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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
who is required to carry a yardstick?
Same road, same rules. Stay in your fucking lane and stop passing me on the right.
Seriously, we have some narrow-ass streets, where giving bikers 3 ft can be quite difficult. On the other hand, some bikers also ride far out from the curb, making it even more difficult to do so. Even when its a wider street.
Can we have a rule that says that a bike can't be more than 2 feet from a curb, or parked car, except where otherwise noted (bike lanes, which we need more of)? And, if we get more bike lanes, we'll need wider streets because traffic is full as it is.
The self righteous cycling community will now squeal like pigs whenever someone even dares pass them. I can just see some moron on a bike slowly driving down the street daring cars to pass him, lest he raise his squeeky nasaly voice and yell "HEY not fair moron car driver! I OWN this piece of road and 3 feet around me! How DARE you try passing me"
I can just see it now.
You gotta love the nanny state that Washington is becoming. What a fucking joke.
If you're smoking, it extends to 32 feet.
As has been stated, our narrow streets in some areas don't accommodate that much space to pass. So keep your bike in your lane, don't weave through the traffic, and oh yeah--- actually coming to a full stop at an intersection with a stoplight or stop sign would be a GREAT change in cyclist behavior!
To the haters of this law, I doubt the law applies to slow traffic at intersections, but more to fast car traffic that should have plenty of room to pass (8' wide car in a 12' wide lane) but chooses to come within inches of striking cyclists with their mirrors.
So, in other words, you want them off the road, period. If you're going to be an idiot, at least be an honest idiot.
@19 Then why don't we see bikes on the freeway? it's their "right", right?
Oh, that's right, YOU DON'T HAVE ONE.
Cars don't get held to lower standards than bikes. They get held to higher standards than bikes, and can be punished for it. Not that Seattle drivers know how to drive, but Seattle bikers can be downright dicks about their biking, as you seem to be.
I refuse to buy a bike because of Seattle bikers and their dickish me me me behavior. I don't want to be lumped in with them. I liked biking in Michigan too. Its a shame.
And, there should also be laws restricting you to within 2 ft of the curb or in the bike lane unless there is a blockage. You have laws that allow you to do it, but I want laws that prevent you from leaving it.
I am not opposed to a bicycle license, but I see no logic in restricting bicyclists to the curb when it's often safer for them to ride in the middle of the lane. Sounds like you think your time is more important than other's safety. Do you think there should be a law allowing you to speed through school zones too?
Such as the Burke-Gillman Trail Extension in Ballard.
I guess truck drivers will just have to learn how to drive.
@21, you are a moron. Bicycles are excluded from the freeways, but on city streets they do, in fact, have exactly the same legal rights and responsibilities that cars do. If they think they need the lane, they get the lane, period. A bicyclist failing to stop is committing the same infraction that a car failing to stop is.
I think if the roads are meant to be shared we should also adopt a yearly bike tag system so everyone can equally contribute to repairs. I know cars do more damage but they also pay gas taxes at the pump.
Fnarf, when do they not sue? Seems like every bike accident that has made the news that I know of was followed by a lawsuit. Have you looked at the web site for that lawyer who the Cascade Bike Club always goes to? He pretty much says straight up that if you got hurt, no matter how it happened, you can and should sue the driver, even if you were at fault.
But whatever. This law still can't help but drive up insurance rates. The risk exposure is greater than it was. Greater risk equals higher premiums. Simple math.
Any data on how this law decreased accidents in other places where it has been enacted? I know I'm a jerk for asking for data all the time. I guess it's an unfair thing to ask for or something.
Good thing those of us on skateboards holding on to bumpers will be exempt from this, unless we're strippers or smoking.
Well then you have no cause for concern, do you?
i kind of wish comment threads were just closed on all bike-related threads on the slog, they're all fly paper for idiot neanderthal motorists and holier-than-thou assfuck cyclists who can all FOAD.
that's right, i hate you all.
then i drove around in my new diesel jetta, my bicycle was in my back seat.