Atlanta Police Collide With Critical Mass
Decatur Metro | June 30, 2008 | 9:42 amA few more folks became familiar with Critical Mass last month after the AJC did a feature story on the monthly congregation of hundreds of cyclists that clog Atlanta intersections to promote bike awareness. Well, apparently this level of publicity didn’t sit well with the APD, because after months of a peaceful coexistence between the police and bikers, this past Friday the cops descended upon the helmeted en masse. Tickets were handed out for those that ran stop signs and red lights.
Shelbinator has the first hand account which includes a video with lots of flashing lights…
Not surprisingly, this monthly event is somewhat controversial, even within the biking community.
Even though those that participate in CM argue that it has nothing to do with showing how cyclists will willingly break traffic laws, many of those opposed see it that way. However, for anyone that’s ever had a car push you into a ditch, you begin to understand the concept (and admittedly built up animosity) behind CM. You nearly break my arm, I break a traffic law once a month to remind you that I exist.
Just another nasty symptom of our car-based infrastructure that treats the bicyclist as an afterthought.
Thanks to David O. for the heads up!
Related Posts:
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August 24, 2012 The “Invisible Bike Helmet” is Here (14)
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September 10, 2011 Resident Reports Cyclist Hit By SUV Near DHS on Friday (26)
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June 15, 2010 Atlanta Police Chase Ends in Oakhurst (0)
My problem with bikers is when one, they don’t follow the traffic laws and two is that many if not most bikers are on the streets as a hobby or for recreation while most car drivers actually have to get somewhere. I have no problems being inconvenienced by a biker when the biker has a destination like work or whatever. You can always tell the difference from the bikers for transportation and the bikers for fun because the transportation people have a backpack and are wearing regular clothes, the bikers for fun are in spandex and are carrying nothing. IMHO If you are biking for fun you should be on a path or residential streets where the speed limit is 25 to 30 or less and not inconveniencing people for your enjoyment.
Pretty simple. Respect the laws I’m required on pain of penalty to obey and I will have sympathy. Going in the exact opposite direction? Not so much.
I agree with the last two comments. My girlfriend lives in L5P and the bikers I’ve encountered there and in the Decatur area were all very militant towards anyone except their fellow bikers and disrespectful of the traffic laws. I rode a motorcycle for years in this city until cell phone made that way too dangerous, and never ran into a ruder group of people. Young, cocky, has no respect for anyone including your self individuals. Spitting on your car…very childish.
I am avid biker and commute to work on my bike, and I sympathize with drivers’ frustration with a lot of Atlanta’s cyclists. They often take entire lanes on roads that are not designed for bikes. Every time I see bikers on Ponce, for example, I wince. It’s even worse when it’s multiple people taking an entire lane during or close to rush hour. And it’s no answer to claim that there’s not enough bike infrastructure. Take Ponce as an example. There is a dedicated bike path a few blocks to the south and yet people still bike on Ponce. In almost every case, you can find a route from point A to point B that avoids very congested major thoroughfares.
I have never once been pushed off the road by a car. It’s because I don’t bike on roads that aren’t wide enough to fit me and the car in the right lane. CM is essentially a power grab by people with no legitimate complaint. They give cyclists a bad name and deserve the treatment APD gave them.
The above comments are both interesting and disheartening. I agree that the cyclists who break traffic laws are endangering all of us, but as a bike commuter I have to say I have had far more terrifying run-ins with motorists who seem to have no idea cyclists exist than I have had negative experiences with fellow cyclists (either when on a bike or in a car).
And for your freebie tip of the day, for the love of whatever deity you choose, please use turn signals! If I am riding in the bike lane, perfectly legally, and you spontaneously decide to turn right without any indication whatsoever, you are either going to run me over or force me to attempt to dive into the nearest yard. Neither option is too appealing.
