Cyclists who don’t follow the rules will hear my horn

I must take exception and comment on the commentary by Christopher M. Craig on finding equilibrium between bicycles and cars [Dec. 9 ]. I am one of those people who will continue to blow my horn and shout at cyclists ignoring the rules of the road that they, like other vehicles, are supposed to follow. Mr. Craig admits in his column that he will pass other vehicles who are stopped at traffic lights to get to the front of the line. Stay in your place in line and wait like the rest of us are doing or expect to get blown at and cursed at. He also admits to running through stop signs, thereby endangering all of us; again expect to get blown at and cursed at.

If you are riding a vehicle on N.C. streets, follow the laws or get off the road, whether you are riding a bicycle, driving a car, riding a long board or a unicycle.

He also admits to taking to the sidewalks, thereby endangering the pedestrians who are following the law — unlike this scofflaw, who just wants his own way.

I am more than happy to see him on his bicycle, following the same laws that we, in our much bigger vehicles, also have to follow. … Yes, more bike paths and bike lanes would be helpful, but that doesn't give Mr. Scofflaw the right to violate these traffic laws, and he needs to work peacefully toward getting these paths and lanes funded.

So, I shall continue to blow my horn and to curse at you and others who like to think that you are helping prevent global warming by bicycling and want to have your own way by violating the rules of the road to suit yourselves. Ride your bike all you want, but follow the laws and rules of the road or get the hell off my road. (Yes, my road, since cars and trucks pay the highway taxes and bicycles do not.)

— Craig Whitehead
Candler

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9 thoughts on “Cyclists who don’t follow the rules will hear my horn

  1. Hank Kennesaw

    Yes cyclists should follow the traffic laws. I saw a pedestrian almost slammed into at a crosswalk downtown by a cyclist who blew through while the cars stopped. The traffic laws are for all of us, so that we ALL can get to our destinations safely.

    That said, cars that stand on their horns when they encounter a cyclist, say on the Parkway who is riding at 15-20 mph or so and over to the right as far as possible, are rude and worse. They can cause an accident. Horn blowers, ride a bike sometime and see how jarring it is for a car right behind you to blow their horn in anger. Horns were meant to be used as a warning, not as a way to express displeasure. I advise car drivers to be more sympathetic, and patient, on the roads. And leave early enough that you don’t feel like you have to be in a New York hurry to get where you are going. We can all co-exist if we respect each other.

  2. entopticon

    Therapy might be a better solution for you. If a bicycle puts you in immediate danger, by all means, honk. Screaming and honking because you have unresolved anger issues just puts the rest of us in danger.

    Sorry, but it is not YOUR road Craig. It’s everyone’s road. You are not the only person who pays taxes. In fact, bicyclists do us all a great favor by reducing traffic congestion, and yes, reducing pollution. Your issues about global warming are a little nuts as well. Seriously, get the help that you need.

    It is kind of bizarre to see how so many people with anger issues obsessively rant about bicycles. In all my years in the Asheville area, I have never had a single incident where my safety was threatened by a bicycle. A bicycle weighs about 30 pounds. Yes, bicyclists should ride safely, but to obsess about them as if they were a threat that is as serious as bad drivers, is beyond nuts.

    Every single time I go out, my safety is repeatedly threatened by careless drivers. Every time you change lanes without signaling, you break the law and you put my life in danger. You put the lives of countless men, women, and children in danger as well. It is not a rare occasion here; about half the cars on the road don’t seem to use them at all. I am not sure why they even bother to put turn signals on pickup trucks. Because of cars not signaling, I have been hit once, and literally run off the road three times, causing me to lose a tire in one of the cases. I even see people do it right in clear sight of police vehicles, without any reproach, and I even see police vehicles do it themselves!

    And paying attention to other people’s turn signals is a serious safety matter as well. Every time I am in front of you in the left lane, signaling to get over into the right lane, and you speed up to prevent me from getting over, rather than slowing down to let me over into your lane, you are breaking the law and you are endangering my life. You are endangering your life and the lives of everyone around you as well.

    By any reasonable estimate, a careless lack of turn signals and carelessly ignoring other’s turn signals puts people in real danger here thousands, and thousands, and thousands of times a day. The constant ranting about bicyclists isn’t about real danger. It’s about the psychological issues of the people who endlessly obsess over it.

