Don't Get Violent, Don't Stoop to Their Level

Cyclists frequently threaten me. I've received death threats, cyclists have told my wife they are going to rape her. And that is just the beginning of the hate cyclists spew at those who disagree with them. Go back and ready every post on this blog. In all cases we at Spare the Road always preach safety and non-violence. One of the reasons we want to get cyclists off the roads is so we can create friendlier and safer streets for us all. Not everyone shares our view though. Violence against cyclists seems to be a growing trend. This is sad. Many people see no other choice but to resort to the same dirty and violent tactics cyclists do. Look, I get that it's a war out there. Cyclists are legislating themselves more and more power on the roads, including the power to kill others, and it's frustrating and scary out there for people with jobs, families, and lives. But we can do this non-violently. Call you local politicians and let them know you want cyclists off the streets. Stop with the violence please.

Kentucky Case Could Be Huge Step to Getting Cyclists Off the Streets

In Kentucky the unthinkable has happened, government officials have begun to consider that driving 30 MPH under the speed limit is dangerous, and illegal. A female cyclist, Cherokee Schill, has spent the past year riding her bike from Nicholasville to Lexington, KY every morning. She does so in the middle of the lane, during rush hour. From the article Schell is driving 18 miles in 90 minutes, or 12 MPH on a major US highway. Odds are the speed limit is between 45-55 MPH on that road. Common sense prevailed, for once, when it came to cyclists, and people begun to speak up. This lead to Schill being ticketed 3 times, and she is in court fighting for her right to cause massive traffic delays.

Truth be told Schill is not your average cyclists, she is not wearing spandex, and most of all she is actually going somewhere, to work, unlike most cyclists who are out on the roads solely to cause clog streets and run red lights.  Even so, she is still going out of her way to cause traffic issues by riding on main, high speed, high traffic roads and doing so slowly and in the middle lane. She also couldn’t wait to run to the news outlets and whine that county officials were trying to promote safety art her expense. It’s still “Look at me!”.

This case could have huge implications on cyclists riding on the streets, not just in this country but around the country. Jessamine County Attorney Brian Goettl had this to say, "It just creates a very dangerous situation when you've got somebody on a bike that's difficult to see to begin with, on a very highly traveled road, with significant speeds and a lot of people don't pay attention to what they should be while driving, so it all compounds itself." He is currently trying to get a judge to ban Schill from riding on the highway until the case goes to court in August. The judge denied the request, but it is far from over. Even cycling advocates admit this case could have lasting impact on road cycling across the country. Here’s to hoping common sense prevails. If Jessamine County can get this woman off their streets, there is hope for all of us.

Link: http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/Jessamine-Co-bicyclist-charged-with-reckless-driving-sparks-court-case-257068461.html

Cyclists Pitch Fit Over Being Treated Equal

A South Carolina state representative tried to propose legislation that would give cyclists what they claim to want, the same treatment as other vehicles on the roads. Of course cyclists were upset. Rep. Wendy Nanney from Greenvile proposed a bill that made cyclists get a license if they are over 15 and ride on roads with speed limits 35 MPH and over, in other words, common sense.

After cyclists bitched and moaned, and also probably threatened her, she withdrew the bill. Apparently there is an "action alert system" that sends out emails to local cyclists when someone is trying to make the road safer. Nothing and I mean nothing will keep a cyclist up at night like the thought of safer roads. A hungry child? A single mother with 3 kids who just got diagnosed with cancer? Genocide? Cyclists could care less. Safer roads? Send out that ACTION ALERT!!!!

Hopefully stories like this open your eyes. I've been telling you for years the power these nutjobs have when it comes to local politics and stacking the laws in their favor. In a matter of hours they got a bill for safer streets taken off the table.

Cyclists claim they want to share the road and abide by the same rules of the road as other vehicles. Of course this is a huge lie. They wants special treatment that lets them create havoc on the streets and bring traffic to a crawl. By being able to ride without a license they are more free to run red lights and break other laws. Not to mention they ride tax free on the roads.

Another shameful move by cyclists, and we let them get away with it.



Thanks to Myles for sending the link

http://www.thestate.com/2014/03/25/3347252/new-sc-bill-would-require-bicycle.html?sp=%2F99%2F205%2F&ihp=1

Top Gear UK Nails Cyclists on Running Red Lights

Anyone who has ever stopped at a red light knows that cyclists blow through them like a Kardashian at a pro basketball game. Top Gear UK came up with this great parody advertisement that blasts cyclists for being unsafe at traffic lights. Needless to say cyclists are upset over someone speaking the truth.

