Good Boston Globe Blog about Bicyclists and Motorists

Yeah, it seems to be that encounters between reasonable bicyclists and reasonable motorists are a) rare and/or b) not commented on. I've definitely seen bicyclists behaving badly in my little slice of suburbia, and I've also recently had my first unpleasant encounters with motorists.

I don't know what we can do to get around the fact that some people suck (on bikes or in cars), and the imbalance of power between the two can have such disastrous consequences.

$.02 from the cheap seats.

I'm so glad I live in the Portland, Or area. Bike lanes are plenty and the city even publishes a map of roads that are safe/unsafe for bicyclists.

Actually, I think it's poorly written--especially if its intent is to help establish 'peace' between cyclists and others.  Some of the responses from drivers/pedestrians are actually more balanced.

Oh man, I was most appalled at the comments.  There is some serious animosity in some of those posts. 

Definitely way too much credit given by the writer to cyclists in general for being law-abiding. I stop at all red lights and watch other cyclists blow past me and right on through alot...and even I'm constantly rolling through stop signs in residential areas (though I'm always on the brakes when I do). It's so annoying to see cyclists feeding into the irrational ("get on the sidewalk") anger of some motorists by playing the double standard game--claiming equal rights, but not obeying the same laws.

(And don't get me started on the bike messengers here in downtown LA...no helmets...no regard for pedestrians or traffic signals...anyone judging cyclists by the actions of people on bikes in downtown is definitely going to see them as a nuisance, if not a threat.)

I always brake and wave cars through that might be waiting for me at a four-way stop where they actually have the right of way and try to make eye contact and give them a 'thank you' gesture for their having made the effort. I can't say I've ever seen another cyclist do anything like that. When I see a motorist stop short when pulling out of a driveway or making a left turn when they see me at the last instant, I always give them a wave and/or a thumbs-up for doing so. As a motorist, I can't say that I've ever seen another cyclist do that. Sure, I'm just saluting them for doing what they're supposed to do...and not injuring me through carelessness. But I figure the less impersonal and more related the interactions I have with motorists are, the better the chance they'll gradually see cyclists as something other than abstractions and obstacles.

Then again, I've also chased down drivers who actually broke the law (like not stopping before crossing a bike path from a driveway) and endangered me and given them a piece of my mind...or a thump on the fender when they were that close to hitting me and never looked. But I know that ultimately that's part of what escalates the "battle"...I have my own road (bike?) rage issues. "Can't we all just get along?", indeed.

(The one thing in the comment thread associated with the article that bugs the cr@p out of me is the repeated "dressed like Lance Armstrong" deal. Yeah. Right. I think I'm "Lance Armstrong"...that's why I wear bike apparel...nothing to do with visibility or that it doesn't catch the wind or in my chain.)


Edited by tcovert 2008-07-08 4:02 PM