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Maybe a topic and issue that gets to much air time but I thought this was a decent short article.
What's our bicycle "social contract"?
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My quick opinions:
1) The Idaho stop: That's great if you're in Idaho. If you're not, do what you'ld do in a car ... stop. Or do the bicycle equivalent of a rolling stop ... your best attempt at a track stand.
2) Blowing through an intersection - really bad. There should be fair and proper inforcement of traffic laws on all road users.
3)The "C maneuver; If U turns are ok, this should be ok too.
4) Riding in the middle of the lane - One size does not fit all; there are a million exceptions; yada, yada, yada ... but as a general rule --- If the lane is wide enough to share safely, share it ( e.g. it is more than 14 ft wide). Otherwise, use as much lane as is necessary for your safety. To discourage close passes I generally use the far left edge of the right tire track or the center of the lane on roads with two lanes in my direction.
5) Jumping the queue when it's not really necessary - generally bad
6) Jumping the queue when there are a lot of cars waiting - Maybe, depending on traffic, road width, bike lane or not, and avoiding the door zone of parked cars. I generally do not do it.
1) The Idaho stop: That's great if you're in Idaho. If you're not, do what you'ld do in a car ... stop. Or do the bicycle equivalent of a rolling stop ... your best attempt at a track stand.
2) Blowing through an intersection - really bad. There should be fair and proper inforcement of traffic laws on all road users.
3)The "C maneuver; If U turns are ok, this should be ok too.
4) Riding in the middle of the lane - One size does not fit all; there are a million exceptions; yada, yada, yada ... but as a general rule --- If the lane is wide enough to share safely, share it ( e.g. it is more than 14 ft wide). Otherwise, use as much lane as is necessary for your safety. To discourage close passes I generally use the far left edge of the right tire track or the center of the lane on roads with two lanes in my direction.
5) Jumping the queue when it's not really necessary - generally bad
6) Jumping the queue when there are a lot of cars waiting - Maybe, depending on traffic, road width, bike lane or not, and avoiding the door zone of parked cars. I generally do not do it.
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The laws and rules of the road as they stand are largely sufficient; I would include the clause of "half a lane of space between cyclist and passing car" instead of this largely unenforceable 3-foot business.
Idaho stops,... meh. I'm still trying to figure out what's so damned difficult about stopping and re-starting. I don't have an issue, it's just part of the ride. (But then, drivers don't like to have to stop either, so maybe it's in the DNA...)
If you're in a lane that's for both straight-thru traffic AND right turns, then sure, jump the line. Otherwise, deal.
There aren't as many 'necessary' exceptions for cyclists as some folks think there need to be.
Idaho stops,... meh. I'm still trying to figure out what's so damned difficult about stopping and re-starting. I don't have an issue, it's just part of the ride. (But then, drivers don't like to have to stop either, so maybe it's in the DNA...)
If you're in a lane that's for both straight-thru traffic AND right turns, then sure, jump the line. Otherwise, deal.
There aren't as many 'necessary' exceptions for cyclists as some folks think there need to be.
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And if you lucky enough to live in the fine Commonwealth known as Virginia you only get 2 feet !
I really have no problem with the Idaho stop. Having said that I think having some common sense and situational awareness go a long way. I ride the majority of my time in fairly rural areas so it's not a huge issue.
I have ridden in Plano,Tx just outside of Dallas with my father and I gota be honest if I had to ride like that all the time I think I would just sell my bikes. The traffic,stops every block and the noise are just crazy to me. I like being able to get out and ride without all that.
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Yeah, Virginia sucks pond scum, I've seen too much of what others report from living there to even VISIT!
The 2-foot crap IS up in the legislature for amendment to 3 feet; we'll see.........
And the idiots behind wheels will still only give 1 foot or less.
The 2-foot crap IS up in the legislature for amendment to 3 feet; we'll see.........
And the idiots behind wheels will still only give 1 foot or less.
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I might get blasted for these comments but that never stopped me before.
When it comes to sharing the road with motorized vehicles, the trouble starts when we use words like "rights" and thinking we're underdogs. Respect on the road is given to those that give it. In PA, the rules on the road apply to bikes the same as cars. You stop at stop signs, you stop at red lights.....until they are green. No "driving" on sidewalks or shortcuts through parking lots. No hindering traffic by taking the lane if you are going slower than traffic. Cars expect a slow car to let a line of traffic pass, bikes should also get out of the way when possible if they are holding up traffic. Bikes do not have more rights than the cars, just the same rights.
