Traffic right-of-way question: what do you guys think?

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: yamahaXS
Their yield sign gives you the right of way. However, if you were half the man you claim to be, your would be cycling into work instead of driving. ;0

I do, dammit!! I even rode in this morning when it was 35 damn degrees and this past tuesday when it was raining!! How ya like them apples?

Like I said, I just left the bike bit out cuz I didn't want some dumbass to jump in the thread and tell me I shouldn't be on the roads anyway. That whole debate isn't relevant to the question I posed.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Around my place there often isn't enough room for the white lines on the shoulders of the road, but that doesn't stop bicylists from getting imported for a day and clogging up 30 miles of road where the only way around is an hours drive out of the way (and they NEVER get out of the way, and they ALWAYS look suprized when you floor it and blow past them going up a steep hill). Almost noone rides a bicycle, there's a reason for that.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: Fausto1

Originally posted by: yamahaXS
Their yield sign gives you the right of way. However, if you were half the man you claim to be, your would be cycling into work instead of driving. ;0

I do, dammit!! I even rode in this morning when it was 35 damn degrees and this past tuesday when it was raining!! How ya like them apples?

Like I said, I just left the bike bit out cuz I didn't want some dumbass to jump in the thread and tell me I shouldn't be on the roads anyway. That whole debate isn't relevant to the question I posed.

That is way tooooooooo cold to be riding a bicycle. If you had half the brains you say you do, you would be driving into work.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Around my place there often isn't enough room for the white lines on the shoulders of the road, but that doesn't stop bicylists from getting imported for a day and clogging up 30 miles of road where the only way around is an hours drive out of the way (and they NEVER get out of the way, and they ALWAYS look suprized when you floor it and blow past them going up a steep hill). Almost noone rides a bicycle, there's a reason for that.

You just couldn't resist, could you?

Read up on your laws. They state that we're entitled to as much of the lane as we need to be safe unless there's a dedicated bike lane. Sorry if that is occasionally inconvenient for motorists, but it holds you up for what......20-30 seconds at most? Put things in perspective; you waste far more time waiting for other cars to get out of the way than you ever do trying to get around a bike....there just aren't that many of us.

Not that I'm defending all cyclists, mind you. There are plenty of us that are totally inconsiderate with regard to blithely blocking traffic for no good reason. I don't like pissing off motorists any more than they like having me in the road, so I try to stay off really busy roads if I can help it.

And for the record, the reason no one rides bikes is because we're a bunch of fat, lazy f*cks who would rather drive and then bitch about how bad traffic was, how much weight they've gained, how bad the smog is, etc. There are a hell of a lot of people here who don't commute any more than 5-10 miles each way every day and could easily ride a bike, but they don't. Why? They're lazy. Period. Now, I know you're going to say that there are lots of cases where it's totally inconvenient or nearly impossible for someone to commute by bike.....too far...dangerous roads...have to drop kids off...etc, and you'd be correct, but I assert that the reason in most cases is just blatant laziness.

Now you've got me all cranky and it's time for me to ride home, damn you.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: yamahaXS

Originally posted by: Fausto1

Originally posted by: yamahaXS
Their yield sign gives you the right of way. However, if you were half the man you claim to be, your would be cycling into work instead of driving. ;0

I do, dammit!! I even rode in this morning when it was 35 damn degrees and this past tuesday when it was raining!! How ya like them apples?

Like I said, I just left the bike bit out cuz I didn't want some dumbass to jump in the thread and tell me I shouldn't be on the roads anyway. That whole debate isn't relevant to the question I posed.

That is way tooooooooo cold to be riding a bicycle. If you had half the brains you say you do, you would be driving into work.

Hehe....that reminds me of a time I rode in when it was like 20 degrees a few years ago. I was locking my bike up and some woman standing nearby having a smoke (you obviously can't smoke inside the damn CDC) said something to the effect that it was way too cold out to be riding a bike. I pointed out that it was also too cold to be standing outside solely to damage her lungs with a cig. She got kinda quiet.

In my defense, I am getting paid $3.00 per day to ride my bike to work. Does that make me less of a moron in your eyes?

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: Fausto1

Originally posted by: yamahaXS

Originally posted by: Fausto1

Originally posted by: yamahaXS
Their yield sign gives you the right of way. However, if you were half the man you claim to be, your would be cycling into work instead of driving. ;0

I do, dammit!! I even rode in this morning when it was 35 damn degrees and this past tuesday when it was raining!! How ya like them apples?

Like I said, I just left the bike bit out cuz I didn't want some dumbass to jump in the thread and tell me I shouldn't be on the roads anyway. That whole debate isn't relevant to the question I posed.

That is way tooooooooo cold to be riding a bicycle. If you had half the brains you say you do, you would be driving into work.

it would, except for the fact that we both know you would be riding in regardless of the $3 seriously, i am a wimp for cold weather riding.
Hehe....that reminds me of a time I rode in when it was like 20 degrees a few years ago. I was locking my bike up and some woman standing nearby having a smoke (you obviously can't smoke inside the damn CDC) said something to the effect that it was way too cold out to be riding a bike. I pointed out that it was also too cold to be standing outside solely to damage her lungs with a cig. She got kinda quiet.

