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I'm a cyclist too. People who ride like this guy make drivers hate us. Please don't do this sort of thing. Also, on those rare occasions that I have to drive, I really would prefer not to kill you.
Thank you.
I've read what happens. Heard the sound a human makes as their chest cavity implodes and excretes vital organs and fluids. Takes all of 1 second to be over if you're lucky. If you're not enjoy quite possibly the most painful death.
It's not the way to go.
Love a long happy healthy life everyone!
Not a cyclist. What is a cyclist supposed to do in this situation instead?
Edit:The downvotes lol. I want to be a cyclist and want know the exact rules. People always talk about what is wrong instead of what you are suppose to do.
They should have already been in the separated bike lane on the left, ideally. They may have just started their ride on this block, though, in which case they should have walked their bike across the crosswalk then started their ride within the bike lane.
Pretty much anything other than veer directly across in front of moving traffic would be a good idea.
> walked their bike across the crosswalk
They could have also started pedalling by the right-hand curb, signalling a merge left. Then after being let in, signal a left-hand turn at the intersection, waiting for a window in oncoming traffic. There's enough space for cars in their lane to move around if they're stopped, waiting. Once they have the clear, make 2 x predictable 90° turns (easier said than done on a bike) making sure not to veer into pedestrian traffic lanes. Basically acting as a regular vehicle who wants to go into a parallel road to the main road, which is exactly what this is to be frank.
If you know how our road systems work like the back of your hand, you just have to be really good at signalling and there should be no problems... Until you get smeared by a GMC Yukon who's driver is too busy sexting their sugar baby to keep their eyes on the road.
> in which case they should have walked their bike across the crosswalk then started their ride within the bike lane
"Can't lose my momentum bro" - cyclist, probably
Cyclists are permitted to access businesses on both sides of the street, even the ones opposite from the dedicated bike lane. You don't know why he was on the other side to begin with, but obviously he was trying to get back into the bike lane. Yes, he did do that dangerously. But the existence of a bike lane does not restrict him to that lane.
You've got a few options.
* I would have crossed in the middle of a block rather than the middle of an intersection. Not entirely legal but a much more predictable environment and just as fast (EDIT) at a time when there's no other traffic immediately around me.
* If you want to turn left (this was, from a traffic standpoint, a left and an immediate right), do it from the left lane. Don't wait until the last second then cut across all lanes. Wanna play in traffic? Drive it like a car.
* If you want to be 100% legal and as close to 100% safe as possible (or you don't want to assert the left turn as suggested above), ride across the intersection in the curb lane, stop and wait for the E/W light, cross that way then turn right into the bike lane ( before proceeding E/W.
* Probably don't approach at 2-3x flow speed before making a completely unpredictable maneuver. Driving up into the blind spot full speed and swerving across a few feet in front of the bumper of a moving car is, literally suicidal. Do it enough times and you will *certainly* get run over.
Every once in a while you see a complete tool/future meat crayon on a bike and think "It's eventually gonna happen and he's going to deserve it when it does".
Basically don't do what this cyclist did for starters. And they were CLOSE. The dashcam makes it look like they're far away, but you have to remember that the dashcam is mounted high on the windshield and has a fisheye lens, so it only looks like the cyclist is far away. In reality it appears they cut in front of this car by only a few feet, which is nothing for a car in motion.
If you need to turn left or move into the left (bike) lane, they should take the vehicle lane with traffic on the left side first. Same rules as a car. You don't pass on the right and then cut a vehicle off.
the proper thing to do would be to dismount, cross the street as pedestrian on green and continue on the path. I know this sounds tedious, but if the guy wanted to get on the other side to the path the least he could do is be on the left side of the car with camera before the car started moving. AKA take the right side of lane for maneuver before the cars start moving.
They aren't a pedestrian though.
If they were in the far right lane, they should have signaled to change lanes and then done so safely until they reached the protected lane.
Given the time they had, there may be no way to do this safely in the saddle.
I think they’re saying to dismount, and be a pedestrian.
Given how car-centric our infrastructure is, there are sadly many times when that’s the safest and fastest option.
I mean they could've signaled their lane change and merged behind the driver with the dash cam. It's obviously sketchier in downtown but as a cyclist I signal and change lanes all the time e.g. to get into left turn lanes or to ride the dotted line if the right lane becomes a turn lane
Totally, just saying that don’t rule that option out just because of pride at being a cyclist.
I spent my 20s on a fixie in Boston, you need to be able to judge when you can change lanes safely and when you’re better off hopping out of the saddle and walking it for a single crossing.
Dismount and cross to the lane with the crosswalk, or simply continue in their lane across the intersection (even if a bike lane exists cyclists can opt to not use them).
Why do you care if driver's hate you? Do you think it makes it more dangerous as a cyclist?
The cyclist in the video is being aggressive and quite arguably dangerous. He also seems to be aware of what he is doing. I get it that it would wreck your day to hit him, but no one would ever blame you for the contact in that scenario. He however would be punished physically (still the worst kind of punishment).
The cyclist is taking on some risk, and the outcome is his problem. If any cyclist wants to be aggressive, then it's safe to assume it is their choice and they are aware of the consequences. I get that it startled you, which can lead to other problems, but much like the cyclist I will assume you can handle it (and you did!).
I find the general hatred of cyclists fascinating. Most are just going about their day, but make a post about it and everyone has a story about how a cyclist ran a stop sign. We all have that story about cyclists and drivers alike. Super common. But why doesn't a "driver ran a stop sign / went 50 in a 30" make for a 400 comment plus post?
Perhaps because cyclist are in a minority position to drivers. It is difficult to call out the majority for the actions of a single member of the majority. Case in point, Willie Pickton was not a white person problem. He was simply a freak, race had no bearing. Those in the majority are typically not subjected to being labeled by the actions of one of their group. Minorities (racial or otherwise) and not so fortunate.
But whatever. Everyone do their thing and try not to hurt anyone else. The potential punishment of risk taking is usually ample if not excessive (i.e - snowmobiling, back country skiing, pretending you are Cooper Ray [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWHdkK5j4yk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWHdkK5j4yk)).
Cyclist does something dumb: man cyclists are the worst
Driver does something dumb: what an ass hole
Sorry to be a complete arse but this thread is completely pointless. I see reckless drivers daily and they are behind the wheel of a one ton vehicle not a 40 pound bike.
Someone else kicked another person in the nuts is not the justification for another to kick others in the nuts.
Having terrible drivers on the road doesn’t mean cyclists can be terrible cyclists on the road.
Good driver and cyclists share the roads properly , like a nice, normal human being.
Are you talking about the driver coming from the right and turning down the street I'm on (moving away from me)? Given that they turned while I'm facing a red light, that would suggest that they have a green light (or amber). They are also already traveling fairly slowly (could be slower, but it's not like they ripped around a turn on a red like you are implying).
Yeah, OP says they're a cyclist too, but if they are expecting all people using the same type of vehicle to follow all the rules then they are going to be disappointed. Drivers feel so justified in speeding or parking illegally, that they complain about it on the rare occasion they get caught.
There are bad drivers, just as there are bad cyclists. They all deserve to be called out.
Imagine if it was a car that flew over from the right hand lane in front of this driver in order to turn left - same thing.
If a car did that, we would have witness an actual dangerous situation. What this cyclist did was irresponsible but hardly dangerous. He's on a one way street with essentially stationary cars and has total situation awareness.
I'm all for cyclists being responsible and I do not condone his actions, but hearing people consistently compare cars to bikes is absurd/infuriating/hilarious to me. It's why Im constantly questioning the validaty of "as a cyclist" comments.
When I'm on a bike I am relaxed and aware of my surroundings at all times. Driving a car is in another fucking universe in terms of how much awareness and control I have over my movement. Like, I'm seriously fucking baffled at how consistently the two forms of transportation are compared. You might as well compare a smart car to an eighteen wheeler.
The cyclist crossed right in front of an accelerating vehicle.
It's not about comparing bikes and cars to me - it's about both bikes and cars on the road following the same road rules. If it's not okay for a car to cut you off, it's not okay for a bike to cut you off.
Also, with both bikes and cars the most dangerous thing you can do is make an unexpected move like the one in this video. What if at the same moment, OP decided to move over to turn right? We all need to be more cautious.
If this maneuver was done by a car, I'd imagine that would have been posted too. There are lots and lots of videos posted here of car drivers doing stupid things.
