Why Bike Riders Run Stop Signs (and ignore most other rules of the road)
This is a work in progress. I’ve summarized and combined a couple of earlier posts in the first two parts and added a third part. I expect this will go through a bunch of edits and additions, but here is what I’ve come up with so far:
Part one:
The kids in my neighborhood are learning to ride their first bikes and they go buzzing down the sidewalks and thru the intersections without looking. We all watch out for them because there is a social contract with the neighbors: “You watch out for my kids and I’ll watch out for yours”.
As these kids grow up their range increases but no one ever teaches them the rules of the road until they are in their twenties zooming around Fort Collins just like they were five and;
- They don’t get hit,
- They don’t get tickets,
- No one blows their horns
- They don’t even get yelled at.
Ever. Nobody makes them follow the rules of the road so they don’t.
As Joe pointed out, there are some kids who flaunt traffic laws as a way of rebelling, since the multiple tattoos and piercings didn’t do the trick.
Part Two:
There are rules of the road for cars and another set for pedestrians, and they are very different. Ever see a jogger come to a full stop at a stop sign before proceeding through the intersection when there was no imminent danger of being killed by a car?
Joggers and walkers move through intersections without regard for the rules unless their survival is at stake.
Cyclists are simply faster pedestrians. Some people think that bikes are slow cars, but I’m not even willing to entertain that argument anymore. But, unfortunately that idea has led to the silly notion that bikes have to follow the same rules of the road as cars.
Many problems would go away if there was a bicycle specific set of rules that recognized and managed the differences between cars and bikes. And the bike rules should make up half of everyone’s driver’s license test so everyone would be exposed to them at least once in their lives.
Yes, I’m in favor of having a new form of drivers license to cover all vehicles including cars, big trucks, busses, scooters, and bicycles. Everyone who uses the roads would need one.
Part Three:
In Part One I said there was a social contract between neighbors that says “I’ll watch out for your kids if you watch out for mine” that allows kids to ride around the neighborhood without getting killed by a car.
There is another social contract at work that allows a smooth flow of pedestrians and drivers in large parking lots. You see it at work when a driver waves a walker to cross first or when a walker takes a path that signals to a driver they will cross behind the car. You see lots of eye contact and friendly hand gestures.
This is a best case scenario because drivers and pedestrians are the same people separated only by a few minutes. There are equal numbers of riders and drivers (or at least people who have arrived in a car). They know exactly what to expect from each other and how to act.
The same two parts of the parking lot social contract apply to any driver- bike rider contract:
1. Nobody Dies
2. Traffic Moves Efficiently.
The way “Nobody Dies” works is (or at least should be) self evident.
The second part, “Traffic Moves Efficiently” is best served if drivers and riders both understand that there are a different sets of rules for cars and bikes, current traffic laws notwithstanding.
That means on roads with good bike lanes, a rider should be able to make a right turn through a stop sign without coming to a full stop and putting a foot down. With a proper social contract in place, the rider would clearly signal the turn and the driver wouldn’t freak out or get pissed seeing it (I’m assuming the driver-rider weren’t on top of each other and the turn was safe).
Another example is a four-way stop. If a rider is still moving, it is nice for a driver to wave them through. If a rider has come to a full stop and put a foot down, it’s better if the driver takes their turn because they can clear the intersection a lot faster than the rider.
It’s all about maintaining a good flow for both riders and drivers.
Unfortunately, most drivers never ride a bike and most don’t even know someone who rides a bike. Most drivers encounter a tiny number of bikes compared number of cars they encounter on each trip. There is very little in the car driver-bike rider relationship to foster an “us” mentality which is needed to form an effective social contract.
So there is a huge difference between a bike rider ignoring the rules of the road and doing something dangerous, and a bike rider who may not be following the strict rules but is still upholding their end of the driver-rider social contract.
Conclusion? Not yet, I’m still thinking about it.
