Survey of 17,000 Asks Why Bicyclists Break the Rules of the Road

[thelakelander]

BY JENN STANLEY | MAY 29, 2015

The blame game in the cars vs. bikes war can get ugly. But accidents happen, as the saying goes, and as long as drivers and cyclists continue to share city streets, figuring out why they happen should be a public safety priority.

One University of Colorado Denver researcher is looking into what causes bicyclists to break the rules of the road. Wesley Marshall, a professor of civil engineering, recently asked more than 17,000 people to complete what he called the "Scofflaw Survey" to figure out what makes them disregard traffic laws.

"Not all bicyclists that break the law are these hooligans that are out to be sort of anti-society," Marshall told Colorado Public Radio. "I think a lot of people do it for very practical reasons."

The results of the survey will come out later this summer, but advocates of measures such as protected bike lanes will gleefully note that Marshall already is pointing to infrastructure, noting that cyclists are navigating a route built for cars, not bikes. From CPR:

"If we give these people a system that's built for and really meant for cars, you might see more people breaking the law," he said. Conversely, he said, cyclists are more likely to obey signs and signals when they are bike-specific.

Full article: http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/bike-laws-cyclists-break-rules-of-road

[Rob68]

One thing i know is that im sick and tired of cyclists who have their own lane overtly coming into traffics way on san jose. Not paying attention and giving me the finger when they,not paying attention or gabbing with their biking friends behave as though they could care less if theres a lane for them or not.im very careful if there's no lane for them..very careful..but if you've  got a damn lane..USE IT.

[David]

If you've ever ridden down 2nd st in Jax Beach going into Neptune, the # of stop signs is insane. Everyone pretty much does a slow roll through it so you don't lose complete momentum.

If there's a bike lane i'm all about that, I stay within the boundaries. If it's just the bike lane symbol, painted on the main roadway, forget it, I'll take to the sidewalks. Nothing's worse than that feeling you might get rear-ended at any moment while on a bike.

[finehoe]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I feel like this has been covered numerous times here. 

My rules of thumb: 

Stop signs are yield signs and stoplights are stop signs. 

Stay close (<3') to the white line.  Stay out of the parking lanes.

Signal all turns.

Ride like you're invisible.  Meaning, pay attention to everything around you (front, back and sides) and anticipate your next move under the assumption that the other cars can't see you.  You can't help it if you get clipped from behind, but if stay in the lane of traffic, the odds of that decrease tremendously from when you hug the curb and typically ride in the break-down/parking lanes. (See #2 above.)

I ride 50<200 miles a week, mostly in traffic and ZERO in group rides and have been fortunate enough to avoid any serious accidents so far.

[jaxlore]

Yep many times.

The majority of the time I follow the lights and the stop signs bike lanes etc. That being said every now and then I am next to someone that is on there phone or texting and I know they do not see me so I do my best to ensure my own safety at the point.

[Josh]

I'm curious to see the results of the survey on the types of laws bicyclists are breaking. Given how dangerous it is to be on a bike in this state, and especially this city, I would never fault someone on a bike for doing what they need to do to ensure their safety.

It's better to be wrong than dead right.

[acme54321]

One thing i know is that im sick and tired of cyclists who have their own lane overtly coming into traffics way on san jose. Not paying attention and giving me the finger when they,not paying attention or gabbing with their biking friends behave as though they could care less if theres a lane for them or not.im very careful if there's no lane for them..very careful..but if you've  got a damn lane..USE IT.

True that's annoying, but remember, if you are buzzing by that close one quick move from them farther into the lane could result in you hitting them at 50mph from behind.  Which will be 100% your fault and result in serious injury or death.  Is it worth that?  Not to me.

[Overstreet]

Ford or Chevy.............................it is the same kind of argument. You'll never convince everybody.