Comments on: Is This Actually “Safer”?

By: A comprehensive California Bike Safety Law « BikingInLA

A comprehensive California Bike Safety Law « BikingInLA — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:23:15 +0000

[...] unanimously endorsed the Cyclists’ Bill of Rights. Metblogs says you could get a ticket for riding the wrong way on Speedway. West Hollywood clarifies the laws regarding riding on the sidewalk. San Diego cracks [...]

By: Alex Thompson

Alex Thompson — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:03:36 +0000

As opposed to if a right way rider is hit by a car and killed?

The thing is, Speedway is not a normal road. It’s effectively an alley that is glorified by LADOT as a street.

Time and again we reach this impasse on bikes – there is the group that says “if you want to have your right of way respected then you must follow the law.” And there is the group which reasons that the law’s purpose, in the case of traffic, is to facilitate safe travel, and therefore safety is the ultimate concern.

I find myself in the latter group, and I think this is a waste of resources. The only place where wrong way riding on Speedway (where car speeds rarely exceed 12mph) is at intersections with larger streets, particularly where line of sight is reduced.

By: David Markland

David Markland — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:39:56 +0000

It seems like law enforcement in Santa Monica and Venice have it out for bicyclists, but at the same time it seems like bicyclists on the Westside especially want to have their right of way respected… but don’t want to follow the laws when inconvenienced.

Whether or not driving down Speedway in the wrong direction is safer than the legal path, no one is forcing anyone to ride a bike. They can get off their bike and walk it down Speedway in the opposite direction if truly concerned about safety and obeying the law.

But, I agree entirely that police should be paying less attention to this stuff than more serious crimes. That is, of course, until a ghost bike appears on Speedway after a wrong way rider is struck by a car not expecting it.

By: bikinginla

bikinginla — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:25:28 +0000

See, there’s the problem. Bicyclists are expected to observe traffic laws regardless of whether they make sense or make it more dangerous for us. As a result, we often have to choose whether to obey the law, or obey a higher law and do whatever it takes ride as safely as possible, even if that means breaking the law in some way. We always hope that if we get caught we’ll run into a cop who understands the situation; problem is, they’re often under pressure to do something about all those damn, law-breaking cyclists.

By: rollerzz

rollerzz — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:30:18 +0000

At the risk of subjecting myself to ridicule, let me say this: while I understand the need for consistent traffic laws, forcing bicycles to adhere to laws originally written for automobiles and trucks often doesn’t make sense.