Why does it seem that some motorists have such a lack of respect and consideration for cyclists and pedestrians?

It’s not about a lack of respect. Motorists are in their own little world, with much inside vehicle to distract them, not expecting any outside vehicle distractions. They point their cars down the road and take only enough note of the road to maintain the proper direction. In my opinion, ALL drivers should take Defensive Driving Courses before attaining their driver’s licenses.

Roads were built for cars, buses and trucks. Simple reality there and those that think they can venture out on our nations roadways on bicycles and rollerblades do not express surprise when you are being separated from a Firestone tire by a spatula.

How about Why does it seem that some people have such a lack of respect and consideration for cyclists and pedestrians? Assholes are assholes, no matter what they use, they are still assholes.

This varies a lot by locale.

I live in a very bicycle-friendly city. Drivers are very courteous and I actually more often get (slightly) annoyed at overly meek motorists than rude ones.

When I lived in the Los Angeles area, I was pleasantly surprised how drivers deferred to pedestrians.

In contrast, when I bicycle in suburban and rural areas, sometimes people yell and honk at me. It’s rare though. Not a systemic problem.

Probably a big factor is that I know how to choose bike-friendly routes where the road is wide enough for everybody.

In America most drivers are not accustomed to sharing the road with bicycles, and so pedestrians and people on bikes are at risk. Often a driver completely misses a bike on the road, meaning doesn’t see them. Drivers are not watching well towards the right shoulder where bikes tend to be.

Bikes are supposed to follow road rules. I see bikes not stop on a red all too often. I’m not saying you do that.

The driver who was honking at you today was probably just simply rude and obnoxious and what can I tell you? You might have been slowing them down, or they freaked themselves out by not seeing you at first.

A lot of drivers suck too. They don’t give motorcycles more distance, God forbid there is a stop short or crash situation, they don’t give trucks more space, a truck needs more stopping time with all the weight they are pulling, some drivers are self absorbed and clueless. Add in they might be sipping a hot coffee and talking on the phone while behind the wheel, like I said, you take a risk.

I haven’t noticed that. I have noticed people on bicycles daring cars to hit them…..........really almost like a suicide attempt.

In my city, which is one of the most bicyclist-friendly in the US (if not the most bicyclist-friendly), that doesn’t tend to be the case. However, because the roads were originally built for motor traffic, the streets didn’t/don’t always tend to be the safest places for people on bikes. Which is why my city tends to go out of their way to make our streets much more bike-friendly so that people who choose that kind of transportation can more safely go with the flow of traffic.

I have found that the impatient motorists who get angry at bicyclists tend to get angry at the people who don’t bother to learn the rules. There are quite a few bicyclists who seem to forget that they have to also follow the exact same rules of the road as motorists. Those who don’t can cause some pretty bad accidents due to their ignorance. However, because there are so many people who make their daily commutes on bikes, most of them tend to know and follow the rules here.

Maybe you can explain to me why we have duchebags in spandex pedaling along on a road that’s 55mph with blind hills/turns. At that speed difference, a bicyclist is basically a hazard/obstruction and could cause a horrific crash.

Or why do bicyclists decide to pass a line of cars on the shoulder at a red light, only to have all of those cars have to then pass them when it turns green?

Hey, I’m all for people riding bikes instead of burning fossil fuel, but we need to install bike lanes and restrict them to slower roads (say 35mph).

And why don’t they pull over to let others pass? If my car only went 15mph and there was a line of cars behind me, I’d pull over to let other vehicles pass. It’s rude as fuck to hold everyone else up.

Road tax equates to ownership.

In the Netherlands, the planning policy and laws work in favour of the cyclist (as well as the terrain and climate). The law basically is that if a car hits a cyclist and the cyclist is not at fault the car insurance has to pay all medical bills and damage costs. If the cyclist is unintentionally at fault, the car insurance still has to pay have (if intentionally at fault the cyclist pays all). All this makes car drivers much more aware and wary of cyclists.

So if your roads are not designed to make drivers aware of cyclists, if your laws are not designed to make drivers aware of cyclists, if your cyclists are few and far between, you create a culture of unsafe spaces for cyclists.

