FU, Doug.
Because of this, I'll consider "taking the lane" way more often than is necessary. And you bet your ass I'll be going <15km/h.
Sorry drivers, but if you don't like it, vote for someone who isn't a turd.
this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2024
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You have to take the lane 100% of the time when there's no bike lane. It's the safest option by far.
Until dick in an emotional support truck runs you down while rage tweeting. Or a soccer mom driving a road-condo turns you to paste as she TikToks about how hard her life is.
And yet it is STILL safer
It’s the safest option by far.
And despite that, the reaction from some drivers is downright terrifying. I rode down Steeles between Markham and Pickering the other day... there are no shoulders, and you have to take the lane.
Except, you get truckers doing some aggressive shit with their motor/transmission as they creep closer behind you. Call it intimidation, or bullying, but you have to be a hardened cyclist to endure that kind of treatment, and the risk to your life is real.
Safer, yes. But it's like saying it's safer to jump from a plane at 5000 feet without a parachute than it is one that's 10,000 feet. LOL
Trucks often have to use 'engine breaking' or a 'Jake brake' to slow down. Basically, they cut fuel in the intake stroke, changing the engine into a 'compressor' to exchange forward momentum into useless compressed air that gets thrown away in the exhaust. The result is a lot of 'noise' from the truck as it slows down. It's not intimidation, it's a valid way to slow down without excessive wear on wheel brakes. Or, it shouldn't be intimidation. In some municipalities, engine braking or Jake braking isn't permitted.
I'm aware of engine braking, and some were doing that, but I'm referring to drivers inching up behind and REVVING.
And when it was a dickhead in a pick-up truck, they would GAS IT. Two of them actually peeled out as they passed!
A few other drivers would intentionally block the shoulder (when there was one), so I'd either have to be behind a line of cars, or ride off the road. Several would do this to bike lanes, when there was a line at a stop sign, probably because they knew I'd fly past them without any traffic in my lane 😂
I mean, on the same ride, I was also yelled at (while I was on an MUP) by a passing van.
I 100% believe that much of this behaviour was intimidation.
Unfortunately, the bike I was riding doesn't have my usual camera on it, or I would have been able to make a compilation featuring Idiot Drivers of Durham Region and York Region.
And here I am, frustrated that bikes aren't taking the lane where I live. Instead they try to act like super pedestrians who can use the sidewalk, lane, or shoulder, and they ignore traffic signs and signals. I'd rather they were just in the road at that point. It's a stop sign every block, 25 mph road. So we're not exactly slowing down traffic with bikes. Instead I almost hit 2 of them in one trip a couple days ago because they didn't stop and came from behind cars so they were hidden until the last moment.
?? Why? What could possibly be the rationale for this?
To gather more votes from the majority of the electorate who drive into the city.
Bike lanes only serve those who live in Toronto and those people don't vote for these clowns anyways. Hell, even people who never drive where there are bike lanes will like this to give the middle finger to all the people who bike in the city.
To accept bribes for bike lane approval
"More lanes make car go faster" probably.
It's outrageporn, they get themselves worked up over stupid things.
Conservatism now stands for «turn Ontario into Michigan».
Coming to appreciate Valérie Plante even more every year.
Valérie Plante my beloved.
Like all politicians she ain't perfect, but damn do I love Montréal's urbanism, even as a car owner.
Sarkaria added that he frequently hears from drivers who say their commute times have increased on routes with bike lanes.
Time to call the constituency office for Brampton South and the Ministry office to counter the driver's calls.
Brampton South constituency office is: 905-796-8669
For all Ontarians (or people who sometimes travel in Ontario) the ministry office is: 416-327-9200
(principle_skinner_meme.gif)
It couldn't be the complete lack of investment in infrastructure over the last four decades, could it?
No, the bike lanes are to blame.
So can I reduce the number of lanes without provincial approval? Coincidentally two years later, can I decide to otherwise implement bike lanes?
My city, Oakland, is making the smart move of reducing lanes of traffic and putting physical barriers around the bike lanes in our downtown. Smart because downtown has been hollowed out post-pan, with lots of people wfh. Source: I live downtown.
So it's not law yet?
Oh look at that, every road got approved for a bike lane the day before the bill was passed. Darn shame that is. Oh well.
