Why do bicycle riders feel that they can completely ignore traffic laws?

I…don’t…know. i have experienced the same thing.

When I was in my 20’s I thought that I was exempt from obeying the traffic laws until I had a couple interactions with police and auto drivers. I soon started behaving.

One time I was bike riding into a 4-way stop. I saw a car approaching at a cross street. I made it to the intersection first and didn’t stop. The car didn’t stop either and it nearly hit me. The guy in the car drove next to me and asked, “Why didn’t you stop?” I replied, “I thought that you were going to stop.” HA!

But it’s baffling to me now when I see knuckleheads on bikes doing outrageous stunts in traffic. Of course there are plenty of auto drivers disobeying the traffic laws as well. No wonder nearly 40,000 people are killed on the roads each year in the USA. And no one seems to care at all about that.

It’s a PITA for them to stop. So they often just don’t. Road bikers are generally assholes. I should know, I am one. People in cars are also complete psychopaths around cyclists too. I stopped sharing the road with cars after being hit by one with a driver face-buried in a smartphone.

I think that they belive as a bike is more agile, and nimble. As to avoid danger.

They have a death wish. In a crash the car will obviously win. Rant away. They should all get issued moving violations.

I think some bicyclists don’t know they have to obey traffic laws, and some don’t want to stop because they are exercising and don’t want to interrupt their speed.

Some people assume pedestrians always have the right of way, and in turn always assume cars have to yield to any other smaller or lower speed vehicle including bikes. Where I live we have golf carts driving with traffic and crossing traffic, and many new people assume the golf cart has the right of way, but it is the cars that do. Maybe write a recommendation to the city to promote safe bicycling habits.

I didn’t understand how difficult it is to drive when ~“pestestrians”~ are about.

I live on a two lane rural road which is now like a highway during rush hours. The road is twisty, and the area is horse country, lake country, used to be summer vacation places back in the day. It’s a popular road for bikes, motorcycles and fancy sports cars on Sundays. There are constant discussions in local FB groups about the bike riders not sharing the road, not stopping at stop signs, and all that. Constant.

For the most part yeah.
And I feel that if they are involved in a MVA it will be the vehicle drivers fault.

@Blackwater_Park I mean I stopped, I looked, I crept out. But it’s a blind corner WHICH IS WHY THEY HAVE THE STOP SIGN and there was absolutely no way I could have seen them until they were right on top of me screaming 2 feet from my front bumper at 30 mph. Scared the fuck out me.

In line with what @Redèer said “They are just more nimble, agile.._ and going slow. How could anyone not have the same reaction time as them?
Stupid.

I think they want to kill themselves.

@Blackwater_Park why do you have the same profile picture as @YARNLADYs?

I’m not advocating mass bicycle traffic law impunity, but virtually all drivers have more problems with cars than bicycles.

Group rides ignoring stop signs is not recommended by anybody. I will posit a theory (with no evidence, LOL) that the likelihood of blowing stop signs is proportional to the cost of the bicycles and the amount of pro rider cosplay involved.

@Call_Me_Jay I’m maybe not understanding your answer, because it is hard for me to believe.

If the bike and car crash, the car wins, and the bicyclist likely has serious injuries or even dies. The driver of the car, even if he had no fault in the accident, has nightmares about being in an accident that someone was seriously harmed. Two cars crash at a slowish speed and you likely just have some dented cars. What if the car doesn’t stop at the stop sign? Who cares that the driver should have stopped, the point is the bicyclist gets hit by a car!

A woman I used to dance with hit two people on bicycles and one was in the hospital for a few weeks, I don’t know if they ever completely recovered from their injuries. A neighbor of mine crashed riding his bicycle (not into a car) three months ago, his helmet strap had broken a week before so he didn’t have his helmet on. They just turned off his life support three weeks ago. Usually, he wore a helmet.

@SergeantQueen some of the more senior people here will know what is getting started

@Caravanfan I think they were not being very defensive. Given enough experience, those riders will change…or be killed.

I wish cities would make things more friendly and safe for bicycle traffic. This keeps 90+% of people who would commute on a bicycle from doing so.

@Blackwater_Park Might it be another Yarnpocalypse?

As an avid cyclist, no they all don’t do this.