I'd disagree. There are many great cyclists, mostly mediocre cyclists, and some HORRENDOUS cyclists. We tend to notice the latter the most, but they don't constitute 80% of the riders.
I think about this all the time. I have successfully taken at least a million uneventful steps in my life but it is only the 1% of missteps that I notice or remember
As a cyclist here I totally agree with you. Road rules are for everyone. If we don't respect them then why should we expect others to respect us being on the road.
I try _really_ hard to be a good cyclist when I'm out on my bike, but it feels like a year of my riding carefully and correctly can be negated by one or two idiot cyclists in an instant. It's frustrating!
And also, a "cyclist" to most motorists is anyone riding a bike. Can you imagine if all the thieves and tweakers downtown had cars to drive around in. Probably wouldn't reflect very well on the driving community.
The "driving community" is already terribly represented, drivers fucking suck. Yall acting like the average driver follows the rules even half the time.
I'm losing my fucking mind with these comments.
I try really hard to be a good cyclist when I'm out on my bike, but it feels like all of my life can be negated by one or two idiot drivers in an instant. It's terrifying!
no matter how "good" you are people will still purposely try to run you over when you're just trying to get to work. So free yourself and run some red lights. It's one of the best rewards for choosing to bike :)
That’s why it infuriates me when I see other cyclists take traffic circles the wrong way especially when making a left turn. I see near misses (often cyclist vs cyclist) on 10th around traffic circles every week.
I'm not disagreeing that this was dangerous, but road rules aren't "for everyone", they were designed for cars.
There are some modifications to the MVA for cyclists but the rest of the time we're expected to use the same rules as vehicles hundreds of times heavier and more powerful than us. It is like expecting pedestrians to use the same rules as cyclists.
Lol! Just thinking of if a driver EVER uses a hand signal (because maybe their lights don’t work), everyone else either doesn’t notice or are like “what’s wrong with them? What are they doing?”
Only one hand signal drivers know really
If your car doesn't have working turn signals, it's legally not roadworthy in BC, which would explain why signalling a turn with your hand is pretty uncommon for cars.
Not just hand signals - signal and wait until for it's safe to advance, same with cars. I've had cars do this very same thing to me. They signal and move into my lane, before even checking to see if I've seen them and can/will let them in. Signaling alone isn't enough.
As a Dutch native I can only chuckle at the insignificance of this compared to what happens 10 times every second in a Dutch town or city. Even though I’m happy to see the bike infrastructure and uptake of cycling in the city, it still has a long way to go. (I’m going to enjoy the downvotes)
Ya man it’s not a big deal. Go to anywhere else in the world and people ride their bikes, motorcycles etc way more aggressively than this. Driver’s here are just soft.
I used to live near this intersection. What this cyclist did was stupid, as is often the case with cyclists who don’t seem to value their own lives when riding alongside thousand pound bike crushing machines. But man, if I kept all the dashcam footage I ever recorded on my way home I’d be able to show more than a few clips of cyclists in that bike lane nearly being hit by cars trying to turn left onto Robson. Drivers are diligently watching for pedestrians (and there will always be pedestrians crossing this street) and then completely forgetting to check again for cyclists.
I think this is a terrible set up for that very reason. As a driver trying to turn left there, you have to be really, really careful to watch for bikes because they fly down the hill and seem to appear out of nowhere. Also, the bike lane curves so the cyclists coming are blocked from view by parked cars until just before they reach the intersection. It's a poor design.
Honestly though, it’s the same with most of the bike lanes. It’s why they’ve restricted right turns on red for most of Dunsmuir St and why they’ve restricted left turns 2 blocks down, onto Nelson Street, for this very bike lane with a dedicated advance turn signal and also added a no left turn on red sign for good measure.
Perhaps that’s all that needs to be added here. An advance turn signal. They build the bike lane and then don’t monitor all the daily near-misses. I had double-checked the legality of left turns on red with an advance turn signal with the VPD, specifically for Nelson, a one-way street, and they said that it was legal but that I should extremely careful with the cyclists and they said they would forward this off to the City for review and sure enough, 2 weeks later a ‘no turn on red’ sign was added.
There should be a dedicated left-turn phase to completely avoid any conflicts, which is definitely missing at a number of busy bike lane crossings in Downtown.
100%, and this is what I actually dislike all of the barrier-segregated bike lanes downtown. I've been riding in the city long enough to remember when there were none of them and actually felt safer back then. The best way to avoid being hit by a car is to BE SEEN. If they can see you, they won't hit you. Barrier-segregated lanes make you less visible, so when they end at every intersection...honestly I have had far more close calls with cars in barrier-segregated bike lanes than I ever had on busy roads, including plenty downtown.
Ironically from personal experience, the only time when I was hit by a car was on a painted bike lane where the driver definitely saw me before they proceeded to cross the bike lane to park, and hit me in the process.
Regular roads without bike lanes might feel safe for a small percentage of cyclists (including roadies like myself), but they do not feel and are not safe for the vast majority of cyclists. But a big part of the reason why intersections on newer bike infrastructure feel unsafe is because they usually only adopt some safety features but not all, like reducing curb radii, separating out turn phase, clear line of sight and good signage.
Also with more cyclists on the road, drivers need to adapt to new habits like checking for cyclists when turning or using the Dutch reach when opening doors. That needs to be emphasised in our drivers ed and public awareness campaigns.
At the end of the day, intersections are sources of conflicts between bikes and cars no matter how, and it's always good to be more defensive, with or without infrastructure.
Vancouver bike commuter and cyclist here. I go out of my way to cross properly at lights and follow courteous road rules. I shake my head at this type of nonsense often as well. Please don't judge us all. To be fair, I see just as much nonsense from other drivers in my car, dumb entitled people are everywhere.
I have been commuting to work daily on my bike for years now and I have to say this goes for cars as well. I almost get hit daily by cars turning and not looking for bikes when we have the right away. It’s not a suggestion to stop.
When I turn from Yukon to Wylie st. Cars on 2nd Turing left to go to Yukon always blow past the red light for them and cut me off completely when I have the right away (green light) to go straight. Which you wouldn’t do if that was a car?
Or on 2nd and Ontario, I get cut off so many times when someone is Turning right or left onto Ontario. My green light as a biker is not a yield, as it would be for a car or pedestrian. I’m not saying what this guy did was OK but cars are even worse and will the extra few seconds really make difference?
I will document footage if I have to.
Hi Vancouver Reddit. I'd like to take this moment to remind you that, while this cyclist clearly did something wrong, it does not mean that people on bikes are sub-humans who deserve your hate and derision. If you categorize them as such subconsciously, you may end up being careless or aggressive around them, and this could easily result in their death.
A further reminder about cyclist death statistics: 61% are caused when cyclists are hit while riding on a roadway (usually from behind) - nearly all of which are the fault of careless drivers. Only 39% occur at intersections, where fault is still largely on drivers for right or left hooking cyclists, in most cases.
So yes, cyclists should be more careful and follow the road rules. But it is careless drivers who cause their deaths in almost every situation.
Oh I definitely agree. It just spooked me as I try to be fairly aware of cyclists and this one felt like they came out of nowhere. I would have felt awful if I had hit him, even though I'm not sure there's much I could have done to prevent it.
Wait why? I'm confused, the cyclist had speed and it's a one way road, they were starting to pass you before you even started to move so the only way you'd kill them there is if you gunned it off the line. If this was a two way road then hell naw, but it's a one way road.
Pretty stupid move. Any driver of a vehicle with high acceleration like a tesla would have made this guy a speed bump before realizing what happened. And Vancouver has a lot of bad tesla drivers on top of that
Also as a frequent walker - you have to yield to pedestrians.
I walk a lot. And every time I go out, a cyclist almost runs me over because they refuse to stop at cross walks.
I am an avid cyclist and it drives me nuts that others feel they need to be respected on their bike but they…they do not have to obey simple traffic laws
the irony between threads.
https://preview.redd.it/2e1fly5gweoa1.png?width=663&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=ece1f92fe3dfe74b88778f49703b47f79bd4d42c
Kinda feels like Twilight zone here right now.
I'm a driver 99% of the time and I see other drivers do more dangerous things than this basically every day.
I feel like all the people in here talking about how much less harm cyclists cause to other people with the dangerous things they do don't realize how no fault insurance works here. If you're not doing the absolute most you can to avoid a crash with a motor vehicle under this system you're risking some major blows to your quality of life.
