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Sorry Aaron, you are an idiot. You are offended because you must wait at a light? Why should cars wait? Do away with all lights. In a perfect world bikes have wide lanes and no on intrudes. We do not live in a perfect world. Does a biker have the right to travel in a car lane? Does a speeding bike have the right to pass a slow moving bike? Can he pass a car on the right? Can he weave thru traffic? Bikes and cars do not mix. Walk or run and leave the bike at home.
Your biases are very clear: 1) "allegedly" struck by a rider - there were witness I seem to recall; 2) by my last count I believe you had 43 blog entries mostly by outraged pedestrians and a few from cyclists who missed the point. You provide six comments all from bicycle riders, 4 of whom present as potentially safe riders but none from pedestrians. Having been run down twice by bike riders I do not have a high regard for most riders. If I step into the path of a vehicle (bike car or truck) it is my fault and I will assume responsibility but when I am standing at a street corner waiting for the light to change and a moron on two wheels rides up the sidewalk, runs the red light, knocks me down and then calls me the idiot for not getting out of his way, I tend to lose any respect or courtesy for them. I routinely walk Kelly Drive in the morning and I have had the fortune of encountering exactly two (2) riders (I should say ONLY TWO) who have enough respect to let me know they are coming up on me from behind so that I don't do anything silly like step into their path. Mr. Sneed's death has made me rethink how I behave around cyclists, from a stubborn "I have the right of way on the sidewalk" to cyclists (ALL) are lethal and that I should stay out of their way not out of courtesy or inclination to share the road but out of fear. Hit and run is hit and run. Failure to carry idnetification while operating any moving vehicle should result in detention until identification is provided. Cops should set an example by respecting the laws (except when in pursuit) and all traffic laws should be enforced (pedestrian, car, bicycle).
"Irresponsible pedestrians!" I am a cyclist and the rule of the road is, the slower has the right of way. I am also a motorcyclist and we've had issues with cars in that cars tend to look for other cars and sometimes, they look right past us. Shared responsibility and the slower has the right of way.
Okay, if cyclists want the roads changed to better accommodate them, then they can start paying road taxes like cars do. Otherwise STFU
Aaron Olk: What you are describing is jaywalking, which is illegal. Your justification of a rolling stop is also illegal, check the Law. Situational compliance is always wrong and illegal, whether employed by motorists, pedestrians or bicyclists. Motor vehicles virtually always come to complete stops at red lights, even empty intersections at 3AM, and wait for the light to turn green. Bicyclists are required to do the same. The employment of a straw-man argument to rationalize your illegal behavior is bogus. The author focused on sidewalk riding in last week's article, how is that ever justified? Tell me the justification for the law-breaker I observed two days ago racing along the 20th Street sidewalk and almost running over a senior citizen in front of the retirement home at 20th & Race? He continued on his merry way weaving around pedestrians in front of the Franklin Institute, and this happens all over Center City. Did irresponsible pedestrians cause him to do this or was he just a reckless bicyclist, of the type observed by Ms. Garrison in her initial article?
The purpose of any legislation should be the safety of ALL - drivers, bikers and pedestrians. Maybe people need to stop taking an "us-against-them" attitude in order to see real, workable solutions to benefit ALL.
Mr Mann, i hope you shower when you get to work.
I've discovered an interesting fact that should probably get more publicity: if you are a cyclist who also owns a car, your car insurance covers your operation of the bicycle, both your liability to others as well as damage to you and your vehicle. Given this, it may be worthwhile for avid cyclists to pick "full tort" instead of "limited tort" for their own insurance. Also, if you happen to have car insurance and are hit by any vehicle as a pedestrian, be it bicycle or car, you may be able to make a claim from the "uninsured operator" coverage on your insurance, if you were unable to get insurance information about the other vehicle. KevSim, if there was a fully functioning carbon offest credit market (so that the price of carbon dioxide remediation were fully priced into the cost of gasoline), that would be ideal, though as it stands, overloaded tractor-trailers are what cause damage to road surfaces; cars' current gas taxes really are subsidizing freight. If you really care about fairness in road maintenance cost, you should focus more on trucks than the bicycles. At that, I don't think the Philadelphia streets department gets gas taxes, but is paid for by the wage and property taxes, and cyclists generally pay those.
Check out Stuart Leon, he's a Center City lawyer who represents all bicyclists that get unjustly hit, whether by an automobile or if they are "doored." If you have any questions or qualms, he is your man. Just look him up online and you'll see his credentials.
kev sim - "road tax"??? I ride a bike and I have a car. I'm not familiar with the government charging me a "road tax" for either. If you're talking about tolls, bikes are prohibited from almost every toll road I've heard of.
Notice in the replies from bicyclist that its always some one else at fault or the other guy needs to make the adjustment.
These comments are funny. People..cut everyone some slack, huh? Take a deep breath and think about your own safety. I ride, walk and drive downtown and feel most threatened by pedestrians when I am biking. As noted above, many people cross in the middle of the block or stand in the street at the corner. I don't think pedestrians realize just how hurt they can get if they are hit by a moving bike. I call it extreme pedestrianism. Are some bikers inconsiderate? You bet. Are most bikers trying to be safe? You bet. Take a deep breath, hang up the phone and take the earbuds out and enjoy your perambulation safely. Thanks
Aaron Olk are you kidding me?
you make it sound as if pedestrians are the issue here. I'll admit no biking for me but being someone that would like to if it were safer it is tuff out there for cyclists.
BUT i've seen too many bicyclists riding in the middle of traffic slowing not really stopping at a light and going while pedestrians are starting to cross or riding on the sidewalk and then passing a pedestrian close to the path the are walking. What if that person moves very slightly?
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