Good point by @gorillapaws. I live in an area of rural, hilly, twisty roads. All the time there are people on bikes who you have to cross the double yellow in order to pass. Very dangerous for all concerned.

I can see both sides of this. I’m an avid cyclist and have found that road cyclists are actually very rude 90% of the time. I get out of peoples way, let them pass etc. When I get behind cyclists and they don’t do this it really pisses me off, especially because I know they are just being lazy. 9 out of 10 don’t have this common courtesy. They actually put drivers and themselves at great risk in certain places they try to ride. The whole road bike community here in the south can bite me. There are plenty of places that are safe to road bike yet so many choose to ride in high risk, high traffic areas. Drivers have plenty of reason to be upset with cyclists at times.

As stated above, this thing works both ways. I cannot tell you how many appallingly stupid things I witness locally on the part of cyclists, beginning with their notoriously cavalier regard for stop signs and traffic lights.

Because they do.
Never trust a motorist.
Always assume that he will run you over intentionally.

Add me to the list of people that live in an area that’s inappropriate for bicycle traffic (identical to what @jca describes) that is hugely popular with cyclists.

You don’t have to encounter too many cyclists riding 2 abreast and/or riding ‘lay down’ bikes (that take as much room as a motorcycle) on a narrow, 2 lane highway sans shoulders for it to wear thin.

In town, if a cyclist comes to my attention, it’s likely that they’re either acting inappropriately (not following traffic rules) or in an inappropriate location (too narrow for bike safety). I’m good about sharing the road as long as there’s actually room for people to be safely separated. (I’ll admit to a squeamishness about kids on bikes near the road.)

As to the driver tearing down the road honking like a crazed lunatic? My guess is he/she scared themselves. That they were fooling with their phone or car thinking they had the road to themselves and when they looked up there you were.
I always wanted to write a “Law” about that. You know, like “Murphy’s Law”? When I worked in a warehouse both pedestrians and drivers would become irate when surprised. It didn’t matter that you had been aware of their presence the whole time. If you were near by the time they noticed you, getting a cussing was par for the course.

Fear is a primary emotion, anger is a secondary. The amount of anger is in direct proportion to the degree of fear generated. You prolly caused some leakage in that guy’s pants. :-)

@ragingloli That was one of the things that I found so different when I was in Germany was their pedestrian laws where “Jaywalking” was expressly verbotten. I remember stepping off the curb to jaywalk (not knowing the law) and how traffic in both directions came to a screeching halt and my German host gave me a stern talking to about the law. I also will never forget standing at the intersection in the middle of the night waiting for the light to change so we could cross the road yet the streets were deserted and not a car to be seen.

There is a major empathy gap between the two sides. The solution I propose is inspired by this RSA video: The Power of Outrospection

It would be a video game. Maybe it could be included in driver and bike safety training.

One form of the game would be for motorists. You play as a cyclist riding through a typical car-friendly suburban environment trying to go to the grocery store and back home. You just want some milk and eggs, but you must negotiate railroad tracks, stop lights and unrelenting fuel exhaust while entitled drivers honk and curse you ruthlessly.

The other form is for cyclists. You play as a motorist who needs to get to work on time or you will be publicly shamed by coworkers. As you drive along the highway, law-disobeying cyclists and obnoxious pedestrian teens cross your path erratically and you must avoid them at all costs. You need to stay calm and courteous at all times.

Actually it sounds like Grand Theft Auto, so I think it won’t work. People will just have fun knocking down the pedestrians.

They are motivated by pure jealousy, nothing more, nothing less.

As a lifelong road cyclist I have come to know the following:

Joyless motorist hacks are envious of my exercise honed body.

They resent my decades developed smooth form on the bicycle.

They resent that I am out enjoying myself while they commute home in their yawn inducing off the rack Camrys.

They resent my world class, professional grade, nimble yet smooth as silk bicycle. (Yes, this driver’s car is ALSO more badass than what you’re driving as well).

They are utterly annoyed that I am clearly not intimidated by them.