There's no pay day after an injury now, only:
- trash treatment options that ICBC can cut off if they decide you're not improving and it's just become maintenance or pain management
- 90% of your income up to a rate of 105k/year for any time lost
- a slow and complicated approval process to approve any medical devices or aids you might need
- an insulting amount of money for pain and suffering if you have a catastrophic injury and no pain and suffering/quality of life payments until you're pretty much no longer able to live unassisted
I don’t see what’s so wrong about this, most times a cyclist will accelerate ahead of a car, also as an ex-cyclist in Toronto and watching many other accidents and sorta learning from them but I tend to use all my senses when riding cause you never know where a car might pop it door open also into a bike lane. Tbh I’d understand this post if the car was already in full acceleration they’re driving like a normal person not rushing to get out or into dt.
smooth brained cyclists think they are invincible doing shit like this and then act surprised when they collide with a vehicle and get severely injured lmao.
Come to Montreal, drive for 5 minutes and you’ll certainly see a bicycle doing worse than that. Not saying the cyclist was correct but it was a pretty tame move compared to many I’ve seen
You're not wrong. It just seemed like such an unnecessary move.
I didn't realise we were only allowed to post the wORsT viDeOs eVEr on here. My apologies.
I guess, but you're not bothering to make a post for the many times a car driver does something equivalently insignificant, which you'd be seeing multiple times a day, like everyone is. Posts like these and the reactions to them just demonstrate how we hold much higher standards for cyclists despite the *far* lower harm they cause to people's safety, the environment, congestion, etc. You're allowed to post, but people are allowed to mildly criticize them.
if only there were some level of difference between a car driver doing something dangerous and a biker - like could you imagine if one was potentially fatal? then we'd talk about it for sure!
Yup, the cyclist here for example is putting no one in any danger, and not even mildly inconveniencing anyone but everyone is outraged despite the fact that far worse is happening constantly from drivers.
If someone posted a video of a car switching lanes a bit close to someone without signalling while not actually making them slow down at all, people would ask why they're bothering to post it.
I wasn't actually being sarcastic in my first comment. This is about as insignificant an action a road user could do while still technically being wrong. It's only because it's a cyclist.
Ya, you're right bud. I mean... I was nearly killed literally yesterday riding my bike in a bike lane when a lincoln navigator made a right turn in front of me and *clipped my front wheel*, but hey... at least you made a post giving every asshole here another reason to pointlessly hate on cyclists.
Great job bud, you got your meaningless internet points and your ego stroked by literal right wing trolls. Hope you feel fucking awesome.
I don't disagree but I promise you as a cyclist there are far far more dangerous drivers than dangerous cyclists. I ride responsibility, and have an average of a couple near misses every day by reckless/distracted drivers. I just don't have a dashcam XD
No, it's clear that drivers rarely complain about other drivers doing the same things as they complain about cyclists doing.
What this cyclist did happens to me every time I drive my car.
My issue is that people make a false equivalence between a bike "running" a stop sign and a car running a stop sign. They are not equivalent. A bike running a top sign does not risk the lives of: elderly, small-children, and other vulnerable road users or pose any risk to those inside cars. A car, or larger vehicle, running a top sign \_does\_ pose risks to all those road users. They can kill and maim. They shouldn't be treated the same. Bikes should be a middle ground between pedestrians and vehicles, and Idaho stop legislation starts moving us in that direction where it becomes clear that cars and bikes are not equal.
Exactly.
For some reason drivers see this incident, where the cyclist arguable didn't endanger anyone, not even themselves, and they're outraged. Drivers do this all the time and endanger everyone. They're not even close to the same thing.
I disagree. We see many, many more posts here of dashcam footage showing cars doing stupid things than we see people posting about bikes doing stupid things.
I like how your comment implies that drivers consistently stop at the stop signs.
**edit:** it's a good call to imply it, because when you say it explicitly then it's clearly absurd.
I am referring to cyclists who blast right by at full speed without even looking left or right. At least most cars slow down, even if they don’t come to a stop.
I go through Mt Pleasant on the daily and I see way more cyclists blowing through STOP signs than I see cars doing it.
Also so many people that seemingly have no fucking idea how roundabouts work really annoy me too.
Well almost every single motorist runs/rolls through stop signs, so no difference between bikes and cars there [https://youtu.be/98kWkZBa-fU](https://youtu.be/98kWkZBa-fU)
Confirmation bias. Cars also roll through stop signs and push into reds, but you choose to focus on cyclists. Cyclists are maybe 200 pounds, 2 feet wide, going 10 k an hour. Cars are 3-4000 pounds, 6 feet wide going 40 l an hour. It’s not equivalent.
I'm always a bit baffled when I am stopped at a stop sign on my bike, and another cyclist just zooms past me ignoring the stop sign.
Of course, drivers do this too. On my drive home today another driver just sauntered through a red light (after they were already stopped at it too).
It's called the idaho stop and it's completely logical.
As a bicyclist you:
* Weigh less than ~300 pounds and will do very little damage to others in a collision
* Are moving less than 30km/h almost always
* Have basically zero blindspots
* Can hear better because you aren't in a car
* Can stop much faster than a car
Not stopping at stop signs as a cyclist is extremely safe as long as you are slowing down and making sure no other cyclists or cars are approaching. There's a reason it's legal in certain areas.
Your "as a cyclist" comments come off as someone who cycles recreationally and sticks to quiet areas/trails, not someone who commutes for hours every week on their bike and has to contend with drivers who have little regard for their safety.
Another reason the Idaho stop works so well for bicycles and not cars is there isn't 6 feet of hood in front of them. You kinda said it with zero blindspots.
Your comments come off that way. I'm baffled you can commute by bicycle and have any sympathy for drivers. I've never almost been killed by a cyclist but I was almost killed on two separate occasions on my bike last summer alone.
I do know what you mean. I've had a lot of close calls on my bike, ironically enough most of them on bike routes (I don't mean separated lanes, I mean the routes on shared roads). I've found my rides to be safer on major roads but I'll only take those if I feel I can keep up with traffic and not impede other motorists such as buses and drivers in the rightmost lane.
So you're living in a city in which you can't commute safely by bicycle but feel the need to make a reddit post when you see a dipshit cyclist do something dumb?
I know I'm being a complete ass hole but the trend of shitting on cyclists is infuriating. Drivers in this city (and in general) recklessly endanger themselves and others daily. In Canda in 2019 4.4 people died daily due to motor vehicles.
What is the point of adding fuel to the illogical bicycle-hating-circle-jerk when the reality is that we live in a city dominated by cars?
I don't feel it's illogical to be annoyed that bad cyclists make cycling worse for the rest of us.
Look, we have tons of reddit posts posted constantly that some of us many find crappy, irrelevant, or unhelpful. If you're not interested in this one, you can simply downvote it and move on to a topic you prefer.
>as long as you are slowing down and making sure no other cyclists or cars are approaching.
This is the part that is lacking. Nobody gives a crap if cyclists don't come to a complete stop but they are expected to at least slow down and check if the instersection is clear and stop if it isn't instead of blowing thru without even looking or slowing down.
100% agree. Though I've rarely seen cyclists do what you describe but I can recall 5 or so times I've seen drivers do this late at night.
Maybe I'm not focused on cyclists running stop signs though, for whatever reason I'm far more worried about a car hitting me than a bike.
I’m with OP, and I’m not talking Idaho stops. I’m talking full bore 40kph+ blasting through 2- and 4- way stops while also swearing at me (the stopped cyclist) on their way by.
There are plenty of law-abiding cyclists out there, but there is definitely also a non-zero contingent of absolute F-ing a-holes.
I don't really agree with the idaho stop and I am also not a recreational cyclist. It is all about expectations. Legality aside, it isn't very predictable to other road users. Saving 3 seconds or a few watts won't really change my day but getting hit by a car would.
Also, cars can stop much faster than bikes. Pretty much anything other than a fully loaded truck will stop faster than a bicycle at the same speed. I'm sure most bikes would skid or try to maneuver out of the way but it is a myth that bicycles or motorcycles can outstop a car.
I feel like it's disengenous to say cars stop faster just because they can stop faster at the same speed. Cars are hardly ever moving at the speeds bikes are, and they are overall way less manuverable and way more dangerous when out of control. It feels very strange to hear a cyclist equate the two situations.