Spring Is Here, and So Are Cyclists.

March is here and with it comes spring, and sadly that means cyclists are about to hit the roads in full force. Yes, in the coming weeks prepare for traffic to be slowed to a crawl due to spandex warriors driving 20 MPH under the speed limit on major road ways while riding in the center of lanes. 

Most of the US experienced a particularly cold and eventful, weather-wise, winter. While cyclists do like to create havoc on the road, they also hate being cold, so while ice and snow were keeping drive times long and cars at a standstill, cyclists stayed home. But as the snow melts and temperatures rise, a nuisance even worse than ice and sleet will start affecting our roads. Atlanta was crucified by the media for the traffic jams created by a couple inches of snow and some ice, but what the media didn’t report is that the traffic in many areas is usually equally bad due to cyclists clogging up the streets. 

Be safe out there and we can only hope an abnormally warm summer is close behind and will sweat this menace off the streets by the end of May.

Cyclists Lose in VA

In most states, 40 actually, it is illegal to open your car door in the path of a cyclist. In Virginia it is not. In a shocking turn a bill to do just that, was defeated. It's been mentioned before, the cycling lobby rarely loses one of these battles.

Of course this mostly applies to areas where people park on the streets. Normally cyclists drive in the middle of lanes to maximize their effect on traffic, but in areas like these they all of the sudden want to hug the shoulder where people park. Of course this is because they are looking to get hit by a car door to further their cause and possibly collect from lawsuits.

Unfortunately for cyclists, Virginia has some members of their state legislator with brains who understand a vague law that automatically find the car at fault isn't something that should be passed. This is another example of cyclists looking for special treatment despite crying constantly they just want the same rights of the road as other vehicles.

Every day the rest of the wheeled worlds goes through the day trying to avoid having a parked car door get struck by a vehicle traveling down the road.. It requires both drivers to be paying attention and using common sense. Cyclists are disgusted by common sense, but also they do not want to be bothered with "paying attention" to anything other than trying to create havoc on the roads.

Glad to see some states are starting to wake up the the laws these cycling nuts are trying to get passed so they can make an even bigger mess on our nation's and state's roadways.

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2014/02/25/virginia-house-panel-again-shoots-down-bill-to-protect-cyclists-from-dooring/

More Cyclists in NYC Means Less Rule Breakers???

Cyclists in New York are getting better at following the rules, at least according to a study done by Peter Tuckel and William Milczarski of Hunter College at the City University of New York. This is confusing because, per cyclists, they were already following the rules. How could they get better at it?

The real interesting part is that the increase in rule following coincides with more people riding bikes in New York. So what’s at play here? A few things. One is an increase in women cyclists in the city. When we discuss what causes people to take up cycling; it is usually involves how cyclists are often sad, lonely individuals who resort to cycling as a way to empower themselves, by keeping people with actual lives from getting to places of importance. This applies mostly to men. And it is why men make up the majority of cyclists. Women who ride bikes are much more likely to do so for a real reason, either to exercise or to get from A to B. This makes them much more likely to cycle in a safe matter (like kids who ride bikes).

And that brings us to the main reason this has happened, this influx of new cyclists, aren’t real cyclists. These are people trying to get home to their family, or to work. And with traffic what it is in NYC, have taken to using a bike. Nothing like your average cyclists in the US or UK who is only out to slow traffic to a crawl.

More cyclists isn’t a good thing, but it is good that these new wavers are following the rules. NYC is one of the rare US cities that is a walking city. Certain areas of other cities are, but New York is one of the few where you don’t need a car to get around, and one of the few where something like this makes sense.  Unfortunately, in other cities we are still going to see the vast majority of cyclists be the kind we are used to, just out for a joy ride and trying to create as much havoc as possible on the roads. 

Links:

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2014/02/new-york-more-cyclists-has-led-better-biking-habits/8299/

 

Happy New Year

Hopefully everyone had a great Holiday Season over the last few weeks, and also a safe one. The holidays can be an unsafe time as cyclists flock to the roads to keep people with loved ones from spending time with them. As most cyclists have no one that cares about them, they use the time to clog the streets by going 25 MPH under the speed limit and try and keep you from getting to the house of a friend or family member to celebrate the holidays. Hopefully everyone was able to stay safe.

I know updates were few the last half of last year and I apologize. As many non-cyclists know life can sometimes get busy with work, family, etc. Hopefully we will start the year off right with more updates. Thanks to everyone who bought a bumper sticker to give as a gift. We made sure everyone got them in time to stuff those stockings with.

