Another Bicyclist Killed...

[Overstreet]

Interesting claims on both sides.  Actually kind of odd that a site that wants to promote walking, bicycling and public transportation would have any negative talk against bike riders but then again I've ridden with many of them and didn't like them either when I was in the pack. There are jerks behind the wheel and handle bars.

The sponsored riders pancake talks about are semi truth there are some sponsored riders. But the vast majority are people with day jobs like the rest of us. You'll find that they all come in different classes to. He's thinking about the AA and A riders that ride like the wind.  Most of us would fall in the B and C riders. Slower averages as the letters get higher. For example I was a solid Killer B, then got older and fatter and slipped into a mushey C -. 

Either way it is easier for the drivers to accellerate away after a short delay. If it delays you planning and execution are not  your strong points. 

[second_pancake]

it doesn't matter whether or not there is a bike lane since the bike is a vehicle

Sometimes that means doing a rolling stop through a stop sign or running a red light.

So you want to be treated as a vehicle but then you try to justify not obeying the laws that vehicles must follow.  Sounds a little contradictory to me especially when trying to "educate" someone about cycling.

If you were driving on an icy road and coming up to a stop knowing that you the odds were very good that you would skid & be sitting the middle of the intersection, or that you could skid into a ditch, would you hit the brakes?  If you were in a SmartCar driving down the road, doing the speed limit, and everyone around you is flying by at 10 over, passing you all over the place, would you tap the brakes, continue driving at your pace, or find the gas and try and keep up?  If you found yourself at a traffic light, among 3 other drivers, at a 4-way, and everyone's light was red for well over a minute...all of you just sitting there staring at one another, would you find a way to get everyone through the intersection by going through the light, or would you continue to sit there staring at one another?

We ALL break the traffic rules at some point in our lives.  It's a necessary evil.  I'm not saying that it's ok in all circumstances to roll through a light or stop sign and is definitely not a "right".  I am saying that each situation is different and requires a person to keep their own safety in mind, as well as the safety of others when cycling,  when choosing what to do.

Cyclists don't have the right to impede traffic (which is what the Critical Mass rides do which I do not agree with), they ARE traffic.  I use the exact same judgment when I am on my bike as I do when I am behind the wheel of my car.