Coming to a complete stop is not a 3 second delay. I need to completely gear down, come to a full stop putting my foot down, ensure the intersection is clear, and then regain my momentum. The alternative is gearing down halfway, slowly to 10km/h or so, ensuring the intersection is clear and then speeding back up. Even a 5 second delay would be extremely conservative in my opinion. In my bike commute to work I probably encountered 40 stop signs each way. Expecting me come to a complete stop at every single stop sign even without car in sight is completely absurd. I do not understand how any commuter cyclist can suggest this with a straight face.
Also drivers who yell something along the lines of 'same road, same rules' don't actually want that either - they generally don't stop *behind* cyclists at a four-way to treat them 'the same as cars' (or get angry if made to when cyclists take the lane.) Wherein they want you to stop completely but not in their way, risking a blind hook from them or others so they can roll past you.
Am reminded of that malicious compliance protest in San Francisco about that https://road.cc/content/news/160118-san-francisco-cyclists-protest-obeying-traffic-rules
There seems to be a fair amount of research Idaho stop (cautiously proceeding through intersections) is actually safer for cyclists — see [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop#Safety) eg.
People think it’s because it makes cyclists more visible to cars (eg. coming to a stop sign next to a car and proceeding through the intersection parallel to the car is a very dangerous situation this tends to avoid) and results in cyclists spending less time in intersections.
Yeah but as a foot pedestrian, I will tell you I have been almost clipped by way more bikes and never close to being clipped by a car because they are go full speed through a stop sign while I am crossing. Its scary.
I can't remember the last time I saw a car stop at a stop sign, unless they are absolutely forced to by incoming traffic or someone walking directly in front of them
It seems like one person on a bike breaking the law somehow always reflects badly on all "cyclists" - people say it like it's a bad word. That never seems to happen to all "drivers" when we hear of a drunk driver killing someone, or a teenager doing 100 over the limit.
There is nothing wrong with the actions of this cyclist. (Today's forecast; downvote storm.)
In fact, this example is excellent for showing how to merge smoothly and cleanly. They managed the traffic perfectly and moved into a bike lane as soon as they could.
The nearby presence of bike lanes does not immediately erase the rights of cyclists as vehicles. The constant outrage expressed by folks who think it does is tiresome and dangerous.
It's about the flow people! Get your ginch out of a knot!
Merge smoothly and cleanly - as in a lane change without ANY signals and shoulder checks whatsoever?
If OP was driving a Tesla the cyclist would be injured. Flying into a lane without checking is reckless at best, it doesn’t matter that the cyclist lane is on the left, there are definitely safer and more predictable ways to cross over there.
Not excusing the actions of some dumb cyclists, if we had a video of a driver did something dumb there wouldn't be any other content on this sub.
Cyclist actions kill 0 people per year in Metro Vancouver.
Driver actions kill 1000 pedestrians or cyclists per year.
"Drivers need to be more aware and drive more defensively.... BUT NOT MEEEEE" - what I imagine him saying to himself as he cuts you off in the middle of an intersection with no hand signals or acknowledgement at all.
What an asshole.
As a cyclist, I see some really fucking dumb moves. Some put themselves in danger (like shooting past the right of cars indicating to turn right without even hesitating in case they do without looking).
But the ones that really infuriate me are the bad behaviours that give the anti cyclists brigade all the ammo they need. The going through red lights, riding along the pavement, poor junction behaviour. Has me shouting at other cyclists more than drivers.
I failed a driving test because a cyclist did this, no collision but they failed me because i got too close.
I love biking places but i also know that i would lose against a car.
I was just cutoff walking across the street. Multiple pedestrians and this asshat on a bike came about 6 inches from me. Had I reacted quickly enough I would have kicked his ass of his bike.
Typical cyclist behavior where I live. Just wait until you see what they do with pedestrians on sidewalks. They feel entitled to them and they are always annoyed that we pedestrians are "in their way". Not surprising when you get to talk to some of these cyclists and realize what a holier than thou attitude they have.
I’m a cyclist and avid supporter for cycling infrastructure. I wish that there were less arrogant riders that keep building a bad reputation for cyclists. The amount of anti cyclist sentiment is huge. I do understand motorists frustration when it comes to irresponsible riders.
Yeah...as a cyclist, fuck that guy and every person that ignores the rules of the road, as well as common courtesy. Its no wonder there is so much animosity towards people who ride bikes in this city
Some cyclists in these replies be like "what do you mean? This guy did nothing wrong. Who cares if he was seconds from potentially being sent to the hospital."
Thanks for tempering your post with reality a bit. No one was in danger here. A distracted driver almost hits me daily when I commute on my bike. Sometimes it’s even on purpose.
Looks like the cyclist overtook on a one way, then headed straight to the cycling path. Other than the lack of hand signals, which, sure they should have done, what's wrong here?
The other 2 options are to slow down and then do the same move to the person behind you but at higher speed as everyone would be up to speed by then. Or, continue to cycle out of the bike lane which would also piss ya'll off.
So really, you are all up in arms about a lack of signal when slowly overtaking in a one way? Like another commenter said, this is the fucking twilight zone.
I was hit exactly at this intersection by a driver who was taking a left turn and I was already in the bike lane. Cycling on its own is dangerous, and I absolutely hate people like rhis dude who make drivers care less about our well being.
If you want to treated like a moving vehicle amongst all the other moving vehicles, then start behaving like all the other moving vehicles on the road.
Cyclist here and generally on their side but I'm not a fan of crappy moves like this. My biggest bugbear which I keep seeing is when I see a cyclist riding the wrong way up a bike lane.
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I'm a cyclist too. People who ride like this guy make drivers hate us. Please don't do this sort of thing. Also, on those rare occasions that I have to drive, I really would prefer not to kill you. Thank you.
Well said mate. As a cyclist too I agree. Thanks for posting so politely too.
I was going to say.. that is not a cyclist imo.. That is a speedbump waiting to happen.
I've read what happens. Heard the sound a human makes as their chest cavity implodes and excretes vital organs and fluids. Takes all of 1 second to be over if you're lucky. If you're not enjoy quite possibly the most painful death. It's not the way to go. Love a long happy healthy life everyone!
A “temporary” speedbump.
A squishamello hooman
Not a cyclist. What is a cyclist supposed to do in this situation instead? Edit:The downvotes lol. I want to be a cyclist and want know the exact rules. People always talk about what is wrong instead of what you are suppose to do.
Forget the crosswalk. Merge into traffic as you would in a car then change lanes as you would in a car until you are in the bike lane.
They should have already been in the separated bike lane on the left, ideally. They may have just started their ride on this block, though, in which case they should have walked their bike across the crosswalk then started their ride within the bike lane. Pretty much anything other than veer directly across in front of moving traffic would be a good idea.
> walked their bike across the crosswalk They could have also started pedalling by the right-hand curb, signalling a merge left. Then after being let in, signal a left-hand turn at the intersection, waiting for a window in oncoming traffic. There's enough space for cars in their lane to move around if they're stopped, waiting. Once they have the clear, make 2 x predictable 90° turns (easier said than done on a bike) making sure not to veer into pedestrian traffic lanes. Basically acting as a regular vehicle who wants to go into a parallel road to the main road, which is exactly what this is to be frank. If you know how our road systems work like the back of your hand, you just have to be really good at signalling and there should be no problems... Until you get smeared by a GMC Yukon who's driver is too busy sexting their sugar baby to keep their eyes on the road.
Oddly specific lol
> in which case they should have walked their bike across the crosswalk then started their ride within the bike lane "Can't lose my momentum bro" - cyclist, probably
Just an asshole driver, just with two wheels less
LOL
Cyclists are permitted to access businesses on both sides of the street, even the ones opposite from the dedicated bike lane. You don't know why he was on the other side to begin with, but obviously he was trying to get back into the bike lane. Yes, he did do that dangerously. But the existence of a bike lane does not restrict him to that lane.