In my defense, I am getting paid $3.00 per day to ride my bike to work. Does that make me less of a moron in your eyes?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Also read the laws, bicycles must follow the same rules as cars, they can be ticketed for holding up traffic just like someone in a car. Bicycles can share the road with a car, but by law, if they are holding up traffic, they MUST move over at the earliest possible convinience. Just because you're not in a car doesn't mean you can't get a ticket and end up in court.

Edit: and an 8% grade, three miles, no passing zone, how long are you going to wait? An hour until the cyclist gets to the top and is able to go 10MPH instead of 2? A bicyclist wouldn't be expected to wait for stopped traffic, just as moving traffic isn't expected to wait for a bicyclist.

 

[C'DaleRider]

The yield sign means the operator MUST give right of way to ALL other paths of traffic.

Exactly.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Also read the laws, bicycles must follow the same rules as cars, they can be ticketed for holding up traffic just like someone in a car. Bicycles can share the road with a car, but by law, if they are holding up traffic, they MUST move over at the earliest possible convinience. Just because you're not in a car doesn't mean you can't get a ticket and end up in court.

Edit: and an 8% grade, three miles, no passing zone, how long are you going to wait? An hour until the cyclist gets to the top and is able to go 10MPH instead of 2? A bicyclist wouldn't be expected to wait for stopped traffic, just as moving traffic isn't expected to wait for a bicyclist.

I'm not disagreeing that we're not held accountable to the same set of laws, it's just that most motorists don't even know that much (they usually think we're supposed to be on the sidewalk.....which is in fact illegal). This sounds like kind of a weird situation and a road I'd probably just avoid since it's not really a lot of fun to have 100 motorists stuck behind you and pissed off. I was referring to the typical bike/car situation on a narrow road where the bike is doing 15-20 and it takes the car an extra few seconds to make sure there isn't oncoming traffic so they can get around (this is a typical Atlanta road since most of them started out as cartpaths way back when).

At any rate, it's not fun on either side, believe me. I'd be a happy camper if I had miles and miles of bike lanes and paths to choose from, but they really don't exist here so I'm stuck on the road with all our lovely psycho drivers and goofy intersections.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I'm not complaining about what you're doing, it's perfectly acceptable. I'm just saying that my neighborhood makes Atlanta looks bicycle friendly.

 

[Garet Jax]

It depends on where the accident takes place. It you hit each other in the far right lane, than the person turning left is at fault (they should always turn into the left lane).

If they hit each other in the left lane, then the person turning right is at fault.

If they hit in the middle lane, then who knows

 

[Ultima]

The left-turner could go in the middle or left lanes, but NOT the right lanes. I see a solid line for that right turn, which means you can't cross that anways.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
I'm not complaining about what you're doing, it's perfectly acceptable. I'm just saying that my neighborhood makes Atlanta looks bicycle friendly.

I'll make a mental note never to move there, I didn't think it could get worse than here.

 

[Vic]

The car turning left has the right-of-war (because the other car has the Yield sign). However, when turning onto a multi-lane road, you must pull into the first available lane. Your diagram shows the car turning left pulling into the farthest right lane. This would be incorrect and could place you at fault. You must pull into the farthest left lane, then signal to change into the right lane.

 

[dullard]

I didn't read the thead, so sorry if this is repeated. I'm in too big of a hurry for the moment to read them all.

The yield sign must be obeyed. The driver turning right MUST yield to all cars LEGALLY in the right hand lane. That is the law, plain and simple.

You also have the right of way to legally turn into the LEFT hand lane. Sorry that you need to make a quick right, that sucks for you. But the law says you can go into the left lane only. Thus if you go into the right lane you are the one breaking the law. The person at the yield sign should not have to assume you are breaking the law - and thus doesn't have to yield.

By your logic, if someone crossed the median, into oncoming traffic, right before the stop light (coming from left to right on your diagram), then it is the person at the yield signs fault for an accident. Boy that wouldn't hold up in court. The person breaking the law and driving in the wrong lane is the one at fault.

Thus it is your fault (as you probably could tell by the honking horns). Either (A) turn into the left lane and then merge which may require you to stop while you wait for a safe time to do this or (B) find a different route.

 

[Pyromidion]

Originally posted by: jahawkin
As stated before, I think you, as the left turner, should turn into the leftmost lane, and the right turner should turn into the right most lane. If there was an accident like the diagram provided, I have no idea who would be at fault...

i believe that the left most lane is forced only if there are 2 turn lanes, in which the righter of the two can use lanes 2 & 3, while the lefter of the left lanes can use lane 1 (inside most lane). i would say that a turn like that, you have the right of way, because yeild means yeild to ALL traffic, not just to the opposite street.

-john

edit: didnt read the whole thread, read about half.

 

[denali]

Move to Colorado, bikes own the roads. BTW atleast in Colorado bikes are considered pedestrians when in it comes to car/bike crashes. Look at it this way if you get hit on your bike you'll be in for a big payday. Last time I got hit I got a tidy sum.