So the radio station said that it wasn't illegal to *not* ride in the bike lane - does anyone know if this is true?

Love this video, almost got splattered today cycling home in the bike lane, wearing my helmet, fluorescent yellow condom, going about 40 Kmh/24Mph on straight road, car pulls up along side, passes me then swings into a tennis club, had to lock both wheels to avoid.

HAve the whole thing on video, had a HD camera running on the handlebars, so I got moving and went into the car park after them just to say you nearly hit me, would you like to see what happened, BUT as I got close I realised it was my neighbours I've known all my life! so I chickened out, its still going on youtube though

Texas is so huge and spread out most places are not at all conducive to pedestrian traffic. there are towns literally built around the interstate.

I think Austin has a good bit of foot/bike traffic, but it's a really young progressive town. There are areas of Fort Worth that are totally bike/walk-able. And critical mass is a pretty big thing for the hip kids who live in the more urban/less suburban areas. The hipper parts of Fort Worth are even starting to get bike lanes.

I live in a small town that is now a full blown suburb of Fort Worth. The new parts of this expanding town are totally built around the interstate/shopping malls.....Fortunately, I live and (now) work in the 150 year old part of town. Everything I need is in safe biking distance. Starting June 6th I will be able to bike my kids to daycare, then bike to work and the grocery store. And plan to do it everyday that it is not raining. I'm completely excited. A friend that lives with us right now also works in the old part of town and he bikes to work everyday as well.

Supposedly the town is planning on dealing with its booming population by eventually making all the different neighborhoods connect with bike and walking trails. They are also building a park n ride/train station to connect this town to popular spots in Fort Worth, it will also go straight to the intermodal transit station in downtown fort worth and connect to both airports, downtown dallas, dallas shopping/club districts, the major medical district, museums, fair grounds,the sports arenas and even the corporate/suburban areas in North Dallas. I'm soooo excited about this!! In a few years I will feasibly be able to ride my bike to the train station and catch a train all the way to Plano (about 1hr 20 minutes north east) to visit my sister for the weekend. Excellent.

>> ^DerHasisttot:

>> ^Crosswords:
Um yeah, you know what makes me afraid to ride a bike in my city? Its not the idea of needing a helmet, its seeing the God awful drivers around my city. They have a hard time seeing me and not suddenly pulling into my lane when I'm driving a red 3k pound vehicle. I was in a near miss the other day when the car that had been driving next to me suddenly decided my lane was the one to be in. Our cars got so close I think a gnat that just happened to be between them got squished. So yeah no way in hell I'd ride a bike on the streets of this city. Even where they have bike lanes they've decided to measure about a foot away from the curb and paint a line down the normal street. So bikers have this tiny lane to stick too, and the people in cars, who already have a hard fucking time staying in their own lane, now have less room.
So yeah, I'd wager the rest of the world's cities that aren't so concerned about the danger needing a helmet might produce, and more about the danger of morons driving 2 ton boxes of steel and glass at 50 mph or more and their effect on you if the slam into you.

Are you from the US? If yes, I can understand why you wouldn't wanna ride a bicycle. On different occasions, different US friends of mine noticed independently that there are fewer car accidents in Europe/Germany. Then I researched a bit and found out that US driving tests are far easier than the german tests are; and the US tests are very possibly kept easy to have as many drivers on the roads as possible, influenced by the car and gas-industry.


I would have put it in a slightly different manner (more insults at the driverslicense"agency" what's it called -club) but that's exactly my point.
In Germany you fail the driving test (the actual driving test, not the theory beforehands) if you do one of these things once:
- miss of red light
- entering a one way from the wrong side
- missing a stop-sign
- error of priority in traffic
- ignoring any kind of prohibition sign
- not looking in all mirrors and over shoulder as you switch lines
- no blinking lights as you turn
- blinking lights as you dont turn
- no sign of caution if children, elderly or disabled people are around
- not enough distance to the car in front of you
- and a couple of more things
The test can take up to an hour of driving.
Oh yea the whole thing (driving lessons (theory and driving itself) and tests) costs around a thousand bucks.

