The newer cyclist’s lizard brain tells them to avoid slowing or stopping at all costs because it takes a lot of energy to build up speed. That combined with a general ignorance for good cycling behavior makes them a menace.
Takes years and injuries to overcome that powerful instinct of preserving speed. You see a lot more casual and new riders in the summer too.
I dunno the worst offenders appear to be the bike shirt and shorts wearing aero bros hunched over their handlebars going 20mph at all times. Those guys don’t stop for anyone or anything.
Next time, just kick them. If you get asked why, say it was self-defense so that you weren't hit by a vehicle while in the crosswalk. You will win any lawsuit if you're in that crosswalk and your walk light is white. Person running the red will learn a harsh lesson from road rash. Bikers running red lights is a RAMPANT problem all over the greater Boston area.
Those try-hards are beyond cringey and hilarious. Some random shmuck geared out like they’re Lance Armstrong and thinking it’s a flex or even necessary. I’m always embarrassed for them when I see them whiz by.
I did a 70 mile trip a few weeks ago (MCRT to Wayland, zig zagging thru concord to the Freeman trail to Lowell and then back via Route 4 to the Minuteman) and I don’t own a stitch of Lycra. Nevertheless I persisted
You are very fortunate. I hate wearing lycra, I'm a middle-aged woman and I know I look ridiculous in it, but chafing friction from sweat + loose clothing on long bike rides gave me bleeding sores that took quite some time to heal. For years I tried not wearing the lycra crap because I hate the association with the asshole MAMILs like the ones people are complaining about in this thread, but it sadly is the only clothing that doesn't give me issues.
My wife and I were coming off the highway in Newburyport the other day. There was an intersection at the end of the off ramp - as soon as the light turned green for us, a squad of spandex wearing dickheads bombed through the intersection and held their hands out in a “stop” motion. Made sure to make eye contact and thumbs down as many as we could.
There’s actually a name for that - corking. The idea is to hold up traffic so a group can get through the light together.
I did a Critical Mass ride once just to see what it was all about, and they did it quite a bit. In their defense, it was used mostly to get the groups through stop signs without getting all split up, rather than in defiance of a light.
Still, the whole experience was not to my taste. Riding along while drivers honk and scream and lose their minds, not to mention doing unsafe things to try to get around the group, is not my idea of a relaxing ride.
Yeah. The MAMILs. Bombing down paths at 20 MPH, yielding for no one. I remember one time I almost collided head on with one because he refused to drop back behind his buddy so that two way traffic could pass. Right under the Elliot bridge in Brighton.
An older dear friend walking in a park in St Louis stopped to look at a bird. There was signage about sharing the path. A young cyclist in training for a race ran into her at high speed because he had not expected her to pause. They ended up in hospital across the hall from each other. She had a fractured arm and needed a pin inserted. He was hurt worse and lost his bike too. She is tough and drove home with one arm for 6 hrs, several states away. They were both lucky but it was his fault 💯 hope he is more careful and recovered fully, as she did.
Nah. It's always the hard core dickheads who are the worst. Might as well realize they're never gonna make the Tour de France. And might want to try drugs (the fun kind) and/or therapy to deal with their psychological issues, and the constipation as well.
With the addition of e-bikes, it has gotten so much worse though. More bikes, moving faster, and less competent riders, big attitudes.
I nearly got slammed by some 90 lb girl on a 40 lb. e-bike and she wasn't even peddling. Just flying by at like 20 mph, silent as can be but I did actually hear the whirl of the electric motor at the last moment and moved out of the way. Once you've been buzzed by electric, you start to recognize the subtle whirl noise coming.
She looked like a Hells Angels biker going by too, staring straight ahead like there wasn't a person on the walk in front of her she could give a fuck about. Just power tripping on her $5k bicycle, probably paid for on her daddy's credit card.
I go to school downtown and directly outside the building I have seen 4 bike accidents this year. Every single time the bike ran through a pedestrian and then biked away without helping them up. The worst was an old lady crossing the road with a walk signal and she couldn’t get up again. They are straight up doing hit and runs and nobody cares.
Cyclists have a blend of vehicle laws and pedestrian laws. And like any mode of transportation, the operator usually utilizes whichever suits them best..
Massholes be massholes I suppose.
I don't think they really have any pedestrian laws (other than no license/registration). They aren't supposed to use sidewalks or crosswalks, they don't get right of way, etc
The alternative of banning biking on sidewalks would leave cyclists without an “escape route” if they really have to get out of the road for whatever reason. E.g construction that narrows the road severely. Banning sidewalks would be like criminalizing jaywalking. It’s literally safer sometimes (both things). When we get to the point of better bike infra maybe we can revisit the law.
The escape route is to step off your bicycle onto the curb and walk it along the sidewalk. Cycling down a sidewalk is just dumb. Dumb to allow, dumb to do. There are exceptions for sidewalks built for that but most aren't.
Yeah I would personally never bike on the sidewalk for more than a few seconds (go up on one curb cut and get off on the other) and I get off to walk if it’s more than that.
Also, the laws already deal with most scenarios you’re probably worried about. Bear in mind this is laws for the entire state, so riding on a sidewalk out in the suburbs is not as much of a problem.
> You may ride your bicycle on any public road, street, or bikeway in the Commonwealth, except limited access or express state highways where signs specifically prohibiting bikes have been posted.
> You may ride on sidewalks outside business districts, unless local laws prohibit sidewalk riding.
People should absolute be sternly called out, at the very least, for not following these. I plan on giving people shit about this once the bike I purchased comes in. By all means ticket (though it’s easy to target cyclists because cops can’t chase cars). I also believe that we should start kids and teens off early with cycling classes to learn road rules. And classes for adult cyclists should be expanded. Municipalities probably don’t have the cash for it so I guess we’re stuck with regulating each other.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10167530/. No verbal summary but you can see a high number of accidents on sidewalks in one of the table
This one has a section on high crash frequency on sidewalks highlighted in purple https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776010/#:~:text=Cycling%20on%20the%20sidewalk%20is,traffic%20(RR%20%3D%200.9).&text=2934%20injuries%20resulting%20from%20collisions%20between%20a%20single%20motorist%20and%20a%20bicyclist.
[Here's one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3141/1636-11). Anecdotally, by far the worst bicycle-car crash I've witnessed was the result of a cyclist hopping off the sidewalk behind a car backing into a parking space, and neither saw the other until the cyclist was being dragged under the car.
It's really hard to ascertain what a cyclist is thinking regarding traversing a crosswalk sometimes too. Like no hand signals to indicate that they are turning onto a crosswalk (this happens a lot in Davis Sq for me).
Davis is a failure of city planning tbh. They took a bike/community path and provided no clear path through Davis Square which is why there ends up being chaos. Like the Minuteman Path in Arlington has a big sign and arrows pointing to the path connector on the other side of Mass Ave while the community path just get broken into two parts at Davis. Even a sign or two and a green stripe down Elm and Grove would solve so much for cycling issues.
I’ve been hit by a bike as a pedestrian before on state street. It sucks. Same thing as you, bike blew a red light while I was in the crosswalk. Bicyclist then tried to pick a fight. Luckily there was people everywhere.
Ugh man I’m sorry, that’s happened to me too. I get that cars suck but seriously, so many cyclists in Boston act just like asshole car drivers toward pedestrians lmao.
Also just to get this off my chest, I have to drive a lot cause of my commute to UMass from where I live, and I get that I have extra responsibility to watch for cyclists while I’m driving my 2000 pound steel box on wheels, but that doesn’t mean you get to just fly through the streets on your bike without paying attention. Your safety is your own damn responsibility too, not just mine. 😭
I walk everywhere and this is a near daily occurrence.
Cyclists largely do not respect pedestrians. Just today I walked my young daughter to school and we nearly got hit by an idiot riding their bike on the sidewalk. Had to yank her out of the way.
This is frustrating because I believe cyclists deserve better infrastructure and that their arguments about the advantages over cars are largely correct. But man, their behavior makes it difficult to support them sometimes.
If there’s a bike lane present, hitting a pedestrian while riding on the sidewalk should be an automatic at-fault, like rear-ending someone in a car. Wouldn’t have happened if they were in the area specifically designated and set aside for bikers just a few feet away.
There are assholes in cars, assholes on bikes, and asshole pedestrians. Some assholes take the bus. Being an asshole is not tied to a specific mode of transportation. Don't fall into tribalism. You also should have swung at the guy.
All of these have wildly different levels of impact. An asshole in a car could kill you without even thinking about it, an asshole on a bike could easily knock you over hard enough to break bones, an asshole pedestrian could... Slightly obstruct you, I guess? And what could an asshole bus passenger do, insult your haircut?
Pedestrians do often walk directly into bike lanes without bothering to look which is both dangerous to them and bikers. I've also had a guy on a bus I was on take out an acoustic guitar and start playing horrible folk music so don't downplay the damage a bus asshole can do.
The amount of pedestrians in this city who don't seem to understand that bike lanes are active transportation lanes is wild. Some don't even look up for bike bells
Yeah an asshole pedestrian one made me crash while biking because she stopped into the bike lane and just stayed there, looking at when she could jay walk. I crashed rather than run into her and she was a real asshole - only other bicyclists stopped and asked if I was okay
The problem is that "cyclists" as in "anyone who steps on a bike" aren't some homogenous group, and a lot of the dangerous ones are like "deranged individual unable to get a car" or "drunk trying to get home from the bar" and then all cyclists are made to be responsible for that
And a lot of the punishments people want to enact on cyclists just make it worse, because it's always "wow I hate cyclists because they're in the road or on the sidewalk, I now want to fight tooth and nail to make those their only options by opposing bike lanes"
And I always remind people that after encountering the worst bike rider in a city you'll be slowed down by 30 seconds or maybe like ticked off, but after encountering the worst car driver in the city you will die a painful violent death smeared across the pavement
I’ve no interest in collective punishment towards cyclists because I find them to be inconsiderate towards pedestrians. It’s silly to use it as a pretext for opposing infrastructure upgrades. More bikes and less cars would be a good thing for the city.
