your way, it also means you need to be aware and take actions to avoid others, even if others are breaking traffic rules. Again this applies to anyone using a road. This is for your own safety and everyone's.
I am only even making this reply on the off chance that you honestly believe that you've tried to have a level headed conversation. If that's true, I write this only to tell you that the way you've engaged does not meet that goal. Have a good day.
I think you know this is not true. You don't take your hand off the wheel to flip the signal switch and if you do it's certainly not the safe effect as taking your hand off the handle bar of a bike.
I don't think I've ever taken my hand off the wheel just to use the turn signal. Is this just a product of hand size, or does your car have an unusual setup?
[edit] To clarify: I flick the turn signal lever with the my ring & middle fingers while keeping my palm against the wheel.
If I have one hand on the handles and the other off, do you know what happens when I brake? The handles, and hence the wheels turn, because that's how momentum works in that scenario.
How are you so mentally incompetent that you can't see that your nonsense word salad analogy is that broken?
I don't always signal, because bicycles have this major flaw that your breaking/steering tools work best when you have both hands on the handlebars. So if something hinky is happening ahead, I may need my hands to slow down instead of signalling.
I try not to yell angrily when people do dangerous things around me but I do often need to yell loudly, maybe repeatedly, in order to stop a car that doesn't understand that my bike is front of them, and they can't proceed without killing me. But you should understand that the stakes are much higher for me a cyclist than for the driver of a car. They might hit me and that would suck for them. I might die or need months of physical therapy. So be patient with cyclists who appear to have unleashed random anger at you (you-the-driver), they are under more stress from the interaction.
Also, the lawless cyclist trope, while often true, is often a case of the lawlessness you are unfamiliar with. I bike-commute most days, and EVERY SINGLE DAY I see cars: speed, run red lights, yield-instead-of-stop at stop signs, turn without signalling, wander into the bike lane, park or stop in the bike lane, drive without lights (at night), or with one light out. Also, it may not be illegal (but sometimes is!), but when I'm in a 'sharrow' lane, I will often get aggressively passed by people who can't be bothered to look 200 ft ahead to the red light, or who pass over a double-yellow in order to get ahead of me, then turn left/right 5 seconds later. But because we're all used to those kinds of infractions (and because they are partially 'our' infractions as drivers) we don't notice them. Because there are so few cyclists, and they aren't 'our' infractions, it's easier to notice their driving transgressions.
Anyway, super long rant. Not claiming all cyclists are angels, but as someone who is literally making it easier for the cars on the road BY NOT DRIVING TO WORK, I wish I got a little respect instead of the barely tolerated contempt I get a lot of. yada yada yada, plenty of good drivers out there as well.