  3. liz

    Please, bicyclists, DON’T pass a line of cars to get to the front of a line. Scenario: the light changes, and you’re almost at the front of the line when it does. The car just ahead of you, whose driver has no idea you are back there because you aren’t supposed to be creating your own lane, turns right while you are going straight. You run into the passenger door of the turning car, hurt yourself, and terrify the driver. Rude, and more important, dangerous.

  4. Piffy!

    stop making excuses, entop. You and I both know bicycle-related accidents are the cause of more deaths in America today than anything other than honeybees, soda, mcdonalds, drunk-driving, handguns, and Barack Obama’s Brownshirts.

    Seriously, tho. Many of the roads in Asheville and the rural roads of WNC are not made for bikes. We cant simply tell bicyclists to use the same narrow, winding roads and not expect conflict.

    Riding on these roads is dangerous. Hell, most of the narrow roads around asheville can barely even accommodate the ever-increasing-in-size vehicles and the ever-growing population. It would appear that we need to really update our infrastructure,
    stop people from moving here, or come up with some plan other than continuing to build as if this were anything other than a country town.

    Stupid people have always been a problem. “There’s just more people in general these days, and thus, more stupid people. One more reason to legalize murder.

  5. confused

    obviously Craig was correct in his observations and judging from the follow-up comments, most people either never read his input or, as usual, rushed to judgement just to hear themselves rant.

    case in point, entopticon:

    “Sorry, but it is not YOUR road Craig. It’s everyone’s road. You are not the only person who pays taxes.”

    That is exactly the point that Craig was trying to make entopticon!!! It is everyone’s road not just the smug cyclist’s. As for the taxes issue, you could not be more wrong. Tell what taxes a cyclist pays to maintain a road. Road maintenance is supposed to come from gasoline sales tax. When is the last time you saw someone put gas in a bicycle?

    “The constant ranting about bicyclists isn’t about real danger. It’s about the psychological issues of the people who endlessly obsess over it.”

    For someone accussing someone of having psychological issues with endless ranting and obsessing, yours appears to be the longest post on here!

  6. entopticon

    “confused” is a particularly apt moniker for you, you blithering sockpuppet.

    That is exactly the point that Craig was trying to make entopticon!!! It is everyone’s road not just the smug cyclist’s.

    Golly confused, Craig’s point was that it is “everyone’s road’? I guess that’s why he said:

    “Ride your bike all you want, but follow the laws and rules of the road or get the hell off my road. (Yes, my road, since cars and trucks pay the highway taxes and bicycles do not.)”

    Seriously confused, just because you apparently dropped out of elementary school to pursue a career in glue huffing, it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn basic English. Here’s your first lesson… “My” does not mean “everyone’s”. Repeat over and over to yourself; eventually you will get it.

    As for the taxes issue, you could not be more wrong. Tell what taxes a cyclist pays to maintain a road.

    It is truly amusing that you really are such a ridiculously delusional goof that you actually believe that people either ride bikes, or drive. Here’s your second lesson of the day, most bicyclists also have cars, and they pay taxes. Bicycling actually decreases wear and tear on the roads and reduces traffic, saving money for the cost of maintaining roads.

    When is the last time you saw someone put gas in a bicycle?

    When is the last time you had relations with your sister? I’m guessing very recently.

    For someone accussing someone of having psychological issues with endless ranting and obsessing, yours appears to be the longest post on here!

    For someone who has a hard time comprehending the meaning of two letter words like “my,” you certainly do compensate for a lack of understanding with ham-fisted stabs at cleverness. You are the one defending the practice of screaming at bicyclists from a car, and you are seriously trying to make the argument that I am the one with issues? That’s rich.

  7. Will

    Go for it, Craig. I’m a hard-core cyclist and I obey all traffic laws all the time. You won’t be blowing your horn at me. I have ridden with other cyclists who do all sorts of ignorant stuff they would never attempt in a motor vehicle. It really pisses of a lot of road-cooperative cyclists as well!

  8. It’s pretty apparent driving raises your blood pressure. It’s not fun. It’s aggravating. Esp around downtown. It’s much faster to get around by bike. People on bikes smile. I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw someone get out of a car and say, “WooHooo! That ride was fun as hell!” You can’t pop a wheelie in your car. Hell try skiddin with anti-lock brakes. Try standing up and going no handed. You can’t put your feet on the steering wheel and let the wind blow up your skirt. You can do all that on a bike and more. Hell drinking and riding is safer. You’re only likely to injure yourself.

    Transportation can be recreation.

    Asheville, Bring Your Bike.

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