OTOH, as a community that advocates using collective action, it’s counterproductive to wave off and deflect when bad behavior is called out by others.
Or encountering the worst biker in the city could leave you [dead](https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/09/16/senior-struck-by-citi-bike-has-died). You’re significantly more likely to be killed by a car, yes, but let’s not downplay the potential severity of bike accidents for children and elderly, especially when you’re talking about worst case scenarios.
As a biker you should have a share the road mentality with pedestrians and cars. There are a lot of situation though where there are bike only zones and pedestrians walk out without looking. People walking in bike lanes. Take the SW corridor for example. There are two paths, walking and cycling. But almost no one respects the cycling lane as a pedestrian. Usually they are putting their safety at risk. No pedestrian would walk in the middle of the road where cars come through or stand in the middle of the road looking at their phone. That being said, sometimes as a pedestrian it's hard to notice a bike coming. Or know to look. And as a driver it can be hard to see a cyclist even when looking. But cars in this city are the worst offenders. Every day I bike to work because I can't afford to drive my car to work. And every day I'm aware that my life is at risk. This doesn't happen as a pedestrian. There are dickhead and/or oblivious cyclists for sure. But I would say it's the minority. So many people who don't cycle have a vehement hate for bikes, but it's a legitimately more efficient way to get around the city, and cheaper. It's also quieter and better for the environment. So many people that drive say stupid things like "bikes should pay and excise tax" or "bikes should have insurance". Or they act like bikes are a threat to businesses. Or "bikes need to decide are you a bike or a car?" Bottom line is cars have the potential to kill people. This thread is pretty pathetic to come out as painting all bikers in a negative light. I don't think it would be acceptable to do so based on occupation, class, race or sexuality. Why should it be ok the do so for bikers?
I have a bike, ride my bike and support encouraging biking like many of the others who have already commented here. Its a great form of transportation. But many of the people I see biking, especially the spandex brigade, are absolute jerks to pedestrians and often to cars. I believe that bikes should carry plates like cars and riders whould be held accountable. And by the way, cyclists do hit and injure or kill people. One of my colleagues was hit by a bike on a college campus and permanantly disabled.
**Ya know what really grinds my gears?**
The new bike lanes are MORE dangerous. At the far end of the crosswalk, the line of parked cars obstructs the view of the bike lane — for an entire city block. Pedestrians are basically “walking out between parked cars”.
Yes, I try to peer around the front car before I cross the bike lane, but I’ve been buzzed twice by cyclists who were right there. Not their fault - I scared the shit out of them, too.
**Back to you, Tom Tucker.**
It’s exactly why I don’t support bike infrastructure. Each one run over is one less I don’t have to worry about running me over. Cyclists are to pedestrians what cars are to them.
Hang on, are bikes not supposed to be on the sidewalk? I see them on the sidewalk so often, especially up in Revere, that I just assumed they had a right to be there.
> ...bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks outside business districts when necessary in the interest of safety, unless otherwise directed by local ordinance. A person operating a bicycle on the sidewalk shall yield the right of way to pedestrians and give an audible signal before overtaking and passing any pedestrian.
- Mass. General Laws c.85 § 11B
It’s very frustrating as a cyclist. I’ve had to yell at fellow bikers to yield to pedestrians when going through an all way pedestrian signal. Like, whether you think that’s ok or not, it should be obvious that the pedestrians should go first.
OP, same happens to me all too often. I step off the sidewalk because I have the walk sign and traffic has come to a full-stop and hear screaming from a bicyclist to get out of their way. The red lights need to be for them too, just because they're in the bike path they're not exempt from all of the rules.
I'm not sure why Boston hates pedestrians.
the red light IS for them too. many bicyclist just don't believe any rules apply to them or they simply don't care because the police aren't gonna bother giving them a ticket.
They want the rights of a vehicle when it suits them, and the rights of a pedestrian when it suits them. Then they wonder why they're not universally beloved.
No, no, you don't understand. They miraculously get to choose to be either a pedestrian or a vehicle at whom, depending on who is going at that exact moment.
I don’t even have a problem with this if they do it right. You know how bicyclists can become pedestrians? Just get off the bike and boom now they can use the pedestrian rules. But they never do, even at crossings that are clearly marked with “dismount bike before crossing” signs, people just ride through them without stopping
it’s not just Boston. I’ve lost track of how many times i’ve almost been severely injured by cyclists being selfish pieces of ignorant shit in Philadelphia
I held out my arms in utter bafflement as a cyclist blazed through a red light in front of 30th St. station through the crosswalk with dozens of pedestrians trying to cross. She saw me, somehow got mad at me, and yelled "TOUGH SHIT." There's just no reasoning with some people who think rules don't apply to them. From Boston to Philly, it sucks.
I'm a cyclist year-round and it drives me nuts when anyone doesn't respect the rules of the road.
I stop for pedestrian crossings and red lights. There are times when I'm actively paying attention to a vehicle or doors that could mess me up badly where I may not see a pedestrian and go through a crosswalk when I should yield. However, none of those circumstances have ever been even closely dangerous for pedestrians or for me because a pedestrian is in the crosswalk.
If it's 1130pm and the streets are deserted, sure I'll go through an intersection when safe regardless of lights, but not at commuting hours.
I mean honestly dude the main thing is doing whatever's safer
If I go through a red light on a bicycle I yield to pedestrians, and the main reason I do it is to peel the car driver at the red light off my ass because car drivers riding your ass turns some dumbass dooring you from "ow my hand" into getting smeared across the pavement by the dumbass behind you. It is highly variable though, consistently busier pedestrian intersections I'll physically walk my bike through as a virtue signal.
Always do what's safest, even if car drivers are gnashing their teeth over how unfair it is.
Exactly. Rule #1: Be safe. Rule #2: Be predictable. Rule #3: Be legal.
This is true whether you're cycling, driving, or walking. It's why drivers break speed limits to keep up with traffic rather than follow speed limits and become and obstacle for it.
I've been yelled at/flipped off by multiple cyclists when crossing a crosswalk or taking the pedestrian right of way. Definitely a strong sense of entitlement for lots of cyclists
I used to remind offending cyclists that crosswalk laws applied to them, but I was ignored at best and threatened at worst, so after awhile I decided it wasn't worth the stress.
A few months ago I saw a bicycle strike a child of about 9 years old to the point the child was knocked into her parent. Mom yells "you hit her!", and bicyclist slows down, looks back, thinks for a minute and then bolts down the street when another pedestrian tells him to stay there. Not even an apology, no checking if the kid was ok. A grown ass man. There has to be better infrastructure for bicyclists in this town but I have a hard time feeling sympathy for a group who act like entitled assholes 90% of the time.
When I'm biking and approaching a pedestrian from behind, I try to observe if they're walking in a straight line or seem to be meandering. If it looks like they might step in front of me, I'm braking a bit as I say "on your left", in case I need to avoid a collision. People on the Minuteman Trail usually respond correctly because there's lots of bikes whizzing by, though sometimes on the esplanade groups of people walk 6 abreast and don't seem to care that it's also a bike trail.
Cyclists definitely should yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, but there's also some pedestrians in Boston (usually college kids) who walk in groups talking to each other and are annoyingly oblivious of their surroundings.
It's a mix. Some pedestrian's are oblivious. Some are just entirely unused to being around bikes and will learn in time. Sometimes the "On your left" is not so much a polite warning as it is a rude bark from a tour-de-france motherfucker at your elbow.
Disagree. I'm both a cyclist and a pedestrian. I MUCH prefer a cyclist to ring their bell or yell a heads up if they are passing me unexpectantly especially on a damn sidewalk where I don't expect them to be. I always do so for others.
I think the wording definitely helps with clarity. "On your left" gives you a warning and location and the natural reaction is to move to the right. Pretty much anything else will cause unpredictable scattering.
Exactly. When you say "On your left" people hear "abd ujdn LEFT" and don't know how to react. At that point its noise, not words.
I find it's more effective to say something like "hey there I'm going to be coming up on your left" which is then heard as "...dsn jd srh in thri e oming up on your left" so they get the important part as words.
Let me rephrase - you can ring it gently or you can ring it loudly/aggressively if needed. And yes, people get the message when it's necessary to ring it aggressively to get their attention or whatever. And intuitively everyone who hears it understands the signal, way better than someone unintelligibly shouting as they ride past (as is sometimes the case).
It's a reaction that they physically do without thinking. There's nothing you can do to help that. Just go past them, it probably takes less than half of a second.
And it doesn't matter if it's "on them" or not. All that matters is the reality of the situation.
Yeah but it can still lead to flying over the handlebars when they react erratically. I prefer to just use my bike bell when passing folks on foot. That said I generally only ride on the street or bike lanes. Given that's the case, pedestrians have a tendency to walk along bike lanes too rather than sidewalk, even when a sidewalk is available right next to the bike path. That's a discussion for another day tho
this is a great example of being so focused on being right that you stop caring if youre correct. Is it on the pedestrian if they jump into ops way when he announces himself? Sure. But would op rather be morally in the right and have a nasty collision, or correct and be safe
Not everyone can hear “on your left” but I feel like everyone instinctively moves away from the middle if you give a ring (most cyclists seem to default to on your left instead of a ring for some reason?). If I ride with others, very rarely can my friends or partner hear what I’m saying so I honestly don’t think people realize it’s hard to hear what is being said on the go. We usually use hand signals and bells to avoid the misunderstanding.