[удалено]
You've got a few options. * I would have crossed in the middle of a block rather than the middle of an intersection. Not entirely legal but a much more predictable environment and just as fast (EDIT) at a time when there's no other traffic immediately around me. * If you want to turn left (this was, from a traffic standpoint, a left and an immediate right), do it from the left lane. Don't wait until the last second then cut across all lanes. Wanna play in traffic? Drive it like a car. * If you want to be 100% legal and as close to 100% safe as possible (or you don't want to assert the left turn as suggested above), ride across the intersection in the curb lane, stop and wait for the E/W light, cross that way then turn right into the bike lane ( before proceeding E/W. * Probably don't approach at 2-3x flow speed before making a completely unpredictable maneuver. Driving up into the blind spot full speed and swerving across a few feet in front of the bumper of a moving car is, literally suicidal. Do it enough times and you will *certainly* get run over. Every once in a while you see a complete tool/future meat crayon on a bike and think "It's eventually gonna happen and he's going to deserve it when it does".
Basically don't do what this cyclist did for starters. And they were CLOSE. The dashcam makes it look like they're far away, but you have to remember that the dashcam is mounted high on the windshield and has a fisheye lens, so it only looks like the cyclist is far away. In reality it appears they cut in front of this car by only a few feet, which is nothing for a car in motion.
Lol don't worry about the downvotes in this sub. People here are miserable - you can get downvoted for calling Sciene World round
iT's GeOdeSiC
Thank you for the chuckle.
If you need to turn left or move into the left (bike) lane, they should take the vehicle lane with traffic on the left side first. Same rules as a car. You don't pass on the right and then cut a vehicle off.
the proper thing to do would be to dismount, cross the street as pedestrian on green and continue on the path. I know this sounds tedious, but if the guy wanted to get on the other side to the path the least he could do is be on the left side of the car with camera before the car started moving. AKA take the right side of lane for maneuver before the cars start moving.
Cross the street normally like a pedestrian
They aren't a pedestrian though. If they were in the far right lane, they should have signaled to change lanes and then done so safely until they reached the protected lane.
Given the time they had, there may be no way to do this safely in the saddle. I think they’re saying to dismount, and be a pedestrian. Given how car-centric our infrastructure is, there are sadly many times when that’s the safest and fastest option.
I mean they could've signaled their lane change and merged behind the driver with the dash cam. It's obviously sketchier in downtown but as a cyclist I signal and change lanes all the time e.g. to get into left turn lanes or to ride the dotted line if the right lane becomes a turn lane
Totally, just saying that don’t rule that option out just because of pride at being a cyclist. I spent my 20s on a fixie in Boston, you need to be able to judge when you can change lanes safely and when you’re better off hopping out of the saddle and walking it for a single crossing.
If the cyclist was looking/planning ahead, they could have changed lanes before getting to the intersection.
Yup. So this is either poor planning or impulsiveness. Either way they should do better.
Dismount and cross to the lane with the crosswalk, or simply continue in their lane across the intersection (even if a bike lane exists cyclists can opt to not use them).
Use the multimillion dollar bike lane provided.
Why do you care if driver's hate you? Do you think it makes it more dangerous as a cyclist? The cyclist in the video is being aggressive and quite arguably dangerous. He also seems to be aware of what he is doing. I get it that it would wreck your day to hit him, but no one would ever blame you for the contact in that scenario. He however would be punished physically (still the worst kind of punishment). The cyclist is taking on some risk, and the outcome is his problem. If any cyclist wants to be aggressive, then it's safe to assume it is their choice and they are aware of the consequences. I get that it startled you, which can lead to other problems, but much like the cyclist I will assume you can handle it (and you did!). I find the general hatred of cyclists fascinating. Most are just going about their day, but make a post about it and everyone has a story about how a cyclist ran a stop sign. We all have that story about cyclists and drivers alike. Super common. But why doesn't a "driver ran a stop sign / went 50 in a 30" make for a 400 comment plus post? Perhaps because cyclist are in a minority position to drivers. It is difficult to call out the majority for the actions of a single member of the majority. Case in point, Willie Pickton was not a white person problem. He was simply a freak, race had no bearing. Those in the majority are typically not subjected to being labeled by the actions of one of their group. Minorities (racial or otherwise) and not so fortunate. But whatever. Everyone do their thing and try not to hurt anyone else. The potential punishment of risk taking is usually ample if not excessive (i.e - snowmobiling, back country skiing, pretending you are Cooper Ray [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWHdkK5j4yk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWHdkK5j4yk)).
Cyclist does something dumb: man cyclists are the worst Driver does something dumb: what an ass hole Sorry to be a complete arse but this thread is completely pointless. I see reckless drivers daily and they are behind the wheel of a one ton vehicle not a 40 pound bike.
Someone else kicked another person in the nuts is not the justification for another to kick others in the nuts. Having terrible drivers on the road doesn’t mean cyclists can be terrible cyclists on the road. Good driver and cyclists share the roads properly , like a nice, normal human being.
You are missing the point they made. They are not defending the individual
Are you talking about the driver coming from the right and turning down the street I'm on (moving away from me)? Given that they turned while I'm facing a red light, that would suggest that they have a green light (or amber). They are also already traveling fairly slowly (could be slower, but it's not like they ripped around a turn on a red like you are implying).
they're probably talking about the drivers that injure 1500+ peds every year
If the cyclist in this video got hurt, would you blame the driver? I wouldn't - it was the bike that was at fault in this situation.
Yeah, OP says they're a cyclist too, but if they are expecting all people using the same type of vehicle to follow all the rules then they are going to be disappointed. Drivers feel so justified in speeding or parking illegally, that they complain about it on the rare occasion they get caught.
There are bad drivers, just as there are bad cyclists. They all deserve to be called out. Imagine if it was a car that flew over from the right hand lane in front of this driver in order to turn left - same thing.
If a car did that, we would have witness an actual dangerous situation. What this cyclist did was irresponsible but hardly dangerous. He's on a one way street with essentially stationary cars and has total situation awareness. I'm all for cyclists being responsible and I do not condone his actions, but hearing people consistently compare cars to bikes is absurd/infuriating/hilarious to me. It's why Im constantly questioning the validaty of "as a cyclist" comments. When I'm on a bike I am relaxed and aware of my surroundings at all times. Driving a car is in another fucking universe in terms of how much awareness and control I have over my movement. Like, I'm seriously fucking baffled at how consistently the two forms of transportation are compared. You might as well compare a smart car to an eighteen wheeler.
The cyclist crossed right in front of an accelerating vehicle. It's not about comparing bikes and cars to me - it's about both bikes and cars on the road following the same road rules. If it's not okay for a car to cut you off, it's not okay for a bike to cut you off. Also, with both bikes and cars the most dangerous thing you can do is make an unexpected move like the one in this video. What if at the same moment, OP decided to move over to turn right? We all need to be more cautious.
you should post every dumb driver you see to /r/vancouver as well
If this maneuver was done by a car, I'd imagine that would have been posted too. There are lots and lots of videos posted here of car drivers doing stupid things.
Tbh that's like 80% of the cyclists in this city. No etiquette whatsoever.
I'd disagree. There are many great cyclists, mostly mediocre cyclists, and some HORRENDOUS cyclists. We tend to notice the latter the most, but they don't constitute 80% of the riders.
I think about this all the time. I have successfully taken at least a million uneventful steps in my life but it is only the 1% of missteps that I notice or remember
80/20 rule.
I'm a cyclist and would be fucking furious if saw this idiot
+1, no shoulder check or acknowledgement of the car... He won't learn til he gets hit
As a cyclist here I totally agree with you. Road rules are for everyone. If we don't respect them then why should we expect others to respect us being on the road.
I try _really_ hard to be a good cyclist when I'm out on my bike, but it feels like a year of my riding carefully and correctly can be negated by one or two idiot cyclists in an instant. It's frustrating!
And also, a "cyclist" to most motorists is anyone riding a bike. Can you imagine if all the thieves and tweakers downtown had cars to drive around in. Probably wouldn't reflect very well on the driving community.
In all honesty, I don't think the driving community currently reflects well on the driving community.
The "driving community" is already terribly represented, drivers fucking suck. Yall acting like the average driver follows the rules even half the time. I'm losing my fucking mind with these comments.
99% of drivers are fine, the problem is you drive by 100 of them real quick.
Driving community already has a reputation. But at least with cars there's insurance to fall back on. With cyclists it still feels like the wild west
I try really hard to be a good cyclist when I'm out on my bike, but it feels like all of my life can be negated by one or two idiot drivers in an instant. It's terrifying!
no matter how "good" you are people will still purposely try to run you over when you're just trying to get to work. So free yourself and run some red lights. It's one of the best rewards for choosing to bike :)
Isn't that encouraging somebody to get themselves seriously injured or killed though? Car body still trumps squishy humans
That’s why it infuriates me when I see other cyclists take traffic circles the wrong way especially when making a left turn. I see near misses (often cyclist vs cyclist) on 10th around traffic circles every week.
