Harvard University is in a class of its own....

[Gibson486]

...when it comes to biker entitlement.

I was driving through Harvard and I stopped at a red light. I turn on my signal on to make a right turn and just sit there and wait for the light to turn green. Light turns green and some ass just zooms to the right of me and I almost smack her. She stops and starts banging on my window telling me that she had the right way....

WTF! Why would you even try to challenge a car? It's a single lane, why don't you simply go to the left of me or wait for me to turn? Do you just ignore people's turn signals?

This is not the first time either. I see this all the time on that campus. Bikers just zoom past traffic and lights and ignore pedestrians. I never see this on the MIT campus, or the Northeastern Campus, or the BU campus.

end rant.

 

[bignateyk]

Was she in a bike lane, or was she just passing you in the car lane/shoulder?

 

[darkxshade]

Imagine how stupid you're going to feel when you find out down the road that she's the next Bill Gates.

 

[Anubis]

its not just there its the entier city of boston+area around it

watching bikers at kenmore square is like watching a game of frogger

 

[Gibson486]

Was she in a bike lane, or was she just passing you in the car lane/shoulder?

it's just a small road with no biker lane.

 

[BeauJangles]

Bikers in Boston are horrible. They pay zero attention to what they're doing and then get all pissed off if you get in their way. One of the worst spots is by the BU Bridge on the inbound side of Comm Ave, where the left-turn lane crosses through the bike lane. Because those retards are listening to The Shins on their ipods, they aren't paying attention to the fact that cars are merging into their f-ing lane. Then they get all pissed off if the car nearly hits them, even though they aren't paying any attention themselves.

Don't even get me started on the idiots who run red lights.

 

[waffleironhead]

Dont come to the UW-madison campus(or the whole city of madison for that matter) or you will be just as upset.

 

[Modular]

Banging on your window? Seems really uncalled for.

I saw a guy on a bike get hit by a car once that was pulling into a McDonald's parking lot. The guy was fine, but his bike sure wasn't. I actually felt bad for the driver of the car.

It's my opinion that unless you're in a city, you cannot assume that people will be watching for you if you're on foot or on a bike. Much like driving defensively is preached as the appropriate, safest way to drive, I think walking and biking with the same mindset should be demanded. Look before you zoom out on a bike or on foot.

 

[preCRT]

Pedestrians have always ignored traffic signals and crosswalks in Harvard square. But bikers take it to a whole new level of boorishness, they'd even run over a blind person with a cane or seeing eye dog without a second thought.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Dont come to the UW-madison campus(or the whole city of madison for that matter) or you will be just as upset.

I was just going to say that. Bikers think they have both the rights of a vehicle and a pedestrian, depending on when it's convenient.

 

[maddogchen]

No its not.

Stanford's in the same class too. They run through 4 way stop signs all the time. They'll zoom out behind trees and bushes and cross the road without checking.

You'd think smart people would be smarter about risking their lives...

 

[SZLiao214]

Run them over. One day i'll buy a 500 dollar disposable car and use it to knock people off their bikes.

 

[BeauJangles]

Pedestrians have always ignored traffic signals and crosswalks in Harvard square. But bikers take it to a whole new level of boorishness, they'd even run over a blind person with a cane or seeing eye dog without a second thought.

There's a tremendous difference though. Pedestrians throughout Boston ignore crosswalks and walk signs and, as a driver, you learn to be on the lookout and you know where people tend to cross.

Bikers simply ignore any rule that is too inconvenient for them and they do it at random. I almost killed some asshole who ran a red light as I was approaching an intersection, at night, wearing dark clothes, with no reflectors. He came flying down the wrong side of the road and straight through a solid red light just as I was accelerating into the intersection.

I've gotten yelled at by bikers who were biking the wrong way down a one-way street, in the middle of the road, who were upset because I made the turn onto the road only to slam on my brakes because they were five feet away from my hood.

The Boston police have started ticketing bikers who run the red lights on Comm Ave and I hope they step up enforcement of traffic laws against bikers, not only for my safety, but for theirs.

 

[her209]

She did have the right of way. Think of it this way. If a pedestrian was running on the sidewalk and you were sitting at the red light with your blinker on and the moment the light turned green and the runner reached the corner at same time, you would yield to the runner. As for going to the left of you, that would be illegal because she would be impeding the flow of traffic by entering the traffic lane. Also, even if there is no painted bike lane, isn't it still implied since bikers aren't allowed to ride on the sidewalks?

