Why ride street bikes?

[atsah]

NEVER Assume a vehicle is going to stop for a red light or stop sign!. Wait until they DO stop, then go, don't be is such a rush that you put your life on the line!.. MANY people have either died, or got into a serious accident trusting that drivers will stop!..

When your on a 55mph road and many streets intersect it all along it you are not going to slow to 30 at every street that intersects that road or you will be hit from behind.. There is no easy answer to having no protection from a bumper, there just isn't..

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

NEVER Assume a vehicle is going to stop for a red light or stop sign!. Wait until they DO stop, then go, don't be is such a rush that you put your life on the line!.. MANY people have either died, or got into a serious accident trusting that drivers will stop!..

I even do that driving my car. Defensive driving. Now that I live in the country, I'm never in that much of a rush. I took a lot more chances in the city. One more reason to move to the country!

 

[4570Man]

Just call me stupid then. My wife might agree. Where does the whole "not old enough to have a drivers license" come into play in this whole conversation?

You understand the risk of riding a motorcycle and made your choice. I see people riding with little kids on the back pretty often.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Why ride street bikes?

Because I want too...

I've enjoyed riding my bikes since I was 15 or 16 years old, that's over 50 years of riding and I haven't hit one car, nor has a car hit me...

Yes, it could happen tomorrow but I don't sit and worry about it.

BTW, my sister and her husband were killed in a car wreck, I didn't quit driving car's...

SR

 

[PILOON]

"Modern car and truck pillars are wider and stronger for improved rollover safety. They're also made from extra strong steel now. When roof pillars got wider I started moving my head to reduce the size of the blind spot behind them. Modern cars and trucks have more things in them to distract drivers, such as touch screens and nav systems. It's still incumbent on us as drivers to make sure we're paying attention to the driving."

Yes those wide pillars can actually hide even a school bus, never mind a bike, and that is at an intersection, not a mile away.
My KIA has air bags in all 4 pillars!

Also the side window sills are so high that I only get to see a car that is passing me on inside when his windshield is alongside. (and I'm a 6 foot guy)

Then most often all that glass is masked on the inside with plastic trim, like often the actual transparency is only 75% of the apparent window.

OK, this trend is on motor bikes but the peddle bikes are getting to be a much greater hazard to motoring. Those guys simply think they own the roads and bylaws are being re written in their favor.
No traffic laws apply to them, at least that's how they share (?) the road.

 

[atsah]

I agree, the peddling bikers we have here are the most arrogant people on the road I have ever seen. I’m not sure what they are thinking while riding in the middle of the road and won’t get out of the way, I have seen them kick cars that pass them.

 

[4570Man]

"Modern car and truck pillars are wider and stronger for improved rollover safety. They're also made from extra strong steel now. When roof pillars got wider I started moving my head to reduce the size of the blind spot behind them. Modern cars and trucks have more things in them to distract drivers, such as touch screens and nav systems. It's still incumbent on us as drivers to make sure we're paying attention to the driving."

Yes those wide pillars can actually hide even a school bus, never mind a bike, and that is at an intersection, not a mile away.
My KIA has air bags in all 4 pillars!

Also the side window sills are so high that I only get to see a car that is passing me on inside when his windshield is alongside. (and I'm a 6 foot guy)

Then most often all that glass is masked on the inside with plastic trim, like often the actual transparency is only 75% of the apparent window.

OK, this trend is on motor bikes but the peddle bikes are getting to be a much greater hazard to motoring. Those guys simply think they own the roads and bylaws are being re written in their favor.
No traffic laws apply to them, at least that's how they share (?) the road.

There’s a crazy lady that rides her pedal bike around here while going the wrong way and being inconsiderate. My first encounter with her she was going the same way as me but in the other lane with an oncoming truck. I slowed way down incase the other vehicle swerved in my lane. He came to a complete stop while she peddled by pretending she owed the whole road. Tonight I encountered her again and she was going the opposite way as me in the same lane. Again with an oncoming car. It was in curve and the sun was low and direct ahead. Luckily the other vehicle saw her and stopped because I didn’t see her until less than 10 feet away. Again she made zero effort to get off the road.

 

[aczlan]

Yes, have to be very focused on all of your surroundings. I've wrecked twice (once my fault when young and trying to take the twisties too fast in the nearby mountains) and came very close twice more.

With all the phones these days, I do feel it's more dangerous than ever. I'm always looking ahead and in all directions anticipating what someone else might do or where I might expect deer to come from. It's not as fun as it was when I was young except when I get up in the mountains where the intersections are few and far between and traffic mostly stays in its own lanes.

Watch out for those deer, a friend hit one a couple of weeks back on his road bicycle and had to be flown to the hospital.
He is recovering now, but it will be a hard journey...

On looking at someone in the eye and having them still hit you, back in January I had someone to stop at a stop sign, look directly at me and then pull into side of my car. They hit me in the left front wheel and my shoulder is still not back to where it should be due to getting thrown around when they hit the wheel.

Aaron Z

 

[CalG]

Because I want too...

I've enjoyed riding my bikes since I was 15 or 16 years old, that's over 50 years of riding and I haven't hit one car, nor has a car hit me...

Yes, it could happen tomorrow but I don't sit and worry about it.

BTW, my sister and her husband were killed in a car wreck, I didn't quit driving car's...

SR

True that Rob. I;ve lost friends and family to both. What can we do? Enjoy each breath!

 

[drssg]

Since this is under Rural Living, I live on a narrow road no berm. I was driving at night and an oncoming car suddenly swerved way into my lane and back again. He was still down the road a bit, so I slowed way down, in case he did something else erratic. He passed by without incident.

A little further down the road, and I understand what happened. There was a man on horseback, complete with cowboy hat, riding in pitch dark with no lights or reflective anything!