I was driving and some kid on a bike drove out in front of me against the light

^ I know, I hate filling out all those forms too when I kill someone 😂

OP Read this and you’ll understand what you really avoided.

Time will only increase your chances, there are more motor bikes, scooters, and powered bicycles, not only on the road but on the sidewalks.

Sure Caitlyn, tell the judge that!

Amateur……

@r4, I hear Caitlyn hated all that paperwork she had to fill out too

Everybody gets one.

[quote]Time will only increase your chances, there are more motor bikes, scooters, and powered bicycles, not only on the road but on the sidewalks.

And more braindead zombies, forever looking down at their phone screens, to operate them.

Same thing happened to me. He didn't stop and I almost had a heart attack right there on the intersection.

Are you in LA, OP?

Are you an East Asian woman, OP?

R9, yes, I am.

the filling out paperwork is an attempt at humor; I started r2's article and it depressed me.

You have to not only drive yourself but you have to now 'drive' all the cars and bikes and scooters around you.

I honked the horn for a while; I hope that kid remembers it and thinks twice. Maybe I saved his life for the future.

OP, would you please get to the important part of this story to the DL?

WHAT DID HE LOOK LIKE? IS HE FUCKABLE? HOW OLD IS HE (approximately)? DOES HE HAVE COCKSUCKING LIPS? A GREAT ASS?

These are the things we need to know in order decide if saving his life was the right thing to do or not.

@r10, "Are you an East Asian woman, OP? "

😂

R12, maybe in two years, Bryan S. would be interested in him.

"For 2016 specifically, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data shows 37,461 people were killed in 34,436 fatal motor vehicle crashes, an average of 102 per day."

I'm in LA too and it is getting really bad (bikes, scooters, skateboards, etc) - stop signs and lights are viewed as a suggestion.

These unnecessary accidents will only escalate with Newson now allowing jaywalking - as you turn a corner you aren't aware of someone crossing 10 feet in.

I look at it from the standpoint that these jerks are going to cause an issue that is going to wreck the lives of their families and the driver and his/her families.

Don't put anyone in the position of killing you as then they have to carry that around for the rest of their life.

Awww poor drivers. All they have is a $40k three-ton death weapon versus a big scary ten speed!

^ you are missing the point - they are not following the law and putting themselves in danger. Most have a general lack of respect for anything other than themselves or what they care about. Maybe that speaks to you...

R5 Yes, most women drivers...yet, men kill way more people in traffic, compared to women

R17, you are a flaming asshole. If someday in future you are ever driving a car and kill a pedestrian or a biker because THEY are not following the rules, I hope you'll remember your idiotic post here.

[quote]yet, men kill way more people in traffic, compared to women

That’s cause we be mad.

Does anyone know where I can get those forms to keep in my car? Ya know, just, um, well just in case?

I saw a young man going down a steep hill in traffic on a motorized scooter and he had one hand on the bar and the other on his phone, chest high, and he was staring at the phone.

DO THEY HAVE EYES IN THE TOP OF THEIR HEADS?

OP Most importantly was he cute?

If so, slow the fuck down you drive to fast!

If not, well…you tried your best.

This thread makes total sense because American car drivers are well-known for scrupulously following all rules and laws. Never speeding or blowing red lights or driving drunk or anything!

OP, I was that kid on a bike 40 years ago. I'll never forget the experience. I came out of an alley at full speed and, thank God, the guy driving the car slammed on his brakes, tires squealing. I hit my brakes and his front bumper was inches away from me. I looked at his face and he was totally drained. I'm sure he went through a range of emotions after I sped away. I went home and hibernated for the rest of the day. I was terrified and never told anyone what happened.

Gosh R23, how many car drivers text while driving? I'm gonna say 80%.

R27 Sure, but you can rear end a car and survive, WHEN YOU ARE IN A CAR.

[quote]This thread makes total sense because American car drivers are well-known for scrupulously following all rules and laws. Never speeding or blowing red lights or driving drunk or anything!

[quote]Gosh [R23], how many car drivers text while driving? I'm gonna say 80%.