 

[waffleironhead]

She did have the right of way. Think of it this way. If a pedestrian was running on the sidewalk and you were sitting at the red light with your blinker on and the moment the light turned green and the runner reached the corner at same time, you would yield to the runner. As for going to the left of you, that would be illegal because she would be impeding the flow of traffic by entering the traffic lane. Also, even if there is no painted bike lane, isn't it still implied since bikers aren't allowed to ride on the sidewalks?

It may be different where you live, but laws here require bicycles to act as vehicles. Where there is no bike lane, they are not allowed to split the lane with you. That means that at a stop light they can not filter up beside you to the front of the line, but wait behind you till it is their turn at the intersection.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Everyone in Minneapolis does this too ... don't be so shocked, it's a bicyclist mentality.

 

[2Xtreme21]

... *facepalm*

I don't know how the hell bikers get the idea that they're invincible and own the road. I was driving down a 25mph road on a college campus doing the speed limit (probably slower actually because of stupid pedestrians and bikers) approaching an intersection where I had the green. As I'm just entering it, I spot something in the corner of my eye... it's a bimbo on a bike running the red and pulling in front of me! I slam on my breaks, yet still hit the bike at probably 2 mph. Since it was so slow she just put her feet down but the bike fell on the ground, royally F-ing up my front bumper in the process (est. $1200 in damage that I haven't fixed yet).

Then she has the nerve to flip shit at me telling me I have to be careful and there are bikes all around! I had a witness see the whole thing and she came up to the girl, asked if she was ok, and then started laying into her about being reckless and who'd pay for my car to get fixed!

I offered to drive her to where she was going because her bike was bent, but she told me to fuck off and walked away.

You wanna talk about rage against bikers? One stupid bitch that thinks she's better than everyone else is eventually going to cost me $1200.

 

[Linflas]

It may be different where you live, but laws here require bicycles to act as vehicles. Where there is no bike lane, they are not allowed to split the lane with you. That means that at a stop light they can not filter up beside you to the front of the line, but wait behind you till it is their turn at the intersection.

Exactly. Here they are supposed to follow all the traffic laws, they are not considered pedestrians.

 

[CycloWizard]

It may be different where you live, but laws here require bicycles to act as vehicles. Where there is no bike lane, they are not allowed to split the lane with you. That means that at a stop light they can not filter up beside you to the front of the line, but wait behind you till it is their turn at the intersection.

This. If you're on a bike in a traffic lane, you're a car for all intents and purposes. If you try to pass me on the right when I'm making a right turn, I hope you have bike insurance because my car will win that battle every time and you are at fault.

 

[TecHNooB]

Anyone who gets in my way can fuck off

If i'm in my car, fuck off biker!
If I'm on a bike, fuck off driver!

 

[maddogchen]

Here's an article I read recently to cheer you all up

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/13/BAV51GL1PU.DTL

 

[2Xtreme21]

This. If you're on a bike in a traffic lane, you're a car for all intents and purposes. If you try to pass me on the right when I'm making a right turn, I hope you have bike insurance because my car will win that battle every time and you are at fault.

Even if s/he is at fault, they won't have insurance. You're still stuck paying out of your pocket or claiming it on uninsured for any damage caused to your vehicle thus raising your rates.

 

[2Xtreme21]

Here's an article I read recently to cheer you all up

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/13/BAV51GL1PU.DTL

From the article:

"I now stop for at least 5 seconds at every stop sign." GOOD! I hope more of the same happens and I applaud the judge for not being lenient. You don't have the money to afford $220 in traffic violations on your bicycle? Then, I dunno, start riding legally!

 

[DougK62]

She did have the right of way. Think of it this way. If a pedestrian was running on the sidewalk and you were sitting at the red light with your blinker on and the moment the light turned green and the runner reached the corner at same time, you would yield to the runner. As for going to the left of you, that would be illegal because she would be impeding the flow of traffic by entering the traffic lane. Also, even if there is no painted bike lane, isn't it still implied since bikers aren't allowed to ride on the sidewalks?

Dude, no. A bicyclist is a vehicle on the road just a like a car and needs to obey all vehicle rules. Nothing at all like a pedestrian. As far as I know, it's like this in the entire United States.

 

[MotF Bane]

The time I went through BU a few weeks ago, all I kept seeing were bicycles flying through red lights. They didn't even slow down, just cruised right through. Fucking idiots.