[Ezn]

To the d-bag who told me to shut the F up and get a life after informing him on Saturday that he shouldn't be going the wrong way in the bike lane on Bergen St.:

You are dangerous. You are an accident waiting to happen. You have no respect for other riders or the rules of the road. You, sir, are an idiot. I hope you win a Darwin award (and you will) and prove my point.

[Boygabriel]

As a biker, I agree. The worst kind of bikers are the ones who break the rules and then are aggressive about it.

Those are also the worst kind of pedestrians and drivers.
_________________
Spend a buck, light a number for one the 400,000 victims in Darfur: darfurwall.org

[vidro3]

if he was traveling a long distance then he should have been on the opposite direction lane on Dean st.

If he was just going a block then yes, shut up and get a life.

if not; Yes, Shut up and get a life.

everyone rides the wrong way from time to time because it makes no sense to ride around the block simply to keep from going the wrong way for 1-2 blocks. It makes about as much sense as telling people they have to walk in the same direction as traffic.

[Ezn]

Vidro3 - another Darwin Award candidate.

People like you get other people hurt.

[hitokiri]

[vidro3]

driving the wrong way on a one way street creates inordinately more danger than biking the wrong way does.

driving the right way down a one way street creates more danger than biking the wrong way does.

it seems like the most outrage is reserved for least harmful.

[vidro3]

[Boygabriel]

[Boygabriel]

[Ezn]

Crossing the street on foot is not done at 15 m.p.h. I always stop and look.

Look, it is just plain stupid and wrong to be on a bicycle going the wrong way in a bike lane. There is no comparrison or excuse you can make that makes this OK.

I had a wreck once here in Brooklyn because a delivery boy was in the bike lane going the wrong way. Do you think I cared if he was only going one block? Do you think, vidro, that it would make any difference if he was going 'only' one block?

hitokiri hit the head on the nail. In or on a MOVING VEHICLE you cannot pick and choose the laws you want to follow. Or, you can, I guess, if you want to be a dangerous dumb-ass.

[Niner]

Bike = Vehicle
Vehicles MUST obey all traffic laws.



/ tired of the self-righteous bike crowd /

[vidro3]

[Ezn]

Vidro, you can get a MOVING VIOLATION on a bicycle, not a 'motor vehicle violation'. Most of the same tickets you can get driving like a dumb-ass you can get riding a bicycle like a dumb-ass.

And, from your little PDF:

Section 4-02
COMPLIANCE WITH AND EFFECT OF TRAFFIC RULES
(a) Applicability of rules. The provisions of these rules apply to all vehicles, operators of vehicles, bicycles, operators of bicycles and pedestrians upon highways, parkways, shopping center parking lots and municipal areas including public housing, public hospital parking lots, and municipal lots and garages.

[Ezn]

And there's this little gem from your little PDF, vidro:

Page 54:
• Bicyclists are subject to all applicable New York state and local laws, rules and regulations, including NYC Traffic Rules. Wear a Helmet.
• While working, commercial bicyclists must wear a properly fitted bicycle helmet. Never Ride Against Traffic.
• Bicyclists cannot ride against the flow of traffic. Ride with traffic to avoid accidents.
• If available, bicyclists must use bicycle lanes. Stay Off Sidewalks and Limited Access Roadways.
• Bicycles are not permitted on sidewalks unless bicycle wheels are less than 26 inches in diameter and the rider is 12 years or younger, or if signs allow.

So go suck it, vidro. You FAIL.

[Mougar]

Everyone breaks the rules of the road. Bikers, drivers and pedestrians are all guilty of this. Unless someone does something particularly egregious, just let it go.

If you want to argue biking the wrong way is particularly dangerous, that's one thing. But it's impossible to take someone seriously who argues everyone should follow all the rules all the time.

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

[Ezn]

[vidro3]

[vidro3]

[Ezn]

Go play in traffic, vidro, that's pretty much what you are advocating.

