The Boyfriend says that bikers throughout the city of Philadelphia know well the hum of my 2000 Land Rover Discovery. You know what I say? I wish they did. Then maybe they’d get the hell out of the way. Normally, my temperament doesn’t really tend toward incidents of road rage. (Extreme Pedestrian Rage, maybe, but that’s a whole other story). Rather, I’m the type to send a grateful prayer up to baby Jesus when I have a close call on the road, rather than curse the jackass who caused it. But years of negotiating city roads with less than conscientious bikers pedaling haphazardly around my moving vehicle like spastic pinballs have more than provided an exception to this norm.
When the city created the first significant batch of bike lanes back in late 2009, I enjoyed the glimmer of hope that this would solve the animosity between drivers and bikers in Center City. A place for everything, and everything in its place, I thought, and they’ll stay in their lanes and we drivers will stay in ours, and there will be set rules we’ll all blissfully follow—and surely they won’t need to go on the sidewalks anymore, what with a home to call their own, now—and we’ll all live happily ever after. The glimmer lasted about a minute.
As far as I could tell, the lanes seemed to validate their existence as bikers—not in the fair, we’re-all-equal-now kind of way, but in a way that seemed to bolster their assertion that they could go where they wanted and do what they pleased upon their two special wheels. They became bolder. They continued to ride in my lane, theirs running parallel and empty beside them. They came up behind me from the left side and made a right turn in front of me, just as the light turned from red to green. I’ve idled in the middle of the road, waiting for a biker to pass me—not just in my lane again, but coming toward me, going west on Pine—and stumbled and gasped as they’ve zoomed past while I teetered down the sidewalk carrying my weight in groceries. I think my favorite had to be when I sat at a light, watching in my rearview as some hipster coasted through the miniscule alleyway between the passenger side of cars parked along the left side of the road and the driver side of cars waiting at the light in their lane, snapping off a lovely collection of side mirrors as he went like some sort of wayward SEPTA bus.
So you’ll have to forgive me if, when in late April, the city announced not only the opening of more bike lanes, but implemented the touchy-feely Give Respect-Get Respect campaign, directed at reducing accidents between cyclists and motorists, I barely raised an eyebrow. Bikers just always struck me as your fifth-grade class clown who could always charm his way out of getting in trouble, or the idiot bobbing and weaving 110 mph down 95 at rush hour, with nary a cop to be seen: Nothing will ever happen to them, I thought. If anything, motorists will start getting tickets more, the mean, much heavier and powerful bullies getting punished, even in cases where it was the little guy’s fault.
I am happy to say that the stats printed in yesterday’s Daily News article chronicling the progress of the whole Give Respect-Get Respect thing have proved me wrong: 803 police stops, 600 of them for cyclists! Not only that, but quotes from cops assessing that it is indeed the cyclists who seem to be breaking the rules. Hallelujah, justice has been served, I thought—at least to the potential 600 drivers or pedestrians who were startled or infuriated or even, perhaps, had their vehicles damaged as a result of whatever those bikers were illegally doing.
I think that biking around the city is a great idea—a great, green, healthy, efficient idea. I think that the city should make it easier for people to implement this great, green, healthy, efficient mode of personal transportation. I know this. And for those biking Philadelphians who do so peacefully, rock on. But for those of you who flail around Philly like you’re Evel Knievel and the cars around you are soft, fluffy blobs of marshmallow operated by people on their best, most alert ten-and-two driving behavior at all times, look alive. The party is over.
July 19th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
I support rules and regulations for bikers to abide by, and I support punishment for those who don’t. But for the overly angry motorist who loves to yell at bikers and refuses to share the road…then I support taking a kryptonite u-lock to their side mirrors.
As somebody who both drives and rides a bike I can tell you that no matter how many bikes are on the road….there are plenty more cars. And if you are really that upset for not being able to make it to the next stop sign or red light faster because there is a bicyclist minding his own business in front of you then you need to check on your rage. Don’t be jealous because he can weave between those cars with ease and make it to his destination faster than you, with a parking spot right out front no less. If it’s really that big a deal that, than buy a bike!
Bikers are not going away, but if you keep cursing me out your window for because “I’m in your way”, then I can guarantee your going to lose your side view mirror and finally have a reason to curse me out.
July 19th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
The best thing anyone can do is take a deep breath, whisper whatever you need to to “baby jesus” and be glad no one has been hurt and go on your way.
