Those laws seem pretty similar, they just get ignored super often lol. I imagine part of the problem is you can just pick up a bike and ride without getting a specific license, unlike with cars/motorcycles (not that drivers of those don’t break the law), so I’m guessing a significant number of people don’t even know all the rules they’re supposed to follow and just do whatever they feel like.
That’s exacerbated by ebikes. They’re inexpensive, fast, and require virtually no physical effort, so people ride them everywhere. Before ebikes became so available, only very dedicated people would take them on the road, and everyone else treated them as toys.
If you look, I’ll bet 9/10 of those breaking the laws are on an ebike. Look for thick down tube (connects handle to pedal), a visible battery pack, or absolutely no pedaling. A lot of those should probably be registered as scooters, which do require a license, because people frequently don’t actually pedal on them and instead cruise at 20mph+ (>30kph).
People who ride regular bikes follow the law a lot more because they’re actual enthusiasts, and thus care about the law. I’d guess most of those (say, 75%) follow the law most of the time, and innocently get lumped in with the people on ebikes.
I mean, it was pretty common for cyclists to break the law before e-bikes became popular, although it’s admittedly more common now. It doesn’t really change anything though since e-bikes are not exactly going to go away and the problem isn’t going to be resolved unless they actually do try to enforce licensing for cyclists or something.
That’s not enough, if the lanes don’t connect to anything or they’re unsafe or incomplete. People not using something probably means there’s something broken about it.
Would you use a highway that didn’t go to your destination?
I feel like you people can’t read. I said they ride on the line or sometimes use the sidewalk (when there is a bike lane going in exactly the same direction), not that they don’t use the lane at all. The point is they ride on the line between the car line and the bike lane. It’s especially problematic when there’s only one lane for the car and the cyclist is swerving in and out of the car lane.
I wouldn’t use a highway in general anyway since, as I said, I don’t drive.
Yes, but you still have to ask why people aren’t using the bike lane. There’s usually a reason. Like the lane only lasts a block or there’s cars parked in it. Etc.
I’m just gonna stop this convo, since it’s completely pointless. I like neither car drivers nor cyclists. I have personally almost been run over by cyclists several times blowing through crosswalks or screaming down sidewalks. I find it ridiculous that complaining about cars is fine but complaining about cyclists is a no-go because apparently the wide bike lane with no parked vehicles covering the entire several mile-long one lane road is apparently not enough. They’re all shit at following the laws (car drivers and cyclists both).
Idk, I rode my bike to work for 3-ish years almost every day (up until COVID, more or less), and most of the cyclists on my route were pretty good about following the law, and this was along the main segregated cycle path in the area (connects about 5 cities and flows through residential and office space areas). A few would blow through intersections without slowing, but by and large, most followed the law. This was before ebikes were commonplace, and most of the people were out there getting exercise.
These days, however, I see a bunch of cyclists (mostly on ebikes) disregarding the law. I don’t commute by bike anymore (new job is way too far away), so this is more around the recreational part of the day (usually 5-7AM or 6-8PM), so maybe things are still decent during commute hours. And almost every time I see someone breaking the law, it’s someone on an ebike, not pedaling and instead cranking the throttle, and usually in the afternoon. On my commute, the handful of cyclists I see that aren’t pedal assisted are generally doing a great job following the law.
I think the issue here is just how accessible cycling has become with ebikes completely removing the physical ability part.
enforce licensing for cyclists
If they do, it should only be for ebikes IMO, and perhaps only those capable of acceleration w/o pedaling. And perhaps bike shops should be required to provide details of the local laws, maybe even a competency test, even for unpowered bicycles.
What we need is enough cyclists to understand and follow the law for the others to also fall in line. Maybe pair that with some law enforcement presence ticketing during the start of cycling season or something, and first offenses could be resolved by taking a cycling safety test or something.
Those laws seem pretty similar, they just get ignored super often lol. I imagine part of the problem is you can just pick up a bike and ride without getting a specific license, unlike with cars/motorcycles (not that drivers of those don’t break the law), so I’m guessing a significant number of people don’t even know all the rules they’re supposed to follow and just do whatever they feel like.
That’s exacerbated by ebikes. They’re inexpensive, fast, and require virtually no physical effort, so people ride them everywhere. Before ebikes became so available, only very dedicated people would take them on the road, and everyone else treated them as toys.
If you look, I’ll bet 9/10 of those breaking the laws are on an ebike. Look for thick down tube (connects handle to pedal), a visible battery pack, or absolutely no pedaling. A lot of those should probably be registered as scooters, which do require a license, because people frequently don’t actually pedal on them and instead cruise at 20mph+ (>30kph).
People who ride regular bikes follow the law a lot more because they’re actual enthusiasts, and thus care about the law. I’d guess most of those (say, 75%) follow the law most of the time, and innocently get lumped in with the people on ebikes.
I mean, it was pretty common for cyclists to break the law before e-bikes became popular, although it’s admittedly more common now. It doesn’t really change anything though since e-bikes are not exactly going to go away and the problem isn’t going to be resolved unless they actually do try to enforce licensing for cyclists or something.
If you don’t like cyclists going everywhere give them good bike lanes.
Literally mentioned how there are spacious bike lanes but whatever.
That’s not enough, if the lanes don’t connect to anything or they’re unsafe or incomplete. People not using something probably means there’s something broken about it.
Would you use a highway that didn’t go to your destination?
I feel like you people can’t read. I said they ride on the line or sometimes use the sidewalk (when there is a bike lane going in exactly the same direction), not that they don’t use the lane at all. The point is they ride on the line between the car line and the bike lane. It’s especially problematic when there’s only one lane for the car and the cyclist is swerving in and out of the car lane.
I wouldn’t use a highway in general anyway since, as I said, I don’t drive.
Yes, but you still have to ask why people aren’t using the bike lane. There’s usually a reason. Like the lane only lasts a block or there’s cars parked in it. Etc.
I’m just gonna stop this convo, since it’s completely pointless. I like neither car drivers nor cyclists. I have personally almost been run over by cyclists several times blowing through crosswalks or screaming down sidewalks. I find it ridiculous that complaining about cars is fine but complaining about cyclists is a no-go because apparently the wide bike lane with no parked vehicles covering the entire several mile-long one lane road is apparently not enough. They’re all shit at following the laws (car drivers and cyclists both).
Idk, I rode my bike to work for 3-ish years almost every day (up until COVID, more or less), and most of the cyclists on my route were pretty good about following the law, and this was along the main segregated cycle path in the area (connects about 5 cities and flows through residential and office space areas). A few would blow through intersections without slowing, but by and large, most followed the law. This was before ebikes were commonplace, and most of the people were out there getting exercise.
These days, however, I see a bunch of cyclists (mostly on ebikes) disregarding the law. I don’t commute by bike anymore (new job is way too far away), so this is more around the recreational part of the day (usually 5-7AM or 6-8PM), so maybe things are still decent during commute hours. And almost every time I see someone breaking the law, it’s someone on an ebike, not pedaling and instead cranking the throttle, and usually in the afternoon. On my commute, the handful of cyclists I see that aren’t pedal assisted are generally doing a great job following the law.
I think the issue here is just how accessible cycling has become with ebikes completely removing the physical ability part.
If they do, it should only be for ebikes IMO, and perhaps only those capable of acceleration w/o pedaling. And perhaps bike shops should be required to provide details of the local laws, maybe even a competency test, even for unpowered bicycles.
What we need is enough cyclists to understand and follow the law for the others to also fall in line. Maybe pair that with some law enforcement presence ticketing during the start of cycling season or something, and first offenses could be resolved by taking a cycling safety test or something.