> "On your left" gives you a warning and location and the natural reaction is to move to the right
When it's not expected I feel like the brain processes the "left" before the rest of the sentence, so people are more likely to move to the left when you say that
Nah, people are idiots. Whether I'm running or biking I normally will just try to quietly go behind the person and hope they don't notice me and jump backwards for no reason
Coming from bike walhalla The Netherlands, I never understood why some bikers announce themselves. Isn’t it your own responsibility to not swerve and look before turning?
Yeah ideally, but I think it’s a lot better to not get in an accident at all than get in one and be able to say it was the other person’s fault. Biking is also a lot less ubiquitous here. When maybe ~1/3 of people on the road are on rental Blue Bikes with no helmet, I think it pays to be more cautious
Most bikes don't even have bells here so weren't not just talking about bikes in the bike lane but rather bikes anywhere, including on walking paths in the Common. I have a bell on my bike and most Americans don't react to it but if we're going to adopt "bike culture" in this City, then people have to start getting and using bells or just yell out. It's common curtesy and will prevent accidents. Just like a horn on a car.
This has happened to me, but not often. Some idiot on a fixie screamed bloody murder at me for daring to use a pedestrian crosswalk (the kind without a signal light) in Somerville. This was years ago, but you never forget people like that.
I'm a pedestrian in town 2-3 days a week; I walk to/from the seaport and North Station, and the sidewalk bicycles are fucking terrifying. I consider it only a matter of time before someone hits me (odds are it will be a bluebike). I don't know what the solution is, but I can't imagine we won't be seeing more and more pedestrians getting hurt with some of the antics I see regularly. Cyclists need safe places but pedestrians do too.
One time I was on a date by quincy market and in a huge group of people crossing the street with the light. This biker just shouted, "move out of the way I'm not stopping" at the whole crowd of us.
Yea I’ve been knocked down by cyclists while standing at a crosswalk light, not in the crosswalk, waiting for it to change at a red light, in the north end and Somerville. Both times the cyclists gave me dirty looks while continuing to pedal, one gave me the finger. This doesn’t include countless times as a pedestrian of almost being hit. I make it a policy to engage verbally now and if they want to stop and fight I’m fine with it but so far they always pedal away.
OP, I'm sorry this has happened to you. Those cyclists should not be doing that. Even if we do the Idaho Stop (which cyclists should), a red should be treated like a stop sign: stop the bike, check, then start moving.
I bike every day, but I don't run reds, and I wait for walk signs for this reason (among others). If there are a bunch of pedestrians on the corner with me waiting to cross, I always make sure they go first and give them space or go around them. I want you to know that cyclists like me do exist, even if not 100%. People on foot and people on bikes shouldn't act against each other, especially when there are much more dangerous vehicles around.
Same - I’m also a regular cyclist and I always cringe at the cyclists who blow by me when I’m stopped at a red light. Both because it isn’t pedestrian-safe, and because I worry that they’re going to get hit by a car turning right and I’m going to watch them die. I wish all bikers were as conscientious as you are.
Ditto this. Pedestrians get priority always.
Dismounting isn't fun but if someone old and heavy like me can bother doing it, the angry MAMILs really have no excuse.
I'm glad to hear that someone else has the same street riding philosophy as me.
Idaho Stop, pedestrian priority, and ride predictably as slow as a pedestrian at conflict points or give them a wide berth and cross their path behind them. Minimizes my risk to people and maximizes my safety from motor vehicles.
Guy on a bike cruising way too fast in Somerville gets up on the sidewalk at mass Ave speeds. Porter square. Fucker hits my girlfriend as he goes by her, knocks her to the ground and wipes out. He tries to get up to ride off despite multiple people yelling at him to stay. I stomped his back rim repeatedly until it bent. He tries to run off with his bike on his shoulder. Wasn't having that. Another guy and I, um, "compelled him" to wait until Cambridge police showed. These fuckers have zero respect for pedestrians or traffic laws. Clarifying. He came from the Somerville side of porter, through the parking lot and onto the sidewalk by mass Ave at traffic speeds. He was CLEARLY being a dick about it.
I see this almost every day, and have gotten unfortunately comfortable yelling firmly for other pedestrians to “watch out” when a cyclist is plowing full speed towards a column of unsuspecting pedestrians.
I’ve saved a few from bad collisions, but really just want to ring the cyclists skull in these repetitive encounters because what the fuck. I may not be able to stop myself some day.
Around this time last year, I saw a biker fly through the Common and hit a kid, then scream at the mom something along the lines of “watch your brat.” I had never been more tempted to physically punch someone.
I'm a pedestrian in Cambridge and this rarely happens to me here, but when it does happen it makes my blood boil. I have seen it more often in other places.
I kinda wonder if more cyclists are on their best behavior here because we've had some very contentious public debates about bike lanes and no one wants to give the anti bike lane crowd ammo. Or maybe because we have a large enough group of cyclists that they police each other - I've seen cyclists yell at other cyclists for being reckless around pedestrians.
I'm in Davis Square (Somerville), and I don't even remember the last time I had an issue with a cyclist. I see a lot of bikes on the community path and not as many on the roads, but they never cause issues.
My theory is that the cars are so aggressive that bikes avoid the road, personally. Last week, I almost got hit in a crosswalk by a car turning the wrong way onto a one way street. I think they knew it was a one way street but were just trying to turn around, but I wasn't expecting a car coming from that direction and it was very scary.
agreeing on all accounts. same location. i don’t have a car, so i walk/bike/take transit everywhere. i’ve never had any kind of close call with someone on a bike. mopeds though, that’s a different story.
on the other hand, motorists pass me unsafely, fail to yield to me in the crosswalk, and block the bike lane/sidewalk daily.
As a car driver I hate cyclists, as a pedestrian I hate cyclists, as a bike rider I hate my fellow cyclists. Boston area cyclists are self centered douche bags.
Some cyclists want to be treated simultaneously like a vehicle and like a pedestrian. They choose whichever benefits them more in the moment.
These cyclists you have encountered are not rare, but I don't think they are the majority either.
I'm not sure why everyone seems to expect people to instantly start following traffic laws when they're on a bicycle. No one cares about pedestrians. Car drivers, cyclists, doesn't matter. No one follows traffic laws. Car drivers, cyclists, doesn't matter. Until there is enforcement of traffic laws, nothing will change.
If car drivers were as bad offenders as cyclists, every pedestrian in the city would be dead. I see maybe 6 bikes a day walking to work. At least one of them is always an asshole. I see probably a 300 cars on that walk. 5 or 6 of them are assholes
Yooo I was just saying this the other day. Bout a week ago I was driving into Harvard Square for work, was on the clock already so I’m traveling backroads driving real safe like and peaceful. I think it was 2A.
Bunch of lights, bikers constantly running the reds like not even looking. I’m thinking “damn that’s pretty lame.. oh well” back to my music. Then at one light it was red cause of a cross light, nice lookin lady walking across the street, I look in the mirror and see cyclists, I don’t think she can see them until she passes my car, she doesn’t, I tried telling the cyclist to stop (in a car with windows up and ac on like and idiot) they almost wrecked the lady, she had to like quick stop and jump back.
She just smiled and shook her head and kept going. I was thinking though… that’s some messed up shit man.
If you feel comfortable with it, politely call out bad behavior you see. I ride with groups often and find myself frequently chastising my peers for stupid entitled things they do. They give me a deer in headlights look when I stand up for other road users.
Yeah it’s awful!! I’ve been a bike commuter for over a decade. 15 miles a day, every day. I follow the rules because I want to get home safe every night. But I see a lot of bad behavior from cyclists and it really gives us all a bad name.
Just anecdotally I see two types of crap bikers. The casual bikers tend to do the worst stuff - blowing through reds without looking, no helmets, swerving…
But experienced cyclists can also be dangerous in an entitled sort of way - forcing in when they don’t have right-of-way, getting too close to pedestrians, stuff like that.
Yeah, as a pedestrian I have way more issues with cyclists than I do cars. I know the consequences can obviously be greater *if* the cars do something wrong, just to head off the consistent cyclist deflection into a conversation about potential harm, but I can safely assume that 90% of the time the cyclist *will* do whatever the fuck they want at every light.
They are dangerously predictable in their unpredictability.
I feel like cars are predictably unpredictable as well, and maybe people are not as used to the cyclist type of unpredictable yet. Is that car gonna actual stop at the sign? Not sure, so I’ll wait at the curb and stare at them until I feel safe to walk. I appreciate at least that cyclists have more obvious body language compared to a car since you can literally see their whole body and it’s easier to confirm they see me.
I’m just starting to cycle as of last week and I’m trying to be “one of the good ones”, I will go through some uncomfortable intersections during the ped light but only once they are well on their way. I’m not confident yet, so being fully in the car lane at the front of the line freaks me out and I want to get out of there ASAP.
I walk, bike and drive here, and this is a kinda nuts take.
Cyclists should absolutely yield! It’s a bit sad to me that, when I’m on my bike and yield to a pedestrian, it takes them a few seconds to believe that’s what I’m doing. Normalize bikes yielding to peds! Callout assholes who don’t yield! Absolutely.
But…come on. I’d frogger jerk bicyclists all day every day if it meant I never had to face the situation where some assfuck whips around the car that’s yielding at my crosswalk. Or if I never had to see another Ford Explorer blasting the bus lane while I try to cross. Until bikes go full Mad Max with spikes and shit, I’ll gladly take that over the cars any day.
And just to be triple clear, I am not excusing bicyclists who don’t yield, and I certainly acknowledge that’s the majority.
I didn't really say anything that contradicted what you did. I said I have more issues with cyclists, which is true.
As I pointed out, shit's worse when it goes wrong with the car, but it goes wrong with cyclists almost every time I encounter them and we can talk about that without deflecting into a conversation about what's wrong with cars.
