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  1. It's only by the grace of God that we don't see scores of bicyclists in
    accidents in Madison alone. Just this morning on my way into the downtown
    area I counted five bicyclists driving through either stop signs or red lights.
    Folks ... you don't own the road. Your safety is dependent upon others
    watching out for you AND you obeying traffic laws!
  2. Yes, but NONE these fatalities were due to the cyclist breaking a traffic

    I bet ALL of them were due to the motorist USING THEIR D@MN CELL

    As a cyclist, I propose to combine concealed carry and the ban on

    If I see you texting, I should be able to SHOOT YOU and claim SELF DEFENSE!
  3. Yeah, I see bicyclists violating the law daily. I'm not saying automobiles don't, but it's more obvious when bicyclists run stop signs and red lights and i need to slam my brakes on to avoid hitting them.
  4. Red lights? I don't dare go through unless it's a dead intersection and the
    light won't change for me.

    Stop Signs? At a less busy intersection and with traffic behind me (no one
    at the other signs) I treat it as a yield so I can maintain my momentum
    through the intersection and prevent traffic behind me from slowing down
    because of my speed. This way it works well for everyone and I've never
    had a problem. Everyone needs to be smart and share the road. Biker with
    Drivers and vice versa.
  5. Just yesterday I stopped at a stop sign and a biker next to me just flew through it. Sharing the road is a great idea, but lets share the laws too! I'm not speaking for all bikers, just this guy.
  6. If a cyclist hits your car, you'll probably not die. If the cyclist runs red lights and gets hit, he/she more likely will get hit and hurt and maybe die. I always stop for red lights when I'm riding my bike. Some red lights do not detect bicycles, and even motorcycles. (This has nothing to do with weight. The sensors are metal detectors. Should be able to pick up a motorcycle. The motorcycle safety class I took last year told us that you could carefully ride through a non-responsive red light after waiting for a reasonable period and checking for no cross traffic. This provision in the law exists for cyclists too.) I don't like cyclists running red lights either.

    Ask the motorist. Never speed, always make a complete stop at a stop signs, never go through a red light? I think not. Pot, kettle?
  7. Did I miss something in that article? I don't recall anything mentioning that
    the cyclist ran a red light/stopsign.
  8. okiefo

    You are correct, the article does not mention anything of the sort. I was
    just defending cyclists after the first two comments.
  9. Most fatal accidents don't occur at controlled intersections.They are cyclist struck from behind for various reasons.Perhaps look at the possibility of having cyclist go against the flow of traffic in rural areas might be worth looking into.As a cyclist who logs a hundred or more miles a week in the summer,I am very uncomfortable on rural roads and people coming up from behind.I stick mostly to trails.
  10. Talked to a guy on a bike that ran a red light a couple weeks ago. His
    response was F U.
  11. AisoRed - The laws don't say "unless"! Red means STOP. Stop means
    STOP! Period! "Maintaining momentum" with my car would cast me big
    bucks! The same should be true for you on your bike!

    What we need in Madison is cops on the streets actually citing people for
    breaking the law. The only problem is ... its Madison!
  12. roadamerica - I'd LOVE to have one say that to me!
  13. AisoRed. Sorry, that comment wasn't directed at you. It is ridiculous that
    people start with the "cyclists run red lights" right off when it isn't
    mentioned. Just for the record.... I don't condone poor riding habits. Its my
    belief that the irresponsible riders are totally ruining it for those of us who
    ride responsibly. And, yes...if someone runs a light and gets popped...its on
  14. One very good reason for bikes going with the traffic flow is closing speed.
    In rural areas, going against the flow, with 55mph (cough, cough) speed
    limit, the closing speed will approach or exceed 75 MPH. This works out to
    110 feet per second. Even if the two are more that a football field apart
    when they see each other they have less than 3 seconds to react. Going
    with the flow their closing speed is 35 MPH. If the same 100 yards apart
    they will have about 6 seconds to react. Also the kinetic energy at 75
    MPH closing speed on impact is more than 4 time that at 35 MPH closing
  15. roadamerica -

    Don't let a few bad apples change your mind on biking. There are plenty of
    good guys out there. Same goes for drivers.
  16. @MKEjake: it might be more obvious, but not more prevalent. At least once a week I see a motorist violate the law which causes me, either on my bike or just walking, to have to do something defensive to avoid getting hit. It goes both ways.
  17. 3 seconds gives you an opportunity to react.Getting run over from behind doesn't.
  18. "Maintaining momentum" with my car would cast me big

    Yeah. I am sure you have never, ever, gone done a rolling stop. I'm also aure that you have never gone a bit over the speed limit. Btw, I find it safer to use red lights as stop signs. Sounds ridiculous, I know. I used to simply follow the light, but I prefer to KNOW that there are no cars around and no cars in my line of traffic so I don't get killed. I have nearly been killed three times and hit once all by following all the rules. By ensuring there is no traffic coming either way, I don't have to worry about drivers running reds (which nearly killed me). I condone safe biking and am very careful and cautious, expecting every driver to do the wrong thing, which is often the case. I think common sense should prevail and running red lights is simply idiotic as is running through stop signs without slowing down significantly and making sure no cars are around. It is all about common sense. I don't want to be killed, so I do what is safest for me. I have a family to provide for and that is more important than trying to appease the drivers that have an automatic disdain for bikers for their choice of transportation.
  19. Give the degree of inattentive driving today even 6 seconds isn't enough
    time for the driver to (1) Quit shaving (2) Hang up her cell phone (3) stop
    adjusting his radio (4) Quit reading the newspaper, etc,etc,etc. Get a rear
    view mirror, stay alert and be ever ready to hit the ditch if that drunk heads
    you way.
  20. I love how quickly ignorant drivers blame cyclists for causing accidents. In a recent article on this very site, there was a stat that in almost all the accidents where a cyclist was killed, the driver was either cited or still being investigated.

    As a cyclist, I have to say that for every cyclist I see run a red light or a stop sign, I must see 20 cars pass me too close or cut me off to make a right turn or pull out in front of me. It definately goes both ways.
  21. "I don't want to be killed, so I do what is safest for me." - Mayor Soglin, is
    that you?
  22. I love how quickly ignorant cyclist blame drivers for causing accidents. As a
    driver, I have to say that for every driver I see pass too close to a cyclist or
    cut one off when trying to make a right turn I see 20 cyclists run a red light
    or a stop sign.
  23. elections matter - that was creative and all to copy what I wrote. But I also had facts to back up my claim. You just have an irrational dislike for cyclists.
  24. The 2010 fatalities:
    cyclist hit by drunken driver, cyclist hit by driver from behind, cyclist pulled into path of truck, cyclist hit by truck driver making right turn, cyclist hit by driver making illegal turn, cyclist rode into path of truck, cyclist hit from behind by motorist, and cyclist hit from behind by motorist.
    One fatality in Milwaukee was undetermined.
    To date in 2011 - three of the fatalities involved cyclists being hit from behind by motorists. Still checking what happened in Wausau.
  25. "You just have an irrational dislike for cyclists. "

    There's nothing irrational about it. I see these spandex d-bags riding their little bikes with this "look out, here I come" attitude. They're the 2 wheel equivalent of the car that does 50mph in the no passing zone then speeds up when it's clear. While they're riding around with that holier than thou attitude, they might want to remember that a car is 3000 lbs, that bike is only about 40....

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