I wish Municipal governments moved that fast 😅
For something like this it shouldn't be hard, we're just talking about the city approval, not the implementation. Like when Roosevelt created national parks the night before Congress was going to make it really hard to keep making them. He stayed up right to the last minute signing new parks into existence. That's the kind of malicious compliance we need to fight back.
They really need to educate cyclists in peel about bike lanes. My neighborhood and every street around it has bike lanes, yet I regularly get passed by bikes on the sidewalk as the road and bike lane sits empty. Those bikes zipping past me are just as scary to me as cars are to cyclists, so just use the bike lanes
I also dislike being passed by cyclists on the sidewalk but, it’s not really equivalent to cars.
Car hitting a cyclist is far more likely to have severe injuries/death than a bike hitting a person.
I'm all for biking and reducing car lanes for bike lanes. But the original argument was being passed on the sidewalk (which bikes should not be on, even if there aren't bike lanes) when bike lanes are present right there.
Obviously getting hit by a car is so much worse. No one is debating that. Is this an example of a straw man argument?
Anyways, bikes should not be on the sidewalk and more bike lanes are a good thing.
Responding specifically to “those bikes zipping past me are just as scary to me as cars are to cyclists”
I do agree that if there’s a safe bike lane, cyclists should be using it, not the sidewalk. I wouldn’t classify all bike lanes as ‘safe’ tho
Oh sorry. I didn't think that's what you were getting at. I agree at least to an extent. When biking, I only ever go on the sidewalk if I'm getting off my bike to cross at a light or something.
But yes, many bike lanes are not safe, and the amount of people who either don't know, or don't care about the proper etiquette of bikers in those lanes is frankly terrifying. Not to mention road rage when you're on a bike and someone is in a vehicle.
Obviously there is much more thought that has to go into new planning of bike lanes and such.
(Sorry, my other reply may have been somewhat confrontational, wasn't my intention).
Agreed :) no worries
Thanks :).
When 2 tons of metal guided by tired humans that can barely see me while going twice my maximum speed less than a foot away from me is a "bike lane", I'd rather walk than risk death at far too early in the morning. Especially when that "bike lane" is broken up by parked cars.
At least give me a curb. A protected bike lane is the bare minimum I'd wager my life with, even with the danger of right hooks. Those cars could instantly kill entire families, and you want me to ride next to semi trucks, separated by paint?
Agreed. I've almost been "doored" at least a few times (although no bike lanes were on those streets), but even that can be fatal to a cyclist.
Obviously I try to look and see if someone is in the car and opening the door, but that "reach around" technique is there for a reason.
Sorry, I can't remember the name of it when you use your right hand to open the door (in the countries that drive on the right side) so you can see what's coming. But I like calling it the reach around.
Then walk! Don't risk your life. But don't stay on your bike and risk the life of pedestrians and cause then the same stress cars cause you when you're cycling. That's just inconsiderate. I live in an area filled with elderly people who can easily get killed by a cyclist crashing into them. You're scared to ride your bike even in the bike lane? Fine. Put the bike away and walk. Don't become the problem to someone else
I'm sorry, do you think bikes are incapable of slowing down? Do you think walking should be protected as a hobby? Do you think the answer to better transportation is less transportation?
Your answer is to get a car or wake up at 4:30. I'd love to have an actual bike lane where I can go faster, but that's not always possible. If the only acceptable place for a bike is dedicated infrastructure, bikes will never be used.
Reckless driving is one thing, but excluding bicycles from 99.99% of North America is a crazy reaction. It's difficult to even find data about pedestrian-cyclists collisions; based on hospital data in the UK only 2% of pedestrian deaths or serious injuries are caused by collisions with bicycles, while 96% are caused by motor vehicles.
If you're so worried, make sure to support public transit and cycle infrastructure. I'd love to use separate lane pathways, or even better light rail, but until then I need to bike and not die.
Agreed. Cyclists should not be on the sidewalk. Although, I feel that (hopefully) it's the minority of asshole cyclists that would do that.
The same that would run stop signs or red lights, or get on the sidewalk from the road to use the pedestrian crosswalk.
A fast moving cyclist can easily injure a person (especially a child or elderly person) when riding on the sidewalk.
I frequently bike and use the lanes (or street if there are no lanes), just to avoid those possibilities.
Do you feel safe biking on a road with a painted line "protecting" you from drivers?