Also, it’s worth clicking over to Shelbinator’s response regarding conflating everyday cycling with the once-a-month critical mass rides. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, critical mass is not representative of regular commuting and is intentionally trying to make a point using civil disobedience. To paint all cycling with that brush is both inaccurate and unfair (and totally missing the point of critical mass rides).
i grew up in england and when we were like, 9 years old, we all took a cycling awareness course which took place one saturday at my school and was run by the parents who were all very cycling proficient. there was even a test at the end of it. at that age we were all biking on the road and we all followed what we called the highway code. i understand that biking folks here are frustrated with the way drivers treat them, but it ain’t gonna get any better when you’re running stop signs and not indicating properly. most european bikers would be horrified. me included!
Hi Megan – I read Shelbinator’s response over on his site before writing the above post…his clarification was part of the reason I tried to keep an even keel in tone above (though looking back it sounds a little more pro-CM than I’d like). Prior to that, I must admit, I assumed the event had EVERYTHING to do with cyclists breaking traffic laws, which drives me absolutely nuts every time I see it in this city, having been raised in a cycling family under the mantra of “you are a vehicle, obey all traffic laws as if you were a car”.
But here’s something I’m struggling with…is Critical Mass an effective PR campaign for cyclists if such a large majority of people are “missing the point” and need to have it explained to them? If its not getting the message across, then what’s the point?
Decaturite – I felt you were pretty even keeled in your assessment, it was more your commenters who left me with the impression that they hadn’t clicked over to read the whole story.
As for CM being an effective PR campaign – an excellent point. Personally, I have mixed feelings about CMs. I think most days I sit just slightly on the side of supporting them, but I can see many valid negative points to them as well.
The bottom line for me is that cycling needs to be a workable alternative transportation method, and the city as a whole isn’t doing enough to make that possible, through general awareness and attitudes and infrastructure. I have to say I disagree with DEM – just because there are ways around major thoroughfares like Ponce* doesn’t necessarily mean that’s a workable solution to the infrastructure problem. If we’re trying to encourage people to use alternative transportation methods, it is really likely that they’ll do so if they have to double their commute length just to find ‘safe’ (I use the term loosely) roads on which to bike?
*of course, Ponce has its own problems, as in places it’s barely wide enough for all the lanes of car traffic! I do think biking on Ponce is equivalent to a death wish, but is it so unreasonable to want to see (respected) bike lines on sections of roads like Clairmont and Briarcliff, then they border a major university?
Regarding CM’s PR value, it’s really not important at this stage whether or not people are getting the point. Fundamental advances in the viability of cycling will involve revision to how we prioritize, design and fund infrastructure, which means being at the mercy of the DOT, which might as well be the Dept. of Cars. No public institution in Georgia is more powerful.
Make no mistake, there will be no significant change until a meaningful public policy debate can take place. And the biggest hurdle to that happening is simply getting the issue on the radar. That is the PR value at this point. There’s plenty of opportunity moving forward to begin articulating positions. Right now, it’s simply about being heard.
Megan, I think you’re overstating the point when you talk about doubling a commute. Taking the Stone Mountian path from Decatur to downtown, for example, doesn’t double the commute you’d have if you went down Ponce. Similarly, Decatur to Midtown (my commute route) might be shorter if I went straight down N. Decatur and East Rock Springs. But it’s far safer to cut through Medlock Park, Emory, the By Way, and then down through Va-High and through Piedmont Park.
My point is not that I would not favor some more bike paths. I would. It’s that commuters can get around without them, and need not make a mess of city traffic by flouting the law in monthly CM rides that, on balance, probably annoy more people than they convince.
I will happily “share the road” … when you start following the rules of the road!
I would like some bikers to address my points about most bikers on the roads are not commuters, they are on the roads for their own enjoyment. If every biker on the roads were commuters I don’t think anyone would have a problem with them. It’s one more car off the roads. When they are in spandex and don’t have a backpack they have no transportation needs, they shouldn’t be on roads like Ponce and they should instead be on residential roads or paths.