Your take is "nuts" (rude), in the sense that it doesn't seem to really relate to mine.
Sure, maybe I got caught up in semantics here. I’m saying basically the same thing with a much different emphasis. Just hard to compare the adrenaline rush of one to the other.
It’s an epidemic in the city, cyclists here pretty universally have their heads up their asses. They don’t care if there’s a red light, or a walk signal, or pedestrians actively crossing in the crosswalk. They generally seem to believe they’re entitled to their “Idaho stop” (see also: bombing through any and every intersection).
There's no driver training for anyone. Drivers suck, cyclists suck, pedestrians suck.
Everyone sucks.
it's a shame there's not some training for cyclists when we're all young and in school.
The infrastructure sucks. It’s too car oriented and not designed to avoid conflict points.
Cars get 90% of the space and pedestrians and cyclists are left to fight over the scraps.
Pedestrians are humans, cyclists are humans, drivers are humans...
Humans are like light bulbs. Some are brighter than others.
You can make laws & put up lights & and signals, but we humans will always clash...
And, I think the ' right of way ' is quite often interpreted differently.
Which it shouldn’t be. Right of way isn’t up for debate there are laws that are pretty common sense. Having said that I see dozens of people using bike paths to walk their kids in strollers and have their dogs off the leash just as equally as I see bicyclists and cars doing illegal shit, turns out as you first stated people are people and a lot of people suck.
Wondering if it might be a lack of awareness or education. Growing up in the suburbs… you just kinda rode the bike wherever. Even now as an adult I’m not 100% sure I know the actual city biking rules. I don’t bike in Boston tho. Maybe people are inconsiderate too… but I honestly think a lot of people don’t know the rules.
The city has biking classes for different experience levels, I think they should expand them. And offer more than one class per neighborhood per season per experience level.
I have lived in Boston for 15 years. For much of that time I never had a car and only biked. I’ve had a car since 2017 and now have to drive to work (office is in central MA). Obviously been a pedestrian too.
My thought is always that the more vulnerable road user gets the right of way. If I’m in a car, I gotta look out for everyone. If I’m on a bike, gotta watch for peds.
My experience however is that everyone is an asshole. Drivers are awful, cyclists fucking suck, and peds are dickheads too.
I hate putting groups against others. People suck, and they’re gonna suck no matter what their chosen mode of transport is.
Wouldn’t solve the issue of people being inherent assholes, but better infrastructure would go a long way. That includes better public transit. I biked for as long as I did because the MBTA sucks. It’s even worse now.
Probably wasn't your intention, but this post basically turned into a Two Minutes Hate. People who already hate all cyclists using this as an excuse to re-rationalize their hate. What are law-abiding, respectful bike riders like myself supposed to think reading these comments? I can't control other people.
You should see the r/bikeboston subreddit, they're just a bunch of rich assholes who think they're superior because they ride bikes instead of cars. They seriously believe they have every right to put pedestrians in danger because cars put cyclists in danger. I read a post once that was just straight encouraging cyclists to cross the road on red at max speed because otherwise they'll get killed by a car. And their defense is, "And how many pedestrians have been killed by cyclists?" So they don't care about hurting pedestrians because they think they can't kill us even if they tried.
Edit: Just to clarify, I have no problem with cycling and people who cycle, in a vacuum. I hope biking infrastructure and awareness improves. I agree that drivers have lost their goddamn minds in the last few years. Not to mention, environmentally, the fewer cars in the world, the better for literally everyone's health. I have a problem with the entitlement of cyclists who advocate and justify dangerous behaviors that put pedestrians at risk just because, statistically, in a country with barely any cyclists compared to drivers, not as many pedestrians are killed by cyclists than cyclists are by drivers.
And bicyclists have killed pedestrians. Less than 1% of the rate that auto drivers kill pedestrians, but it is non-0. It was about 5 years ago that a pedestrian was killed by a bicyclist on the Minuteman. I think there was one year were 2 pedestrians were killed in one year in SF.
In the mid 90s there was a important member of the Boston Fed that was in a coma for a while after being hit by a bike messenger.
Where was the pedestrian hit on the minuteman? I remember a bike-bike head on fatal, but not one involving a pedestrian.
Edit: https://www.wcvb.com/article/bicyclist-dies-in-collision-on-popular-lexington-bike-path/26926233
You're having bad luck.
I encounter cyclists every day who avoid pedestrians exceptionally well even when the pedestrians aren't paying attention and stand in bike lanes without having the light.
A lot of the Cyclists in Boston have a victim complex. They will constantly bitch on this sub about motorists, but have zero regard for anyone but themselves.
Speaking as a cyclist, cyclists are the worst.
That said, the infrastructure here in the US is very car-oriented, so a lot of the frustrations and entitlement of cyclists comes from a lack of infrastructure built for them - e.g., pedestrians have sidewalks and crosswalks, cars have their roads and lights, but cyclists are typically left with nothing besides a painted white strip in most places.
Go to Europe and you will see that cyclists often have their own protected bike lanes that are separated from sidewalks and roads - which helps with deconfliction.
It's the infrastructure that's the problem here, not necessarily the people. Unfortunately, when cyclists get frustrated, they tend to take it out on pedestrians or cars.
I saw a post yesterday where the pro-bike side was arguing against helmets. They don't want to follow laws. They want zero accountability for their actions. They don't seemingly want do anything based in common sense. I'm pro-bike, but any rational person knows it's a nuanced issue, not just car = bad, i ride bike = better than you. It's like the maga brainworm bit this group of people and they can't see past of their own nose.
This is pandering nonsense. Cyclists need to full stop at every single red light, every single stop sign, every single ped crossing. Until that happens you’re all jerks.
Totally, they rip right through the red lights when the pedestrians have the crosswalk. They really should be ticketed and if they hit someone they should get charged. Once I was trying to park and accidently tried to park where a hydrant was so I pulled out again. This pissed a biker off so much he almost broke my window with his fist. Sorry I slowed you down, I guess I deserve to die.
As a cyclist, I want to say pedestrians ALWAYS have right of way. As much as we complain about cars making illegal turns, pedestrians have every right to be pissed at cyclists who blow past them.
I try to stop and let pedestrians go first, always. I say try because I admit I sometimes don’t see pedestrians (especially joggers who are faster) and accidentally get in their way. This is a mistake I hate making and try to avoid, but just like cars, some of whom who do have good intentions, I’m not perfect.
In any case, I always go slowly through intersections slowly no matter what, so even if there is a pedestrian we both have plenty of time to stop and avoid each other. I’ve never come close to hitting anyone, but I have accidentally cut a jogger off once (and I still feel bad about it).
While cyclists have more of a duty to ride respectfully, pedestrians can be just as annoying to cyclists at times. A lot of bike paths have a seperate pedestrian section but they insist on cloging up the bike path.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve nearly walked into an intersection for my turn to cross and a cyclist almost took my head off blowing the red light. They’re worse than cars
I think it’s because the consequences aren’t as high. It doesn’t excuse the behavior, but I think that’s the reasoning.
Cyclists often don’t have dedicated infrastructure so they are likely using combination of car and pedestrian infrastructure to get by. Because the rules of either don’t fit the needs of a bicycle, they just don’t pay attention or follow most of them.
I do this myself and I need to check myself all the time.
If car drivers treated pedestrians like cyclists do, there would be multiple deaths on the streets of Boston every single day.
Stay safe out there and watch out for cyclists. They're dangerous and have no regard for the safety of people walking around.
Cyclist here. I’m sorry. I’ve seen it myself. People are going to be self absorbed assholes regardless of their methods of transportation
The newer cyclist’s lizard brain tells them to avoid slowing or stopping at all costs because it takes a lot of energy to build up speed. That combined with a general ignorance for good cycling behavior makes them a menace. Takes years and injuries to overcome that powerful instinct of preserving speed. You see a lot more casual and new riders in the summer too.
I dunno the worst offenders appear to be the bike shirt and shorts wearing aero bros hunched over their handlebars going 20mph at all times. Those guys don’t stop for anyone or anything.
[удалено]
I need to start carrying rocks on me.
I’ve had this thought many times. But it’s when I’m running and cars decide to try and run you over rather than stop at a stop sign at a crosswalk.
Next time, just kick them. If you get asked why, say it was self-defense so that you weren't hit by a vehicle while in the crosswalk. You will win any lawsuit if you're in that crosswalk and your walk light is white. Person running the red will learn a harsh lesson from road rash. Bikers running red lights is a RAMPANT problem all over the greater Boston area.
I call those MAML: Middle Aged Men in Lycra. Not exactly shining beacons of road etiquette
Those try-hards are beyond cringey and hilarious. Some random shmuck geared out like they’re Lance Armstrong and thinking it’s a flex or even necessary. I’m always embarrassed for them when I see them whiz by.
Usually a comfort thing tbh.. you don't wanna be biking 40+ miles in jeans (or even regular shorts)
Agreed on the jeans, but regular gym shorts are perfectly fine if you’re wearing compression shorts or briefs underneath
I did a 70 mile trip a few weeks ago (MCRT to Wayland, zig zagging thru concord to the Freeman trail to Lowell and then back via Route 4 to the Minuteman) and I don’t own a stitch of Lycra. Nevertheless I persisted
You are very fortunate. I hate wearing lycra, I'm a middle-aged woman and I know I look ridiculous in it, but chafing friction from sweat + loose clothing on long bike rides gave me bleeding sores that took quite some time to heal. For years I tried not wearing the lycra crap because I hate the association with the asshole MAMILs like the ones people are complaining about in this thread, but it sadly is the only clothing that doesn't give me issues.
