LAPD still hates bikes
Thread started by
tortuga_veloce at 08.12.09 - 2:19 pm
i was talking to a a friend from work about commuting by bike. he told me that he decided against it after one bad incident.
after just buying a mountainbike, "J" goes for a ride. since the speeding cars scare him, he rides on the sidewalk. a car pulls out of a driveway going way too fast and without looking, knocking him off his bike and nearly kills him. my friend notices that the guy reeks of booze and so he calls the police. a police officer arrives, refuses to administer a breathalizer and sends the driver on his way, drunk. the police tell "J" to give up riding his bike. he does for several months.
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Why do adult people have to ride on the sidewalks? Seriously.
Joe Borfo08.12.09 - 2:29 pm
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You just came out of the store and lets just say your about one block from ur pad and ur on the wrong side of the road! instead of crossing the street, so you can go in the right direction on the street, you just decide to ride on the side walk to make it easier.
Im sure theres better examples for this but sometimes riding a few blocks on the sidewalk isnt a bad idea...
Debut213 responding to a
comment by Joe Borfo
08.12.09 - 2:35 pm
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some people just dont have the nerve to ride in the road. can you blame them?
tortuga_veloce responding to a
comment by Debut213
08.12.09 - 2:38 pm
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If they have lights and a helmet, yeah.
I mean i can understand little kids. But I think most of the adult commuters on bicycles never got the memo that they are allowed on the streets.
I believe it is safer on the road - Especially if one behaves as a vehicle would.
All this stupid riding the wrong way into traffic doesn't count. I see that shit all the time and it makes no sense.
Joe Borfo responding to a
comment by tortuga_veloce
08.12.09 - 2:43 pm
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There have been moments when I have chosen the sidewalk over the street. Of course, I understand that. But commuting to work that way and back? Forget it.
Joe Borfo responding to a
comment by Debut213
08.12.09 - 3:00 pm
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i recall hearing you're most likely to get in an accident riding on the sidewalk and against traffic. i believe riding against traffic in the street is #2.
that said, motorists purposefully and unintentionally intimidate cyclists who aren't riding in the door zone or on the sidewalk. if you give in to intimidation, you don't get harassed. instead, you get doored.
also, i live next to pacific division and i've had cops tell me:
-ride against traffic
-ride only on the sidewalk
-ride in the door zone
-don't use the left turn lane
i've also been pulled over while riding in the right lane at the speed of traffic.
i tell them they don't know what they're talking about, tell them where to find information and i ask them if they realize that giving people such bad advice might get someone killed. they usually just put cotton in their ears and bother someone else.
for all the promises we've gotten from LADOT and the LAPD, there is still NO education for rank and file officers. when police statistics show that a cyclist is injured in a collision, the brass sends out the troops to harass people off of their bikes to prevent it from happening again.
tortuga_veloce responding to a
comment by Joe Borfo
08.12.09 - 3:02 pm
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I ride on the sidewalk every time I come home. It's the shortest route and the sidewalks are wide and there's no one on the sidewalks and there's no driveways and all the stores are closed and there's no homes on the route.
User1 responding to a
comment by Joe Borfo
08.12.09 - 3:04 pm
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You and Eddieboy should get together then.
Joe Borfo responding to a
comment by User1
08.12.09 - 3:06 pm
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I wonder who will be the catcher in that relationship...
Debut213 responding to a
comment by Joe Borfo
08.12.09 - 3:12 pm
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wtf, Eddie loves playing the catcher!
User1 responding to a
comment by tortuga_veloce
08.12.09 - 3:19 pm
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I ride on sidewalks,
on sidewalks against the street traffic direction,
in the street, for short distances against traffic,
in the street,
in the street riding a bike like I would drive a car,
in short, however I feel most comfortable and safe, riding along on my bike.
I don't, generally speaking, adhere to the laws designed for motor traffic.
This may not be the best way to promote bicycling as a general method of transportation, but I ride in the way most convenient for me for a particular circumstance.