I’d be curious to see some actual stats on that question. As a bike commuter, my sense is that most cyclists on the road are fellow commuters (at least where I see them on roads like Clifton, Springdale, Oakdale, Lullwater, and N. Decatur). Also, it’s possible those spandex-clad riders you’ve seen might also be commuters, enjoying a pleasure ride in the evening/weekend, honing their skills (because believe me, staying alive and uninjured as a bike rider in this town is a skill). Frankly, I’m just not sure I buy that they’re any less entitled to road use. Again, assuming all laws are being followed, it’s sort like arbitrarily saying people just out for a drive (sans specific destination) or people in convertibles or on motorcycles shouldn’t get to use the roads their taxes pay for.
I ride my bike to work downtown sometimes, and maybe it’s the fact that I took a Defensive Driving course as a teen, but I go out of my way to stay off major roads, away from traffic, and on foot paths or bike lanes whenever possible. It is simply not in my DNA to impose my unsafe choices on others.
It seems to me that Dekalb Ave/College Ave are major cyclist thoroughfares, probably because they are flat. It’s too bad there aren’t any bike paths along that line – oh wait!!!!
Excellent points about the effectiveness of these Critical Mass events – they seem to be counterproductive. Which is great! Keep it up, CM. The world needs to be more aware of how idiotic and sociopathic many cyclists are.
Thanks this is the kind of thought process I was looking for. Although I agree that it would be hard to say which bikers have a right to the road and which do not, it would be possible to change what is considered “right” culturally among bikers. The spandex clad folks could have a locker at work where they keep their work clothes but I really think this is unlikely. Your point about them honing their skills; can’t they do that on residential streets? I didn’t want to mention too many generalizations but the spandex wears are usually the most disrespectful and are often the ones on roads like Ponce. They are the people that ride next to each other as if they were going the same speed as the rest of us. The people biking in regular clothes and/or wearing backpacks seem to be more respectful and will do things like squishing over to let you by. I don’t mind waiting for an opportunity to pass a commuter while in my car but the others I get irritated with.
I have to confess to aiming the occasional rude thought at spandex-clad riders too (usually after a particularly unpleasant commute). But there are some things you should know about sharing the road – 1) it is legal for cyclists to ride two abreast (though technically it’s impolite to do so when it impedes traffic) and 2) it is also legal for a cyclist to ‘take the lane’ when there are hazards on the right side of the road – i.e., I can swing fully into the lane of traffic when I need to avoid parked cars, trash receptacles, grates that will catch my tires, etc.
A full listing of safety laws pertaining to bikes can be found :a href=”http://www.gohs.state.ga.us/gabikelaws.html”> here.
I’m just wondering that, if I strike a bicyclist who has run a red light, as I have almost done twice, who wins the lawsuit? Bikers, the laws are the same for you and I’ll respect you to the degree that you respect me.
I think you may be incorrect about your assessment of what constitutes commuters and those biking for enjoyment. Bike commuters usually need to take a shower at work after their ride, so they will wear clothing comfortable for biking (spandex for many apparently). They want to carry as little weight as possible, so will keep a change of clothes and supplies at work rather than hefting around a backpack, when possible.
But ultimately it does not matter why someone is on the road. And I’d venture to say that plenty of cars are on the road for purposes less noble that commuting to work. You need to give right of way, and plenty of distance to bikers that are on the road.
Many people in cars assume that bikes can stop and accelerate as easily as cars can, which is not true. Furthermore, bikes have a great deal more obstacles to avoid on the road. Some stones or little holes in the road may go unnoticed by a car driver, but can be dangerous for the bike rider. And those stones, glass, and holes accumulate en masse on the edge of the road, which is why bikes often need to stay closer to the middle.