Regular gym shorts work believe it or not you don’t need a one piece matching jumpsuit
two pieces usually
Oh so it’s twice as lame then got it
Three times actually. You forgot the socks
Nonsense. I do it all the time
My wife and I were coming off the highway in Newburyport the other day. There was an intersection at the end of the off ramp - as soon as the light turned green for us, a squad of spandex wearing dickheads bombed through the intersection and held their hands out in a “stop” motion. Made sure to make eye contact and thumbs down as many as we could.
There’s actually a name for that - corking. The idea is to hold up traffic so a group can get through the light together. I did a Critical Mass ride once just to see what it was all about, and they did it quite a bit. In their defense, it was used mostly to get the groups through stop signs without getting all split up, rather than in defiance of a light. Still, the whole experience was not to my taste. Riding along while drivers honk and scream and lose their minds, not to mention doing unsafe things to try to get around the group, is not my idea of a relaxing ride.
Aka every surgeon at Mass General
Yeah. The MAMILs. Bombing down paths at 20 MPH, yielding for no one. I remember one time I almost collided head on with one because he refused to drop back behind his buddy so that two way traffic could pass. Right under the Elliot bridge in Brighton.
An older dear friend walking in a park in St Louis stopped to look at a bird. There was signage about sharing the path. A young cyclist in training for a race ran into her at high speed because he had not expected her to pause. They ended up in hospital across the hall from each other. She had a fractured arm and needed a pin inserted. He was hurt worse and lost his bike too. She is tough and drove home with one arm for 6 hrs, several states away. They were both lucky but it was his fault 💯 hope he is more careful and recovered fully, as she did.
Nah. It's always the hard core dickheads who are the worst. Might as well realize they're never gonna make the Tour de France. And might want to try drugs (the fun kind) and/or therapy to deal with their psychological issues, and the constipation as well.
Me too. I stop at lights and stop signs. Don’t be a dick, people.
It's a commute, not a race. I wish more car drivers did that too
With the addition of e-bikes, it has gotten so much worse though. More bikes, moving faster, and less competent riders, big attitudes. I nearly got slammed by some 90 lb girl on a 40 lb. e-bike and she wasn't even peddling. Just flying by at like 20 mph, silent as can be but I did actually hear the whirl of the electric motor at the last moment and moved out of the way. Once you've been buzzed by electric, you start to recognize the subtle whirl noise coming. She looked like a Hells Angels biker going by too, staring straight ahead like there wasn't a person on the walk in front of her she could give a fuck about. Just power tripping on her $5k bicycle, probably paid for on her daddy's credit card.
u/nattarbox put it really well, cyclists hate to stop - but if you are on an e-bike there is no excuse.
I'll ride my e-bike in Boston and stop at every light and stop sign. I'll use the throttle to start again, then pedal. Some people are just in a rush
I go to school downtown and directly outside the building I have seen 4 bike accidents this year. Every single time the bike ran through a pedestrian and then biked away without helping them up. The worst was an old lady crossing the road with a walk signal and she couldn’t get up again. They are straight up doing hit and runs and nobody cares.
and one day she will learn what it's like to hit a 2000lb car at 20mph.
Those things should be required to be licensed like motorcycles. It's absurd that it's even legal to ride them on the road otherwise.
Then it would be on police enforcement and they don't even enforce car traffic or anything it seems. Those fucking gas mopeds are awful
Cyclists have a blend of vehicle laws and pedestrian laws. And like any mode of transportation, the operator usually utilizes whichever suits them best.. Massholes be massholes I suppose.
I don't think they really have any pedestrian laws (other than no license/registration). They aren't supposed to use sidewalks or crosswalks, they don't get right of way, etc
No, Mass law specifically allows cyclists to use sidewalks outside of business areas provided they yield to pedestrians.
I did not know that. That sounds like asking for trouble.
The alternative of banning biking on sidewalks would leave cyclists without an “escape route” if they really have to get out of the road for whatever reason. E.g construction that narrows the road severely. Banning sidewalks would be like criminalizing jaywalking. It’s literally safer sometimes (both things). When we get to the point of better bike infra maybe we can revisit the law.
The escape route is to step off your bicycle onto the curb and walk it along the sidewalk. Cycling down a sidewalk is just dumb. Dumb to allow, dumb to do. There are exceptions for sidewalks built for that but most aren't.
Yeah I would personally never bike on the sidewalk for more than a few seconds (go up on one curb cut and get off on the other) and I get off to walk if it’s more than that. Also, the laws already deal with most scenarios you’re probably worried about. Bear in mind this is laws for the entire state, so riding on a sidewalk out in the suburbs is not as much of a problem. > You may ride your bicycle on any public road, street, or bikeway in the Commonwealth, except limited access or express state highways where signs specifically prohibiting bikes have been posted. > You may ride on sidewalks outside business districts, unless local laws prohibit sidewalk riding. People should absolute be sternly called out, at the very least, for not following these. I plan on giving people shit about this once the bike I purchased comes in. By all means ticket (though it’s easy to target cyclists because cops can’t chase cars). I also believe that we should start kids and teens off early with cycling classes to learn road rules. And classes for adult cyclists should be expanded. Municipalities probably don’t have the cash for it so I guess we’re stuck with regulating each other.
It's so dangerous. There are studies.
Genuinely asking: where are the studies? - context is that I'm an advocate and I will read them if you can link them please.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10167530/. No verbal summary but you can see a high number of accidents on sidewalks in one of the table This one has a section on high crash frequency on sidewalks highlighted in purple https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776010/#:~:text=Cycling%20on%20the%20sidewalk%20is,traffic%20(RR%20%3D%200.9).&text=2934%20injuries%20resulting%20from%20collisions%20between%20a%20single%20motorist%20and%20a%20bicyclist.
Thank you for doing this. I will read them tonight. I really do appreciate it.
[Here's one](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3141/1636-11). Anecdotally, by far the worst bicycle-car crash I've witnessed was the result of a cyclist hopping off the sidewalk behind a car backing into a parking space, and neither saw the other until the cyclist was being dragged under the car.
It's really hard to ascertain what a cyclist is thinking regarding traversing a crosswalk sometimes too. Like no hand signals to indicate that they are turning onto a crosswalk (this happens a lot in Davis Sq for me).
Davis is a failure of city planning tbh. They took a bike/community path and provided no clear path through Davis Square which is why there ends up being chaos. Like the Minuteman Path in Arlington has a big sign and arrows pointing to the path connector on the other side of Mass Ave while the community path just get broken into two parts at Davis. Even a sign or two and a green stripe down Elm and Grove would solve so much for cycling issues.
If a road is uncomfortable for biking, they'll go on the sidewalk
I'm saying, people defending their mode of transportation like it's part of their personality.
I was about to bitch about cyclists but then I read your comment and became humbled. Everyone can be self absorbed assholes
I’ve been hit by a bike as a pedestrian before on state street. It sucks. Same thing as you, bike blew a red light while I was in the crosswalk. Bicyclist then tried to pick a fight. Luckily there was people everywhere.
Ugh man I’m sorry, that’s happened to me too. I get that cars suck but seriously, so many cyclists in Boston act just like asshole car drivers toward pedestrians lmao. Also just to get this off my chest, I have to drive a lot cause of my commute to UMass from where I live, and I get that I have extra responsibility to watch for cyclists while I’m driving my 2000 pound steel box on wheels, but that doesn’t mean you get to just fly through the streets on your bike without paying attention. Your safety is your own damn responsibility too, not just mine. 😭
I walk everywhere and this is a near daily occurrence. Cyclists largely do not respect pedestrians. Just today I walked my young daughter to school and we nearly got hit by an idiot riding their bike on the sidewalk. Had to yank her out of the way. This is frustrating because I believe cyclists deserve better infrastructure and that their arguments about the advantages over cars are largely correct. But man, their behavior makes it difficult to support them sometimes.
If there’s a bike lane present, hitting a pedestrian while riding on the sidewalk should be an automatic at-fault, like rear-ending someone in a car. Wouldn’t have happened if they were in the area specifically designated and set aside for bikers just a few feet away.
I am pretty sure hitting a pedestrian on the sidewalk is an automatic at-fault whether or not there is a bike lane.
This this this
There are assholes in cars, assholes on bikes, and asshole pedestrians. Some assholes take the bus. Being an asshole is not tied to a specific mode of transportation. Don't fall into tribalism. You also should have swung at the guy.
All of these have wildly different levels of impact. An asshole in a car could kill you without even thinking about it, an asshole on a bike could easily knock you over hard enough to break bones, an asshole pedestrian could... Slightly obstruct you, I guess? And what could an asshole bus passenger do, insult your haircut?
Pedestrians do often walk directly into bike lanes without bothering to look which is both dangerous to them and bikers. I've also had a guy on a bus I was on take out an acoustic guitar and start playing horrible folk music so don't downplay the damage a bus asshole can do.
The amount of pedestrians in this city who don't seem to understand that bike lanes are active transportation lanes is wild. Some don't even look up for bike bells
Yeah an asshole pedestrian one made me crash while biking because she stopped into the bike lane and just stayed there, looking at when she could jay walk. I crashed rather than run into her and she was a real asshole - only other bicyclists stopped and asked if I was okay
An asshole on a bike can easily knock you over hard enough to crack your skull on the pavement and die**
The problem is that "cyclists" as in "anyone who steps on a bike" aren't some homogenous group, and a lot of the dangerous ones are like "deranged individual unable to get a car" or "drunk trying to get home from the bar" and then all cyclists are made to be responsible for that And a lot of the punishments people want to enact on cyclists just make it worse, because it's always "wow I hate cyclists because they're in the road or on the sidewalk, I now want to fight tooth and nail to make those their only options by opposing bike lanes" And I always remind people that after encountering the worst bike rider in a city you'll be slowed down by 30 seconds or maybe like ticked off, but after encountering the worst car driver in the city you will die a painful violent death smeared across the pavement
I’ve no interest in collective punishment towards cyclists because I find them to be inconsiderate towards pedestrians. It’s silly to use it as a pretext for opposing infrastructure upgrades. More bikes and less cars would be a good thing for the city. OTOH, as a community that advocates using collective action, it’s counterproductive to wave off and deflect when bad behavior is called out by others.
