Question about the law - NF - Bikes!

[NAW]

I'm not sure why you guys are bashing cyclists.

 

Aside from the downtown riders annoying you by passing you on the right side of the road while your stopped at red light... They do nothing but good. Better for the environment, traffic, their own health, parking, etc....

 

The real issue, is that Ontario in general is not bike friendly. There needs to be more cycling lanes. Ottawa is leading the way with this, and I wish every other city in Ontario would follow suite.

[Dara]

I just pull right over to the curb so they can't pass me.

Last thing I want to do is pass them at every stop light.

Each time I worry about clipping them with my mirror when the road is busy and there is no room to pull over.

 

 

Exactly what I do...If I pass one and a red light is ahead, I get tight to the curb so they can't get by without climbing the curb...they generally stop behind me

[Big Cliff]

I drive a 5 ton, let them argue with me! I might be wrong but I bet I win!

 

That said, I always try to watch out for the idiots that are texting, don't know where they are going, or just think they deserve to have the right of way. It is called defensive driving and it is what commercial drivers are taught to do (doesn't always work!)

 

Guy drove his bike into the side of one of our trucks then tried to sue us because we got in his way. Fortunatly this time the law worked and he had to pay to repaint the side of our truck .

[bare foot wader]

Guy drove his bike into the side of one of our trucks then tried to sue us because we got in his way. Fortunatly this time the law worked and he had to pay to repaint the side of our truck .

 

that is awesome!

 

I should have sued for a truck wash, sun baked loogies all over my door, they require scrubbing to get those things off lol

[Steve]

road cyclists are in the same group as sail boaters.

 

mountain bikers are in the same group as fisherman.

 

you can make your own conclusions based on that....

 

(and yes, there is NOTHING worse, or more ridiculous, than spandex clad fairies cycling around in downtown TO like they own the roads - the same roads they did not contribute to pay for)

[Headhunter]

I did ask the officer I spoke with why they don't enforce the law and was told there simply aren't enough officers available to do so.

Akrisoner, at least you know that you are breaking the law. So is everyone else!

My intent was not to bash bikes or their riders, just to find out about the law.

HH

[lew]

like they own the roads - the same roads they did not contribute to pay for)

 

Just curious Steve as to where you get the idea that cyclists don't contribute to the cost of roads.

 

I never wore spandex, but I had a $3000 mountain bike I rode in Toronto on a regular basis between 5 & 40 miles nearly every day of the year but I paid taxes just like anyone else and a lot of that tax money went towards roads.

 

As for the car driver versus the bike rider it's a 2 way street.

 

Many bike riders are morons and cause all sorts of problems, but believe me when I say it's unbelievable how many car drivers are absolutely insane when it comes to cyclists. They almost seem blind to them and don't even blink when they force them off the road, up onto curbs, or just run them into other vehicles.

 

I'd guess I hit at least 6 car doors that drivers just swing open without even looking when their getting out of their cars. I've had guys cut right in front of me and slam on the brakes like I wasn't ever there.

 

One lady cut in front of me while making a right turn into a parking lot and I ran right into the side of her car. I was so pissed off I raised my foot up and kicked her side view mirror off her car.

 

It got so bad I cut off the ends of my rubber hand grips exposing the steel ends of the handle bar so when someone decided to try and squeeze me outta the way he ended up with a nice gouge down the side of his car. One was a brand new $$$$ Mercedes $$$$ that didn't look quite so pretty with a 24" scar running along his door.

 

Some car drivers are lousy and need to learn how to share the roads with bikes, and some bike riders are lousy and also need to learn how not to be jerks.

 

When you see it from the seat of both bikes and cars for many many years like I have, it's easy to see there's bad drivers controlling both 2 & 4 wheel drive vehicles.

[John Bacon]

 

Just curious Steve as to where you get the idea that cyclists don't contribute to the cost of roads.

 

 

He is probably referring to the gas taxes collected by the federal and provincial governments.

 

The federal government does not build many roads. But around 2005 the federal government started giving municipalities a small portion of the taxes that they collect on gasoline.

 

The province does build highways. So, in a sense the car drivers are paying for these highways through their gas taxes. However, in actual fact the gas taxes go into general revenues; they do not directly fund highway contruction.

 

Municipal roads, which is where most people ride bikes, are paid primarily through property taxes. So, cyclist who are not homeless would be paying their fair share of these roads.

 

Considering how little road space cyclist need in relation to car drives, combined with the fact the most cyclist use municipal roads, one could argue that cyclist are actually paying more than their fair share for roads.

