Question for cyclists?

Question

Councils spend thousands of pounds on cycle lanes so why don't you uce them ?

Yes I mean use them sorry about the spelling

Hustler do me a favour a read my comment about spelling THANK YOU and merry christmas MATE !

Answer 1

Because then they wouldn't get knocked off their bikes and wouldn't be able to blame the driver for it!!
Cont: Cycle Riders have a highway code of their own which doesn't include car drivers. The way some of them ride leaves a lot to be desired. Then when its the cyclist fault that theres an accident, the motorist gets the blame!!

Answer 2

I'll assume that you have an open mind on this one and are not asking a loaded question...

Cyclepaths are designed in the main by engineers who have not had their backsides on a bike for many years. There are probably exceptions to this, but it holds true for the vast majority. These people are car drivers normally. They design roads for cars and cyclepaths are seen as an afterthought, probably forced on them for political reasons. So, they have to accommodate cyclepaths into the existing streetscape. Ultimately compromises have to be made, and it is usually the cyclists' provision that suffers.

There have been studies that prove that badly designed cyclepaths actually make cycling more dangerous. For example, if a path is more than a few metres away from the main carriageway for cars, bikes disappear from the drivers' "radar". This leads to unfortunate, sometimes tragic, consequences at junctions, where cars cut in front of bikes unwittingly.

Councils know this, but they still see segregation as the answer, which it would be if the segregation was 100%, which it cannot be.

Summary: Just because something is there, don't assume it's a good solution. Don't assume that council highways engineers know what is best for cyclists.

Recommendation: Try using a cyclepath for yourself. We all need exercise and cycling is great for that. You will soon see that they are not always the answer to the problem, which is, after all, caused by the excessive numbers of cars. If you see a cyclist ignoring a cyclepath, take a closer look at the path; in particular how it integrates into the streetscape at junctions.

Observation: My council; Solihull, created a cyclepath along a busy road and in places it is very good. However, just as the road narrows and turns into a bend, the cyclepath ends and cyclists are forced back onto the road at a very risky location. In such cases, a cyclepath is a definite liability and I would rather risk the ire of cars than be forced to suddenly squeeze onto a busy road into traffic.

Have a safe Christmas!

Answer 3

Some times we do use them but only as a last resort. Bike lanes are dangerous and cars tend not to notice bikers. I have a route home where I only have to ride in the bike lane for about 1/2 mile - scares me to death. Drivers are swerving, half in the bike lane, talking on their cell phones, not to mention the broken glass. And that's one of the most heavily used bike lanes. They would probably be used if more people actually rode bikes. People would get used to seeing cyclists and the cities would maintain the lanes better.

Answer 4

Agree with general comments that for recreational use theyre suitable but for commuting theyre not. Also in 99% cases they are not maintained and have broken glass, shop trolleys, etc stuck in the middle of them, and if you do have spill there is no-one around to help. I'm in england. In holland the cycle lanes seem fabulous, actually alongside the main road and have lots usage and I would ideally ride along those.

Answer 5

Lucky you. Here in America, huge buses with Hummer logos that seat 9 and carry one are all people care about, and they make the city a lot more money in fuel tax than your friendly bicyclist.

Therefore, not many cities give a crap about putting a decent shoulder or bike lane anywhere. We would kill for proper bike lanes and people that actually understood what bikes were!

But most people are too damn uptight to be concerned for anyone outside their own personal bubble.

Answer 6

Are you are implying the extra width of the road allegedly for bikes, right of the white line in the US?

If so try this, take of your socks and shoes and run for two miles (3k) and don't look at what you are stepping on.

I ride the white line (in the us) to just left of the line, sometimes to the right of the line depending on the amount of crap in the "lane"

Usually while dirving by you can't see the tremendous amounts of debris, rocks, gravel, nails, staples, glass, sticks, metal, ear rings (yes i've pulled one out of a tire) screws, more rocks, more gravel, even more glass. Even two days after it's been swept there is a bunch of gravel just waiting to slice a tire.

Answer 7

Sounds like you're in England, so maybe things are different here in the US. But here are some possible reasons:
1) the lanes are not a useful way to get from point A to point B, maybe because they are short, only go around certain neighborhoods, are confined to parks, etc.
2) they may have road gates, frequent intersections, pointless little twists and turns and other things that make them inappropriate for someone who wants to move rapidly
3) they may have joggers, walkers, dogs, kids etc that are dangerous with bikes at speed

Answer 8

I don't ride them because they are far more dangerous than riding on the road. Cars pull out in front of cyclists never looking first to see if there is any pedestrian traffic, foot or wheeled.
Motorists in the US are inclined, I don't blame them, to believe they are the rule of the road and anything connected to them. I would ride pathwyays if I felt safer and they were constructed better.

In responce to CINDERS comment, it is short sighted and of limited thought when CINDERS believes cyclist want to blame drives for getting knocked down while riding. The last thing any cyclist wants to be struck by a car, major or minorly. A mear door dent on a car can mean a demolished bike and hospitalization for a rider. CINDERS needs to lighten up and share with cyclists their legal right to the road.

Answer 9

Councils spend thousands on your education, why didn't you pay attention when you were taught spelling?

Do me a favour will you and take your life in your hands and cycle for a couple of miles on a cycle lane. Then try the same route on the road. After you have had your third near accident and a couple of punctures on the cycle lane you will probably see why they are best avoided.

I did read your comment you dumbass, I chose to ignore it just like some drivers choose to ignore cyclists.

Answer 10

This old whinge is so tired, we all use the roads in various ways, just get on bike. I guess id get pissy couped up in a box getting fat and going nowhere fast.