A reader takes stock of the discussion thus far: I hate to add fuel to the ever-burning fire that is the cyclists-vs-drivers online debate, but I cannot help but point out that few of the reader rebuttals to the Idaho Stop post address the actual law in question. A quick recap of reader concerns that … Continue reading Everybody Do The Idaho Stop, Ctd
A reader writes: This Idaho law is how I’ve always ridden my bike – safely, but within reason. It takes a lot of effort to get a bike started from a dead stop – far more than a car – and so often there’s no reason to have stopped (no traffic). I am teaching my … Continue reading Everybody Do The Idaho Stop, Ctd
Joseph Stromberg encourages other states to allow bikers to roll through stop signs and go on red lights, as Idaho has done since 1982: Idaho’s rule is pretty straightforward. If a cyclist approaches a stop sign, he or she needs to slow down and look for traffic. If there’s already a pedestrian, car, or another bike there, then the other … Continue reading Everybody Do The Idaho Stop
Ah, yes, the male of the species. Deep down, forever 13. I’m reaching the end of my clear-liquids-only laxative-overkill day before a colonoscopy tomorrow and my head is spinning a bit. You know how I am usually indifferent to food? I can’t think of anything else right now. So I’ll make this brief: today I … Continue reading The Best Of The Dish Today
New York City is a mismanaged carnival of stupidity that is desperate for revenue and anxious to criminalize behavior once thought benign. — ABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) May 13, 2014 He had me at “mismanaged carnival of stupidity” … and then I lost the thread: Mr. Baldwin’s arrest came amid a citywide effort on Tuesday, with another … Continue reading Tweet Of The Day
A reader writes:
As a bike commuter, a road cyclist, and a middle-aged mom who has every intention of teaching her kids to ride and drive safely, I CRINGE when I hear someone claim that "there really are no rules for cyclists." Hell yes there are! In your reader's new home state of California, the vehicle code explicitly states, "A person riding a bicycle or operating a pedicab upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle." (VC 21200) That means stopping at signs and lights, signaling turns, and riding in the road, not on the sidewalk. Most if not all states have similar stipulations.
Another writes:
I live in a city that has terrible bike paths, Philadelphia. Stop lights at seemingly every corner. Having ridden to work, I tried to follow all the traffic laws – stopping at every light, and staying off the sidewalks. It made the ride so much worse. The lights seem to be timed so that a car can catch a few greens in a row, but on a bike you find that you are stopped nearly all the time. Besides the extra waiting at a light, the momentum stopping makes the ride very onerous.
Another is on the same page:
The Dish 