The do not know how to accept (and keep their mouths and horns shut about) things that are beyond their comprehension.

They are failing to understand that it’s impossible for me to be impeding traffic, for the simple reason that I am traffic as defined by law.

They have NO appreciation for the fact that it was bicyclists, not motorists, that first lobbied for paved roads. (You all are welcome).

@gorillapaws

So called bike lanes are tantamount to segregation.

What other forms of such are you in favor of?

Relegating cyclists to lower speed roads? My bike can reach the takeoff and landing speeds of small aircraft. Who do you think you are?

(Peaceful and gracious coexistence between bicycles and other forms of wheeled traffic is the true solution).

@Cruiser

So roadways were built for motor vehicles exclusively?

If I show a photograph of my mount to someone who halfway knows anything and I ask “what kind of bike is this?” They will answer “It’s a road bike.” Why do you suppose that is?

If I order tires for my bicycle (witch cost more than those sad things you got at Pep Boys for your car) I would first be asked what kind. The appropriate response would be road tires.

Everything on my steed (frame included) was specifically designed for use on paved roadways. You wouldn’t dream of using a chisel as a screwdriver, right?

It is a not a trail bike, it is not known as a bike lane bike, it is a ROAD bike.

Deal.

Yeah, and what’s up with the damned sidewalks?
Traffic’s traffic, right? ~

^ New York City makes it very clear.

Pedestrians are not wheeled traffic.

Ride a bicycle on the sideWALK?

Justice is swift and expensive.

@SecondHandStoke All I am saying is many roadways, highways and especially expressways were never designed for bicycle traffic. The roads that anticipate some bike traffic will usually have an extended road surface to support bike or pedestrian travel. Roads that have bike lanes at least in my area are far and few between.

^ You have the concept backwards. I’ll explain how:

My road bicycle was specifically designed for use on all manner of roadway.

The frame material is supple (double butted seamless stainless steel), absorbing shocks from roadway imperfections for all day use.

The frame’s geometry was specifically configured for the same.

My choices for it’s custom wheelset (32 spoke, three cross rear wheel for vertical compliance, 28 spoke, one cross front for laser accurate steering) were built with road use in mind as well.

Kevlar belted Michelin racing slicks are developed for public roadway use too.

It should be noted that in some states bicycle use even on interstate highways is allowed. Though such is of no use to me as I do not do interstate touring.

It’s also illegal for cyclists to ride on sidewalks here. Potentially big tickets if cops see you. We have bike lanes, though.

(Sigh)

So much vitriol…

What a coincidence that the first and only time you all have ever been forced to slow in your car was because of a cyclist, NEVER by a motorist…

You see in Ireland (most of the country anyway), we don’t have great facilities for cyclists. We do have some cycling lanes in the suburb I live in. But once you go out of that, a lot of the busier roads, do not have much facilities.

PS I should mention that, some of my posts are older Yahoo Answers topics that I’m revisiting.

^ If the way is paved with asphalt or concrete (even brick) then there is suitable facility for cyclists.

@SecondHandStoke And why cars come with bumpers! ;)

I think almost every state I have ever lived in doesn’t allow bikes on sidewalks. Sometimes in smaller towns, and local communities if there is a law it’s kind of half ignored, but still most bikes are on the road.

When I lived in MD (USA) growing up my community had roads, sidewalks, and bicycle paths.

In TN we had very wide paths that accommodated kids bikes and pedestrians, but adult cyclist were on the road. Those roads had no shoulder, much like when I lived in NC, and there were curvy and a little hilly, and I felt like cyclist took their life in their hands. It doesn’t matter that the law might be on the cyclist or pedestrians side, because if you’re seriously injured or dead that’s what matters, not that the driver who hit you was in the wrong.

Both TN and NC had areas that were fairly straight and not very hilly, and why not stick to those roads if cycling for fun and health? If someone is actually commuting on their bike, then that might be a different story, but in the places I lived I doubt the people were commuting.