Let's make 2014 a great year and let's get cyclists off the roads and make the streets safer for everyone.

Make Sure You Support this Bill

Here in Georgia a bill has been making the rounds in the state legislature. HB 689 does something cyclists loathe, makes the streets safer for everyone. The worst part? Without your support this bill may never go up for a vote. The cycling lobby is spending money to make sure it never sees the floor, but you can stop them by calling your local representatives and letting them know not only vote on it, but pass it into law. 

This bill would do a few important things. First it would make cyclists register their bikes and get tags, and I would assume therefore pay taxes. Cyclists claim they want to share the road and live by the same rules as people in motorized vehicles. This should be a no brainer and widely supported by cyclists. Of course it’s not. And not hard to figure out why. When you frequently run red lights, mow down pedestrians, and break traffic laws why would you want to make it is easier to ID you and your vehicle? Cyclists have lobbied hard and successfully for decade to make sure they can ride anonymously. Not something they will give up easily.

It will also do something things that make it harder for them to slow traffic to a crawl and take millions of dollars out of our economy each day. Cyclists would no longer be able to clog the whole lane by riding multiple bikes deep and two across, and would also limit what roads they can ride on. Of course cyclists hate this. If cyclists couldn’t tie up traffic they wouldn’t ride. 

These are great rules that any sane person would whole heartedly support and cyclists are doing everything in their power to keep this bill form going to vote. The good news is you can stop them. Just get on the phone and tell your local state representative to support HB 689.

Here is what to do.

1. Visit http://openstates.org/ga/legislators/?chamber=lower and type in your address.
2. Get the email address of your State Representative.
3. Send them an email. Speak your heart or use the form letter below.

[Name of your Representative],

I live in [your town here] and am writing to you to ask to please get behind HB 689, which among other things would force cyclists to register their bikes. Like many Americans I am tired of being stuck behind cyclists riding  20 and 30 MPH under the speed limit and traveling slowly in large groups. I am a hard working Georgian with a family and getting around town is hard enough without cyclists slowing traffic to a crawl. There are plenty of places for cyclists to ride without tying up the rest of us. While HB 689 doesn't get us where we need to be, it's a good start.

As someone who follows the subject, I know the cycling lobby is a powerful one, and I know they are doing everything in their power to make sure this never sees the floor. I hope you will support the side of hard working Americans who would like to get to work on time or get home to their families sooner, instead of spending hours each year stuck behind slow cyclists who have no place to go.

Thank you.

[Your Name]

If you don’t live in Georgia find out what your state is doing and get behind it as well. Ordinary Americans are getting fed up with cyclists. Let’s stand up for ourselves against this menace and be heard. 

To be fair here is a cycling group’s view point. Basically they say all the great things this bill will do, and then whine about it while bragging about how they’ve already bought off the state senate.

http://www.georgiabikes.org/index.php/blog/322-hb-689-anti-cycling-legislation

Don’t let them win, write the e-mail or make a call. Let those you vote for know your vote won’t be coming next election without supporting this bill.

Links:

http://www.georgiabikes.org/index.php/blog/322-hb-689-anti-cycling-legislation

http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20132014/HB/689

Another Old Man Attacked By Cyclist

Old people can be kind of like cyclists sometimes. They move slowly and they can keep you from getting where you need to be. The big difference of course is that old people aren’t doing it for kicks, they move slow because that what happens when you get old, not because they get a boner from keeping people from getting to work on time. That being said you would think if anyone had an appreciation for the sloth-like elderly it would be cyclists. Yet just a month after a San Francisco cyclist walked away with no jail time after killing an elderly man, a cyclist in Washington shoved a 70 year old man into the street because he felt like riding on the sidewalk. 

Even better, there was a bike lane available. When getting onto an empty sidewalk means cars could safely pass a cyclist at a reasonable speed, they are quick to point out that it is illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk. But when there is a bike lane available, they will quickly move to the sidewalk or into the car lanes to inconvenience others. Never forget that cycling is about one thing, being a nuisance to others. When they can’t find any cars on the road to slow down they will move to the sidewalks to pester pedestrians. 

The worst part, looks like he will get away with it. Even though a witness got a picture of him, it doesn’t appear he has been caught. The man who was hurt hit his head, but otherwise had only minor injuries.  

Link: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Police-search-for-cyclist-who-shoved-pedestrian-into-traffic-220907661.html