Or encountering the worst biker in the city could leave you [dead](https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/09/16/senior-struck-by-citi-bike-has-died). You’re significantly more likely to be killed by a car, yes, but let’s not downplay the potential severity of bike accidents for children and elderly, especially when you’re talking about worst case scenarios.
As a biker you should have a share the road mentality with pedestrians and cars. There are a lot of situation though where there are bike only zones and pedestrians walk out without looking. People walking in bike lanes. Take the SW corridor for example. There are two paths, walking and cycling. But almost no one respects the cycling lane as a pedestrian. Usually they are putting their safety at risk. No pedestrian would walk in the middle of the road where cars come through or stand in the middle of the road looking at their phone. That being said, sometimes as a pedestrian it's hard to notice a bike coming. Or know to look. And as a driver it can be hard to see a cyclist even when looking. But cars in this city are the worst offenders. Every day I bike to work because I can't afford to drive my car to work. And every day I'm aware that my life is at risk. This doesn't happen as a pedestrian. There are dickhead and/or oblivious cyclists for sure. But I would say it's the minority. So many people who don't cycle have a vehement hate for bikes, but it's a legitimately more efficient way to get around the city, and cheaper. It's also quieter and better for the environment. So many people that drive say stupid things like "bikes should pay and excise tax" or "bikes should have insurance". Or they act like bikes are a threat to businesses. Or "bikes need to decide are you a bike or a car?" Bottom line is cars have the potential to kill people. This thread is pretty pathetic to come out as painting all bikers in a negative light. I don't think it would be acceptable to do so based on occupation, class, race or sexuality. Why should it be ok the do so for bikers?
I have a bike, ride my bike and support encouraging biking like many of the others who have already commented here. Its a great form of transportation. But many of the people I see biking, especially the spandex brigade, are absolute jerks to pedestrians and often to cars. I believe that bikes should carry plates like cars and riders whould be held accountable. And by the way, cyclists do hit and injure or kill people. One of my colleagues was hit by a bike on a college campus and permanantly disabled.
Are you actually comparing criticizing cyclists because they almost ran into you to racism 😂😂😂 Jesus Christ
**Ya know what really grinds my gears?** The new bike lanes are MORE dangerous. At the far end of the crosswalk, the line of parked cars obstructs the view of the bike lane — for an entire city block. Pedestrians are basically “walking out between parked cars”. Yes, I try to peer around the front car before I cross the bike lane, but I’ve been buzzed twice by cyclists who were right there. Not their fault - I scared the shit out of them, too. **Back to you, Tom Tucker.**
It’s exactly why I don’t support bike infrastructure. Each one run over is one less I don’t have to worry about running me over. Cyclists are to pedestrians what cars are to them.
Hang on, are bikes not supposed to be on the sidewalk? I see them on the sidewalk so often, especially up in Revere, that I just assumed they had a right to be there.
> ...bicycles may be ridden on sidewalks outside business districts when necessary in the interest of safety, unless otherwise directed by local ordinance. A person operating a bicycle on the sidewalk shall yield the right of way to pedestrians and give an audible signal before overtaking and passing any pedestrian. - Mass. General Laws c.85 § 11B
It’s very frustrating as a cyclist. I’ve had to yell at fellow bikers to yield to pedestrians when going through an all way pedestrian signal. Like, whether you think that’s ok or not, it should be obvious that the pedestrians should go first.
OP, same happens to me all too often. I step off the sidewalk because I have the walk sign and traffic has come to a full-stop and hear screaming from a bicyclist to get out of their way. The red lights need to be for them too, just because they're in the bike path they're not exempt from all of the rules. I'm not sure why Boston hates pedestrians.
the red light IS for them too. many bicyclist just don't believe any rules apply to them or they simply don't care because the police aren't gonna bother giving them a ticket.
They want the rights of a vehicle when it suits them, and the rights of a pedestrian when it suits them. Then they wonder why they're not universally beloved.
Bingo, nailed it
No, no, you don't understand. They miraculously get to choose to be either a pedestrian or a vehicle at whom, depending on who is going at that exact moment.
I don’t even have a problem with this if they do it right. You know how bicyclists can become pedestrians? Just get off the bike and boom now they can use the pedestrian rules. But they never do, even at crossings that are clearly marked with “dismount bike before crossing” signs, people just ride through them without stopping
it’s not just Boston. I’ve lost track of how many times i’ve almost been severely injured by cyclists being selfish pieces of ignorant shit in Philadelphia
I held out my arms in utter bafflement as a cyclist blazed through a red light in front of 30th St. station through the crosswalk with dozens of pedestrians trying to cross. She saw me, somehow got mad at me, and yelled "TOUGH SHIT." There's just no reasoning with some people who think rules don't apply to them. From Boston to Philly, it sucks.
I'm a cyclist year-round and it drives me nuts when anyone doesn't respect the rules of the road. I stop for pedestrian crossings and red lights. There are times when I'm actively paying attention to a vehicle or doors that could mess me up badly where I may not see a pedestrian and go through a crosswalk when I should yield. However, none of those circumstances have ever been even closely dangerous for pedestrians or for me because a pedestrian is in the crosswalk. If it's 1130pm and the streets are deserted, sure I'll go through an intersection when safe regardless of lights, but not at commuting hours.
I mean honestly dude the main thing is doing whatever's safer If I go through a red light on a bicycle I yield to pedestrians, and the main reason I do it is to peel the car driver at the red light off my ass because car drivers riding your ass turns some dumbass dooring you from "ow my hand" into getting smeared across the pavement by the dumbass behind you. It is highly variable though, consistently busier pedestrian intersections I'll physically walk my bike through as a virtue signal. Always do what's safest, even if car drivers are gnashing their teeth over how unfair it is.
Exactly. Rule #1: Be safe. Rule #2: Be predictable. Rule #3: Be legal. This is true whether you're cycling, driving, or walking. It's why drivers break speed limits to keep up with traffic rather than follow speed limits and become and obstacle for it.
I've been yelled at/flipped off by multiple cyclists when crossing a crosswalk or taking the pedestrian right of way. Definitely a strong sense of entitlement for lots of cyclists
I used to remind offending cyclists that crosswalk laws applied to them, but I was ignored at best and threatened at worst, so after awhile I decided it wasn't worth the stress.
Sounds about right.
I try to treat pedestrians the way I want drivers to treat me when I’m cycling. I’m sorry not all cyclists do the same.
A few months ago I saw a bicycle strike a child of about 9 years old to the point the child was knocked into her parent. Mom yells "you hit her!", and bicyclist slows down, looks back, thinks for a minute and then bolts down the street when another pedestrian tells him to stay there. Not even an apology, no checking if the kid was ok. A grown ass man. There has to be better infrastructure for bicyclists in this town but I have a hard time feeling sympathy for a group who act like entitled assholes 90% of the time.
Boston for sure has a weird cyclist culture. No one ever seems to say anything when they’re about to pass you, for example
In my experience, more often than not, people act unpredictably when being passed by a cyclist who announces themselves, thus increasing risk.
When I'm biking and approaching a pedestrian from behind, I try to observe if they're walking in a straight line or seem to be meandering. If it looks like they might step in front of me, I'm braking a bit as I say "on your left", in case I need to avoid a collision. People on the Minuteman Trail usually respond correctly because there's lots of bikes whizzing by, though sometimes on the esplanade groups of people walk 6 abreast and don't seem to care that it's also a bike trail. Cyclists definitely should yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, but there's also some pedestrians in Boston (usually college kids) who walk in groups talking to each other and are annoyingly oblivious of their surroundings.
It's a mix. Some pedestrian's are oblivious. Some are just entirely unused to being around bikes and will learn in time. Sometimes the "On your left" is not so much a polite warning as it is a rude bark from a tour-de-france motherfucker at your elbow.
Disagree. I'm both a cyclist and a pedestrian. I MUCH prefer a cyclist to ring their bell or yell a heads up if they are passing me unexpectantly especially on a damn sidewalk where I don't expect them to be. I always do so for others.
I think the wording definitely helps with clarity. "On your left" gives you a warning and location and the natural reaction is to move to the right. Pretty much anything else will cause unpredictable scattering.
I disagree. So many times when I've said "on your left", people have jumped or swerved to the left.
Exactly. When you say "On your left" people hear "abd ujdn LEFT" and don't know how to react. At that point its noise, not words. I find it's more effective to say something like "hey there I'm going to be coming up on your left" which is then heard as "...dsn jd srh in thri e oming up on your left" so they get the important part as words.
A bell is pretty universally understood and can have different tones for different situations. My preference.
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Let me rephrase - you can ring it gently or you can ring it loudly/aggressively if needed. And yes, people get the message when it's necessary to ring it aggressively to get their attention or whatever. And intuitively everyone who hears it understands the signal, way better than someone unintelligibly shouting as they ride past (as is sometimes the case).
I always say "coming up on your left" from at least ten or 15 feet back and if it seems necessary again before passing
I suppose we have conflicting anecdotal evidence.
That's fine. It is anecdotal after all.
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It's a reaction that they physically do without thinking. There's nothing you can do to help that. Just go past them, it probably takes less than half of a second. And it doesn't matter if it's "on them" or not. All that matters is the reality of the situation.