I'm not disagreeing that this was dangerous, but road rules aren't "for everyone", they were designed for cars. There are some modifications to the MVA for cyclists but the rest of the time we're expected to use the same rules as vehicles hundreds of times heavier and more powerful than us. It is like expecting pedestrians to use the same rules as cyclists.
HAND SIGNALS. PLEASE cyclists. They arent only for people in cars whos lights dont work...
Lol! Just thinking of if a driver EVER uses a hand signal (because maybe their lights don’t work), everyone else either doesn’t notice or are like “what’s wrong with them? What are they doing?” Only one hand signal drivers know really
🖕
Or if you want to do it old skool ,,!,,
If your car doesn't have working turn signals, it's legally not roadworthy in BC, which would explain why signalling a turn with your hand is pretty uncommon for cars.
There are exceptions for some collector vehicles, but in general, yes.
Not just hand signals - signal and wait until for it's safe to advance, same with cars. I've had cars do this very same thing to me. They signal and move into my lane, before even checking to see if I've seen them and can/will let them in. Signaling alone isn't enough.
As a Dutch native I can only chuckle at the insignificance of this compared to what happens 10 times every second in a Dutch town or city. Even though I’m happy to see the bike infrastructure and uptake of cycling in the city, it still has a long way to go. (I’m going to enjoy the downvotes)
Ya man it’s not a big deal. Go to anywhere else in the world and people ride their bikes, motorcycles etc way more aggressively than this. Driver’s here are just soft.
Drivers here just dont want to kill anyone.
I used to live near this intersection. What this cyclist did was stupid, as is often the case with cyclists who don’t seem to value their own lives when riding alongside thousand pound bike crushing machines. But man, if I kept all the dashcam footage I ever recorded on my way home I’d be able to show more than a few clips of cyclists in that bike lane nearly being hit by cars trying to turn left onto Robson. Drivers are diligently watching for pedestrians (and there will always be pedestrians crossing this street) and then completely forgetting to check again for cyclists.
I think this is a terrible set up for that very reason. As a driver trying to turn left there, you have to be really, really careful to watch for bikes because they fly down the hill and seem to appear out of nowhere. Also, the bike lane curves so the cyclists coming are blocked from view by parked cars until just before they reach the intersection. It's a poor design.
Honestly though, it’s the same with most of the bike lanes. It’s why they’ve restricted right turns on red for most of Dunsmuir St and why they’ve restricted left turns 2 blocks down, onto Nelson Street, for this very bike lane with a dedicated advance turn signal and also added a no left turn on red sign for good measure. Perhaps that’s all that needs to be added here. An advance turn signal. They build the bike lane and then don’t monitor all the daily near-misses. I had double-checked the legality of left turns on red with an advance turn signal with the VPD, specifically for Nelson, a one-way street, and they said that it was legal but that I should extremely careful with the cyclists and they said they would forward this off to the City for review and sure enough, 2 weeks later a ‘no turn on red’ sign was added.
There should be a dedicated left-turn phase to completely avoid any conflicts, which is definitely missing at a number of busy bike lane crossings in Downtown.
Agreed. That's how it is just a couple of streets down at Nelson. It's much safer.
100%, and this is what I actually dislike all of the barrier-segregated bike lanes downtown. I've been riding in the city long enough to remember when there were none of them and actually felt safer back then. The best way to avoid being hit by a car is to BE SEEN. If they can see you, they won't hit you. Barrier-segregated lanes make you less visible, so when they end at every intersection...honestly I have had far more close calls with cars in barrier-segregated bike lanes than I ever had on busy roads, including plenty downtown.
Ironically from personal experience, the only time when I was hit by a car was on a painted bike lane where the driver definitely saw me before they proceeded to cross the bike lane to park, and hit me in the process. Regular roads without bike lanes might feel safe for a small percentage of cyclists (including roadies like myself), but they do not feel and are not safe for the vast majority of cyclists. But a big part of the reason why intersections on newer bike infrastructure feel unsafe is because they usually only adopt some safety features but not all, like reducing curb radii, separating out turn phase, clear line of sight and good signage. Also with more cyclists on the road, drivers need to adapt to new habits like checking for cyclists when turning or using the Dutch reach when opening doors. That needs to be emphasised in our drivers ed and public awareness campaigns. At the end of the day, intersections are sources of conflicts between bikes and cars no matter how, and it's always good to be more defensive, with or without infrastructure.
Vancouver bike commuter and cyclist here. I go out of my way to cross properly at lights and follow courteous road rules. I shake my head at this type of nonsense often as well. Please don't judge us all. To be fair, I see just as much nonsense from other drivers in my car, dumb entitled people are everywhere.
I have been commuting to work daily on my bike for years now and I have to say this goes for cars as well. I almost get hit daily by cars turning and not looking for bikes when we have the right away. It’s not a suggestion to stop. When I turn from Yukon to Wylie st. Cars on 2nd Turing left to go to Yukon always blow past the red light for them and cut me off completely when I have the right away (green light) to go straight. Which you wouldn’t do if that was a car? Or on 2nd and Ontario, I get cut off so many times when someone is Turning right or left onto Ontario. My green light as a biker is not a yield, as it would be for a car or pedestrian. I’m not saying what this guy did was OK but cars are even worse and will the extra few seconds really make difference? I will document footage if I have to.
Hi Vancouver Reddit. I'd like to take this moment to remind you that, while this cyclist clearly did something wrong, it does not mean that people on bikes are sub-humans who deserve your hate and derision. If you categorize them as such subconsciously, you may end up being careless or aggressive around them, and this could easily result in their death. A further reminder about cyclist death statistics: 61% are caused when cyclists are hit while riding on a roadway (usually from behind) - nearly all of which are the fault of careless drivers. Only 39% occur at intersections, where fault is still largely on drivers for right or left hooking cyclists, in most cases. So yes, cyclists should be more careful and follow the road rules. But it is careless drivers who cause their deaths in almost every situation.
This is pretty mild as far as dangerous driving goes, I see worse stuff from cars and bikes on a daily basis
Oh I definitely agree. It just spooked me as I try to be fairly aware of cyclists and this one felt like they came out of nowhere. I would have felt awful if I had hit him, even though I'm not sure there's much I could have done to prevent it.
"Pretty mild" only because the cyclist didn't get hit. It could have ended very differently.
TIL if it is not the worst thing you've seen, it should not be posted or discussed
You’re right. Cyclists should continue cutting across like that.
Wait why? I'm confused, the cyclist had speed and it's a one way road, they were starting to pass you before you even started to move so the only way you'd kill them there is if you gunned it off the line. If this was a two way road then hell naw, but it's a one way road.
Cars do this to me all the time, I should make a video reminding them to signal double lane changes...
You should. Other people here post videos of cars doing dangerous stuff like this all the time. Same, same.
Pretty stupid move. Any driver of a vehicle with high acceleration like a tesla would have made this guy a speed bump before realizing what happened. And Vancouver has a lot of bad tesla drivers on top of that
Also as a frequent walker - you have to yield to pedestrians. I walk a lot. And every time I go out, a cyclist almost runs me over because they refuse to stop at cross walks.
I am an avid cyclist and it drives me nuts that others feel they need to be respected on their bike but they…they do not have to obey simple traffic laws
the irony between threads. https://preview.redd.it/2e1fly5gweoa1.png?width=663&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=ece1f92fe3dfe74b88778f49703b47f79bd4d42c
Kinda feels like Twilight zone here right now. I'm a driver 99% of the time and I see other drivers do more dangerous things than this basically every day.
I feel like all the people in here talking about how much less harm cyclists cause to other people with the dangerous things they do don't realize how no fault insurance works here. If you're not doing the absolute most you can to avoid a crash with a motor vehicle under this system you're risking some major blows to your quality of life. There's no pay day after an injury now, only: - trash treatment options that ICBC can cut off if they decide you're not improving and it's just become maintenance or pain management - 90% of your income up to a rate of 105k/year for any time lost - a slow and complicated approval process to approve any medical devices or aids you might need - an insulting amount of money for pain and suffering if you have a catastrophic injury and no pain and suffering/quality of life payments until you're pretty much no longer able to live unassisted
I don’t see what’s so wrong about this, most times a cyclist will accelerate ahead of a car, also as an ex-cyclist in Toronto and watching many other accidents and sorta learning from them but I tend to use all my senses when riding cause you never know where a car might pop it door open also into a bike lane. Tbh I’d understand this post if the car was already in full acceleration they’re driving like a normal person not rushing to get out or into dt.