July 19th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
1) not all cyclists are the same; goes with drivers too. Some are there for sport, some for transportation, some are good, some don’t care about any rules. But I understand that lumping them all together makes it easy and more satisfying to belittle them.
2) Referring to cyclists who are not morons, drunk, or out to get you… to Rules of the road are made for cars, not bikes. They have to follow the rules, as do cares, but doing so usually makes situations more unsafe for both. When you see a cyclist run the light at Ridge and Main st., it is likely because it is more safe for everyone if the cyclist moves ahead and gets out of sync with traffic. Trust me, if every cyclist followed very rule of the road, there would be more problems then there are now. Following all the rules to the letter (which drivers seldom do; be honest) put cyclist in closer quarters with cars for a longer duration. When that cyclist goes through a stop sign, he/she is now out of sync with traffic and less likely to be in your way.
I now that may require some thought and goes against the cars-are-superior mentality, but go out on a limb and think about it.
Unless you are out on the street on a bicycle for any period of time, your points are invalid. You have no idea how the traffic laws effect a cyclist trying to get from A to B. The last thing a person on a bike is thinking is “how can I piss off this driver or hit a pedestrian?” They are thinking about how to safely navigated the immediate situation and arrive at their destination safely. More than likely that is the same thing you are thinking; so lets give each other a break…
Those who oppose cyclists, next time you have the opportunity, go for a bike ride; you might actually have fun.
July 19th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
I also find the blatant hypocritical views staggering. All drivers break the rules of the road. Everyone has sped, rolled a stop sign, or made an illegal turn, yet when a cyclist rolls a stop sign (to avoid putting a foot down and slowing those in their cars down further) its the end of the world.
To the author: Does your Boyfriend’s 11 year old Land Rover give you the right to drive around without limitation from others around you? I’m sorry you have to deal with so many pleebs from the view of your likely broken semi luxury suv. Keep rockin’ those uggs and don’t think too hard.
July 19th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
I agree and there are definitely cyclists who are ridicilous and are a danger to themselves and others on the road, but thats not the majority. Those that disregard a general rule of safety, should be held responsible in the same way a car should. But in the same way it is mentioned that when there are “less than conscientious bikers” on the road with “nary a copy to be seen”, there are far more unsafe drivers who get away with far worse.
And why is it ok for cars to park in the bike lane with flashers on? Is it ok for a car to park in the regular lane? No it’s not. How many times will I have to hear an idiot in a car honking at a cyclist, even though its rush hour, even though the streets are backed up, and that car isn’t going to go anywhere any faster. Motorists are for the most part ignorant and rageful. And the last time I checked, cars and bicycles aren’t exactly an even match.
I think the author of this article needs to get out of her Land Rover, and spend a couple of weeks riding a bike and then revisit this topic. I’d like to see how callous she is then.
July 19th, 2011 at 3:20 pm
so, you admit that when you drive you drive like an idiot, are not at your most alert, and fail to follow proper procedures?
That admission pretty much backs up the initial impression your writing provides.
good to know.
July 19th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
I challenge the author to try on a bike just as she did the uggs. I challenge her to commit to commuting to work for one month and then write a second article on her experience, be it good or bad. I will even pro ide the equipment. Without such a point of view your article is nothing more than a misinformed and unproductive rant.
July 19th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
I don’t buy the idea that bicyclists can ignore the rules of the road in the best interests of “safety”; this is a convenient justification. I’m sure it’s what moron bikers think when they ride the wrong way down a one-way street and nearly run me over when I’ m on foot.
Impatient, intolerant drivers need to chill out. It doesn’t kill you to let a bike go first and bikes do have rights to ride in traffic lanes if there aren’t bike lanes. I second what an earlier respondent says about rethinking parking lanes to allow for more bike lanes – that would help everyone.
July 19th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
Don’t let the Lycra fool you. I will rip you out of your car and beat your azz if you attempt to run down myself or any of my friends.
July 19th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 6:37 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 7:24 pm
Again I ask…what is wrong with you and WHO raised you? You should be ashamed of yourselves, Jim, Greg, Craigerator, Mike, Dan and I pray I never meet you.
July 19th, 2011 at 8:02 pm
My parents raised me. They raised me to be logical and assertive. They taught me how to defend myself against those in the world who aim to cause harm to myself or my friends.