For obvious reasons, bikes can’t go on highways and major roads like that, so bikers have a more limited set of options for roads than you might think. Atlanta makes it particularly difficult for the bike rider, with a lack of bike lanes, few automatic walk signals, endless holes and metal grates, and so on. There are so many factors like this that you may not be aware of, so try to give bikes the benefit of the doubt and be safe and respectful. For every biker that may have inconvenienced you, that biker has likely dealt with 10 times as much on the same commute.
Just a fun fact: I recently passed a biker on Dekalb Ave/Howard heading toward downtown ATL around where the Quaker Meeting house is. When I got stopped at the light, I saw him pass me again. Traffic was heavy but not stopped. This biker BEAT my car to GSU. It was quite amazing.
Steve — does it matter who wins the lawsuit? If you strike a biker, then you will very likely have killed or severely injured that person, while you were safe and sound in your car. I don’t think it would be worth testing.
So should I be able to play volley ball (my recreation of choice) in the middle of Ponce? There are parks, paths and residential roads that bikers can ride on for recreation. Just like there are parks for me to play volley ball. When I play volley ball at a park no one is inconvenienced.
mc303, you missed my point. My point is that the biker would be breaking the law and cause his/her own accident. When you drive a car, you expect other drivers to obey traffic laws. I also expect bikers to obey the same laws – they apply to them also.
There’s nothing “technically” impolite about riding two abreast on a busy road. It’s downright rude. It’s the same as getting on Ponce, Piedmont, etc. in your car and driving 15-20 mph. You’re effectively a rolling roadblock requiring dozens of people to spend their valuable time finding a way around you. It’s incumbent on bikers to minimize the inconvenience they cause others, just as it’s incumbent on drivers to make room for bikes when possible.
E makes a good point about DeKalb/East College. There is a very wide bike path there and still many bikers ride on the road. This is no big deal when traffic is low, but it has always suggested to me that for some bikers, you can’t ever accomodate them enough. They’re going to take a lane no matter what.
I’m not sure the volleyball analogy works, since you aren’t granted a legal right to play volleyball in the middle of the road. Whether recreation or commuting, cyclists have a legal right to be on (most) roads.
I think we can all agree that cyclists should follow the laws (as should motorists) and that it’s bad when they don’t. But using the fact that some cyclists break traffic laws to further the argument that motorists shouldn’t have to share the road seems like quite the double standard. If I see someone jaywalk in front of my car tonight, does that mean that tomorrow I don’t have to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk? If on my way home a blue pick-up runs a stop sign, am I entitled to argue that blue pick-ups don’t belong on the road?
If you really and truly believe that bicycles have no place sharing the road with cars, then I wish you all the best in your pursuit of making the practice illegal. But in the meantime, we have a legal right to be there.
DEM – as for Dekalb/East College, not riding there I can’t really comment, but I would leave open the possibility of what mc03 pointed out above – tons of road hazards that will send a cyclist flying are invisible to motorists. So although it is entirely possible that all the cyclists you see ‘hogging’ the lanes on Dekalb/East College are just, I don’t know, greedy for space, it’s just as likely that the bike lane is cluttered and unsafe.
Bikes are legally defined as vehicles. They are allowed on the road, regardless of the reason. Breaking traffic laws is another story.
Asking them to take a different route or use a bike lane, when they have the legal right to use the road is like me asking you to take Ponce to work because it will free up traffic on DeKalb Ave.
I like decaturite’s analogy so much better than mine!
I did not say they were “hogging” anything. And why speculate about what the bike lane is like? I’ve been on it hundreds of times. It is anything but cluttered and unsafe. Go on over and check it out. It’s right there alongside DeKalb Ave.
Of course you have a legal right to bike on most roads. I have a legal right to drive a Hummer, waste food, vote for David Duke, and advocate drilling for oil 200 yards off the coast of Nantucket. How many of those are good ideas?
I guess I also have a right to bike down N. Decatur everyday, so I should inconvenience dozens of drivers trying to get to work in doing so, when I can inconvenience absolutely no one by heading through Medlock Park and Emory, adding about 5 minutes to own commute in the process. Which is better? I know where you all are coming from and suspect we’d agree on a lot about this issue, but come on.
