As much as I believe that people should ride their bikes for commuting and going from places to places in a tight city as San Francisco, and as much as I support those who travel by bicycles, some of them really do get on my nerves.
For work, I must go from clients to clients, and the only efficient way sometimes is to drive. So I'm on the road constantly in my car, driving in the city blocks of San Francisco. Mostly when I'm leaving my house to going to work or to my various clients. And then... I encounter the "Bicyclists."
What really irks me are inconsiderate bicyclists. I realize that most drivers aren't really good with driving with bikes and cut bikes off, or plainly make dangerous maneuvers that puts the cyclists in danger. HOWEVER, what really irks me are the bicyclists who do not abide by the traffic rules, and THEN get mad when cars drive too close or when cars do not give them the right of way.
For example... today, I was driving on Potrero Avenue, one of the streets in SF that has a bike lane. This bicyclist was breaking the traffic light rules by going past all the red lights. When one car started to cross the street in front of us (the car having the green light), the bicyclist got really upset that the car did not see him. WELL, the light was green for them, and the cyclist had a red light. Another example is when a bike and my car come to a stop sign at nearly the same time, with my car arriving at the intersection a tiny bit earlier. Most all bicyclists would proceed to cross in front of me, without stopping completely at the stop sign. Does the traffic law allow bicyclists to ignore the stop signs or abide by these traffic rules? No. And when cars get too close or drive a bit aggressively, some of these cyclists use profanity and make you feel like we're fighting the weak vs. the aggressive. IF they want to be treated like proper traffic, they SHOULD act like proper traffic.
One time, I saw a relatively big accident at the corner of Mason and Bay Streets, in front of Trader Joe's. A car was making a right turn going west from Bay Street to Mason, and a bike was on-coming from the west (Columbus Ave) in an easterly direction. When a car started to make a left turn, crossing the on-coming traffic since the light turned from yellow to red, thecyclist came at at least 15-20 miles/hour trying to cross the light at this same moment. The car hit the cyclist and the cyclist flew about 20 feet, landed, injured, and taken to a hospital. So who was at fault? It's hard to say which is the real bad one, but bikes ARE difficult to see, as during the day time, they can blend right into the background. Whether you are on a bike or a car, you NEED to drive/ride defensively. And this, I think the biker did not. I was there, amonst many other witnesses, so I believe when the police arrived, all the pedestrians said that the bike was crossing the red light. I think it was a close call, but I have to say, the biker did cross the red light as the light had just turned red.
I realize that there are many responsible and sensible bicyclists out there- including many of my friends, but if you're one of those that insist that car drivers respect bicyclists, please first look at the way you ride your bikes. Please do not utter another complaint about car drivers until you first become a law abiding, respectful biker that follow traffic rules.
That's all for today.