The author shows a blatant disregard for quality journalism. The disjointed argument quickly goes from threat, to wishful backpedaling in the span of a few paragraphs. The mag should be embarrassed to staff people like this.
I pray I never meet you Jeff, as I feel any further conversation with you would just give me a bigger headache than what reading this article has done already.
July 19th, 2011 at 8:29 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 8:58 pm
I see you know sarcasm well, but please allow me do some analysis on Carrie’s opening line and perhaps you will see the veiled threat I refer to.
“The Boyfriend says that bikers throughout the city of Philadelphia know well the hum of my 2000 Land Rover Discovery. You know what I say? I wish they did. Then maybe they’d get the hell out of the way.”
Why would a biker know the “hum” of her land rover? The author is clearly asserting that bikers should fear cars (hers), and as such “get the hell out of the way”.
Please feel free to correct me if you feel I am incorrect in my analysis.
Carrie, The above is how you formulate a respectful, well organized argument.
July 19th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Do you like fitness?
July 19th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Keep up the good work, Carrie!
July 19th, 2011 at 9:26 pm
I agree the author does not directly threaten bikers, (although I’d like to know exactly what would happen to me if I did not “get the hell out of the way” after hearing the hum of a Land Rover) however the attitude and sense of entitlement to the road sets a precedence and gives justification to the maniac motorists out there that that will swerve into, throw garbage, “buzz” and totally disrespect anybody that is in “their” road. It is a display of ignorance and total disregard to the big picture that a mother, daughter, father, son or simply anybody that wants to go for bike ride on nice day could be killed because they are not aware of a land rover (or ford tempo, hummer, BMW) bearing down on them.
July 19th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Like I said before, everyone is entitled to their opinions….it’s just sad that people get off on being so rude. Oh well, the world is full of unhappy people I guess!
July 19th, 2011 at 10:21 pm
July 19th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
July 20th, 2011 at 9:07 am
Yes its important to obey the rules. And yes, some people break them (on both sides). But the playing field is not level.
Cars are big. Bikes are small. When a CAR driver breaks the rules (or just gets distracted for a moment), the outcome can be catastrophic and cyclists risk injury or death. Rarely do you hear of drivers injured because of a bike slamming into their car.
Don’t get me wrong, I drive too and I know how rattling it is when you’ve got bikes weaving through lanes or when a cyclist seems to come out of nowhere. It doesn’t make me angry though. It reminds me that I need to be a careful driver. But not just because there are bicycles in the city.
It’s a city. A big busy city. There are cars, traffic lights, strollers, wheel chairs, construction sites, jay walkers, lane closures, trucks unloading, double parked cars, unleashed dogs, and occasionally a child running into the street. You have to have a boatload of patience and the ability to have your eyes on everything at once. That’s city driving. It’s also city cycling. And city walking.
I join with the others in encouraging Carrie to take on the challenge to bike to work. I think this would make for a fascinating article and I would genuinely be interested to hear about Carrie’s experience and whether it affects her opinion at all.
July 20th, 2011 at 9:24 am
Once she gets the reader riled up, she then falls shorter and contradicts herself. “When I say all bikers, I mean just the bad ones, and you shouldn’t be so offended at what I just wrote.” The last paragraph may possibly not even be her own work but an editor who feared a backlash. But if you mean to write it one way, finish it the same way. Don’t simply floor it, weaving in-and-out of traffic and then casually flicker a turn signal when you’d like to gingerly parallel park your progressive-bumper-stickered car, so to speak.
From a driver, pedestrian, runner, cyclist, and biker (two very different titles), I generally agree with what she is saying. Enforcement needs to be stepped up but not be targeted only at cyclists. Drivers are equally the problem too. And in reality, the city just doesn’t have the cash to fund additional enforcement. So just as quickly as people honk at another driver, help everyone out and speak up when you spot a wrongdoing. At least she provided her full name when she wrote this piece.
July 20th, 2011 at 10:51 am
July 20th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
The editors of this blog should start a contest to find some promising writers. Perhaps the editors could pit detractors against Philly Post writers and choose winners. Can’t get worse. Just when I thought getting rid of Kelly Rowell was a start, along come Ms. Denny and Mr. Callahan.
July 20th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
July 20th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
So remaining unbiased is not going to be possible.