In the context of this thread, those are straw man arguments, you stupid fucking assholes.

You had ONE fucking job and you cocked it up.

Memories fade, but the forms last forever.

R2, thank you for linking to that, it was a fascinating read.

[quote]In the context of this thread, those are straw man arguments

Someone is triggered!

1. you don't know what a straw-man argument is

2. you're a defensive car-driving cunt

3. a bunch of old faggots complaining about bicycle riders is fucking ridiculous when it's cars that kill and maim and destroy things every day in every part of the country

4. there's literally no complaint made on here about cyclists that you cant make about car drivers, except times 10000000.

Jesus when did the DL become an old folks home?

triggered much? 🙄

I almost got hit at the Taco Bell! OH MY GOD!!!

R33 car-driving cunts, old faggots, even straw men… almost no one is left unscathed by your uh…sane and rational rebuttal.

Yes, frothing at the mouth because of those Damn Kids Today is totally normal and fine.

Some dumb adult birch did this when I was in a car with my mom a few months ago. Luckily my mom is a very cautious and alert driver. It was the same thing though out of nowhere she decided to ride her bike across the road where there were no lights or intersections and then gave my mom a dirty look.

R36 you forgot old folks, they were mentioned too. Or at least where they dwell.

As a cyclist, I ALWAYS stop. I never trust that a driver will stop even if it's a 4 way stop--I've often gotten the shooing gesture from drivers when stopped at a light. And then I proceed and give a friendly wave.

Can someone call for a welfare check for R33?

A danger to themselves or others, and all that

R16 I was wondering what was going on with the jaywalking. It's out of hand. Agree with the bike/scooter/skateboard/motorized bike traffic that thinks stop signs are not even a yield- watch yourself, fellow Angelenos.

True, R41. To a stupid American, anyone who doesn't fetishize cars is nuts.

And don't get me started on the ebikes on trails!!!!

When your whole country is the size of New Jersey you can invest in other transit options. I’m pretty sure China’s per capita car ownership is approaching the US and it will pass it

@r43, You're nuts

Yes, except any time anyone tries to invest in transit options that don't involve cars, mean, crazy car owners start screaming and crying and whining that there's a WAR ON CARS going on.

"I honked my horn loud"

Oh, dear!

@r47, I live in the country, pumpkin, my only choice is a car or a horse. There are no subways, trains or buses here

Lots of cyclists in the country, cupcake? Is this a thing you worry about? Or are you just a mean, drunk cunt?

^ In January with a foot of snow? I may be mean, but you're dumb as a box of rocks

You and him were lucky,.OP. I'm glad you and him are ok.

R47 that’s over simplifying it a bit. With our geographical size, age, private property rights/protections and opportunity cost, other transit systems are by and large impractical, uneconomical or impossible. It’s just the reality of it regardless of how nice it would be to have alternative options.

R12,😂😅 I shouldn't laugh, but I like your post!

[quote]There's literally no complaint made on here about cyclists that you cant make about car drivers, except times 10000000.

The complaint is about people who don't follow the rules, whether they drive cars or ride bicycles. The people here who are berating cyclists for not following the rules are NOT also saying that car drivers are blameless. That's why your argument is a straw man argument, and yes, I certainly do know the meaning of that phrase, you stupid fucking cretin.

If you want to become a world-class defensive driver, come drive where I live. You'll be ready even for someone in a parachute falling from the sky in front of your car!

R26, thank you for sharing; did seeing the driver's face affect you? cause you to be more careful?

I honked that horn till I was out of sight and I hope the kid heard it.

Christ doesn't drive

[quote]Never speeding or blowing red lights

Look, I’ve blown a lot of people and things in my life. I don’t remember blowing one of those though.

[quote] I've often gotten the shooing gesture from drivers when stopped at a light.

Huh?

[quote] You and him were lucky,.OP.

Oh, dear!

[quote] I honked my horn loud

Your horn has different settings?

I’m only teasing you, OP, cause I like you. I kid because I love.

I was proceeding through a four-way stop when a kid on a bike came flying through without stopping. Hit my car on the hood and bounced off onto the ground.