I've been driving for many years and I know how most people drive, and frankly, I don't like sharing the road with other drivers because they don't know how to drive.
And, without that 2 tons of steel around me, I'm scared of people on the roads.
No matter how/where you travel, you have to be aware of your environment, and travel defensively, no one else is going to look out for you but yourself.
dave08.12.09 - 3:27 pm
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When I know I'm either too tired to go with the flow of traffic.. I ride the sidewalk.. at a very cautious speed no less, otherwise I'll either create more traffic or run the risk of one of these crazed motorists to try and run me off the road (it's happened before)
But if you can definitely go along with the flow of traffic you're safest bet is to get on the road.
Jazzy Phat Nastee08.12.09 - 3:31 pm
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True. But I think a lot of people are being overly cautious sometimes. Bikes on the sidewalk will come to a crosswalk and then it created confusion for drivers seeing a bike coming. Some people are chicken shit when it comes to asserting their rights. Ultimately, I think this all is promoting an image that cyclists are meant to be on the sidewalks. It doesn't help the cause of our rights on the streets. I'm not anti-sidewalk riding. I'm talking about those who think it's not safe to ride on the streets at all. You know who I am talking about. There are way more of them out there than there are of us on this forum.
Joe Borfo responding to a
comment by dave
08.12.09 - 3:38 pm
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and if you want to wear your helmet and count your money that you won in the law suit, while you're in your wheel chair feeling smug because you were standing your ground, defending your right to bicycle on, great, somebodies got to do it. And if you want to look down on me, go ahead. I'll leave changing the world to people more inclined to do so.
And thanks in advance for your efforts, I'll come visit you in the hospital, maybe. I think I really need to move to.. south dakota or someplace with more elbow room.
dave08.12.09 - 3:41 pm
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it's good to fight for cyclists rights, both at city hall and on the streets... but at a certain point you really have to consider moving anywhere else.
tortuga_veloce responding to a
comment by dave
08.12.09 - 3:52 pm
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Pay no attention to Grumpy Dave's grumblings.
Joe Borfo responding to a
comment by dave
08.12.09 - 3:58 pm
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I'd stay away from South Dakota, last time I was up in Rapid City, I got into a squabble over the "road vs sidewalk" thing.
5 people in cars blowing their horns and screaming at the stoplights simply because I was trying to find someplace to eat since I had to pick up a load of 30 ton, bundled newspaper in the AM.
Although I didn't let the argument drag on due to the fact that I was feeling smug about my "other" vehicle I had at the time.
bentstrider responding to a
comment by dave
08.12.09 - 4:14 pm
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yeah, where ever, I'm not much of a people person anyway.
dave responding to a
comment by bentstrider
08.12.09 - 4:40 pm
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Try Nevada, or eastern Utah.
Plenty of cheap and arable land, along with desert towns not numbering more than 300-500 people.
When I get back into reputable OTR, I was actually looking into moving to some place like that.
Keep a house out there, while I make my living doing what I like to do best.
Not to mention I could still get routed to see everyone here as well.
bentstrider responding to a
comment by dave
08.12.09 - 4:45 pm
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i'm sure the cop had a reason for his actions. probly some weird legal thing or rule that your friend wasn't aware i of. i seriously doubt the cop passed up an opportunity to arrest a drunk driver just because your buddy was riding a bike...
KVNY08.12.09 - 7:41 pm
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and on a side note, i think that once you get used to it riding in the street can definitely be safer than riding on the side walk. I'f you're in the street, people will expect to see you and will (or at least should) treat you like another car (a very slow car but a car none the less). if you're on the side walk however ppl might not expect you to be zooming along at 10 mph+ hence the stories of people taking out bicyclists as they pull out out of their driveway or an alleyway or something. And if someone is making a right turn sometimes they just glance to the left for cars and floor it onto the main street not thinking about peds or bikes coming from the right on the sidewalk. Almost got taken out like that myself...
KVNY08.12.09 - 7:47 pm
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