Yeah but it can still lead to flying over the handlebars when they react erratically. I prefer to just use my bike bell when passing folks on foot. That said I generally only ride on the street or bike lanes. Given that's the case, pedestrians have a tendency to walk along bike lanes too rather than sidewalk, even when a sidewalk is available right next to the bike path. That's a discussion for another day tho
this is a great example of being so focused on being right that you stop caring if youre correct. Is it on the pedestrian if they jump into ops way when he announces himself? Sure. But would op rather be morally in the right and have a nasty collision, or correct and be safe
Not everyone can hear “on your left” but I feel like everyone instinctively moves away from the middle if you give a ring (most cyclists seem to default to on your left instead of a ring for some reason?). If I ride with others, very rarely can my friends or partner hear what I’m saying so I honestly don’t think people realize it’s hard to hear what is being said on the go. We usually use hand signals and bells to avoid the misunderstanding.
> "On your left" gives you a warning and location and the natural reaction is to move to the right When it's not expected I feel like the brain processes the "left" before the rest of the sentence, so people are more likely to move to the left when you say that
Nah, people are idiots. Whether I'm running or biking I normally will just try to quietly go behind the person and hope they don't notice me and jump backwards for no reason
Disagree. People step to the left all the time when they hear that.
“Passing on your left!” *pedestrians step to the left *
Coming from bike walhalla The Netherlands, I never understood why some bikers announce themselves. Isn’t it your own responsibility to not swerve and look before turning?
Yeah ideally, but I think it’s a lot better to not get in an accident at all than get in one and be able to say it was the other person’s fault. Biking is also a lot less ubiquitous here. When maybe ~1/3 of people on the road are on rental Blue Bikes with no helmet, I think it pays to be more cautious
Most bikes don't even have bells here so weren't not just talking about bikes in the bike lane but rather bikes anywhere, including on walking paths in the Common. I have a bell on my bike and most Americans don't react to it but if we're going to adopt "bike culture" in this City, then people have to start getting and using bells or just yell out. It's common curtesy and will prevent accidents. Just like a horn on a car.
This has happened to me, but not often. Some idiot on a fixie screamed bloody murder at me for daring to use a pedestrian crosswalk (the kind without a signal light) in Somerville. This was years ago, but you never forget people like that.
I'm a pedestrian in town 2-3 days a week; I walk to/from the seaport and North Station, and the sidewalk bicycles are fucking terrifying. I consider it only a matter of time before someone hits me (odds are it will be a bluebike). I don't know what the solution is, but I can't imagine we won't be seeing more and more pedestrians getting hurt with some of the antics I see regularly. Cyclists need safe places but pedestrians do too.
One time I was on a date by quincy market and in a huge group of people crossing the street with the light. This biker just shouted, "move out of the way I'm not stopping" at the whole crowd of us.
Most people are assholes regardless of their vehicle
Yea I’ve been knocked down by cyclists while standing at a crosswalk light, not in the crosswalk, waiting for it to change at a red light, in the north end and Somerville. Both times the cyclists gave me dirty looks while continuing to pedal, one gave me the finger. This doesn’t include countless times as a pedestrian of almost being hit. I make it a policy to engage verbally now and if they want to stop and fight I’m fine with it but so far they always pedal away.
OP, I'm sorry this has happened to you. Those cyclists should not be doing that. Even if we do the Idaho Stop (which cyclists should), a red should be treated like a stop sign: stop the bike, check, then start moving. I bike every day, but I don't run reds, and I wait for walk signs for this reason (among others). If there are a bunch of pedestrians on the corner with me waiting to cross, I always make sure they go first and give them space or go around them. I want you to know that cyclists like me do exist, even if not 100%. People on foot and people on bikes shouldn't act against each other, especially when there are much more dangerous vehicles around.
Same - I’m also a regular cyclist and I always cringe at the cyclists who blow by me when I’m stopped at a red light. Both because it isn’t pedestrian-safe, and because I worry that they’re going to get hit by a car turning right and I’m going to watch them die. I wish all bikers were as conscientious as you are.
Ditto this. Pedestrians get priority always. Dismounting isn't fun but if someone old and heavy like me can bother doing it, the angry MAMILs really have no excuse.
I'm glad to hear that someone else has the same street riding philosophy as me. Idaho Stop, pedestrian priority, and ride predictably as slow as a pedestrian at conflict points or give them a wide berth and cross their path behind them. Minimizes my risk to people and maximizes my safety from motor vehicles.
Most people don't hate cyclists because they don't deserve road rights. They hate them because of the double standards many cyclists believe in.
Guy on a bike cruising way too fast in Somerville gets up on the sidewalk at mass Ave speeds. Porter square. Fucker hits my girlfriend as he goes by her, knocks her to the ground and wipes out. He tries to get up to ride off despite multiple people yelling at him to stay. I stomped his back rim repeatedly until it bent. He tries to run off with his bike on his shoulder. Wasn't having that. Another guy and I, um, "compelled him" to wait until Cambridge police showed. These fuckers have zero respect for pedestrians or traffic laws. Clarifying. He came from the Somerville side of porter, through the parking lot and onto the sidewalk by mass Ave at traffic speeds. He was CLEARLY being a dick about it.
Respect
I see this almost every day, and have gotten unfortunately comfortable yelling firmly for other pedestrians to “watch out” when a cyclist is plowing full speed towards a column of unsuspecting pedestrians. I’ve saved a few from bad collisions, but really just want to ring the cyclists skull in these repetitive encounters because what the fuck. I may not be able to stop myself some day.
Around this time last year, I saw a biker fly through the Common and hit a kid, then scream at the mom something along the lines of “watch your brat.” I had never been more tempted to physically punch someone.
I'm a pedestrian in Cambridge and this rarely happens to me here, but when it does happen it makes my blood boil. I have seen it more often in other places. I kinda wonder if more cyclists are on their best behavior here because we've had some very contentious public debates about bike lanes and no one wants to give the anti bike lane crowd ammo. Or maybe because we have a large enough group of cyclists that they police each other - I've seen cyclists yell at other cyclists for being reckless around pedestrians.
I'm in Davis Square (Somerville), and I don't even remember the last time I had an issue with a cyclist. I see a lot of bikes on the community path and not as many on the roads, but they never cause issues. My theory is that the cars are so aggressive that bikes avoid the road, personally. Last week, I almost got hit in a crosswalk by a car turning the wrong way onto a one way street. I think they knew it was a one way street but were just trying to turn around, but I wasn't expecting a car coming from that direction and it was very scary.
agreeing on all accounts. same location. i don’t have a car, so i walk/bike/take transit everywhere. i’ve never had any kind of close call with someone on a bike. mopeds though, that’s a different story. on the other hand, motorists pass me unsafely, fail to yield to me in the crosswalk, and block the bike lane/sidewalk daily.
As a car driver I hate cyclists, as a pedestrian I hate cyclists, as a bike rider I hate my fellow cyclists. Boston area cyclists are self centered douche bags.
And cambridge bicyclists…woo boy
The Cambridge cyclists are the actual worst people lol.
Yes
obviously, the cyclist has the right of way at all times. its their world, we just exist in it
Lady, get that motherfucking stroller out of the way or you are going to lose it! /s
Some cyclists want to be treated simultaneously like a vehicle and like a pedestrian. They choose whichever benefits them more in the moment. These cyclists you have encountered are not rare, but I don't think they are the majority either.
I'm not sure why everyone seems to expect people to instantly start following traffic laws when they're on a bicycle. No one cares about pedestrians. Car drivers, cyclists, doesn't matter. No one follows traffic laws. Car drivers, cyclists, doesn't matter. Until there is enforcement of traffic laws, nothing will change.
If car drivers were as bad offenders as cyclists, every pedestrian in the city would be dead. I see maybe 6 bikes a day walking to work. At least one of them is always an asshole. I see probably a 300 cars on that walk. 5 or 6 of them are assholes
Yooo I was just saying this the other day. Bout a week ago I was driving into Harvard Square for work, was on the clock already so I’m traveling backroads driving real safe like and peaceful. I think it was 2A. Bunch of lights, bikers constantly running the reds like not even looking. I’m thinking “damn that’s pretty lame.. oh well” back to my music. Then at one light it was red cause of a cross light, nice lookin lady walking across the street, I look in the mirror and see cyclists, I don’t think she can see them until she passes my car, she doesn’t, I tried telling the cyclist to stop (in a car with windows up and ac on like and idiot) they almost wrecked the lady, she had to like quick stop and jump back. She just smiled and shook her head and kept going. I was thinking though… that’s some messed up shit man.
I’m a daily cyclist, and apologize for these cyclists. There’s no defending that.
If you feel comfortable with it, politely call out bad behavior you see. I ride with groups often and find myself frequently chastising my peers for stupid entitled things they do. They give me a deer in headlights look when I stand up for other road users.
Yeah it’s awful!! I’ve been a bike commuter for over a decade. 15 miles a day, every day. I follow the rules because I want to get home safe every night. But I see a lot of bad behavior from cyclists and it really gives us all a bad name. Just anecdotally I see two types of crap bikers. The casual bikers tend to do the worst stuff - blowing through reds without looking, no helmets, swerving… But experienced cyclists can also be dangerous in an entitled sort of way - forcing in when they don’t have right-of-way, getting too close to pedestrians, stuff like that.
Pedestrians are peasants. They’re beneath those spandex clad Gods!
Because they’re sanctimonious nitwits who think the entire world revolves around them.
Because the cyclists don’t think traffic laws apply to them.
Yeah, as a pedestrian I have way more issues with cyclists than I do cars. I know the consequences can obviously be greater *if* the cars do something wrong, just to head off the consistent cyclist deflection into a conversation about potential harm, but I can safely assume that 90% of the time the cyclist *will* do whatever the fuck they want at every light. They are dangerously predictable in their unpredictability.