[bobbybrummel]

i occasionally ride the wrong way, but only if i need to go about 50 feet or so. if i do this on a street with a bike lane, i try to keep to the opposite side of the road. and if someone chastises me i will say i'm sorry because i know i'm in the wrong.

i'm one of those people who yells at wrong way bikers. but i'm usually kind of cryptic about it, i will say HEY FISHY FISHY or SWIM SALMON, SWIM UPSTREAM! it's only once in a blue moon that i will be direct and yell HEY FUCKHEAD, YOUR LANE'S OVER THERE. you gotta make sure you point them in the right direction though. cos maybe they don't know!
_________________
I've done a lot of lying in my time. I've lied to men who wear belts. I've lied to men who wear suspenders. But I'd never be so stupid as to lie to a man who wears both belt and suspenders.

[bobbybrummel]

here's a good image [http://xn--hgi.ws/%EA%B7%A7] from the bike snob blog. from this post: http://xn--hgi.ws/%E8%BD%9F%E8%92%B7
_________________
I've done a lot of lying in my time. I've lied to men who wear belts. I've lied to men who wear suspenders. But I'd never be so stupid as to lie to a man who wears both belt and suspenders.

[Niner]

We could stop all the madness if we just allowed bicycles on the sidewalk.

Oh, and vehicle:

Any means in or by which someone travels or something is carried or conveyed; a means of conveyance or transport

[Domino]

BICYCLES ON THE SIDEWALK?!?!?!?! Only if we allow strollers on the BQE and cars in the East River. Sounds like a fair trade-off.
_________________
WHY am I always the meat in the middle of an imbecile sandwich?

[hitokiri]

[vidro3]

[bobbybrummel]

[Boygabriel]

[hitokiri]

[stacey]

As a driver I dont usually have problem with bikers. My only complaint is I tend to drive all the way to the other side of the street when there is a bike lane. Sometimes (especially on Dean where there are so many double parked cars) I tend to tap my horn when approaching a biker to let them know I am coming by close to the bike lane line. Most bikers are fine but a couple (usually in the full biking regale) have given me the finger for tapping my horn at them.

Just an FYI - my husband was a biker messenger for many years. Cops will give a bike rider a ticket just like with cars (i.e., running a red light, not hand signaling when turning or moving into traffic, etc.). Someone was using his name and amassed thousands of dollars in bike tickets. The only way we found this out was when it was time to renew his driver's license they said no because he had bike tickets. In the process of my husband fighting them we were told by the clerk that if he gets stopped by a cop for any minor infraction they have a right to arrest him for those unpaid tickets.

[MeredithB]

That sucks. As a bicycle rider my policy to cops stopping me to give me a ticket is I never saw them. BTW, that's the same excuse drivers give cops when they mow down a bicyclist.
_________________
Walking on the beaches looking at the peaches.

[Ezn]

[Ezn]

[MeredithB]

I obey no laws.
_________________
Walking on the beaches looking at the peaches.

[Boygabriel]

[Boygabriel]

[hitokiri]

oh, i think everyone should follow the rules at all times. They are there to keep us safe.

But at the same time know that the law isnt 100% fair and if a pedestrian wanted to dance in the middle of the street and I accidently hit him with my bike or car, *I* would be in the wrong.

Also keep in mind that I might be driving a 1.5 - 2 ton vehicle at the time and thats a battle you dont want to be part of if you are on a bike going t he wrong way on a street. I dont mean it to sound like a threat as if i was going to be aiming for you, but I know I wouldnt want to get hit by a vehicle if my bike lost traction for whatever reason and a car was coming right at me.

[hitokiri]

just for laughs (thought it was great after seeing this thread)

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

I'm going to hang that on my living room wall.
_________________
Babies aren't meat! They're not even people!

[Flexichick]

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

YEAH! I'd like mine printed in various languages.
_________________
Babies aren't meat! They're not even people!

[Boygabriel]

[swngnmonk]

[homeowner]

This isn't about whether bikes should ride down the block the wrong way. This is about an appropriate response when someone calls you on something that you are doing that is wrong. If I jaywalk and someone says to me "You really need to wait for the light" is that reason enough for me to curse at them and call them names?

There is a better way to respond than "Shut the F&*# up and get a life". Mr biker was lucky he didn't say that to someone who would have punched him in his dumb wrong-way-riding ass.

[Boygabriel]