Guys like this are what gives diesel a bad name

[Sigarms]

If you’re on a pedal bike, for the love of god don’t try to block a lane... what if the driver is looking down at his phone? You’re dead, that’s it.

You can’t physically block a 4,000 lb car with your bicycle

My mother always told me that the cemetery is full of people who were right.

 

[Sigarms]

Progress?

Lawyer says teen who crashed into six Houston-area bicyclists was 'inexperienced' driver

Regardless of more severe charges potentially facing a 16-year-old who struck six...

www.houstonchronicle.com

That 16 year old is screwed, worse yet, his parents better hope that they have a good umbrella insurance policy.

Being that the truck in question is a pretty nice newer looking Ford, and it may be a safe bet his parents have the money for him to be driving that truck, they (parents) may get taken to the cleaners.

Civil suits will be coming for certain...

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Ever wonder where stupid kids come from???

 

[Topzide]

Many problems for the teen and his parents! Rolling coal will have the feds all over his truck since that's a violation of the clean air act. The lawsuits will be filed in due time. Bike riders do have right to road but must follow the same rules of the road as motor vehicles. I remember when I got my first bike, you had to take a class for riding on the road and got a license for your bike( a sticker for the class). Maybe that needs to be restarted again. JM2C.

 

[Torvy]

This is Texas, maybe his lawyer will get him off due to Affluenza. The only hope they really have is if there is solid information showing the bikes were breaking the law, too. It will not get him off, but it could reduce the penalty. Hopefully, none of the victims pass away. People will go nuts, but if he doesn't have any bad history, he could just get probation. Like others have mentioned, the parents are in a bad place. It is possible that good people have a jack wagon kid. In a way, I hope they are not good people. I hate to see good people get destroyed over one thing their kid did.

 

[CobyRupert]

Do you really believe that it would have made a difference? You cite one a-hole driver, then seem to use it as an excuse to be a jerk yourself.

Since you ask, yes.
If I had been riding in the main travel lane when he approached, as is my right, he would of had to follow me until I went through the intersection instead of passing me and immediately cutting me off. Or he could of passed me on the right shoulder and turned. Much safer.
What I’m saying is it’s safer for everybody if bikers use the travel lane to go straight through intersections, just like it’s safer to make left turns from the travel lane instead of from the right shoulder.

If you think me riding safer is being a jerk, so be it, I’m going to be a jerk every time.

 

[Torvy]

You are dreaming if you think riding your bike in the middle of the lane at a relatively slow speed is safer than on the shoulder. Just because a bike CAN take the lane does not mean a bike SHOULD take the lane. It doesn't matter if you are right if you are dead. Distracted driving is a problem even when you are in the relative safety of a car. On a bike in the middle of a road, you are a funeral waiting to happen. If you don't meet the legal expectations for taking the lane, the driver of the car may not even be punished. Just a tragic accident. But, you can die happy knowing you showed him. We need our TBN peeps on their tractors, not in pine boxes. Be safe.

 

[Jstpssng]

Since you ask, yes.
If I had been riding in the main travel lane when he approached, as is my right, he would of had to follow me until I went through the intersection instead of passing me and immediately cutting me off. Or he could of passed me on the right shoulder and turned. Much safer.
What I’m saying is it’s safer for everybody if bikers use the travel lane to go straight through intersections, just like it’s safer to make left turns from the travel lane instead of from the right shoulder.

If you think me riding safer is being a jerk, so be it, I’m going to be a jerk every time.

Never mind what we think, this is the law for your state. This clearly shows that it is NOT your right to ride wherever you please.

Riding on roadways, shoulders, bicycle or in-line skate lanes
and bicycle or in-line skate paths. (a) Upon all roadways, any bicycle
or in-line skate shall be driven either on a usable bicycle or in-line
skate lane or, if a usable bicycle or in-line skate lane has not been
provided, near the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway or upon a
usable right-hand shoulder in such a manner as to prevent undue
interference with the flow of traffic except when preparing for a left
turn or when reasonably necessary to avoid conditions that would make it
unsafe to continue along near the right-hand curb or edge. Conditions to
be taken into consideration include, but are not limited to, fixed or
moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, in-line skates, pedestrians,
animals, surface hazards or traffic lanes too narrow for a bicycle or
person on in-line skates and a vehicle to travel safely side-by-side
within the lane.

Two wrongs don't make a right. By doing as you say not only will you be in violation yourself, but you will put yourself in more danger from people like the buckwheat who cut you off.

OTOH I understand why you got POed; I've had people pass me when in my pickup, only to cut me off and immediately slam on the brakes to make a turn.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

We have both kinds here, idiots in trucks rolling coal, and idiots on bikes blocking lanes.

It’s probably time to restrict bikes to 40mph max roads. They shouldn’t be on main roads.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Where I live there is a major cycle trail built on an old RR right of way.
Most days the bikes cross the highway in a steady stream with no intention of stopping for vehicles even though they have large stop signs in both directions.
Making it worst the LEO's simply ignore that breach of the highway code that they are paid to enforce.

I know you're in Quebec, but if you were in the US there's be no section of the code for them to enforce.

Under the Uniform Traffic Code, cyclists have the rights and duties of operators of vehicles when operating upon a roadway. When operating upon a sidewalk or crosswalk they have the rights and duties of pedestrians. Where were these cyclists operating? In a crosswalk. Whose duties do they have? Those of pedestrians. What is the duty of a pedestrian at a stop sign? None. A stop sign is not a traffic control that applies to pedestrians. Pedestrians have right of way at crosswalks, although most states have a provision that pedestrians shouldn't enter the crosswalk unless cross traffic is able to yield. Which it was. They put the stop signs up at trail crossings because they don't want cyclists flying into the roadway but they aren't enforceable.

The larger point: people complain about cyclists not knowing the law, but almost nobody knows what the law is when it applies to cyclists. People often complain about cyclists doing things which are perfectly legal, like passing stopped cars on the right, riding two abreast, riding in groups and riding in a lane. The even larger point: traffic law is a mess when it comes to cyclists, because for the most part the people who wrote the law gave no thought to what cyclists are actually supposed to do. So the law says act like a pedestrian on the sidewalk and like a driver on the road, but what does that even mean?