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Bikes are allowed on the road...

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by Silly Yak, Jan 6, 2013.

  1. Silly Yak

    Silly Yak Member

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    ...even in Broadlands! If you don't like the LAW, honking and yelling at me on my bike will not change it. :angryfire:
     
  2. fidothedog

    fidothedog Member

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    As long as you are going the speed limit, no one should be honking or bothering you on a bike. You have every right to be on a road.
     
  3. Silly Yak

    Silly Yak Member

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    Nice troll comment...
     
  4. Mr Rogers

    Mr Rogers Active Member

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    I think that FIDO meant "under" the speed limit. The speed limit is the maximum allowable speed by law. Many in NOVA feel that it is the minimum.
     
  5. fidothedog

    fidothedog Member

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    If you are on Broadlands Blvd or Claiborne which have a 45 mph speed limit on a bike going 10 mph then you are at significant risk to you and the drivers in cars. Other than the bike fanatics I have not seen any families riding bikes on these streets...especially since there are trails running next to these roads.

    If you are on the neighborhood streets, who cares since the cars are driving under 25 mph and should be driving slowly for both bikers, kids running into streets, etc.

    If you are riding in the middle of the neighborhood street going 5 mph with a car behind you and you refused to move over as you leisurely went down an entire street then I would think that is a different issue. Common sense would be that you would move over to the side of the road and not occupy the entire driving lane if you are significantly under the speed limit. The same rules apply on highways....slower traffic needs to move to the side of the road. If you are going near the speed limit then you have every right to take up a full lane of the road with a bike.

    This being said, there are plenty of impatient a**es around here who are always in a rush and hell bent to get wherever they are going.
     
  6. Silly Yak

    Silly Yak Member

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    I agree that if you are riding at or near a walking pace then the paths are a great place. Faster than that, and you are in danger of getting clipped by a dog or kid on a scooter or getting driven off the path by stroller walkers who take up the whole trail. I have no joy riding on Claiborne, but when travelling at 20+ (heading toward the W&OD), that is where I belong. Just like you would't want people on scooters/mopeds on the paved trails because they are zipping along at 20+.

    What would have been great is if when money was dumped into repaving Claiborne they jiggered the lanes a bit to put in a bike lane. Oh well...
     
  7. snoopy

    snoopy Senior Member

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    I'm a bike rider but I'm amazed at how many bikers want cars to share the road ..and they do not follow the rules .. example ..four way stop signs along Claiborne ...They do not bother to come to a complete stop ... yet they get p@$$ed off if they get passed along Claiborne ...

    Oh well ..
     
  8. kevinq

    kevinq Member

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    I've also witnessed a failure to obey the red light at the intersection of Claiborne and Waxpool...and the intersection was not traffic free. The biker did not liked to be honked by the oncoming car, either.

    Cars are not immune to disobeying traffic signals either, but we complain about them here, too.
     
  9. Rhaegar

    Rhaegar Member

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    Bikers want it both ways it seems. When I'm biking; I stop fully at each stop sign and pause for a second...which coincidentally I do when driving a vehicle as well.

    Most folks are so self centered that they do neither.
     
  10. PDILLM

    PDILLM Well-Known Member

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    The only bikers I honk at are the ones that are 6-7 riders across leaving me bearly a lane to get by....and the ones that refuse to stop at a stop sign....
     
  11. Mr Rogers

    Mr Rogers Active Member

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    I get honked at and almost run off the road about once a week. I ride upwards of 200 miles/week in the summer. And I yell at cyclists who ride like idiots, including my friends.

    I just hope that drivers realize how easy it is to kill or injure a cyclist; We have no fender benders. If you honk and startle a cyclist, they could easily crash. In my case, you'd lose a golf pro and a volleyball coach and a father of two great daughters.
     
  12. Chsalas

    Chsalas Active Member

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    200 miles a week, wow, that a lot. Is that just workouts or do you bike to work too?
     