I stopped and took a look at him. He was picking himself up off the ground so I figured he was all right. And I drove off. I figured he was the one who'd hurt himself so it was his problem.

If you're driving in NYC and making a left turn on green, be careful if you're crossing a bike lane becuase the bike riders think they have the right of way even if they are in your blind spot

^ you can make a left turn on red in NYC?

I am a pedestrian. I am run down by bike riders, joggers, moped users, scooters and other pedestrians who are hopped up on Adderall and walk directly on my heels. ON THE SIDEWALK.

The other day a deliveryman using an electronic bike passed me on the sidewalk. When I got to the corner, the same deliveryman was directly behind me in the crosswalk.

Electronic bikes belong in Singapore, Dominican Republic, Lagos and other shitholes, not the US.

I was on a quiet side street using my mobile phone to photograph a vintage car parked in the road. As I was recording, a deliveryman on his electronic bike rode directly behind me to ask for directions.

Electronic bikes are silent. I didn't hear him until he was directly behind me.

Of course, I told him I don't know. WTF is this.

I used to be a Whitewater guide and the customers would say is this dangerous. I would reply with, compared to the drive here this is nothing. I really believe that too. Driving is really the most dangerous thing most people do and they think nothing of it.

I was conversing with a friend on a sidewalk in New York a couple weeks ago and narrowly avoided getting hit by a man on a motorcycle!

On a sidewalk!

The friend said a lot of delivery people using them have injured, and even killed, unwary pedestrians.

WTF!

[quote] The other day a deliveryman using an electronic bike passed me on the sidewalk.

I have a feeling you’d be passed by Grandma Moses using her walker.

Move it along, Toots.

[quote]The people here who are berating cyclists for not following the rules are NOT also saying that car drivers are blameless.

They're just not mentioning the glaringly obvious fact that the vast, vast, vast, vast majority of death and mayhem on the roads are caused by car drivers.

Maybe that’s because the vast, vast, vast majority of things on the roads are cars.

[quote]If you're driving in NYC and making a left turn on green, be careful if you're crossing a bike lane.....

[quote]^ you can make a left turn on red in NYC?

Are you illiterate, or color blind, or both?

[quote]They're just not mentioning the glaringly obvious fact that the vast, vast, vast, vast majority of death and mayhem on the roads are caused by car drivers.

So if I want to write about how sad it is that so many people die from cancer, I can't do so without also mentioning that more people die of heart disease?

Again, the point here is to berate people who don't follow the rules, whether they are car drivers or cyclists or pedestrians. Can you REALLY not understand that?

He slow.

R73 it’s redundant, I think is the point.

No need to say ‘on green’

"Never speeding or blowing red lights"

I've been blown at a red light, does that count? 🤔

No, cause you kicked my ass out the car the minute it turned green.

Are you in Baton Rouge, OP?

Because I have the exact scenario every time I drive through LSU. I HATE it.

180° different from Boulder, where the cops will stop bikers and pedestrians in a hot minute and give them a ticket for biking illegally or jaywalking.

^ Boulder is a crazy-ass city, someone needs to take control

[R73] it’s redundant, I think is the point. No need to say ‘on green’

It's NOT redundant, because if the car driver were making an illegal left turn on red, then the bikers in the bike lane would not be in the wrong for barreling through. Get it?

[quote] Time will only increase your chances, there are more motor bikes, scooters, and powered bicycles, not only on the road but on the sidewalks.

Actually the less reliance on cars then there will be far fewer dangerous accidents, so as time goes by the chances will decrease.

There’s a general rule in the UK (I think it’s there) that your level of responsibility for care as a road user is proportional to the vehicle you’re driving and the amount of damage you can cause if you were to make a mistake. For example, you have to exert more care as a car driver than a bike rider, and as a bike rider more than a pedestrian.

It helps to be proportional when considering road safety. Bike / pedestrian accidents result in a handful of deaths a year in the US (I believe it’s less than 10) yet there are over 100 deaths per day from incidents involving cars. Cars are infinitely more dangerous on the road than bikes.