Seems fine to me
I would do this any day of the week. Sorry not sorry
Did you even have to slow down? Struggling to see the issue here.
smooth brained cyclists think they are invincible doing shit like this and then act surprised when they collide with a vehicle and get severely injured lmao.
Come to Montreal, drive for 5 minutes and you’ll certainly see a bicycle doing worse than that. Not saying the cyclist was correct but it was a pretty tame move compared to many I’ve seen
I have my sound off, but this guy should’ve been absolutely blasted with a horn. Canadians are way too polite. Use your horns people!
This is the least significant thing I've ever seen any road user do.
He crossed in front of moving traffic while not using any hand signals, to get to the bike lane. Pretty significant and stupid.
My heavens! I'm amazed the OP was able to even continue driving after this cyclist almost made them need to slightly ease off the gas.
You're not wrong. It just seemed like such an unnecessary move. I didn't realise we were only allowed to post the wORsT viDeOs eVEr on here. My apologies.
I guess, but you're not bothering to make a post for the many times a car driver does something equivalently insignificant, which you'd be seeing multiple times a day, like everyone is. Posts like these and the reactions to them just demonstrate how we hold much higher standards for cyclists despite the *far* lower harm they cause to people's safety, the environment, congestion, etc. You're allowed to post, but people are allowed to mildly criticize them.
if only there were some level of difference between a car driver doing something dangerous and a biker - like could you imagine if one was potentially fatal? then we'd talk about it for sure!
Yup, the cyclist here for example is putting no one in any danger, and not even mildly inconveniencing anyone but everyone is outraged despite the fact that far worse is happening constantly from drivers.
Sure you can be as sarcastic as you’d like. But it doesn’t change that the cyclist is still in the wrong.
If someone posted a video of a car switching lanes a bit close to someone without signalling while not actually making them slow down at all, people would ask why they're bothering to post it. I wasn't actually being sarcastic in my first comment. This is about as insignificant an action a road user could do while still technically being wrong. It's only because it's a cyclist.
Didn’t seem that bad… not ideal but not worthy of a Reddit thread.
This. Actual peril level was extremely low.
Probably not, but here we are all the same. Worth commenting on, apparently?
Ya, you're right bud. I mean... I was nearly killed literally yesterday riding my bike in a bike lane when a lincoln navigator made a right turn in front of me and *clipped my front wheel*, but hey... at least you made a post giving every asshole here another reason to pointlessly hate on cyclists. Great job bud, you got your meaningless internet points and your ego stroked by literal right wing trolls. Hope you feel fucking awesome.
Glad someone said it
Yes, a shit on cyclists thread, so worthwhile.
I don't disagree but I promise you as a cyclist there are far far more dangerous drivers than dangerous cyclists. I ride responsibility, and have an average of a couple near misses every day by reckless/distracted drivers. I just don't have a dashcam XD
Also to add: I am seeing way too many cyclists ignore stop signs, including 3- and 4-way stops. Those stop signs apply to cyclists too, folks...
BC needs the Idaho stop stat.
Exactly. If only so drivers would stop fucking complaining about cyclists doing the same thing as 90% of drivers.
I don't get this argument. People complain (and post) about both bikes and cars doing this sort of stupid thing - for good reason.
No, it's clear that drivers rarely complain about other drivers doing the same things as they complain about cyclists doing. What this cyclist did happens to me every time I drive my car.
My issue is that people make a false equivalence between a bike "running" a stop sign and a car running a stop sign. They are not equivalent. A bike running a top sign does not risk the lives of: elderly, small-children, and other vulnerable road users or pose any risk to those inside cars. A car, or larger vehicle, running a top sign \_does\_ pose risks to all those road users. They can kill and maim. They shouldn't be treated the same. Bikes should be a middle ground between pedestrians and vehicles, and Idaho stop legislation starts moving us in that direction where it becomes clear that cars and bikes are not equal.
Exactly. For some reason drivers see this incident, where the cyclist arguable didn't endanger anyone, not even themselves, and they're outraged. Drivers do this all the time and endanger everyone. They're not even close to the same thing.
I disagree. We see many, many more posts here of dashcam footage showing cars doing stupid things than we see people posting about bikes doing stupid things.
I like how your comment implies that drivers consistently stop at the stop signs. **edit:** it's a good call to imply it, because when you say it explicitly then it's clearly absurd.
I am referring to cyclists who blast right by at full speed without even looking left or right. At least most cars slow down, even if they don’t come to a stop.
I go through Mt Pleasant on the daily and I see way more cyclists blowing through STOP signs than I see cars doing it. Also so many people that seemingly have no fucking idea how roundabouts work really annoy me too.
lots of places have done away with this rule cuz it's dumb. BC is super regressive as far as cycling laws go
What places have done away with the rule that you have to stop at stop signs?
too many to list. Washington, for a nearby example
Well almost every single motorist runs/rolls through stop signs, so no difference between bikes and cars there [https://youtu.be/98kWkZBa-fU](https://youtu.be/98kWkZBa-fU)
Confirmation bias. Cars also roll through stop signs and push into reds, but you choose to focus on cyclists. Cyclists are maybe 200 pounds, 2 feet wide, going 10 k an hour. Cars are 3-4000 pounds, 6 feet wide going 40 l an hour. It’s not equivalent.
At full speed though? That’s what I’m referring to. Not even an attempt to slow down or look both ways.
At full speed a cyclist is still only going 15-25km/h. It may be surprising to think about but most cars roll through stop signs at like 20km/h
I have cyclists pass me while I'm going 30 km/h in residential zones approaching stop signs, so I don't think your number is accurate.
I'm always a bit baffled when I am stopped at a stop sign on my bike, and another cyclist just zooms past me ignoring the stop sign. Of course, drivers do this too. On my drive home today another driver just sauntered through a red light (after they were already stopped at it too).
It's called the idaho stop and it's completely logical. As a bicyclist you: * Weigh less than ~300 pounds and will do very little damage to others in a collision * Are moving less than 30km/h almost always * Have basically zero blindspots * Can hear better because you aren't in a car * Can stop much faster than a car Not stopping at stop signs as a cyclist is extremely safe as long as you are slowing down and making sure no other cyclists or cars are approaching. There's a reason it's legal in certain areas. Your "as a cyclist" comments come off as someone who cycles recreationally and sticks to quiet areas/trails, not someone who commutes for hours every week on their bike and has to contend with drivers who have little regard for their safety.
Another reason the Idaho stop works so well for bicycles and not cars is there isn't 6 feet of hood in front of them. You kinda said it with zero blindspots.
I used to work downtown and cycled from Oakridge area down to Waterfront station, I'm not sure if that's "sticking to quiet areas/trails", but ok.
Your comments come off that way. I'm baffled you can commute by bicycle and have any sympathy for drivers. I've never almost been killed by a cyclist but I was almost killed on two separate occasions on my bike last summer alone.
I do know what you mean. I've had a lot of close calls on my bike, ironically enough most of them on bike routes (I don't mean separated lanes, I mean the routes on shared roads). I've found my rides to be safer on major roads but I'll only take those if I feel I can keep up with traffic and not impede other motorists such as buses and drivers in the rightmost lane.
So you're living in a city in which you can't commute safely by bicycle but feel the need to make a reddit post when you see a dipshit cyclist do something dumb? I know I'm being a complete ass hole but the trend of shitting on cyclists is infuriating. Drivers in this city (and in general) recklessly endanger themselves and others daily. In Canda in 2019 4.4 people died daily due to motor vehicles. What is the point of adding fuel to the illogical bicycle-hating-circle-jerk when the reality is that we live in a city dominated by cars?
I don't feel it's illogical to be annoyed that bad cyclists make cycling worse for the rest of us. Look, we have tons of reddit posts posted constantly that some of us many find crappy, irrelevant, or unhelpful. If you're not interested in this one, you can simply downvote it and move on to a topic you prefer.
