The Chainlink

When Riding Today Who Followed The Traffic Rules Of The Road?

Most of us ride on the chainlink. All of us our in a hurry! So we know that bikes may get you from point A to point B quicker than a car. But how often do we actually follow the rules of the road? We want the same rights as a car does. So why don't we do these? Well today I did and you know that I found out a few things doing this. 1) I seen more respect from the cars today then any other day. 2) It really didn't take me that much longer to get from point (A) - (B) .  Maybe 5 minutes more in travel time. 3) It gave me a better workout when I really wasn't trying to achieve that. 4) Most of all it gave me a better safety feeling. I generally do follow the rules of the road, But I to do find my self coming to that stop sign & not making a complete stop. (Were one foot touches the ground) This is when a car knows what you are doing! Being predicable. 

My whole point is or was to see a difference in bike vs car as to respect.   

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Permalink Reply by buddaa38 on March 21, 2012 at 9:42am

It's not like I'm running for office! Lol

Permalink Reply by Katie on March 21, 2012 at 10:47am

I always stop for stop lights.  I slow down/stop for signs and make sure it's clear before going through.  I don't want to get squished.  At some red lights, the walk sign will hit before the light turns green and I will go through that. 

I choose to follow those traffic laws.  I'm not interested in getting squished and I'm not willing to practice running through red lights to build up the skill of dodging cross traffic.  What anyone else does is no concern of mine.  To each their own. 

Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on March 21, 2012 at 11:31am

Regardless of whether you follow the laws to the "T," yielding at intersections will make your ride a whole lot safer.

Additionally, if you time out the lights on your route, you'll find you don't need to break the law to get to your destinations quickly, you just need to maintain a steady speed.

I love following the law and catching every light while other cyclists race to just have to wait for the light.

Permalink Reply by Sir Bikes-A-Lot on March 21, 2012 at 12:16pm

I've found a big difference in my experience in the bike lanes with this simple axiom, "It's not a competition". When cycling, we share the road with both motorists and cyclists. When we compete for space, position, whatever, we change the dynamic for all parties involved.  By following the rules (as closely as is reasonable) we are not in competition with each other and thus make the ride more safe and enjoyable!

Permalink Reply by Robert Beck on March 21, 2012 at 12:52pm

I guess its that time of year again, huh Tony?  Let me guess that next post is you will be seeking volunteers for that organization that does not even exist! 

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on March 21, 2012 at 12:53pm

Yes let's respect each other for sure.

But following the rules of the road when those rules were designed almost entirely for motor vehicles makes no sense. Be safe, be considerate, always yield the right of way when appropriate, but don't stand there motionless at a red light like some kind of robot if there is no cross traffic. There is no need to stop at a stop sign if there is no cross traffic. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 21, 2012 at 1:15pm

I use hand signals as much as possible - legit directional and stop signs, rarely the middle finger salute.  For stop sign intersections of non-busy streets, I slow down and look for any approaching traffic - peds, bikes and motor vehicles (of whatever type).  If there's other traffic, I stop (usually a brief pause, feet on pedals) and observe right of way rules - unless the person with right of way waves me through.

At a stop sign intersection with busy traffic, I stop (usually with foot down) and observe right of way rules.  I don't run red lights.  If a ped is crossing in front of me at a legal crossing, I yield to them.  If they are crossing in any old place with no regard for any other road users, I may have a few choice words for them, especially when they step right out in front of me (less than 20 feet away) while I'm rolling at speed. 

If I'm pulling a loaded trailer or carrying a lot of weight in panniers, I may wave a driver through even when it's my turn (by right of way rules) at a stop sign, because I'll be slow in accelerating.  I've found that general courtesy tends to get a similar response from most people in neighborhood riding, at least in most neighborhoods where I might ride.  In the Loop and nearby areas, courtesy seems to get the best response from CTA bus drivers - for me anyway.  Your mileage may vary...

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 21, 2012 at 1:20pm

+1

The "Rules of the road" were written for cars and with cars in mind.  Many (if not most) of them are ridiculous when applied to bicycles.

I think there should be only one rule of the road: NO CARS.

I will follow the rules of the road when you follow the rules of grammar.

Permalink Reply by Duppie on March 21, 2012 at 1:22pm

Very smart advice.

This is the main reason why I hardly ever ride thru a red light. Of the 36 traffic lights I pass every time I ride to or from work, I can easily hit 25 in green by riding at a steady pace. The ones in red contain some high traffic intersections that I would never ever cross on red (i.e. Wells southbound @ Ohio, Lincoln @ Halsted and Fullerton), etc. At those intersections, I gladly wait for them to turn green.

Charlie Short said:

Additionally, if you time out the lights on your route, you'll find you don't need to break the law to get to your destinations quickly, you just need to maintain a steady speed.

I love following the law and catching every light while other cyclists race to just have to wait for the light.

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on March 21, 2012 at 1:43pm

For a while, I tried really hard to stop at every red light and wait for green, but it really felt ridiculous at small intersections with no cross traffic in sight, like I was a robot, as Tony said. So I decided eventually that I'm justified in proceeding without waiting for green since my brain can process changing inputs much better than the dumb traffic light. Not an airtight argument since a car driver can use the same rationale, I know, but I'm going with it.

Tony Adams said:

Yes let's respect each other for sure.

But following the rules of the road when those rules were designed almost entirely for motor vehicles makes no sense. Be safe, be considerate, always yield the right of way when appropriate, but don't stand there motionless at a red light like some kind of robot if there is no cross traffic. There is no need to stop at a stop sign if there is no cross traffic. 

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on March 21, 2012 at 1:53pm

And just a quick follow up: I've been riding my young teen daughter on our new tandem bike to her activities, and as we ride along, I'm constantly explaining what I'm doing and why, trying to pass along my knowledge of the rules of the road and advice about how to handle bicycling situations. She's pretty quiet throughout, and I assumed she was soaking in every nugget of wisdom I shared with her. So the other day we're on Lincoln at a red light at the Children's Memorial crossing for pedestrians and the parking garage, and after letting every pedestrian cross and with no other person or car in sight, I called over my shoulder that we can start pedalling again, and she pipes up, "I like how we can go through the red lights."  Um, OK, Kid, so there are "rules" and then there are "Rules". It's complicated.

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on March 21, 2012 at 2:16pm

Rules and regulations provide order for the roads and keep me and the rest of us as safe as can be expected; both drivers and cyclists do stupid stuff. Stop signs and lights give me that extra moment to pay attention to these kinds of things. Being one minute and 37 seconds quicker to work is not worth my life.

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