If I would feel more save riding a bike here, I would close my eyes, stir with my feet and juggle chainsaws while I enter the AUTOBAHN.

Oh yes and to rejoin the topic: No helmet-campaign I heard of so far. No law against riding without one. Nearly all the children in the city wear one. As they get older they apparently grow out of them.

>> ^Crosswords:

Um yeah, you know what makes me afraid to ride a bike in my city? Its not the idea of needing a helmet, its seeing the God awful drivers around my city. They have a hard time seeing me and not suddenly pulling into my lane when I'm driving a red 3k pound vehicle. I was in a near miss the other day when the car that had been driving next to me suddenly decided my lane was the one to be in. Our cars got so close I think a gnat that just happened to be between them got squished. So yeah no way in hell I'd ride a bike on the streets of this city. Even where they have bike lanes they've decided to measure about a foot away from the curb and paint a line down the normal street. So bikers have this tiny lane to stick too, and the people in cars, who already have a hard fucking time staying in their own lane, now have less room.
So yeah, I'd wager the rest of the world's cities that aren't so concerned about the danger needing a helmet might produce, and more about the danger of morons driving 2 ton boxes of steel and glass at 50 mph or more and their effect on you if the slam into you.


Are you from the US? If yes, I can understand why you wouldn't wanna ride a bicycle. On different occasions, different US friends of mine noticed independently that there are fewer car accidents in Europe/Germany. Then I researched a bit and found out that US driving tests are far easier than the german tests are; and the US tests are very possibly kept easy to have as many drivers on the roads as possible, influenced by the car and gas-industry.

Um yeah, you know what makes me afraid to ride a bike in my city? Its not the idea of needing a helmet, its seeing the God awful drivers around my city. They have a hard time seeing me and not suddenly pulling into my lane when I'm driving a red 3k pound vehicle. I was in a near miss the other day when the car that had been driving next to me suddenly decided my lane was the one to be in. Our cars got so close I think a gnat that just happened to be between them got squished. So yeah no way in hell I'd ride a bike on the streets of this city. Even where they have bike lanes they've decided to measure about a foot away from the curb and paint a line down the normal street. So bikers have this tiny lane to stick too, and the people in cars, who already have a hard fucking time staying in their own lane, now have less room.

So yeah, I'd wager the rest of the world's cities that aren't so concerned about the danger needing a helmet might produce, and more about the danger of morons driving 2 ton boxes of steel and glass at 50 mph or more and their effect on you if the slam into you.

@messenger

You keep saying roads are designed for automotive traffic like there's something wrong with that. Somewhere above you pointed out that cyclists pay taxes too. Your taxes also pay for sidewalks, bike trails, and forest preserves but you don't have the right to drive your car on or through any of them. If you want to ride a bike in amongst the cars, you have to accept that it's dangerous: you're harder to see, even in daylight, and your "crumple zones" are all filled with vital organs. It's a hell of a lot safer for you if you act like normal traffic.

Last week I really cared about one particular cyclist who broke a rather important traffic law. He ran a stop sign, traveling perpendicular to me, as I was entering the intersection. Fortunately, I was cruising at a pretty slow pace (maybe 25mph tops) so it wasn't a tough stop, but I did have to lock 'em up to not run the idiot over.

I don't really give a shit if cyclists ride on the shoulder (when there is one) or even the sidewalk (provided there's room amongst the pedestrians). Sure, these are technically illegal but they are good examples of, as you called it, victimless traffic laws.

One of the big problems with having bikes sharing road space with cars is you can easily fit 2-3 bikes in a car's blind spot. This is one of the big reasons bikes get sandwiched during lane changes. This is also one problem that's really not helped by typical urban bike lanes.

"This idea that car drivers don't break laws is utter fiction", and also something that I never claimed. Not sure why you're debunking the phantom argument.