I drive a car myself and hate cycling but I can see that bike lanes / getting rid of car parking lanes and making it more and more difficult to drive in urban settings is the future of urban living. Sorry tootz

[quote] Are you an East Asian woman, OP?

OP clearly said she hit the brakes...so probably not.

Sheesh, the OP was just making the point that your life can change in an instant, not a polemic on banning bikes/cars/kids.

I spent six months visiting my sister in PT. Every day we saw new people in the room with different degrees of disability from car accidents, falls, burns, failed suicide attempts, paralysis from medical conditions (my sister) comas, on and on. I was a typical 20 year old feeling immortal. Not any more.

[quote] not a polemic

Oh, I hate those people. I mean, why would you eat a perfectly good meal only to purge it? Makes no sense.

It’s like the Trump Family totally demoralized for life for killing those cops on the Capitol

You just can’t walk away from all that death 💀 unscathed unless you’re a complete sociopath

Urban politicians have created a class of entitled fools who think whatever the driver does or doesn't do, they are protected from the laws of physics. Cyclists are their own worst enemy, but they are virtuous.

Unless you’re a pedestrian

What I reject is the premise all drivers are indifferent to the other roads users but that seems to be starting point. I don't think it's unfair to argue cyclists think they're entitled to do as they please. They are shitty people.

R2 years ago while dropping off some friends I backed over and killed a squirrel in a handicap zone. My friends thought it was hilarious and called me the squirrel killer! I was so sad about it. I can’t imagine how sad I would be if I killed an actual person!

I can't believe so many of you childish idiots are spending SO MUCH TIME arguing that "all drivers are bad" or "all cyclists are bad," when OF COURSE the truth is that there are some drivers AND cyclists who obey the rules, and other who do not. And it's those who do not who create danger for everyone.

Heloise the Hall Monitor just in time

R93, probably a cyclist. With a PhD.

I'm happy to serve as "hall monitor" for people who are SO STUPID that they would actually waste everyone's time with the idiotic arguments that ALL DRIVERS are bad, ALL CYCLISTS are good, or vice-versa. I appreciate the OP's story, and this would actually be a very interesting and worthwhile thread if not for these multiple assholes.

You're awfully cuddly yourself. It's one thing to disagree, but the censorious finger wagging is so hot.

Helloise the Hall Monitor

It's interesting how much latent guilt is buried in car drivers. A small part of them knows their huge gas-guzzling monster car is an ethical nightmare so they project all that self-loathing onto cyclists. They know - just KNOW! - that all cyclists are judging them and they CAN'T STAND IT!!!

^ Cyclist. Smug, delusional, resentful, poor.

R98 but why oh why if they are so morally superior are they so cruel and malicious to pedestrians 🚶🏻‍♂️

Because they are cyclists. [italic]They[/italic]are entitled to all things. Just ask them.

I can’t understand why car drivers don’t appreciate cyclists - every extra cyclist takes a car off the road, making traffic much lighter and therefore far more beneficial for everyone? Also let’s stop with this myth of cyclists being dangerous to pedestrians, its important to be proportional about things. Cars kill pedestrians and other road users, cyclists don’t except for in extremely unusual circumstances that are generally negligible in terms of data.

And last thing, if you’re driving in an urban area and a cyclist “comes out of nowhere” it typically means you weren’t paying sufficient attention to the road sorry.

Something like this almost happened to me this morning, except it was a stupid Fed Ex driver. He just walked right out in front of me to get into the driver side entrance to his truck. There was oncoming traffic as well, I nearly ran right into him. He didn't even bother to stop and look first.

See? There's the resentful, projecting car drivers who just KNOW that all cyclists are entitled.

And the whistles are to alert people with headphones who don't follow the rules.

You all LOVE rules, right? Or only when it applies to someone you hate and resent?

R104 he/she is a crazy person. Why are you acknowledging them in your post?

#unwellandunhinged

^ Kari Lake fan. Seriously.

[quote]except it was a stupid Fed Ex driver.

But was he hot though?

There are times when you just need to floor the gas pedal and say the hell with it.