I still see no relevance in the author attempting to brag about her car, it served no purpose and really just shows how not Green the author actually is.
I digress…
The most interesting thing about this article, by far, are the comments. These, for the most part, show how strong the cycling community is, and how most cyclists share the same concerns. I do not think the author did as much research or spent as much time in writing this article as she did
with her Uggs article (yes i read it just to make sure), Absolutely Not. However, I applaud Carrie for taking the leap and writing about something
she is not familiar with, she tried and she failed, it happens. I am not going to write Carrie off completely, if she writes an article about jeggings, I am sure it will be literary gold.
July 20th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
go rove some other land if it bothers you so much.
July 20th, 2011 at 3:18 pm
July 20th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
July 20th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
July 20th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
In case you weren’t aware, this is an OPINION piece where the author happens to APPLAUD those cyclists that do practice safe, responsible riding (did you miss that???) She has a right to her OPINION and a right to inject humor where she feels like it (are in incapable of recognizing humor? That’s sad). You have a right to your own opinion too! So feel free to argue it, but crossing the line into personal attacks on the author is completely unacceptable and repulsive. This is a person with a family and feelings and someone who obviously reads these comments. Would you say these things to her face? Shame on you and have fun in hell.
My advice to the low life assholes on here (Mike, Dan, Jim, Craigerator, Jay, Greg, etc etc): Turn off the computer, change out of your sweatpants, climb out of your Mom’s basement and get a life.
July 21st, 2011 at 8:04 am
July 21st, 2011 at 10:12 am
July 21st, 2011 at 10:27 am
I am not a bike rider, but this article is truly one-sided with no thought to the other point of view. I have seen cars purposely cut off bikers out of frustration. I have consistently seen cars parked in the bike lane, and roads, for that matter. Why is there no article written complaining about this?
Commenter Jason summed it up very nicely. Carrie, I hope your next article is about cars who block intersections and cross-walks, who double-park, and park in bike lanes. Otherwise you will lose complete credibility, and prove yourself to use this outlet only as a personal venting board. Complete garbage!
July 21st, 2011 at 10:32 am
Having an aggressive title “Philadelphia Cyclists Finally Get What’s Coming to ‘Em.
More policing of maniacs on two wheels brings hope to city drivers” followed by many stereotypical points – isn’t made okay by adding a paragraph in the end saying – oh but some of you are cool.
Substitute “Cyclist” with a race, gender, religion, job title or any other group of people and then see how it reads. It’s extreme journalism to make a rise out of people and it’s tacky and cheap to attack a whole group in such a lazy way.
July 21st, 2011 at 10:44 am
July 21st, 2011 at 10:59 am
July 21st, 2011 at 11:04 am
July 21st, 2011 at 11:08 am
July 21st, 2011 at 11:17 am
July 21st, 2011 at 11:56 am
July 21st, 2011 at 12:05 pm
well said (the link, not denny).
July 21st, 2011 at 12:10 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 12:18 pm
When someone stops short at a stop light, do you run into them? Why would you do so to a cyclist or pedestrian or jogger or dog walker or homeless veteran in a wheelchair?
July 21st, 2011 at 12:26 pm
home from Delco on Passyunk towards Snyder, IN the bike lane with lights on the front and back
of his bike. He was following bike laws, then some dumb bitch (possible relation to you?) came
veering into the bike lane going 40mph and struck
him while pinning him under her car, she then fled after being a bitch TO him after SHE hit him! When the cops showed up they treated HIM like the criminal, telling him to surrender all weapons (a legal pocket knife) and to “keep hands where they can see him”. HE WAS HIT BY A CAR, but because the cops and people like you know NOTHING about these individual bikers, just a whole of “assholes”, he was treated like a criminal. Get your facts straight and stop assuming that just because you don’t stop for every friggin stop sign down Morris St, that you *must* be some kind of low life moron. These people make your overpriced cakes at Whole Foods, they deliver your “important papers” to your office, they walk your prissy ass dog in the park, the ring up your remodels at Lowes, they help you with new couches for your “flat” in old city at Ikea, and they babysit your spoiled little brats. Give them a break, they’re just trying to live just like YOU.
July 21st, 2011 at 12:27 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 12:32 pm
guess i’ll spend a few minutes contacting the companies that advertise here at the philly post and ask these companies if they share these rotten, bullying sentiments
July 21st, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Someone should take away your privilege to publish, and your fucking driver’s license.
