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sorcyressBiking through Medford (which seriously, of all the little townships around here, Medford is definitely the one with the most shouty-assholes in it...and it is *not* where I spend most my time!) and I come up to a T intersection. I'm on the part going straight, with a blinking yellow "yield" light. There is a road that goes off to my right.
I slow, because there's a truck turning from the lane going towards me into the road-to-my-right. Then I go on through the intersection, because that's how bikes and roads and "yield" works.
As I pass the turn-off road, a man shouts at me from behind "LOOK BOTH WAYS!". A quick glance shows he is in a pickup truck, that has turned from my lane into the road-to-the-right, and he is glaring at me.
And just...what? Like seriously there, what? I have gotten the occasional fair criticism before1, although not often since I am pretty good at following rules of the road2. But what on *earth* was he trying to get me to do? I was going straight. I was going straight through an intersection. I looked to make sure the other road didn't have a car coming. I didn't look the other way to check if there was a car coming from there because there was a sidewalk and houses and I'm not really keen on that sort of weird paranoia.
My only guess is that he wanted to cut me off by turning right directly in front of me, and was angry that I didn't look behind me and see that he was signaling his turn. Which...is not my job? Like, if he had pulled up beside me (which he technically legally couldn't do, there wasn't a bike lane there, although the road was mostly wide enough), I probably would've been aware of his presence and might've glanced to check for a turn signal. But mostly, I was focused on going straight, legally, through the yellow flashing light.
My only other guess is that he's some kind of time traveler or something, and this was the quickest way he could think to impart a grave warning. So I suppose, for the immediate future, I will be looking both ways. But still probably only when it makes sense according to the street layout.
Fuggin cars3, man.
~Sor
MOOP!
1: I'm still a little annoyed at the pedestrian, who I gave space to and waited for them to cross the street in front of me, who turned and snidely informed me that "red lights are for bikes too." Yeah, jerk. I know I ran the red. Because when there's a pedestrian light (and I am aware of pedestrians and let them have right of way, like I clearly was) it is safer for me to get through the intersection and out of the way, than try to play "who can accelerate faster!" with the cars. He was technically right, but clearly doesn't actually understand realistic expectations or logistics of bicycles and I wouldn't be so miffed, months later, if I hadn't first made a point of giving him space.
2: I'm not a speed demon and I don't run red lights *unless* I have the aforementioned pedestrian walk light. And I look out for cars turning right when I do. But I don't go the wrong way down one-ways, and I wear my helmets and my reflective-vest and my lights and I am about as safe as a bicyclist can be in this city.
3: I find myself occasionally amused/fascinated by my disconnect between "cars" and "drivers". I am much more likely to impart blame to the former category, which is ridiculous, as they're just dumb animals following directions. The car is not the one doing anything wrong, and yet...
I slow, because there's a truck turning from the lane going towards me into the road-to-my-right. Then I go on through the intersection, because that's how bikes and roads and "yield" works.
As I pass the turn-off road, a man shouts at me from behind "LOOK BOTH WAYS!". A quick glance shows he is in a pickup truck, that has turned from my lane into the road-to-the-right, and he is glaring at me.
And just...what? Like seriously there, what? I have gotten the occasional fair criticism before1, although not often since I am pretty good at following rules of the road2. But what on *earth* was he trying to get me to do? I was going straight. I was going straight through an intersection. I looked to make sure the other road didn't have a car coming. I didn't look the other way to check if there was a car coming from there because there was a sidewalk and houses and I'm not really keen on that sort of weird paranoia.
My only guess is that he wanted to cut me off by turning right directly in front of me, and was angry that I didn't look behind me and see that he was signaling his turn. Which...is not my job? Like, if he had pulled up beside me (which he technically legally couldn't do, there wasn't a bike lane there, although the road was mostly wide enough), I probably would've been aware of his presence and might've glanced to check for a turn signal. But mostly, I was focused on going straight, legally, through the yellow flashing light.
My only other guess is that he's some kind of time traveler or something, and this was the quickest way he could think to impart a grave warning. So I suppose, for the immediate future, I will be looking both ways. But still probably only when it makes sense according to the street layout.
Fuggin cars3, man.
~Sor
MOOP!
1: I'm still a little annoyed at the pedestrian, who I gave space to and waited for them to cross the street in front of me, who turned and snidely informed me that "red lights are for bikes too." Yeah, jerk. I know I ran the red. Because when there's a pedestrian light (and I am aware of pedestrians and let them have right of way, like I clearly was) it is safer for me to get through the intersection and out of the way, than try to play "who can accelerate faster!" with the cars. He was technically right, but clearly doesn't actually understand realistic expectations or logistics of bicycles and I wouldn't be so miffed, months later, if I hadn't first made a point of giving him space.
2: I'm not a speed demon and I don't run red lights *unless* I have the aforementioned pedestrian walk light. And I look out for cars turning right when I do. But I don't go the wrong way down one-ways, and I wear my helmets and my reflective-vest and my lights and I am about as safe as a bicyclist can be in this city.
3: I find myself occasionally amused/fascinated by my disconnect between "cars" and "drivers". I am much more likely to impart blame to the former category, which is ridiculous, as they're just dumb animals following directions. The car is not the one doing anything wrong, and yet...
mini-rant
on 2016-10-19 09:06 pm (UTC)...and I'm like, what? Aren't we always being told that we're supposed to be in the road, and that riding on a sidewalk is illegal, and that it's safer to take the lane than to ride off to one side?
...which brings me back once again to the conclusion that bikers can't do anything right in the eyes of some people, no matter what we do -- and therefore the best thing is to go with what feels safe (to you, for you and for anyone who might be affected by your actions) and ignore whatever the official rules might be -- because "I was following the law" doesn't help much if it lands you in the hospital or worse. :-/
(...and therefore I bloody well ride on the sidewalk if I don't feel safe in the road, but that's just one example. As a pedestrian, I also frequently cross streets in the middle instead of at the corner, because that greatly reduces the amount of stuff you have to pay attention to in order to determine when it's safe to cross. And I'll bike through a red light if that seems safer than waiting, which doesn't happen often but -- as you observe in footnote 2 -- does sometimes.)
And finally, people complaining about bikes not following rules piss me right off -- because who is most likely to get seriously hurt if a biker does something dangerous? Not car-drivers, that's for sure.