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Comment by wonderwonder | Hacker News Reader

Feel like many bicyclists already act like this is the law regardless of the right of way. Anecdotal of course but around me they just blow through stop signs like they have permanent right of way. Especially the groups riding together in the mornings. Totally ignore all rules of the road.

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You should reconsider your windshield bias.

There is loads of data that shows people on bikes break laws at the same or lower rate than people in cars, and unlike drivers, they rarely kill people.

Here's a few to start with:

https://daily.jstor.org/are-cyclists-reckless-lawbreakers/

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/01/03/study-cyclists-dont-b...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/05/10/cyclists...

https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/study-drivers-...

Couple of quick points, never in anyway compared the rate of law breaking in my post. Pretty sure I specified my post was anecdotal. I really don't care what stats say, I care that around me large groups of bicyclists blow through stop signs while I am taking my kids to school in the morning. I understand you have a cause to push but I'm not the guy you should be pushing it at. I'm just some middle aged dude trying to get his kids to school safely without running anyone over.

> Pretty sure I specified my post was anecdotal. I really don't care what stats say

Why should we care about your anecdotes here, though? Especially when they're going against the science.

> I understand you have a cause to push but I'm not the guy you should be pushing it at.

You're the one claiming your anecdotes to be the truth here, trying to push your anti-bicyclist view.

> I'm just some middle aged dude trying to get his kids to school safely

Ironically, you and the other drivers are the risk factor for school kids. Why do you even feel the need to drive them to school? To dangerous for them to walk/bike because of other cars is my guess.

psst, you don't have to care that's the neat part. You are responding though so you have chosen to care, that's on you.

"push your anti-bicyclist view" lol, my what?

"Why do you even feel the need to drive them to school? To dangerous for them to walk/bike because of other cars is my guess." I am going to assume you have no children and no idea what you are talking about and that 90% of your daily concern is focused on you 'pro-bicyclist view'. My kids are young, school starts at 7:30 am. Their school is a good distance away. of course I care about them getting hit by cars, your argument is really bad. Its like when people in the US complain about police brutality and some genius retorts with "well why don't you live in communist china and see how you like it." Its ok to focus on multiple issues friend. I wish both you and your 'pro-bicyclist' agenda well. :)

I drive, walk, and cycle under the assumption that every single other person in view is both suicidal and insane at the same time, and act accordingly. It works pretty well, all things told.

Practically this means traveling in such a way that I always have an “out” and it has saved me from my own stupidity multiple times.

He probably loves them, and quite responsibly would prefer to encase them in steel on the way to school. If I see an adult driving with kids and I'm biking I usually just fall back. They will crush you like a bug, and curse you for traumatizing the children as you shuffle off this mortal coil. I'll let em go first.

For sure. The reason they are changing the law is that the law makes sense for cars, not bikes. I'd suggest spending some time cycling in your area; you'll discover that most cyclists are not "Totally ignore all rules of the road", but instead have reasonable and sensible behaviors that are just different from what make sense for cars.

Because when you have good visibility and momentum, it’s much safer to get through and away from an intersection than to come to a stop, put your foot down, and get moving again. The traffic laws are made for automobiles, but it’s great to see Colorado recognizing the difference.

I hear what you are saying but if the people driving the cars expect you to stop and they go based on the belief that the bicyclists will follow the law and stop then its just a recipe for disaster. Now if the law is changed then the drivers expectations should change as well and all will be well. Until then though one group is breaking the law and the other is not in these specific scenarios. With that said many people drive like fools anyway.

This new law hasn't changed a bicycle's abilities, privileges, or responsibilities when other traffic is present. So if there is a situation where "the people driving the cars expect you to stop" the person on the bicycle still needs to stop. (Assuming the expectation is correct.)

Of course cyclists expect drivers to expect us to stop. The entire point of treating it like a yield is that we only proceed when a car is not about to go. Most cyclists treat every car like it’s actively trying to kill them, so “running a red” carelessly is not the way.

Stopping at lights and stop signs is particularly dangerous because of distracted drivers rear-ending you. It’s better to take a good look, and if no cars are left and right, don’t wait around. Get away from the intersection.

If 'less time in the intersection' is actually safer, wouldn't it be safer for cars too?

A car can accelerate through the intersection much easier than a cyclist can remount and accelerate from a full stop. Cars are also not in the same danger of being killed by a distracted driver rear-ending them. Cyclists are up higher, can hear better, and see the situation at the intersection much better, so the can roll through an intersection more safely than a car.

Yeah, I agree that this will probably bring a lot of cyclists into compliance with the law (and hopefully reduce injury and death as more cyclists take advantage of the newly permitted behavior!)

Yeah, fast heay things and slow light things don't mix well together in flows. The fast things have to stop being fast to stop from obliterating the slow things.

If you think of a hypothetical situation where 50% of the road things are slow then there's not much benefit to being able to go fast.

Where is the tipping point?

Absolutely, most bicyclists in the area where I live almost never actually stop at stop signs and would even make hand gestures if a stopped car does not yield to them when they zoom through.

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