Maybe you didn’t mean it this way, DEM, but your last post basically says bicyclists should be more concerned with *your* time than they are with their own. Why is five minutes a burden for you but no big deal for them?
I did not mean it that way because I do in fact commute on my bike. My point is that I can add a mere few minutes to my commute — which I do — to avoid snarling traffic on a far narrower and busier road.
I’ve had the unfortunate experience of hitting a bicyclist with my car. It was about 15 years ago, and was not my fault, but I carry the guilt as if it was. The bicyclist was a nice immigrant man who simply did not know the rules of the road, and I made the assumption that he did. After that experience, I never make any assumptions about anyone on the road. By some miracle the man was not permanently injured, and only his bike was totaled. I learned a few things as a result of the experience:
Cars and bikes are not evenly matched, and should never be thought of as such. A car is a huge, heavy, powerful, and dangerous piece of equipment capable of inflicting massive amounts of destruction to anything that gets in it’s way. It’s easy to forget that. “With great power comes great responsibility.” By contrast, bicyclists and pedestrians represent little to no threat to motorized vehicles other than occasional inconvenience.
Bicyclists have a lot more to lose than drivers. They are not protected by thousands of pounds of metal and rubber, seat belts and air bags. Drivers need to keep their road rage far away from bicyclists.
Driving a car on public roads is not a right, it is a privilege. You must have a license to drive on public roads. By contrast, anyone can drive a bike on public roads. You could say that the bicyclist has more right to be on that road that you do in your car.
Even if you have a green light or the equivalent, look both ways and keep your eyes peeled for pedestrians, bicyclists, cars, dogs, cats, squirrels, etc. Be prepared to stop.
While 99% of bicyclists are going to know the rules of the road better than anyone, you should not make any assumptions. It is always possible that a bicyclist may not know the rules any better than a child. As a result, always give the bike the right of way and exercise caution, even if you think you clearly have the right of way.
As mentioned above, bikes have to contend with a lot of obstacles that those in cars simply don’t think about.
Operating a bicycle is totally different from operating a car. Getting from one place to another involves building and maintaining momentum, as much as possible. Bikes don’t like to make a full stop at stop signs because it’s often difficult and sometimes painful to do so, and it kills the momentum. Bicyclists will break this law in the same way that cars will break the speed limit law. They shouldn’t do it, but you shouldn’t drive 70 in the 55 either. I’m not saying either is right, but accept that it’s just going to happen, and give them the right of way where possible.
Just like there are plenty of bad or stupid drivers on the road, there are also a handful of bad, stupid, or innocently unknowing bicyclists on the road. The driver of a car carries the greater responsibility…
But regardless of what your individual experience may be, 100% of bicyclists are more aware of their surroundings and what’s going on than the drivers of cars are. This is because bicyclists are actually out there in the elements. Whereas …
Many car drivers treat their car as an extension of their home. Safely nestled away in a plush leather environment of cell phones, reclining bucket seats, soy mocha lattes, tinted windows, subwoofers, bluetooth activated iTunes store, DVD players, Shark Week and GPS navigation, many car drivers are relatively oblivious to the adversity of the outside world and the pedestrians and bikers it contains.
For all the reasons above, you need to be especially cautious around bikers. If you hit a bicyclist, it doesn’t matter if it’s your fault or not. You will be the one carrying the weapon and the real guilt, and I say that from my experience.