[Steve]

A very small portion of property taxes go into roads. (our municipal tax breakdown is provided yearly..have a look).

 

By far the biggest portion of the pot comes from gas taxes.

 

Bikes are getting their own lanes.....if there is a bike lane going both directions, that bike lane often represents 20% of the overall roadway.

 

No, municipal property taxes are not contributing 20% to the overall pot.

 

If cyclists would follow the rules, it would be more acceptable.

 

Of course, if sail boaters followed the rules, it too would make the water (big pond) a nicer place to be.

 

However, the "non" power versions of "craft" often feel that the same rules don't apply to them (see the comment above from the Toronto biker dude).

 

And yes, something about spandex (i think because it shows you are proud to ride your bike) makes the biker that much difficult to deal with on the road.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Steve

[John Bacon]

A very small portion of property taxes go into roads. (our municipal tax breakdown is provided yearly..have a look).

 

By far the biggest portion of the pot comes from gas taxes.

 

Bikes are getting their own lanes.....if there is a bike lane going both directions, that bike lane often represents 20% of the overall roadway.

 

No, municipal property taxes are not contributing 20% to the overall pot.

 

If cyclists would follow the rules, it would be more acceptable.

 

Of course, if sail boaters followed the rules, it too would make the water (big pond) a nicer place to be.

 

However, the "non" power versions of "craft" often feel that the same rules don't apply to them (see the comment above from the Toronto biker dude).

 

And yes, something about spandex (i think because it shows you are proud to ride your bike) makes the biker that much difficult to deal with on the road.

 

Prior to 2005 the municipalities did not receive any money from gas taxes. So if it is a municipal road that is at least 10 years old then it was built with money from property taxes.

 

Only a small portion of the roads the have bicycle lanes, so the 20% figure is moot. E.g. if 5% of roads have bike lanes and the bike lanes comprise an average of 20% of the width of the road; then only 1% of our road ways would be bicycle lanes.

 

I agree that many cyclist need to do a better job of following the rules of the road. But, then again, so could a lot of drivers.

Edited May 13, 2015 by JohnBacon

[NAW]

 

 

And yes, something about spandex (i think because it shows you are proud to ride your bike) makes the biker that much difficult to deal with on the road.

 

I used to bash spandex too. Until I started doing 100 to 200km road rides on my bike. The difference in drag/wind force is night and day. Now I shake my in spandex all over Simcoe county, and I'm dam proud of it.

 

Guys don't do it to look tough, obviously, that's a ridiculous statement (made earlier in this thread).. It's 100% for function, and not looks.

 

And for the drivers that think all cyclists wearing spandex are fags, and wimps. Be careful with that. You never know who your messing with. Take my spandex clad wimpy looking cyclist for example. I've been a self defense instructor for 15 years. Training hard in the martial arts my entire life. I'll never yell at a driver, or cause a fight, despite nearly being killed several time by ignorant drivers. But if you get in my face over sharing (or not sharing the road like in most cases with ignorant drivers), i guarantee it will not go good for you.

[davew3]

Rules of the road

 

As a cyclist, you must share the road with others (e.g., cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles, etc.).

 

Under Ontario's Highway Traffic Act (HTA), a bicycle is a vehicle, just like a car or truck.

 

Cyclists:

must obey all traffic laws

have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers

cannot carry passengers - if your bicycle is only meant for one person.

 

 

And as far as I know passing on the right on a single lane road will get you a ticket.

 

Edited May 13, 2015 by davew3

[woodenboater]

don't understand the bike hate here and I drive daily in the toronto mess. fwiw, I'd sooner have a cyclist scoot up beside me than take the entire lane, as they're legally allowed to do. very few take the lane unless it's unsafe otherwise as they know that doesn't lead to harmony on the road. I ALWAYS lane check for bikes when turning right. it's a habit born from being a formerly aggressive cyclist in toronto.

 

and while I know people were joking but door prizing a cyclist is going to cost you huge. HUGE.

Edited May 13, 2015 by woodenboater

[Headhunter]

Well, I can only describe my feeling on the matter... the absolute last thing I want to do is hit anybody! I take a great deal of time and caution when bikes are on the road. That means that passing a bike is something I take very seriously and will only do so when the time and space are available to me.

To have them then run roughshod over the rules of the road by passing me on the right only makes a difficult situation, more challenging. I just want the bike in my rear view so I don't have to worry about the bike and all the other crap going on in front of me.

Another poster in this thread has admitted that they would never wait in line with cars and will circumvent the law and common sense any ole time he feels like it.

That's where the hate on for bikes is derived from.

HH