July 21st, 2011 at 1:15 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 1:19 pm
“Scaring a cyclist” with the “hum” of a vehicle (in some states considered a concealed weapon) is like brandishing a firearm. I know you will likely never understand if you yourself are not a cyclist or haven’t been buzzed by a car traveling too fast, too close.
“Classless,” is it classy to throw gasoline on a fire and walk away to let it burn? That’s what Carrie did by writing such an article. Maybe she didn’t intended to attack cyclists with her less than journalistic proverbs, but she continues an argument that has scary potential. The more motorists feel that cyclists are some miscreant race of terrorists the more reason it gives them to have rage towards us when they go about their daily travels. Fact is, most drivers are very safe, respectable, law-abiding and polite, in fact when I had a flat on Tuesday a kind driver stopped to ask if I needed help…but the very few who aren’t represent an incredible potential for danger. Accidents do happen, that’s the risk we run when we strap a helmet on our head but wonton disregard for life by belittling the life of another human because you don’t like them being on the road is reckless-be it journalism, belief or action.
Personally, I don’t think Carrie was talking to me per say, the competitive rider who rides on country roads as far to the right as is safely possible. I think she is talking about city riders who feel that they own the road. Just as dangerous a thought because the average motorist doesn’t disassociate reckless cyclists from law-abiding, safety practicing riders. We are lumped into one generalized group of pests, which we are not.
I think it’s fair to say that Carrie was trying to be funny and call out a group of people that she hasn’t taken a real attempt to understand. I work in the media and journalism realm and one work practice, as well as life practice I try to abide by is: understand before you cast judgement. After understanding you subject, be it that you still disagree, then it is inherently your responsibility to provide a better option. That, my friend, is journalism.
I would like for Carrie to join a local group ride and commute to work by bicycle just once…and afterwards follow up this article with her own personal solution.
July 21st, 2011 at 1:36 pm
frankly, i cannot fully take your opinion seriously on an intellectual level because your arguments, your writing style, and the subject matter you choose to write about indicate that you are incapable of contributing to this website in any sort of halfway intelligent manner. at first i thought a high school student wrote this because i couldn’t imagine how an educated adult could come to your conclusion but obviously i was wrong.
i guess anyone can contribute to philly mag these days. perhaps if i wrote an article about how crocs are fashionable i would get published too! (uggs? really??)
July 21st, 2011 at 1:39 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 1:46 pm
Avoiding the point by correcting someone’s grammar and spelling is a really pathetic defense mechanism. Why don’t you reply with something about what I wrote, instead of judging *how* I wrote it? : )
July 21st, 2011 at 1:49 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 2:09 pm
And judging *how* she wrote her piece and accusing her of being something she is not IS acceptable? Interesting. You’re an idiot.
July 21st, 2011 at 2:10 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 2:17 pm
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bicycle-law-20110721,0,3219222.story
July 21st, 2011 at 2:24 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 2:38 pm
What color is that Discovery, btw?
July 21st, 2011 at 3:07 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 3:10 pm
I have insurance. The person that pulled a hit and run on a neighbor of mine, leaving him dead on the side of the road likely didn’t.
We all pay the same taxes as you do so get off your high horse.
July 21st, 2011 at 3:11 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 3:12 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 3:21 pm
are you honestly comparing a bicycle to a motorcycle a valid reason for cyclists to carry insurance? i can tell you, if your doctor friend was hit by a motorcycle rather than a bike they would be dead.
July 21st, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Fred Bicyclists are NOT paying gas taxes or PENNDOT license and registration fees last time I looked…..so get your facts straight.
If you want to use the roadways, follow the rules of the road….very simple. #1 KEEP TO THE RIGHT, # 2 OBEY all traffic signs and traffic control devices #3 Do not operate your vehicle in a careless or reckless manner. Common sense with or without a motor.
July 21st, 2011 at 3:54 pm
It’s articles like this that fuel idiots like that. I was NEVER in the wrong during that situation – yet somehow it was my fault simply because I ride one two wheels and not four?
Carrie – I’m sorry your gas guzzling Landrover is too large to fit down the small streets of Philly, and that you have to compensate for that by blaming cyclists, however you have NEVER ridden a bike in the city. How can you begin to talk about something in which you have no clue of? I laugh at the fact that you seem think it’s ok to act like we are second class citizens, because we have two wheels and it doesn’t cost us $100 to fill our tanks. Maybe its time for you to move out to the Main Line where you can freely drive around in your SUV and uggs, safe and sound from all of us scary, terrible cyclists.