@SecondHandStoke _“So called bike lanes are tantamount to segregation.
What other forms of such are you in favor of?“_

I’m in favor of segregating all manner of traffic that is a different speed/maneuverability than the other kinds of traffic. I think airplanes should be restricted to the air and runways, motorcycles, cars and trucks to roads, boats to waterways (big boats to deeper waterways), pedestrians to sidewalks, man-powered bicycles to purpose-built lanes along faster roads, and the roads on slower roads.

^ I’ll outmaneuver most motorists any day of the week.

Bombing down out of the north Georgia mountains I am constantly forced to brake to avoid rear ending cars.

Try again.

But this seems like the best reply to relate the following:

Only in threads about politics do I see so much prejudice and hypocrisy.

The anger and frustration of the motorist is the product of fear based on ignorance. Absolutely no different than the sort of phobia Flutherites condemn if it’s about more high profile politically popular differences.

Such as gender identity, expression of individual opinion, etc.

Why isn’t one’s choice to identify and act as a cyclist as aggressively supported as other social groups are here in our forum?

In the posts above I have seen everything from advocacy of segregation (bike lanes) to outright raw hatred.

You double standard fucks.

@SecondHandStoke Most bikes can go 60mph uphill on a twisting/hilly, 55mph road? That’s news to me, because when I almost get killed in a head-on by other cars trying to swerve around them on a blind curve/rise, they aren’t moving nearly that fast.

To reiterate my earlier position. I am in favor of greatly expanded bike lanes. They make a lot of sense to me, just not sharing the road at 45, or 55 mph.

@gorillapaws

Like I mentioned above.

What an AMAZING coincidence that you, as a motorist, have never been slowed in traffic by a vehicle other than a bicycle.

After decades of cycling my progress has been slowed by cars perhaps thousands of times.

This is life, grow up.

To be fair, @SecondHandStoke, you need to admit that you’re not the typical cyclist, and possibly not in the most likely setting.

I live on a narrow, 2-lane black-top highway with no shoulders and curvy/hilly enough that probably ⅔ is double solid yellow striped.
For some reason, it must be in the AARP Top 10 Places to Ride a Bike. Retirees in spandex tootling along, soaking up the amazing views trees and soy bean fields.

If you were airing out your stick shift you’d be beet red the entire trip. Second hand stroke.

Slowed is one thing. 12 MPH in a 55 is another thing entirely.

The farm combines are faster!

^ No, I would not be beet red.

As a driving enthusiast as well. I know that part of the essence of driving is making the most of the situation, no matter what it might be.

Blind curves, distracted drivers, even speed bumps and traffic jams are an opportunity to make the most out of the situation with deft reactions and GRACE.

Whether I am on my bike or in my car it seems that the motorists around me are DYING for an opportunity to let me know how easily frazzled they can be made behind the wheel.

For example how can you possibly be doing everything in your power to smoothly avoid a potential accident by instead of having both hands on the steering wheel rim, one hand is firmly planted on the horn, the other contorted into some sort of derogatory gesture?

You know how hard you try to come off as smooth and unflappable at a cocktail party?

One should strive for the same on the road.

What sort of deft reaction is called for when you’re following 2 septuagenarians cycling in tandem on a 2 lane asphalt highway with a 3 mile double-yellow in view?

@SecondHandStoke That’s a straw man argument. I never made the claim that I’ve never been slowed down by non bicycles. If bicycles wanted to have well marked signal cars in front and chasing like trucks carrying prefab homes do when they’re creeping along with oversized loads, than sure that would be fine. It’s about safety and the difference in speeds between someone driving 60 miles per hour and a dude on a bike can easily cause a major accident. Likewise If my vehicle could only travel at very slow speeds (say due to a mechanical failure for example) I wouldn’t regularly use it on fast roads, my hazard lights would be on, and I’d treat it as an emergency. Not only is it discourteous to everyone else, but it’s potentially very dangerous to regularly travel under those circumstances.

There is a reason bicycles aren’t allowed on the interstate. It’s unsafe. The difference in speed between motorists and cyclists is too dangerous. Plus, we just don’t have our eyes out for cyclists on highways. There are plenty of roads that are not highways that have speeds of 50+ mph, and so it makes sense those road would be dangerous for cyclists and motorists to be on together.

