No wonder people get frustrated and hit them.
Okay, these cyclists are not following the law for sure.
> No wonder people get frustrated and hit them.
... What? So, a cyclist breaks a minor law, which is that they use the sidewalk at a red light, so it is _okay_ to hit a _200 pound cyclist_ with a _2 ton metal object_? Jesus christ, what world do you live in where there's moral equivalence there.
If this isn't a textbook case of motorist entitlement, I don't know what is.
Didn't say that.
The key to surviving as a cyclist using bad cycle infrastructure is to be flexible and aware of the dangers around you. Crossing at a crosswalk is a reasonable response to drivers who don't check their mirrors and don't signal before turning. Running a red light when there is no cross traffic is a reasonable response to the fact that cars and bikes have different abilities to get up to speed from a stop and impatient drivers (especially, again, turning ones) are a huge risk to cyclists.
It's absolutely true that cyclists are often not strict rule-followers, but the rules are designed for cars which are large, fast, heavy, and can cause huge amounts of damage, while cycles are small, slow, light, and can cause at best small amounts of damage.
As a cyclist, I have to ride as if every single vehicle is actively trying to kill me.
For what it's worth, people often believe this even when it's not true in their area. For example, in Austin (where I live) it is legal to cycle on sidewalks, though I often hear people say they think otherwise.
Now, I'm not saying I do it, as a cyclist who wants to live a long life. But it is legal and (as my sibling commenters have said) it doesn't give any drivers a right or reason to hit cyclists.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bicyclerules_engli...
That map covers, what, about 0.001% of Austin roads? You can take it on faith that my conversations about people cycling on sidewalks don't have to do with those very few streets downtown. My point stands that cycling on Austin sidewalks is legal in 99.99% of cases and nobody has the right or reason to "get frustrated and hit them."
As an aside: I find cycling downtown to be the easiest, because traffic speeds are much slower and there are a number of good bike lanes (some even physically protected). In addition, most drivers downtown actually expect pedestrians and therefore don't blindly turn with high speed at lights.
Not what I said.