July 21st, 2011 at 3:58 pm
AND Rumplestilskin – we pay city taxes, just like you. I assume that’s what Fred meant when he said that.
Requiring bicyclists to get a license and insurance is ridiculous. That would mean that even a four year old learning to ride his or her bike would be required to be licensed and fully insured to ride around his parents cul-de-sac? Or do you get to pick and chose who is licensed and who isnt?
July 21st, 2011 at 4:02 pm
anyway, the article is trash, one sided trash in favore of ignorant drivers.
I am a driver myself, not a cyclist (too afraid to ride a bike in the city), and I dislike azholes on a road, not cyclist or drivers or even pedestrians. Its not about being one or another, its about being polite and knowing how to share the road. We are all in this together.
July 21st, 2011 at 4:09 pm
i don’t condone a hit and run by anyone on anything but a bicycle will never be able to go the same speed as a motorcycle. it’s just a fact. the average non-cyclist adult on a multi-speed bike will maybe average 9-12 mph as an easy pace. average sport or training cyclists on good road bikes usually average between 14-15 mph. serious cyclists who train for distance rides consider 15-18 mph their average speed on a bike ride (obviously not a race or competition but in reference to a leisurely ride). now, i know the chances of the person who hit your friend being a professional cyclist are slim but giving them the benefit of the doubt the average speed they were probably going was between 15-18 mph on a bike that probably weighed around 15 lbs. or less. yes, if someone biked into you it would hurt but it would not be comparable to a motorcycle going at least 25-30 mph at the slowest (keep in mind that people usually buy motorcycles to cruise extremely slow) weighing in at an average of between 600 and 800 lbs. you can obviously see that a MOTORcycle would do far more damage to a body than a bicycle.
July 21st, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Though I apologize for being an asshole, I do not apologize or agree with your article. Even if you don’t know the severe harm it could cause to the Philadelphia public, even if in your mind it is a tongue in cheek reference to a thought process a lot of your peers possess…it is still reckless.
There are reckless cyclists just as there are reckless drivers. The main difference: when a reckless cyclists acts recklessly and runs into a car…the car doesn’t die. When a reckless motorists runs into a cyclists, chances are that cyclists life will be ended if not majorly impacted for the rest of their life.
One part of me believes you wrote this article to stir the hypothetical pot and if you are attempting to be a credible journalist, than you have failed. Do not follow in Michael Smith or Tony Kornheiser’s footsteps, what they do is not journalism. Albeit it provided them some time in the limelight is it deserved time in said limelight?
I really don’t think that you have any idea of how hot the pot you are stirring is boiling. I urge you to step into a cyclists shoes and see how it feels.
Good luck and I hope that you make better choices with your career in the future.
Best,
July 21st, 2011 at 4:40 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 5:16 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 5:35 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 6:01 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 6:01 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 6:17 pm
I bike to and from work every day. I also own a car, which I drive regularly. When biking down spruce, and then 13th (who’s bike lane might as well be non existent), I am CONSTANTLY dodging cars swerving into the bike lane, or just stopping their cars there. This forces me to a) run into you head on, or b) exit the bike lane, OUR lane, and enter the car lane YOUR lane, to avoid certain doom.
STAY OUT OF OUR LANE. If there’s a car stopped in front of you. Tough. YOU chose to drive today. Do NOT endanger (and enrage) me by taking the liberty to move your 2 ton vehicle into my 5 foot wide lane.
That being said, I’ve had plenty of bad experiences when driving, HOWEVER, 99% of them were caused by the “bike messengers” flying carelessly down bobbing and weaving through cars that could flatten them in one foul swoop. I get it. Riding fast is cool, it makes you look cool. Being squashed by a bus because you were riding like an idiot…..not so cool. So use your damn heads.
There needs to be stronger enforcement on automobiles carelessly disregarding bike lanes, and a total crackdown on bikers who disregard the fact that they too are considered vehicles, and therefore bound to the city’s laws.