As a recreational cyclist who helped instill the aforementioned mantra (cyclists must obey the traffic laws as a vehicle on the road), I agree with mc303’s comments and thank her for expressing her thoughts so well! I also enjoyed occasional bike-to-work days back in my 9-to-5 days, so I’ll add a few more: 1) Please, please don’t “profile” cyclists by the clothing they wear and whether they carry bags or not. For long distance cycling (for me that would be any distance over a couple miles), shorts that have comfortable chamois liners are the best garb and most (not all) are, yes, spandex!; 2) Some cyclists are fortunate to have on-site locker rooms and showers at their workplaces, so they plan ahead, bring work clothes to the office the day before. Also a good excuse to leave the laptop at the office for a change!; 3) Recreational cyclists will avoid normal commuter hours on the road and seek to cycle less traveled back roads, even in idyllic Vermont!; and 4) No matter what vehicle you are using, assume nothing, trust no one and be safe!
If I were a regular, commuting cyclist, I would devise the path to my destination that provided the best balance of safety and timeliness. As the current situation stands…some safe areas, some not so safe…I think I would rather be late to work and in one piece than in the hospital, espousing that I had the right of way, ya know? And if this issue is ever satisfactorily settled, then can we move on to the topic of idiots in our town who walk in the street rather than on the sidewalks?
Most of what mc303 said unintentionally supports the idea that many cyclists are wreckless and careless and a danger to themselves and everyone else on the road:
“Cars and bikes are not evenly matched, and should never be thought of as such.”
“A car is a huge, heavy, powerful, and dangerous piece of equipment capable of inflicting massive amounts of destruction to anything that gets in it’s way.”
“Bicyclists have a lot more to lose than drivers. They are not protected by thousands of pounds of metal and rubber, seat belts and air bags. ”
“bikes have to contend with a lot of obstacles that those in cars simply don’t think about.”
So it is established that riding a bike in automobile traffic is excessively dangerous and risky. The first thing that comes to my rational mind is – cyclists should strive to minimize the danger and risk to themselves and others!!!!!
But mc303 doesn’t see it that way. It is the job of the automobile driver to accomodate and protect the risky and wreckless:
“always give the bike the right of way and exercise caution, even if you think you clearly have the right of way.”
“The driver of a car carries the greater responsibility…”
“For all the reasons above, you need to be especially cautious around bikers. ”
I’m sorry, but for all of the reasons above, bikers need to be more cautious around automobiles.
After commenting on this subject and then reading all the talk, it boils down to one simple thing: Once again, one specific group of the population trying to impose their beliefs on the rest. It’s the same old story.
E, I’m not sure how you came to your wild idea that “cyclists are wreckless and careless and danger to themselves and everyone on the road”. That is not a logical statement, nor is it supported by anything I said.
You selectively quoted several parts of my text that in no way support your wild statement, even though you’ve pulled them out of context.
Most cyclists are *already* the most careful and safe people on the road, for reasons which should be extremely obvious. And they are much more aware of what’s happening on the road, and their surroundings, than a driver is in the insulated environment of a car. Bicyclists aren’t the ones paying more attention to their cell phones than to the road.
Of course, everyone needs to be cautious on the road, and that is also an obvious statement. Given that the roads we are talking about are for trucks, automobiles, motorcycles, scooters and bikes, do you not feel that larger vehicles should exercise more caution and responsibility around smaller vehicles?
When a truck driver is operating an 18 wheeler around you, do you think the responsibility of being careful only falls with you in your car? Does driving an 18 wheeler not carry more responsibility than driving a Miata? The responsibility falls with both of course, but the 18 wheeler is a much larger vehicle that requires special training, skill, and safety considerations to operate … responsibility. Likewise, your car is a vehicle that requires a license and similar considerations relative to smaller vehicles and bikes around it. That responsibility that needs to be respected.
While the bike paths like the Decatur – Stone Mountain trail are nice, they have a lot of broken gloass that make flat tires an issue, which I suspect pushes riders to the roads. And you encounter issues like people walking dogs with long leashes extending across the trail, families walking with kids running all over the place and not paying attention, all of which makes it a challenging obstacle course for cycling. With such demand for cycling in the area, it sure seems like more could be done to make the infrastructure more supportive.
mc303,
You said “Given that the roads we are talking about are for trucks, automobiles, motorcycles, scooters and bikes, do you not feel that larger
vehicles should exercise more caution and responsibility around smaller vehicles?”