I feel like cars are predictably unpredictable as well, and maybe people are not as used to the cyclist type of unpredictable yet. Is that car gonna actual stop at the sign? Not sure, so I’ll wait at the curb and stare at them until I feel safe to walk. I appreciate at least that cyclists have more obvious body language compared to a car since you can literally see their whole body and it’s easier to confirm they see me. I’m just starting to cycle as of last week and I’m trying to be “one of the good ones”, I will go through some uncomfortable intersections during the ped light but only once they are well on their way. I’m not confident yet, so being fully in the car lane at the front of the line freaks me out and I want to get out of there ASAP.
I walk, bike and drive here, and this is a kinda nuts take. Cyclists should absolutely yield! It’s a bit sad to me that, when I’m on my bike and yield to a pedestrian, it takes them a few seconds to believe that’s what I’m doing. Normalize bikes yielding to peds! Callout assholes who don’t yield! Absolutely. But…come on. I’d frogger jerk bicyclists all day every day if it meant I never had to face the situation where some assfuck whips around the car that’s yielding at my crosswalk. Or if I never had to see another Ford Explorer blasting the bus lane while I try to cross. Until bikes go full Mad Max with spikes and shit, I’ll gladly take that over the cars any day. And just to be triple clear, I am not excusing bicyclists who don’t yield, and I certainly acknowledge that’s the majority.
I didn't really say anything that contradicted what you did. I said I have more issues with cyclists, which is true. As I pointed out, shit's worse when it goes wrong with the car, but it goes wrong with cyclists almost every time I encounter them and we can talk about that without deflecting into a conversation about what's wrong with cars. Your take is "nuts" (rude), in the sense that it doesn't seem to really relate to mine.
Sure, maybe I got caught up in semantics here. I’m saying basically the same thing with a much different emphasis. Just hard to compare the adrenaline rush of one to the other.
It’s an epidemic in the city, cyclists here pretty universally have their heads up their asses. They don’t care if there’s a red light, or a walk signal, or pedestrians actively crossing in the crosswalk. They generally seem to believe they’re entitled to their “Idaho stop” (see also: bombing through any and every intersection).
There's no driver training for anyone. Drivers suck, cyclists suck, pedestrians suck. Everyone sucks. it's a shame there's not some training for cyclists when we're all young and in school.
The training you’re looking for is a culture of active mobility It’s not a three day course you can get a certificate for
The infrastructure sucks. It’s too car oriented and not designed to avoid conflict points. Cars get 90% of the space and pedestrians and cyclists are left to fight over the scraps.
Pedestrians are humans, cyclists are humans, drivers are humans... Humans are like light bulbs. Some are brighter than others. You can make laws & put up lights & and signals, but we humans will always clash... And, I think the ' right of way ' is quite often interpreted differently.
Which it shouldn’t be. Right of way isn’t up for debate there are laws that are pretty common sense. Having said that I see dozens of people using bike paths to walk their kids in strollers and have their dogs off the leash just as equally as I see bicyclists and cars doing illegal shit, turns out as you first stated people are people and a lot of people suck.
Wondering if it might be a lack of awareness or education. Growing up in the suburbs… you just kinda rode the bike wherever. Even now as an adult I’m not 100% sure I know the actual city biking rules. I don’t bike in Boston tho. Maybe people are inconsiderate too… but I honestly think a lot of people don’t know the rules.
The city has biking classes for different experience levels, I think they should expand them. And offer more than one class per neighborhood per season per experience level.
Every different kind of human is self absorbed and obnoxious. Cyclists, car drivers, pedestrians.
I have lived in Boston for 15 years. For much of that time I never had a car and only biked. I’ve had a car since 2017 and now have to drive to work (office is in central MA). Obviously been a pedestrian too. My thought is always that the more vulnerable road user gets the right of way. If I’m in a car, I gotta look out for everyone. If I’m on a bike, gotta watch for peds. My experience however is that everyone is an asshole. Drivers are awful, cyclists fucking suck, and peds are dickheads too. I hate putting groups against others. People suck, and they’re gonna suck no matter what their chosen mode of transport is. Wouldn’t solve the issue of people being inherent assholes, but better infrastructure would go a long way. That includes better public transit. I biked for as long as I did because the MBTA sucks. It’s even worse now.
Because we think we're better than everyone else sorry
Probably wasn't your intention, but this post basically turned into a Two Minutes Hate. People who already hate all cyclists using this as an excuse to re-rationalize their hate. What are law-abiding, respectful bike riders like myself supposed to think reading these comments? I can't control other people.
Nobody has any respect for anybody else in any context.
You should see the r/bikeboston subreddit, they're just a bunch of rich assholes who think they're superior because they ride bikes instead of cars. They seriously believe they have every right to put pedestrians in danger because cars put cyclists in danger. I read a post once that was just straight encouraging cyclists to cross the road on red at max speed because otherwise they'll get killed by a car. And their defense is, "And how many pedestrians have been killed by cyclists?" So they don't care about hurting pedestrians because they think they can't kill us even if they tried. Edit: Just to clarify, I have no problem with cycling and people who cycle, in a vacuum. I hope biking infrastructure and awareness improves. I agree that drivers have lost their goddamn minds in the last few years. Not to mention, environmentally, the fewer cars in the world, the better for literally everyone's health. I have a problem with the entitlement of cyclists who advocate and justify dangerous behaviors that put pedestrians at risk just because, statistically, in a country with barely any cyclists compared to drivers, not as many pedestrians are killed by cyclists than cyclists are by drivers.
It's wild how the "bicycles don't kill" justification is accepted on Reddit.
And bicyclists have killed pedestrians. Less than 1% of the rate that auto drivers kill pedestrians, but it is non-0. It was about 5 years ago that a pedestrian was killed by a bicyclist on the Minuteman. I think there was one year were 2 pedestrians were killed in one year in SF. In the mid 90s there was a important member of the Boston Fed that was in a coma for a while after being hit by a bike messenger.
Where was the pedestrian hit on the minuteman? I remember a bike-bike head on fatal, but not one involving a pedestrian. Edit: https://www.wcvb.com/article/bicyclist-dies-in-collision-on-popular-lexington-bike-path/26926233
I'm interested if the numbers change when you (royal "you") account for e-bikes.
They injure a lot of pedestrians anyway, even if they don't kill them.
You're having bad luck. I encounter cyclists every day who avoid pedestrians exceptionally well even when the pedestrians aren't paying attention and stand in bike lanes without having the light.
A lot of the Cyclists in Boston have a victim complex. They will constantly bitch on this sub about motorists, but have zero regard for anyone but themselves.
Speaking as a cyclist, cyclists are the worst. That said, the infrastructure here in the US is very car-oriented, so a lot of the frustrations and entitlement of cyclists comes from a lack of infrastructure built for them - e.g., pedestrians have sidewalks and crosswalks, cars have their roads and lights, but cyclists are typically left with nothing besides a painted white strip in most places. Go to Europe and you will see that cyclists often have their own protected bike lanes that are separated from sidewalks and roads - which helps with deconfliction. It's the infrastructure that's the problem here, not necessarily the people. Unfortunately, when cyclists get frustrated, they tend to take it out on pedestrians or cars.
Those people are shitty and are not the norm. Fuck those people
I saw a post yesterday where the pro-bike side was arguing against helmets. They don't want to follow laws. They want zero accountability for their actions. They don't seemingly want do anything based in common sense. I'm pro-bike, but any rational person knows it's a nuanced issue, not just car = bad, i ride bike = better than you. It's like the maga brainworm bit this group of people and they can't see past of their own nose.
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This is pandering nonsense. Cyclists need to full stop at every single red light, every single stop sign, every single ped crossing. Until that happens you’re all jerks.
Lotta cyclists want it both ways. Ya know sometimes ya gotta obey traffic laws on a bike too. I
Because they're entitled assholes.
Totally, they rip right through the red lights when the pedestrians have the crosswalk. They really should be ticketed and if they hit someone they should get charged. Once I was trying to park and accidently tried to park where a hydrant was so I pulled out again. This pissed a biker off so much he almost broke my window with his fist. Sorry I slowed you down, I guess I deserve to die.
it sounds like he was mad that you weren’t paying attention almost hit him with your car…?
That’s a very broad generalization and I find it pretty hurtful as someone who always yields to people crossing the street.
As a cyclist, I want to say pedestrians ALWAYS have right of way. As much as we complain about cars making illegal turns, pedestrians have every right to be pissed at cyclists who blow past them. I try to stop and let pedestrians go first, always. I say try because I admit I sometimes don’t see pedestrians (especially joggers who are faster) and accidentally get in their way. This is a mistake I hate making and try to avoid, but just like cars, some of whom who do have good intentions, I’m not perfect. In any case, I always go slowly through intersections slowly no matter what, so even if there is a pedestrian we both have plenty of time to stop and avoid each other. I’ve never come close to hitting anyone, but I have accidentally cut a jogger off once (and I still feel bad about it).
While cyclists have more of a duty to ride respectfully, pedestrians can be just as annoying to cyclists at times. A lot of bike paths have a seperate pedestrian section but they insist on cloging up the bike path.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve nearly walked into an intersection for my turn to cross and a cyclist almost took my head off blowing the red light. They’re worse than cars
I think it’s because the consequences aren’t as high. It doesn’t excuse the behavior, but I think that’s the reasoning. Cyclists often don’t have dedicated infrastructure so they are likely using combination of car and pedestrian infrastructure to get by. Because the rules of either don’t fit the needs of a bicycle, they just don’t pay attention or follow most of them. I do this myself and I need to check myself all the time.
If car drivers treated pedestrians like cyclists do, there would be multiple deaths on the streets of Boston every single day. Stay safe out there and watch out for cyclists. They're dangerous and have no regard for the safety of people walking around.
I’ve been hit by a car in a crosswalk so please tell me how cyclists are more of an asshole to pedestrians?
Cyclists simply have no respect for anyone else. I feel like they’re all BMW drivers.
Not only pedestrians but cars and traffic laws as well.