July 21st, 2011 at 7:04 pm
But then, even in the original article, it is known that the majority of the streets of philadelphia don’t have their own bike lane…causing bicycles and cars to share the road…
…with me so far…ok good…
now…let’s say those bicyclists that have to ride on a “cars” road weaved in between cars to get to the front when everyones parked at a red light. there are motorists commenting saying that “this is outrageous and they need to follow the rules!”…right?
ok…so lets change it. now instead of weaving in between cars to get to the front…they don’t. they stay exactly where they are in the lineup and wait for the light to turn green like everyone else. when that light does turn green, all the vehicles on the road (cars and bikes alike) will begin to accelerate. since a cyclist accelerates at a MUCH slower pace than a car, all cars behind that cyclist would therefore have to go at that cyclists slow speed. Doesn’t any motorist out there believe that this would cause MORE frustration among drivers instead of less?
Share the road. That’s all that needs to be said. There are no cyclists out there looking to piss off drivers…they are just trying to get to where they need to go. Why is it a big deal to a driver to see a cyclist peddle past them through the stop sign and red light? isn’t that the cyclist risking his/her own safety? doesn’t that not even concern you? if a car hits a bike…the cars going to be fine.
July 21st, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Judgment is spelled with one ‘e’.
July 21st, 2011 at 7:23 pm
Thanks for the help. I’m not very bright. I love LAND ROVERS!!!!
July 21st, 2011 at 7:57 pm
And LOL at the fake me, nice try…sikkkkkkeeeee
Eat dicks.
July 21st, 2011 at 8:35 pm
You could not be any dumber
Love,
Megan
July 21st, 2011 at 8:37 pm
July 21st, 2011 at 10:11 pm
July 22nd, 2011 at 9:06 am
July 22nd, 2011 at 9:16 am
July 22nd, 2011 at 9:22 am
if that had been your land rover, i’m sure you would have done the same thing. motorists can go fuck themselves. go back to the mainline.
July 22nd, 2011 at 9:41 am
walk. take septa. bike.
we wouldn’t be the fattest/ugliest city in america if that happened.
July 22nd, 2011 at 10:49 am
July 22nd, 2011 at 11:06 am
July 22nd, 2011 at 11:36 am
Did you ever think these bikers are about twice as smart as your dumb as driving around your Land Rover Discovery?
Let’s see here…
I ride my bike to work for free.
You drive your big ass discovery to work for… not free.
I think your on your way to being one of the most hated in the tri-state area.
July 22nd, 2011 at 11:41 am
July 22nd, 2011 at 11:57 am
While there are certainly good and bad cyclists,as well as good and bad motorists, the writer’s view that scare tactics from behind the wheel of a Land Rover are what pass for “good” driving, or legitimate commentary, is sick.
Cyclists have the right to ride on the roads – they developed this right in the 1880s, before cars were in existence, and have fought to preserve this right ever since.
Cyclists should be policed like anyone else using the roads. Cops SHOULD ticket scofflaw cyclists, just as they ticket scofflaw motorists. This ticketing is what makes the Traffic Rules work – if nobody gets ticketed, and doesn’t have to pay a fine for bad driving of a car or a bike, then scofflawdom abounds…
Statistically, cycling has never been safer. Traffic deaths are DOWN almost 40% from a high of 1003 in 1975 to 630 in 2009 on a national basis.
However, motorist/cyclist TENSION is up up up… There are more motorists than ever, driving over roughly the same roads their parents drove on 30 yrs ago, so traffic density is also up up up. However, urban cycling is on the uptick, more and more cyclists are taking the road, and motorist anger continues to boil… I wish there was something to say other than GET OVER IT – but there really isn’t…
EDUCATION is the key – The lesson for motorists is that cyclists have the right to ride on the road … the lesson for cyclists is to ride lawfully, intelligently, conspicuously and predictably.
This “Share The Road” concept is based on a bogus premise. There is nothing to “share.” A cyclist lawfully riding down the road has EXACTLY AND PRECISELY the same “right of way” as one who chooses to drive a car, truck, bus or scooter down the road… bigger vehicles don’t get bigger rights.
The cyclist does NOT have to “share” the right of way and the motorist behind the cyclist has nothing to share – the motorist must, under the law, respect the right of way which the cyclist possesses….even if that means,shockingly to some motorists, slowing down for a few seconds…
So, cyclists RIDE RIDE RIDE – the more we ride, the safer things will be! Ride Legally. Know your rights and assert them! The system CAN work!