I don't think any laws are going to make it safe for cyclists to be on the roads, even in designated bike lanes. No matter how perfect the system is and even if everyone adheres to it, bikes are difficult to see and even a "minor" collision with a bike is a major accident for the rider. In less urban areas, bike lanes are sometimes built some 20+ feet off the side of the road. This works well, when possible, because short of a major accident that launches a car off the road and onto the bike lane, the two never really share the same space.

Within a dense city, I don't know what the answer is. Maybe elevated bike lanes could work, sort of like how they run subway tracks in certain places.

Ok, I just paused writing for a second to do a search for "elevated bike lanes" and found some interesting concepts:

http://www.thepurehands.org/cycleways/
http://kolelinia.com/kolelinia/

Somewhere I saw someone mention that a lot of older cities also have abandoned subway tunnels that could be repurposed. I understand that underground isn't the nicest place for a bike ride on a warm spring day, but it's a pretty sweet idea if you're just looking to commute. Even if you just reused sections of tunnel in spots where there was no room overhead, it's valuable to keep in mind.

I really think separating the bikes from the cars is the way to go. Like I said before, even in the best circumstances there will be accidents and bike vs car is never really going to turn out well for the biker.

First of all, I hope that driver will be found and fully prosecuted for their violent temper tantrum assault. Why didn't the bike riders just pull over to one lane and let traffic pass? If you're going to protest in that inconsiderate fashion, you would think they would be organized/prepared to allow people to pass. Other wise you are just going to alienate those who are indifferent, and could end up resenting Critical Mass come elections and budget cutting season. Bike lane maintenance is a very excusable cut. So one would think winning over the public might be a good overall idea.

After reading up on Critical Mass, they really should find a more efficient way to get their message across. While I see a random protest sign in this video their message remains clouded. Ever heard of the billboard effect? It seems like their message isn't getting out, unless you consider random acts of violence like this to be getting the message out. Ever hear of picketing city hall, after all that's where the decisions they're protesting originate.

More info from Reddit:

Found a bit more over at Correio do Povo from RS.
1) It was an organized event. The rides for Critical Mass are held on the last Friday of every month. Along with this, there were more than the normal amount due to them celebrating the inauguration of a newly opened "cultural space" in the city called "City of Bicyclists".
2) The manager of the Public Company for Transportation and Circulation (EPTC) was aware of the gathering from Critical Mass (since it's held on the same day every month), but did not receive any requests to accompany or provide security for the event.
3) The police have classified this as multiple attempted homicides, not an accident. As mentioned in the title of the post, the car has been found (a VW Golf) but the owner of the car is MIA. It's still unknown who was driving the car.
4) The president of the City Council of Porto Alegre has promised to set in motion the implementation of bike lanes for the city (which were already approved...just not started).
5) The Critical Mass group has already stated that next month's "rally" will be held in front of the house of the owner of the car.

>> ^Crosswords:

Wow, bike lanes that aren't half an inch that's been taken out of the regular road. And yet the bikers still ride unnecessarily close to the cars.


I assume they did that to avoid the jackass cameraman standing in the lane filming them as they pass.

Well they don't want to hit the banana peel, they make you lose all your coins

>> ^Crosswords:

Wow, bike lanes that aren't half an inch that's been taken out of the regular road. And yet the bikers still ride unnecessarily close to the cars.

Wow, bike lanes that aren't half an inch that's been taken out of the regular road. And yet the bikers still ride unnecessarily close to the cars.

>> ^Matthu:

I can so see someone running over the star and then straight into traffic figuring, hey, I'm invincible!
...And then regretting it later.


Might I introduce you to natural selection?

Your video, Mario Kart symbols appear in Portland bike lanes, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

While visiting last January I learned there was an epic amount of bike lanes installed because the mayor is a bike cycling enthusiast. Love the contradictory directions - bus, let them pass on the right. Bike, pass on the left. I much prefer the passing on the left style/choice.