h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Exactly, and when all the 15 year olds start to obey the laws, I will too. I have more to lose than them, if I'm on a bike, and they're in their cars. Seriously, since I have moved to this town, not a single day that I am out of my house do I *not* see a near-accident. Compared to Brisbane, Hamilton is incredibly dangerous for a cyclist on the road, and I won't risk my life.

yeah thats a great attitude.
everybody will follow the laws when everybody else does.
that will help

Uncharted, your PS says you're 20... but you're acting like a child.

"But muuuuum! The other boys are doing it!"

"How does stopping at red lights put you in more danger?"

Depends on the junction, but there's always the boy racer who's solely focussed on keeping ahead of his mate in the next lane, the forgetful/lost sheep who suddenly recalls a need to turn left just as the lights change, and of course, everyone's looking at the lights, not where they're going...

Right, I clearly stated that I only cycle through red lights when I've got a clear road ahead of me, no pedestrians or cars coming.

Never go through a red light when I'm making a right-hand turn, almost never when I need to cross lanes of traffic to go straight ahead. If I'm going left or don't need to cross lanes to go straight ahead then I probably will.

I feel safer because it gives a head start on the traffic, my bike has fiddly gears and if I stop in the wrong gear, the bikes wobbles when I start off again and if there's a load of traffic behind this can be dangerous. It's much safer for me to carry on if I have the conditions mentioned above. Plus as Advocatus Diaboli says an awful lot of drivers don't look where the are going

Nicky, I have a profound moral belief that if a law is immoral or causes danger for me, I have a right (or in some cases a duty) to ignore it. You may disagree with it, I don't mind because you wouldn't be the only one, but don't tell me my beliefs are wrong.

And I have been injured while out cycling on numerous occasions and in all but one case it was the fault of some pedestrian not looking where they were going, or some motorist having cycle-blindness.

>>I feel safer because it gives a head start on the traffic, my bike has fiddly gears and if I stop in the wrong gear, the bikes wobbles<<

Get it fixed then, or get a new bike!

If I came up with a similar excuse for breaking the law as a car driver, I don't think anyone would have the slightest sympathy, the police or a magistrate!

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Methinks your bike needs fixing!

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While I'm not questioning your honesty I do have to say that it's always easier to blame others in these situations. You need to be aware of your surroundings just as much as they do.

>>Get it fixed then, or get a new bike<<

I fix it quite regularly. To keep the bike safe, I'm always checking the gears, lights and brakes. I won't get a new bike because: the current one does me fine, the gears may be fiddly but the bike is otherwise superb,; I can't afford a new bike and, even if I could and was prepared to, it wouldn't solve the problem of blind drivers.

I'll repeat, I've been cycling for about 10 years. In that time I've had about 20 accidents where I've been hurt. Not one of the accidents caused a pedestrian to be injured. All bar one of the accidents were caused by someone else, either a pedestrian or a motorist

And appropriately enough, I'm off down the bike shop. My derailleur needs replacing.

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But can you put your hand on your heart and say that you were fully aware of your surroundings? If you were I doubt you'd have had as many accidents.

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Sounds painful.

How did I miss this one? Careless cyclists who break traffic laws are one of my pet peeves, too, though more so as a pedestrian... when in the car, it merely scares the h*ll out of me to see it.

Here in Chicago, it is illegal for anyone over the age of 13 to ride a bicycle on a sidewalk (it's OK to ride up *onto* the parkway from the pavement in order to park, or bring the bike indoors). Not that people don't do it... and it really doesn't bother me, except when *I* have to move out of the way to avoid being bit by a cyclist on the sidewalk. Surprisingly, it's more often the adults I need to avoid colliding with than shildren.

Where it's really bad is downtown, where the courier services utilize bike messengers. Those are the cyclists I most often see disregarding traffic signals and pedestrians. Traffic enforcement officers will ticket them of they see them breaking a law, though.

Equally as annoying, though, are automobile drivers who insist on driving or parking in the bicycle lane. How can cyclists be exected to ride on the pavement instead of the sidewalk, if motorists are driving in the bicycle lane? (Some lanes are shared, in which case the bicycle is supposed to have the right-of-way, but major thoroughfares have dedicated bike lanes, and I think motorists should be ticketed for driving in them.)

I've had two collisions with pedestrians.

In both cases I saw them coming and braked to a halt in good time. Only for the pedestrian to carry on walking straight into me.

So much for shared use...

Two accidents which could have been avoided if you'd sounded your bell to warn of your presence. It's not enough to say they should watch where they're going, we all have to be aware of, and react to,other users of our shared space.

I was stationary. No one was hurt.

If they couldn't hear my voice, they weren't going to hear any tinny little bell.

Maybe you didn't notice their white sticks?

I didn't mean that the way you obviously read it. I mean that I consider that there is considerably less risk for me if I ride on the footpath than on the road. That may be selfish of me but I don't consider it to be childish. Like I said, I have never had an accident with a pedestrian and I *always* give them right of way. However, I consider it to be extremely stupid to ride on the road if it will endanger my life, even if refusing to ride on the road means that I am breaking the law. When I said that I would obey the law when the drivers of the cars do, I simply meant that I stand to lose a lot more than they do if there is an accident.

If you think that I am acting like a child when I put my own life above the inconvenience of some pedestrians, then that is your perogative.

No I think you're acting like a child because of this:
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15 year old have licences in New Zealand, and all due respect, but you haven't seen how they drive in this town. I *won't* ride on busy roads when the drivers of the cars are children who don't know any of the road rules.

Fine, I'm acting like a child.

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I thought you meant that they all act like 15-year-olds!

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Can it really be worse than the driving in Swindon? Really? Really really?