Usually, I don’t come across a cyclist on a 50mph+ road. Usually, it’s on local roads with lots of stopping, sometimes no shoulder, often no median, no passing. It’s inconvenient to the motorist more than anything to have to wait to go around. Can we get stuck behind slow motorist traffic? Sure, that happens too, but a cyclist is more likely to be much much slower. However, a cyclist is usually easier to pass than a slow vehicle.

@gorillapaws

Mine was not a straw man argument. It was sarcasm to make a point.

@JLeslie

“We just don’t have our eyes out for cyclists on highways.”

What?? While driving one should have there eyes (and ears) open for all manner of unexpected things:

Unsafe lane shifts, debris, unnecessary hard braking, animals, distracted drivers, the list goes on and on. While driving, or cycling, I am constantly scanning for hazards and doing my best to anticipate outcomes based on emerging patterns.

Driving is a full time, interactive job. Death or injury can rain down from above in the blink of an eye. Have you never heard the following? “Always expect the unexpected.”

Also, like I stated above, In some states bicycle use is legal on Interstate highways.

States with low population density that allow cyclists on highways:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-motorized_access_on_freeways

Here’s the way I look at it: some people are more aware of how they are interfering with others on the road, some people are less aware, and we all make mistakes.

I’ve been in too many cars with people who cuss and get angry when other drivers are making more “extravagant” and aggressive maneuvers… but then several miles later they are making the same sort of “extravagant” behaviors, driving more aggressively because they expect other motorists to cut them off, or else they didn’t realize a driver was in their blindspot. I’ve also biked with too many people who rag on the “obnoxious” bicyclists who don’t obey the laws of the road or who get in the way of drivers… and then they break some minor traffic law a couple of miles later, or with the wind in our ears we didn’t hear the car behind us.

My point: It’s not bicyclists or motorists, it’s a handful of people who get in the way with their various modes of transportation. Most people are fine, and traffic usually goes smoothly, and we don’t notice it. A few people get in the way, slow down traffic, and we notice. Probably no one here is regularly that obnoxious person. Probably everyone here has accidentally been that person once or twice. I know I have.

I bike and I drive regularly. When I’m driving I try to be cognizant of bikers, especially when there is a lot going on in the road, or when I’m approaching a potential blindspot, because I know how vulnerable they are when compared to my vehicle. When I’m biking I try to be cognizant of how small I am, especially when there is a lot going on in the road, or when I’m approaching a potential blindspot, because I know how easy it is for a driver to miss seeing me. But I’m not perfect, and I don’t always see everything or notice everything. In those cases I hope the other people on the road with me (in cars or bikes or anything else) understand that I’m trying my best, and I didn’t mean to get in their way or cut them off.

@SecondHandStoke That’s right, we should have our eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary on the road. How many people in America at any given time do you think have their full attention on the road and know all that’s around them as they drive down the road? I don’t have a lot of confidence about the number being close to 100%. Do people even check their mirrors every few seconds anymore? I never hear people talking about that when discussing driving. They talk about signaling, and faster traffic in the left lane. Hopefully, they still teach people to constantly be aware of what is beside and behind them. I see people drive random when it’s not necessary, not congested on the road. Weren’t they taught to always have an out if possible for unexpected surprises on the road? I guess not, or they don’t care?

Eating, drinking, talking, changing radio stations, texting, tired, distracted, and then add in slower reaction times for some, and not following laws like not stopping at the stop line before continuing at a red or stop sign. It’s dangerous. I see people all the time over run stop lines into what is a pedestrian way or where a bike would ride.

That’s wild, @jca.
I live near the Illinois/Missouri Mississippi River border. Illinois prohibits bicycles on the interstate, and Missouri (contrary to Wiki) allows them.
I know because I’ve stopped for many a cyclist trying to figure out how to get over the river without using the (interstate) bridge. You can’t!
They’re always meek, and mumble thinks like “Well, we didn’t see…”
I always laugh and assure them I’ve stopped lots of times.