I can confirm that this is a problem in Virginia too. Cyclists are “vehicles” when it suits them and then convert into “pedestrians” when it suit them and it’s extremely frustrating when they like to ride side-by-side so passing them is less safe for everyone on the road.

If I’m driving a car slower than the speed limit (maybe I’ve got a plant hanging out of the window or something) and a bunch of cars are piling up behind me, I’ll pull off to let them all pass. Cyclists often don’t make an effort, or even worse, will pass everyone on the right at the next stop light, so they all have to try to pass again.

@Call_Me_Jay LOL! Yes, they were expensive bikes and they were definitely peacocking.

@Blackwater_Park That’s the thing, I live in an area where there are bike lanes all over the place and the cities bend over backwards to make bikes safe.

@SergeantQueen I noticed that too and wrote it up in meta. Maybe a mod will see it.

A lot of my friends jog/cycle and since I’m right off I44, I worry constantly about them. Most do wear reflectives and ride in daylight hours but they also tend to sometimes think they have right of way.
I respect their right and share the road but others do get put out with them at times. Last year there was a confrontation that got physical as the biker was not obeying signs and almost caused a bad wreck.
Cant they get ticketed by police if you call it in?

^^They absolutely can get ticketed in my state, I assume in all states. They can get DUI, not stopping at a stop sign, all of it.

It’s the mentality that many humans have in that It’s all about them, which causes most car accidents, and which is a particularly stupid mentality for a cyclist.
Some people have the idea that pedestrians always have the right of way (they don’t, BTW) so they just step into oncoming traffic.

I missed Yarnpocalypse I! I don’t want to miss II!

For people who have to rely on a bicycle for transportation, I give them a LOT of slack.

The jerks wearing Bike clothing, helmet, custom shoes, and gear that seems to indicate they are sponsored by BMW, and travel in groups on roads with no shoulder are ASSHOLES.

They obviously didn’t have a mom who warned them about all of the dangers in life. Obey traffic laws, wear a helmet, don’t put the crib by the venetian blinds, get out of the pool when lightning is within 5 miles, keep your head up when walking, check the backseat of your car before getting in, lock your doors…

They do have just as much right to be on the road as cars. They don’t get exempt from traffic laws. They also have little protection from road rage. It’s also a perfect example of “just because you can does not mean you should” I love cycling but it’s just too dangerous on main roads when most people are looking at their phones behind the wheel.

There is an effect when you’re out in the open and have no obstructions to your vision. You feel safer than you actually are. There is an opposing effect when you’re in a car and you have obstructions to your vision. You feel like you’re in danger of colliding with obstacles when they’re not as close as you think. The two scenarios don’t mix well.

@JLeslie These bike riders were older than me.

@Caravanfan I still think some people, some families, worry about what could go wrong and others don’t. I see it with my husband’s family. When I borrowed a gate for the stairs when my SIL visited with her 2 year old she wouldn’t put it up (I should have just done it) the kid tumbled down the entire flight. When the lightning storm moves in plenty of 60 year olds here don’t get out of the pool quickly. People get their car broken into because they left their purse on the front seat. People attending parties when Covid19 was new.

People suck at risk assessment.

I’ve cycled on the road. For me, it’s a pain to come to a complete stop at a stop sign then try to start up again. Still, I always slowed down enough to fully stop if a car had the right of way at an intersection. I barely expect drivers to stop anyway. This is yet another reason I avoid cycling on the road.

These guys didn’t even slow down. I understand that it’s a pain to come to a complete stop, unclip the cleats, then re-clip and then accelerate. But these guys just ran right through as if there wasn’t anything there.

I see that in the San Jose and Mt View areas where I drive too. So dangerous!

Some people are just stupid.

In downtown Charleston SC, the skateboarders will fly out from between parked cars all the time. The College of Charleston is there, and The Citadel, so there are college kids everywhere.
I’ve almost hit them, MANY times.

Once I was driving down a residential street. Suddenly some kid came FLYING out of his driveway and blasted into the street right in front of me. Never even saw me.
Worse, adults were sitting on the porch, watching and laughing.
JFCWTHIWWY!!!!!
But if a kid doesn’t know how to cross a street, just blame the education system.