In other news, a LEO that isn't a dick

[uebermann]

Texas has a lack of bicycle lanes. Lots of people in Tyler started riding on Loop 49 when it was opened but then they cracked down on it saying it was unsafe for bicyclists to ride on it (they were in shoulders). So now there's all these no bicycle signs on it. Was pretty neat seeing a place people could finally ride around here. Sucks for them.

Luckily, there's still a few bike paths around town and in one of the parks but its as good as what the loop was for serious cyclists.

[eynon81]

[Mr.Bill]

[eynon81]

[Philly]

Admittedly, the cop in this video was not acting like a dick, but all we saw him do was pull over and ticket a motorist for endangering others on the road. Ticketing a driver for a traffic violation is not conclusive evidence in either direction as to whether or not he is a dick. I attempt not to assume the worst about people so I'll say he's not a dick as far as I can tell, but that isn't very far.

[The Dharma Bum]

he did his job correctly

which is always cool

[Medius]

There are quite a few bike "paths" where I am near Dallas. Unfortunately, they are just roads designated as biking friendly areas. More unfortunately, one of them is a 55 mph road with blind turns. I keep a safe distance and give them a full lane when passing, but nothing pisses me off more than a biker on a very fast road, that isn't even trying to keep a decent speed.

The worst was someone out for a walk, going the direction of traffic (wrong), in the road next to the walking path built specifically for them.

Honestly though, I barely want to drive a car around here with all the idiot drivers. I can't imagine actually deciding to put your life in their hands on a bike.

[Professor]

[Professor]

OK, I don't have a lot of experience with bikes in traffic. NO simply doesn't have a lot of bike lanes, it's too hot to ride most times, and for whatever other reasons, no one rides. So, bikes end up in the car lanes, usually going far slower than traffic. So, here's my dilemma.

Bikes have to ride somewhere. It's either the road, or sidewalk. I get that their speeds are nearer that of a car than a pedestrian. But, what happens when a car and a biker collide? The biker is almost always supremely f**k up, or often killed. On the other hand, what happens when a bike hits a pedestrian. Everyone gets some scrapes, and perhaps a broken bone or two.

In my experience, laws aren't made to regulate what happens when everything is going fine (bike riding down a road and everyone being courteous and obeying his space). Laws are made to prevent things from going wrong, or to assign blame when they do. So, if the consequences of something going wrong when a bike is on a road are so dire, and (comparatively) better when they are on a sidewalk, why are bikes forbidden from riding on a sidewalk and instead forced into traffic?

This doesn't apply to bike lanes, which is the best situation.

[uebermann]

Can you get a ticket for riding a bike on a sidewalk? I rode on the sidewalk a lot as a kid (especially to elementary school). Regardless, not a lot of sidewalks to ride on here anyways except in neighborhoods. Thats really more for kids than adult cyclists I would think.

States really need to be more cyclist friendly imo. Or at least Texas does at any rate. I saw lots and lots of bike lanes when I was last in Colorado which has been about 8 years now. I don't see how they can do it and no one else can, especially when the states like Texas LOVE doing road construction all the gd time. More people would probably do it if it wasn't so darn unsafe here.