True experience for me last summer, riding down a side road, planning on making a left turn. Lots of traffic but needing to get into the proper lane to turn, I signaled my intentions and took the lane. For a mere minute a car was held up behind me, tooting the horn, yelling out the window at me to move, racing his engine, he sped past me in the opposing lane, no passing zone and all. He flew past me yelling, I calmly nodded and turned on the side street. 3 cars behind all this was a police car, who promptly hit the lights and flew past the other cars and pulled this "gentlemen" over. Then radioed for another car to bring me back. The officer asked if I wanted to press charges, but proceeded to right a ticket plus a $136 fine for the driver of the car. Then a speech I did not expect, he said if everyone would just respect others on the road, he would be out of a job. He explained to the driver that I had every right he did on the road, no more than he did, but the same rights he had.
I learned an important lesson from this, don't force your rights to be heard, treat others on the road like you want to be treated, take your turn at intersections, don't purposefully try to enforce your bike rights that aren't really there.
In the end, your experiences on the road will be much more enjoyable....and safer.
And an added perc is a good relationship between cars and bikes, the way it should be. Will you meet jerks in traffic, absolutely, but your bike will not win an argument with a car, so why fight. Attitude is everything....make yours a good one.
When it comes to sharing the road with motorized vehicles, the trouble starts when we use words like "rights" and thinking we're underdogs. Respect on the road is given to those that give it. In PA, the rules on the road apply to bikes the same as cars. You stop at stop signs, you stop at red lights.....until they are green. No "driving" on sidewalks or shortcuts through parking lots. No hindering traffic by taking the lane if you are going slower than traffic. Cars expect a slow car to let a line of traffic pass, bikes should also get out of the way when possible if they are holding up traffic. Bikes do not have more rights than the cars, just the same rights.
True experience for me last summer, riding down a side road, planning on making a left turn. Lots of traffic but needing to get into the proper lane to turn, I signaled my intentions and took the lane. For a mere minute a car was held up behind me, tooting the horn, yelling out the window at me to move, racing his engine, he sped past me in the opposing lane, no passing zone and all. He flew past me yelling, I calmly nodded and turned on the side street. 3 cars behind all this was a police car, who promptly hit the lights and flew past the other cars and pulled this "gentlemen" over. Then radioed for another car to bring me back. The officer asked if I wanted to press charges, but proceeded to right a ticket plus a $136 fine for the driver of the car. Then a speech I did not expect, he said if everyone would just respect others on the road, he would be out of a job. He explained to the driver that I had every right he did on the road, no more than he did, but the same rights he had.
I learned an important lesson from this, don't force your rights to be heard, treat others on the road like you want to be treated, take your turn at intersections, don't purposefully try to enforce your bike rights that aren't really there.
In the end, your experiences on the road will be much more enjoyable....and safer.
And an added perc is a good relationship between cars and bikes, the way it should be. Will you meet jerks in traffic, absolutely, but your bike will not win an argument with a car, so why fight. Attitude is everything....make yours a good one.
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You never are going to get any real distance from a bike that is both enforceable and practical. No one is going to be able to put a tape measure on a distance and say it was 4 feet, 3 feet or 2 feet six inches. Unless you can proving it is going to be difficult to impossible unless someone hits you. Put a line of paint on the pavement, but that really isn't going to help much either. What will fix it??? Common sense. Don't crowd a cyclist any more than you want to be crowded and the problem goes away. Trouble is Will Rogers was right. Common sense ain't so common.
Now PA isn't noted for people easy to get along with. I lived in the Pittsburgh area for several years. Getting yelled at by a yinzer is just about as common as getting up in the morning. Even funnier when its an old yinzer lady that really thinks you care. On the other side of the state is Philly, the town that booed Santa Claus. You are not going to change a culture just because you are on a bike.
Now PA isn't noted for people easy to get along with. I lived in the Pittsburgh area for several years. Getting yelled at by a yinzer is just about as common as getting up in the morning. Even funnier when its an old yinzer lady that really thinks you care. On the other side of the state is Philly, the town that booed Santa Claus. You are not going to change a culture just because you are on a bike.
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Be assertive, but always be ready to bail out. 
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