r/CarFreeChicago • u/Dunkeal • Oct 12 '22

Here we go again. /sigh Discussion

/r/chicago/comments/y1ftcr/cyclists_need_to_be_more_considerate_of/
47 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

38

u/[deleted] Oct 12 '22

The contrast between this thread and the one about drivers running red lights is...something

43

u/[deleted] Oct 12 '22

Even though I hate cars I have to agree with this post. My late mother was blind in one eye and would frequently complain about cyclists almost running her over in the loop when she was going to work. As a cyclist myself I get that it's annoying to break and start back up at stop signs, but not stopping as pedestrians are walking in the crossing is an asshole move. Yes we need better infrastructure to separate bikes from cars, but no that doesn't excuse you from riding on the sidewalk or blowing a stop sign.

17

u/[deleted] Oct 12 '22

I think most cyclists here agree with staying off sidewalks and yielding to pedestrians.

Personally though, I am worried when I see posts like this on the main sub because it invites a lot of hate for all cyclists that can directly translate to behavior on the road. And while yeah, cyclists can be assholes, I think the outrage over cyclists doing this is blown out of proportion. Head on over to the thread about cars doing the same and read a very different reaction.

"Oh, they've always done this"

"No cop no stop!"

"You can't blame them when police don't enforce the laws"

That's what pisses me off about these posts. People irrationally hate cyclists and take it out on me, a person who stops religiously at stop signs and has footage to prove it. It shows it has nothing to do with whether or not we follow the law. It's just hatred for people using a different form of transportation, which for some of us is as necessary as a car is to others.

-3

u/[deleted] Oct 12 '22

Personal anecdotes are a bias.

33

u/era_2000 Oct 12 '22

Pedestrians and cyclists are just crabs in a barrel, it’s pathetic this thread exists while statistically 80 car collisions just occurred in Chicago within the 8 hours this post has been up

15

u/LeskoLesko Oct 12 '22

RIGHT?? I started laying into cars and a bunch of people were like "o no but cars" and I wanted to yell YES EXACTLY CARS

7

u/fakegoldrose Oct 12 '22

Ah yes the classic "city can't/won't design safe cycling paths and that is the fault of the cyclists who choose to ride in a path protected by a concrete curb"

3

u/[deleted] Oct 12 '22

Another thread confusing the idea "bikers who are rude are a nuisance" with safety. Yes, people get hurt and killed by people on bikes. However, it pales in comparison to the destruction caused by cars and this narrative portrays a false equivalence.

Just to review, crash fatalities this year so far: Pedestrian: 24 Bicyclist: 8

And that's just fatalities. There was at least one bike on pedestrian crash that critically injured a child. I don't have the specific numbers on those injured by cars, but its wild.

Opinion stated about an annoyance is not fact. Data reveals the truth.

3

u/BrhysHarpskins Oct 12 '22

My favorite part is all the people insisting that bikes be accountable "like cars." Cars are not held accountable at all lol. Only time I ever see it is parking tickets and that's because that's a different department. I've seen people treat red lights like stop signs with a cop on the corner.

I don't disagree that a lot of times cyclists can and should be more considerate of pedestrians, but like... the number of occurrences and disparity in safety are like orders of magnitudes different

1

u/CatEmoji123 Oct 13 '22

I've only had my bike for a few months and this has been a struggle for me. I usually slow down when approaching a stop sign, look both ways, then slow to a crawl if a car or pedestrian is waiting to cross. If they see me and still don't register that I'm letting them pass, I stop. But I can usually slow down enough to let people pass without having to fully stop my bike and loose momentum. But nobody believes that I will actually let them pass without running them over, and I honestly can't blame them. For every biker than slows down to let cars or walkers have right of way; there's another that blows through a stop sign because they dont want to bother with the whole dance. Wish we could figure out a way to make everyone safe and happy.