>as long as you are slowing down and making sure no other cyclists or cars are approaching. This is the part that is lacking. Nobody gives a crap if cyclists don't come to a complete stop but they are expected to at least slow down and check if the instersection is clear and stop if it isn't instead of blowing thru without even looking or slowing down.
100% agree. Though I've rarely seen cyclists do what you describe but I can recall 5 or so times I've seen drivers do this late at night. Maybe I'm not focused on cyclists running stop signs though, for whatever reason I'm far more worried about a car hitting me than a bike.
I’m with OP, and I’m not talking Idaho stops. I’m talking full bore 40kph+ blasting through 2- and 4- way stops while also swearing at me (the stopped cyclist) on their way by. There are plenty of law-abiding cyclists out there, but there is definitely also a non-zero contingent of absolute F-ing a-holes.
I don't really agree with the idaho stop and I am also not a recreational cyclist. It is all about expectations. Legality aside, it isn't very predictable to other road users. Saving 3 seconds or a few watts won't really change my day but getting hit by a car would. Also, cars can stop much faster than bikes. Pretty much anything other than a fully loaded truck will stop faster than a bicycle at the same speed. I'm sure most bikes would skid or try to maneuver out of the way but it is a myth that bicycles or motorcycles can outstop a car.
I feel like it's disengenous to say cars stop faster just because they can stop faster at the same speed. Cars are hardly ever moving at the speeds bikes are, and they are overall way less manuverable and way more dangerous when out of control. It feels very strange to hear a cyclist equate the two situations. Coming to a complete stop is not a 3 second delay. I need to completely gear down, come to a full stop putting my foot down, ensure the intersection is clear, and then regain my momentum. The alternative is gearing down halfway, slowly to 10km/h or so, ensuring the intersection is clear and then speeding back up. Even a 5 second delay would be extremely conservative in my opinion. In my bike commute to work I probably encountered 40 stop signs each way. Expecting me come to a complete stop at every single stop sign even without car in sight is completely absurd. I do not understand how any commuter cyclist can suggest this with a straight face.
Also drivers who yell something along the lines of 'same road, same rules' don't actually want that either - they generally don't stop *behind* cyclists at a four-way to treat them 'the same as cars' (or get angry if made to when cyclists take the lane.) Wherein they want you to stop completely but not in their way, risking a blind hook from them or others so they can roll past you. Am reminded of that malicious compliance protest in San Francisco about that https://road.cc/content/news/160118-san-francisco-cyclists-protest-obeying-traffic-rules
There seems to be a fair amount of research Idaho stop (cautiously proceeding through intersections) is actually safer for cyclists — see [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop#Safety) eg. People think it’s because it makes cyclists more visible to cars (eg. coming to a stop sign next to a car and proceeding through the intersection parallel to the car is a very dangerous situation this tends to avoid) and results in cyclists spending less time in intersections.
Yeah but as a foot pedestrian, I will tell you I have been almost clipped by way more bikes and never close to being clipped by a car because they are go full speed through a stop sign while I am crossing. Its scary.
I can't remember the last time I saw a car stop at a stop sign, unless they are absolutely forced to by incoming traffic or someone walking directly in front of them
It seems like one person on a bike breaking the law somehow always reflects badly on all "cyclists" - people say it like it's a bad word. That never seems to happen to all "drivers" when we hear of a drunk driver killing someone, or a teenager doing 100 over the limit.
You didn’t even have to slow down. Hardly a problem
There is nothing wrong with the actions of this cyclist. (Today's forecast; downvote storm.) In fact, this example is excellent for showing how to merge smoothly and cleanly. They managed the traffic perfectly and moved into a bike lane as soon as they could. The nearby presence of bike lanes does not immediately erase the rights of cyclists as vehicles. The constant outrage expressed by folks who think it does is tiresome and dangerous. It's about the flow people! Get your ginch out of a knot!
Merge smoothly and cleanly - as in a lane change without ANY signals and shoulder checks whatsoever? If OP was driving a Tesla the cyclist would be injured. Flying into a lane without checking is reckless at best, it doesn’t matter that the cyclist lane is on the left, there are definitely safer and more predictable ways to cross over there.
Not excusing the actions of some dumb cyclists, if we had a video of a driver did something dumb there wouldn't be any other content on this sub. Cyclist actions kill 0 people per year in Metro Vancouver. Driver actions kill 1000 pedestrians or cyclists per year.
There are tons of videos posted here of bad drivers doing exactly this sort of thing.
"Drivers need to be more aware and drive more defensively.... BUT NOT MEEEEE" - what I imagine him saying to himself as he cuts you off in the middle of an intersection with no hand signals or acknowledgement at all. What an asshole.
So now motorists are mad that a bike changed lanes. Lmao . Ok karens
As a cyclist, I see some really fucking dumb moves. Some put themselves in danger (like shooting past the right of cars indicating to turn right without even hesitating in case they do without looking). But the ones that really infuriate me are the bad behaviours that give the anti cyclists brigade all the ammo they need. The going through red lights, riding along the pavement, poor junction behaviour. Has me shouting at other cyclists more than drivers.
I failed a driving test because a cyclist did this, no collision but they failed me because i got too close. I love biking places but i also know that i would lose against a car.
So many dumb ways to die 🎶
Yes, he is an idiot. It will be his fault when he gets hit speaking as both a commuter cyclist and drivers. Assholes like that put me at risk.
I was just cutoff walking across the street. Multiple pedestrians and this asshat on a bike came about 6 inches from me. Had I reacted quickly enough I would have kicked his ass of his bike.
Based on some of the replies, you really hit a nerve 🤣
…i might
I can hear the torches being lit, and the pitchforks being sharpened over in r/ vancouvercycling right about now...
That’s how you have accidents.
Okay, I will stay in the center of the car lane as I am allowed.
This would be fine, it's permitted.
Typical cyclist behavior where I live. Just wait until you see what they do with pedestrians on sidewalks. They feel entitled to them and they are always annoyed that we pedestrians are "in their way". Not surprising when you get to talk to some of these cyclists and realize what a holier than thou attitude they have.
I’m a cyclist and avid supporter for cycling infrastructure. I wish that there were less arrogant riders that keep building a bad reputation for cyclists. The amount of anti cyclist sentiment is huge. I do understand motorists frustration when it comes to irresponsible riders.
Yeah...as a cyclist, fuck that guy and every person that ignores the rules of the road, as well as common courtesy. Its no wonder there is so much animosity towards people who ride bikes in this city
Some cyclists in these replies be like "what do you mean? This guy did nothing wrong. Who cares if he was seconds from potentially being sent to the hospital."
Yes please don't. I cycle a lot and it can be so dangerous not just for yourself but also drivers.
They demand bike lanes and then do shit like this and wonder why motorists hate them!
In downtown these assholes think they own the road and laws of the road do not apply to them. Not just cyclist but also idiots in scooters.
Much the same could be said for many drivers.
Thanks for tempering your post with reality a bit. No one was in danger here. A distracted driver almost hits me daily when I commute on my bike. Sometimes it’s even on purpose.
How many people did cyclists kill last year?
its almost like OP and many in the thread also want the cyclist to stay alive
we do own the road. kneel at my feet and worship me.
Looks like the cyclist overtook on a one way, then headed straight to the cycling path. Other than the lack of hand signals, which, sure they should have done, what's wrong here? The other 2 options are to slow down and then do the same move to the person behind you but at higher speed as everyone would be up to speed by then. Or, continue to cycle out of the bike lane which would also piss ya'll off. So really, you are all up in arms about a lack of signal when slowly overtaking in a one way? Like another commenter said, this is the fucking twilight zone.
I was hit exactly at this intersection by a driver who was taking a left turn and I was already in the bike lane. Cycling on its own is dangerous, and I absolutely hate people like rhis dude who make drivers care less about our well being.
If you want to treated like a moving vehicle amongst all the other moving vehicles, then start behaving like all the other moving vehicles on the road.
Yes, and it's not okay for a car to barge into your lane and cut you off like this either.
The amount of cyclists I saw blowing red lights when I was a delivery driver was insane, some people have death wishes
What a jerk! Zero regard.
Cyclist here and generally on their side but I'm not a fan of crappy moves like this. My biggest bugbear which I keep seeing is when I see a cyclist riding the wrong way up a bike lane.
I saw two of those today too! Luckily it was a very quiet route in North Vancouver but still a bit odd.
Hi I'm a cyclist. People like this give us a bad name and antagonize drivers which makes cycling less safe. No good.