  13. blue_devil

    blue_devil New Member

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    If you don't think bikes are allowed on the road please check out the VDOT website:
    http://www.virginiadot.org/programs/bk-laws.asp

    And, yes, like any cross section of humans, bikers have their share of rule breakers and jerks. But the 3 miles along to Claiborne are by far the worst (and dangerous) part of my bike ride to work because of the cross section of drivers who are either jerks or just don't realize I have a legal right to the road.
     
  14. wahoogeek

    wahoogeek New Member

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    The group rides that block Claiborne really make it dangerous for everyone. As the rules state:

    Bicyclists cannot ride more than two abreast on highways. When riding two abreast, bicyclists cannot impede the movement of traffic and need to move into a single file when being overtaken from the rear. On a laned roadway, bicyclists shall ride in a single lane.

    (Highways are all roads by the definition used here.)
     
  15. snoopy

    snoopy Senior Member

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    "Bicyclists operating a bicycle on a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place under conditions then existing shall ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of roadway. Exceptions to this are when bicyclists are overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, preparing for a left turn, avoiding unsafe conditions, avoiding riding in a lane that turns or diverges to the right, riding on a one way street where bicyclists may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of roadway, or when the lane width is too narrow to share with a motor vehicle. Additionally, bicycles are not excluded from riding on the highway shoulder."


    "Bicyclists cannot ride more than two abreast on highways. When riding two abreast, bicyclists cannot impede the movement of traffic and need to move into a single file when being overtaken from the rear. On a laned roadway, bicyclists shall ride in a single lane."

    Seems strange as I see bicyclist riding along Clariborne PWKY .. two or three deep ..going far less than 45 mph ...... and they are surprised when they get passed ???!?!?!
     
  16. jim

    jim New Member

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    I agree. Claiborne is always the worst - winding back roads to the west, all the way to Gallows Rd to the east.
     
  17. KTdid

    KTdid Well-Known Member

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    Re: Progress for bicyclists in the District

    Drivers in D.C.: Watch the bikes or face points on your record

    From the DC Wire

    Two D.C. Council members proposed legislation Tuesday to assess points on a motorist’s driving record for bicycle-related traffic infractions while also making it easier for bicyclists to move through intersections.

    In the first of what could be a series of bills in the coming years aimed at making bicycling easier in the city, council members Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) are seeking to amend the Traffic Act of 1925.

    If approved, for the first time, points could be assessed to a driver’s record if they are ticketed for failing to yield the right-of-way to a bicycle or are charged with colliding with a bicycle that has the right-of-way.

    A motorist could be assessed three to six points, similar to assessments for speeding and other major traffic infractions.

    The bill also requires applicants for a District driver’s license to demonstrate “knowledge of safely sharing roadways with pedestrians and bicycles” before being issued a license.

    And to clarify existing laws mandating that bicyclists abide by all traffic laws, the bill would permit bicyclists to cross through intersections “while following the pedestrian traffic control signal” unless otherwise directed.

    The bill comes as the city has installed 50 miles of bicycle lanes and plans to install five more miles per year for the foreseeable future.

    In recent months, some of the lanes have been blocked by ongoing construction projects, such as those on rapidly developing 14th Street NW.

    But the legislation will require contractors to “provide safe accommodation for pedestrians and bicycles” when a lane is blocked

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-wire/post/drivers-in-dc-watch-the-bikes-or-face-points-on-your-record/2013/02/19/6d7705ec-7abb-11e2-82e8-61a46c2cde3d_blog.html?wpisrc=nl_buzz
     
  18. PDILLM

    PDILLM Well-Known Member

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    How many points if the biker is at fault or fails to yield to a motorist who has the right of way?

    Not against bike riders, just looking for both to follow the laws and rules of the road..........
     
  19. Mr Rogers

    Mr Rogers Active Member

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    From where did you get the above quote?
     
  20. snoopy

    snoopy Senior Member

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