BICYCLISTS

[adam monti]

Seriously...is it me or do they piss every one off by taking the whole lane when they ride in packs?  I have always tried to be courteous and mindful but especially lately...they take the entire side of the road they are on and get irritated when you pass them.  Isn't that white line what they are supposed to stay in and can they get a ticket for taking up the lane?

[Joe Parente]

They're supposed to ride single file as close to the right as possible. I almost never see them do that, and they get mad at drivers when you honk at them to move over. Most of them aren't even from around here. Of course they can get a ticket, but you never see that.

[Thom_Worman]

39:4-14.1 Rights and Duties of Persons on Bicycles.
Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway is granted all the rights and subject to all of the duties of the motor vehicle driver.

39:4-14.2, 39:4-10.11 Operating Regulations.
Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway shall ride as near to the right roadside as practicable exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction. A bicyclist may move left under any of the following conditions: 1) To make a left turn from a left turn lane or pocket; 2) To avoid debris, drains, or other hazardous conditions on the right; 3) To pass a slower moving vehicle; 4) To occupy any available lane when traveling at the same speed as other traffic; 5) To travel no more than two abreast when traffic is not impeded, but otherwise ride in single file. Every person riding a bicycle should ride in the same direction as vehicular traffic.
In New Jersey, the law states a bicyclist must obey all state and local automobile driving laws. A parent may be held responsible for the child's violation of any traffic law.

[Pat Garaffa]

Especially these!

4) To occupy any available lane when traveling at the same speed as other traffic;

5) To travel no more than two abreast when traffic is not impeded, but otherwise ride in single file.

We should all print the rules posted by Thomas and hand them out to the folks on the bikes.  Unless they can keep up with the cars, they need to observe these simple, common sense rules and stay right in a single file.

In the battle between the bike and the car - the car will win 99% of the time.  Ever see a car driver hauled away in an ambulance while the bike rider stares at his limp body in the road?  That's an unlikely scenario.

It's a dangerous game they play and I guess they just don't understand those simple rules of engagement.   

[Joe Parente]

Yes Pat. They must have slept through physics class when it was explained that the force behind a 2 to 4 ton vehicle traveling at 30-40-50 miles per hour far exceeds the force of a 300 pound or less bicycle/rider combination!

You could show them that picture of the "smart" car sandwiched between the two trucks for emphasis! 

[Pat Garaffa]

Or maybe I'll show them my own picture when I was 13 and laying mangled in a hospital bed.   My bike met the car and the car won.   

I was fortunate and was out of the hospital in a week.  My friend was riding me on the handlebars of the same bike and he really got clobbered! He didn't get out of the hospital for 2 months.  He spent a couple weeks in a coma and got his last rights twice from a priest.  Luckily he made it and he is fine now.   

Needless to say, I learned the hard way.  Or maybe it's because I was only 13 and I didn't get my physics class yet?  LOL!   I've always been hard on my kids and their bikes for that reason.   They think I'm nuts but I always say - better safe than sorry.  No reason to duplicate that mess with my own kids!     

[Ray_Spengler]

Doesn't the "right of way" goes to the oldest form of transportation first?  Walkers would be first... then bikes... then cars... ect....   

Seems right to me

[Barry_Jacobson]

I do not know where you got that rule from.  Just because walkers and bicyclists ignore the rules of the road does not give them privleged status.

Walkers do not get an automatic right of way.  They must be crossing at a crosswalk with the traffic signal.    Ever hear of jaywalking?

Also, walkers on a road  must walk against traffic so the cars can view them. 

[Ray_Spengler]

It was no rule, never said it was one.  I have heard of jaywalking.  I was talking about civilized scenario.  I did not assume someone breaking the law.  I apologize for not including every detail.... let's assume a walker, biker and car arrive at a 3 way stop at the same time.... The car should yield to the other two and the biker to the walker.  It would be the right thing to do, perhaps not the law or rule. 

On city streets, vehicles (including cars and bikes) are supposed to stop when people are in crosswalks in MANY states (by law) and it might apply to NJ now too... to allow them to cross.  Drive along the beach sometime in the summer and see who has the ultimate right of way.... walkers all the way (while in the crosswalk) or face a hefty fine.

[Joe Parente]

The bikes have to stop for the pedestrians too, Ray. They're vehicles, pedestrians are not, that's why pedestrians have the ultimate right of way. But this isn't about right of way concerning the bikes, it's about the rules of the road and the rules say bikes must be in single file as close to the right as possible when a car is trying to pass. It's for their own safety as well as allowing the free flow of traffic. 

[Ray_Spengler]

The bikes have to stop for the pedestrians too, Ray. They're vehicles, pedestrians are not, that's why pedestrians have the ultimate right of way.

I know... i thought i stated that...

[Joe Parente]

Oh, you did... Sorry, Ray!