Of course I feel that larger vehicles should exercise caution – around ALL vehicles. I also think that bikers should exercise caution as well. Always.
This appears to be the area of our disagreement – you think bikers have a stronger right to the road than other vehicles (since they are not required to be licensed), and that the responsibility for safety and caution should fall to drivers over cyclists.
Pardon me for saying so, but that’s just asinine. Everyone has a responsibility to be safe and cautious on the roads. Everyone. That includes cyclists.
The complaints about Critical Mass in this thread are about that failure of cyclists, and yourself, to accept those responsibilities. No one should be exempt.
GH- Glass is an issue there, as bottles get thrown from cars onto the path, but it’s relatively easy to avoid. I don’t see dogs and kids as really being an issue there, because it goes with the territory and it’s their path too. There are rules of etiquette for this, which is to use a bell or announce that you’ll be passing them on the left. If there are children or dogs around, then you slow down or stop till it’s safe. This is more of a pleasure and exercise path, so you won’t see as many commuters — it’s a scenic route for a nice day, and a great one at that.
I know some people use major roads recreationally, but not all. As a commuter, to get from my house to work I have no choice but to either use North or Ponce or Boulevard for the last half mile or so.
One day as I was trying not to impede traffic on North I ran over glass on the shoulder of the road and flattened my tire. As I was trying to get out of the way, a man in a large SUV reached out and pushed me over laughing and shouting obscenities.
Oh, and I also commute in bike clothes and change at work.
I would love to be able to bike more frequently, but it can be psychologically and physically terrifying. I wish people were more considerate on both ends of the argument.
Keep your cool folks.
I think the disagreement here is over how much caution bikers exercise, and whether its greater or less than that of motorists. (Look Smithers, I’m a motorist!) Bikers point to the distracted car driver, while motorists point to the bikers that blow through stop signs. And around and around we go, until someone calls someone else a name and at that point none of us remember where the conversation started.
While some may not agree, I will reassert my point that these two completely valid methods of transportation don’t operate well together on busy city streets without dedicated lanes for each. So again I will state that this whole battle is due to the failure of infrastructure to adequately support both.
E, I certainly agree that everyone should exercise caution, and safety is a responsibility of everyone. I don’t personally feel that cyclists have more right to the road than cars, but I can see how the way I typed it read differently than I meant it. I was trying to get across that the right to drive a car must be earned and maintained, whereas the right to ride a bike on the road is a given. Once one has the right to drive a car on the road, then that is equal to any bicyclist, or any other vehicle allowed on the road, of course.
I’ve found bicyclists to be the safest people on the road, simply because they are so aware of their surroundings and road conditions. However, I’m not claiming that there aren’t exceptions, just like there are a good share of bad car drivers on the road too.
As I mentioned in a previous message, I’ve had an accident with a bike when I was driving a car, many years ago. Even though it wasn’t my fault, I do now feel a much greater responsibility in my car to watch for unknowns, be that other cars, bikes, people, pets, etc. A car is a big, heavy and dangerous machine that carries the responsibilities of such a machine. That’s obvious of course, but my car was a smooth riding comfortable place with good music, not a John Deere. That experience made me view my car differently.
mc303,
You must have great eyes to see and avoid the small slivers of glass that cause my flats. My comment was that the glass and other hazards likely steer fitness riders to the street, not that walkers don’t belong and should be passed at max speed unannounced. And my other comment was that we could use a better infrastructure of walking paths, bike lanes, bike paths (with glass removed), etc.
Regarding the glass, the worst areas seems to be where the path is not beside a road. People seem to use it as a good beer drinking and crack smoking getaway. And there are a lot of commuters on the path.
