Is it just me or do people have no respect for cyclists?

Question

As an avid cyclist I've noticed that people in my town are very rude and impatient. I've had people give me the finger, beep their horns at me, and even get downright rude on the street. I've had enough of it! In the past week I have had two episodes. 1: A woman beeped her horn and gave me the finger as i was crossing the street with children i was babysitting (we got off our bikes and walked when it was safe, and no, she wasn't turning.) And the second time, today, I was on the sidewalk because I was going down a busy highway because this particular section is also a very dangerous bit of road, and is not safe for cyclists.You rarely see cyclists on that stretch of road. I was approching a lady from behind, so I slowed down for her, pulled onto the grass, and went around her, after politely saying "Excuse me", so as not to startle her, only to be met with a rude tone and "In case you didn't notice, there's a road for that.".

One of my questions is: what do I do? Do i stop cycling? I don't speed by pedestrians, and am always consderate of pedestrians while biking on sidewalks (which is rare. . . I only do that if it is on the highway going through my city, or if i am with younger children.) And when biking on the road, i always stay on the shoulder, signal my turns, and always look out for people turning and such. People really have no respect for us cyclists, and I am getting fed up of it! Do I write to the city, or do i just suck it up? Help me!

BTW: I'm in highschool, if that helps!

Answer 1

First of all i think its great that u cycle and more people should be doing it. But i think u should just continue doing it, if people r rude just ignore them or what i do is just wave and carry on. I dont know about your town but i know where i live there r bike lanes on the road, maybe you should contact the city and ask them to put some lanes in. Well those r all the pointers i can give u and i wish u luck with ur situation.

Answer 2

Yep, there are many people who have never, and will never have respect for cyclists, even though it is in many local city codes to give cyclists the right of way and go around them on the road.

I have many horror stories of things like what you've been through. Flipping off your future boss would be the least of your problems...We've had customers who have had guns pulled on them by angry truck drivers.

I've been run off the road before, had windshield wiper fluid sprayed on me, had beer bottles thrown at me, I've been hit by a car, and gone head over handlebars in a ditch. I've had friends who have come across roadkill that gets intentionally hit by approaching cars in hopes of being sprayed with rotting flesh, known people who have been chased by dumb dogs that intentionally ram into bicycles, causing accidents and broken bones.

So to answer your question, most people have no respect for cyclists, and the roads are becoming increasingly unsafe as cities grow. What you do about it is get with cyclists in your area. There are most likely group rides down country roads, there IS safety in numbers, and your local cyclists will know the good roads to enjoy. Your local bike shops will be able to help you with information.

As a final word of caution, a local triathlete was killed about 10 years ago while enjoying a back country road--ALONE. He was hit by a vehicle and left for dead. Nobody knows who did it, or even if it was intentional, so yeah, it does happen, never go alone.

Oh, and about 12 years ago, a local woman got chased on foot by a naked man, through a school district. She nailed him with pepper spray. So 2 things, never go alone, and carry a mild self defense.

Answer 3

Since you are in high school and people are thinking GREEN now maybe you could put together a bike safety event.  Get the fire deptment to show a film on wearing helments... There are hospitals that have nurses that do a film on the high cost of brain damage when helments are not used.

I have not seen a bike saftey class for kids in a long time.  When I was a kid I was taught hand signals and what side to ride on etc.The dangers of having passengers I think these things need to be reenforced.  

Do we need to license bike riders like drivers?  I have seen 2 year olds on two wheelers. Kids these days get things before they really want them and I think this leads to not knowing the rules or just not caring.  I was six when I got my first bike and I wanted it for a very long time.  I never left it out and I learned the rules.  hope this has helped you   good luck I hope you continue to be safe on your bike.

Answer 4

the only problem i have with cyclists is when theyre on the road. i perfer for thier saftey if they were on the sidewalk.

Answer 5

It's unfortunate but true. Some people are rude, some aren't. You seem like a very considerate cyclist. I will say that's not always the case which is why you will run across rude people while cycling. I don't mind cyclists for the most part. I think it's great. I just hate it here when there are like 30 of them together in rows 3 wide blocking half of the road here and having no regard for the motorists. Sure I don't want to hit one while I'm driving, hopefully no one would but sometimes some of them make it very difficult to maneuver around them. Good for you though for doing a healthy, environmentally safe activity and being so considerate. I wish more people were like you  

Answer 6

Unfortunately, rudeness is not the exclusive domain of motorists or pedestrians, and can even be encountered from your fellow bicyclists.  There are a great many people out there who will not extend any degree of courtesy or respect to others, regardless of who they are.  Since you're in High school, I want to offer you a kudos for investing your time and energy into remaining physically active, in stark contrast to the grim reports of our nations youth becoming more sedentary as they mature.

In regards to the concerns you've voiced here, all any of us can really only offer are two key pieces of advice.  One, ignore the rude people you encounter in your daily life.  It's better all around to just invest your time and energy into more worthwhile and productive things.  And secondly, look into organizations in your area that exist to better educate the public about bicyclist issues, and concerns, as well as work to develop better alternative transportation resources and services for all.  Through these organizations you could invest your time and energy into seeing expansion of bicycle routes, bicycle lanes, and the like.

Below are a few links to help you to that end.  Transportation Alternatives, The League of American Bicyclists, and the Rails-to-Trails conservancy should be useful starting points for you in this if you don't know of the local groups that service these interests.  I wish you the best of luck, and I hope that you continue to bike safely.

Answer 7

People have no respect for cyclists because about 99.9% of them have no respect for the highway code.

Cyclists seem to think they can go about breaking the rules of the road.

Answer 8

A lot of people don't have any respect for anybody.

Just ignore them and let them live their lives angrily.  I feel bad, because they have to carry that around their whole lives.  Don't carry it with them.

Live as decently and respectfully as you can, it's all you can do.  Keep cycling and make sure you're following the rules of biking; as long as you know that you are, don't even worry that someone has been having a bad day.