Regarding Dekalb/Howard and the PATH path:
I ride that route occasionally, and I’m often in the road, not on the PATH. The reason is simple: I’m usually commuting somewhere (my bike is my main mode of transportation), and it’s harder to get where you want on the PATH. Let’s say that I’m heading east on Howard and I’m planning on taking a left on Commerce in order to get to downtown. If I were on the PATH path, there isn’t any curb cut to allow me to get off to take that left. So I stay on the street (the right side) until I get close to Commerce, then I swing over into the left-hand turn lane.
Generally speaking, that PATH is fun for recreational biking, but it isn’t really designed for getting around town.
GH- I think I must have been lucky with the glass, as it’s not gotten me yet, though it does appear to be a regular problem. It’d be nice if they had some kind of vacuum lawnmower that could go down that path to clean up all the glass, razorblades, broken crack pipes, and such. I mainly ride the Druid Hills to Downtown Atlanta route rather than the Decatur to Stone Mountain route. It’s mostly clean except under a couple of overpasses where you have to steer around occasional spots of broken glass. I figured it was coming from the roads above, but could be wrong.
I commute on my bike every day, and since I live on Ponce, I have to ride at least a short distance on it. It’s not the most fun place to ride my bike, but it’s a necessity. While paths are nice, they go nowhere near where I work, so I have to ride on streets instead. I have found most drivers around here to be courteous and safe around me on my bike, but some of the anti-bike comments on this post are completely crazy and are beginning to scare me. There seems to be irrational anger stemming from several different places: anger towards “militant” (?) kids on bikes in L5P (I, like most bikers, am not a kid, nor am I from L5P, nor have I ever spit on your car); anger towards bikers making you take a few more minutes to get where you need to go (since when is it your right to move as quickly as you would like more important than my right to be on the road?); anger towards all bikers as if they are all “reckless” (though reckless bikers probably constitute the same proportion of overall bikers as reckless drivers are of overall drivers); anger towards bikers running stop signs (come on, is this really that big a deal?); anger towards folks trying to bring the issue of bicycles to the attention of the voters and administrators of the greater Atlanta area (and the anger is proof of their success – angry motorists will either support bike lanes to get rid of the problem or hurt themselves by attempting to block the creation of bike lanes out of sheer spite). Why the anger? Am I really slowing you down that much? Does asking you to respect another human being’s life really require any justification?
To all you angry people: be angry all you want, just please don’t kill me when I am on my bike.
Even the Atlantic is now talking cars vs. bikes, with a post entitled “Drivers or Bikers: who sucks more?” But instead of a Critical Mass event as the catalyst, here it is a Washington Post article that shows how D.C. is taking steps to become LESS car friendly. Apparently, D.C. has some of the highest pedestrian death rates in the country…plus commutes are some of the worst nationwide.
Changes include replacing reverseable lanes with a center island, closing certain tunnels, charging up to $40 for four hours of parking at meters, and increasing fines to motorists who don’t yield to pedestrians to up to $500.
The future of Atlanta? Maybe one day…but D.C. is way ahead of us. Even some of the suburbs are sympathetic to what the city is trying to do. Can you imagine Gwinnett County saying “It’s OK Atlanta, make it really hard to drive into the city..we understand.”?
To all those that complain about cyclists breaking traffic laws, I have this to say:
Do you only cross the street at designated crosswalks, or do you sometimes jaywalk? Do you wait for the light to cross at intersections, or do you sometimes walk across when the coast is clear? As a biker, you realize that there are many dumb little rules which violating does not hurt anyone, although we may ask to break in line at stop signs to keep our momentum. Until you follow all rules as a pedestrian, don’t talk to me about bikers breaking a few little traffic laws.
Besides, motorists are driving 2-ton death machines. I run into you on a bike, and I’m the only one that’s gonna get hurt, and it won’t be your fault if I’m breaking a law. Plus, I’m reducing obesity in America, saving gas, and not spewing toxic fumes into the atmosphere. I think we deserve the moral highground here.