Steve Magas
July 22nd, 2011 at 12:15 pm
July 22nd, 2011 at 12:33 pm
July 22nd, 2011 at 1:13 pm
July 22nd, 2011 at 1:29 pm
you’re a fucking idiot and your grammar sucks. that’s why i find it hilarious that you keep correcting megan. it’s the blind leading the blind.
ps- read a book! i was gonna say eat a dick but i think reading a book might benefit you.
July 22nd, 2011 at 4:05 pm
July 22nd, 2011 at 6:20 pm
cdenny@phillymag.com
That’s our writers email address. I already sent here a personal letter of my disgust. I hope all of you do the same.
July 22nd, 2011 at 7:24 pm
I learned to ride in traffic in Philadelphia, where I commuted for about two years before I realized my mistakes. I had patterned my own riding style after that of others. It’s no exaggeration to say that the number of law-abiding cyclists in that city are next to none.
For the next three years, I rode with a more careful understanding of my rights and my responsibility on the road. But I had even more trouble from motorists as a law-abiding rider, simply because they assumed I was just like all the cyclists, so I must be in the wrong. I was hit by two cars without even so much as an apology when I was riding in the bike lane. Turning vehicles just figured I was supposed to stop for them as they swung in front of me to park. Instead, curses and fist shakes were my reward for being in their way.
I just came back from a visit to Philly two days ago. The number of cyclists has shot up – I’d say there were nearly double the number of cyclists on the roads as there were when I left the city two years ago. It was shocking how many more of us there were. And as I waited patiently behind the buses at the traffic light, numerous cyclists zoomed between the cars on the left and the bus in front of me. This is par for the course in Philly. Not a single cyclist stayed to the right of the road during my entire stay, unless they were on one of the bike lane roads (If they weren’t riding the WRONG way on the bike lane).
When you’re on a bicycle, it’s challenging to get exercise when you’re stuck behind a line of traffic. And right in the line of exhaust fumes. It almost doesn’t seem fair to be on a slower-moving vehicle only to be forced to move even slower still.
During my visit this time, I did my time on the non-bike lane roads in order to get to the bike lanes, and once I reached them, my grip on the handlebars loosened. It was a relief to ride where I felt the cars really were more considerate of my place on the road. I am not an across-the-board proponent for bike lanes, but in Philly’s case, I’d say they are worth it. Not the answer to the issue, but there is potential.
Anyway, this driver’s lament is hard to really understand if you have never driven/rode a bike in Philly. A tiny part of me is glad the cyclists got ticketed, though I really hope all of the tickets were doled out for valid traffic fallacies and not just tickets to prove a point as apart of a larger crackdown on cyclists. It seems like an intelligent person such as myself would be able to figure this out on my own right away, but it was not as intuitive as one would imagine it should be, based on the overall traffic patterns of the city.
That being said, many motorists in that city don’t make it easy for the cyclists. I’ve had countless incidents with motorists, who really do believe that cyclists do not belong on the roads. Others have gone out of their way to scare or even hurt cyclists in a sordid attempt to correct a cyclist’s unlawful behavior. It could be leftover rage from prior incidents with smart-ass cyclists – and boy there are plenty of them. But if this doesn’t seem inhumane, such as someone who commented to this post with a hope to see cyclists hit by a bus, then we have bigger issues than traffic concerns. After all – there are all kinds of things motorists need to be cautious of when they are driving, and when I look over at motorists who are reading the paper in traffic, or talking on the phone, or whatever, it’s difficult to give them the benefit of the doubt. Many cyclists are not in the right, but drivers are in a position to pay better attention to the traffic than many of them do. Just because traffic is bumper-to-bumper is not a signal that it’s a good time to catch up on email. If you’re that busy, SEPTA might be a better option.
Driving any vehicle in the city is not fun for anyone. It requires a great deal of patience that is sparse when you are expected to be somewhere. It may be asking too much for city dwellers to find patience while operating a vehicle, motorized or non, but it is necessary to help to quell some of this deep-seated aggression. Understanding also goes a long way. After accidentally blowing through a stop sign that was partially hidden from my view, I caught up with the driver and apologized. “No big deal,” he said, and meant it.
July 22nd, 2011 at 7:27 pm
I learned to ride in traffic in Philadelphia, where I commuted for about two years before I realized my mistakes. I had patterned my own riding style after that of others. It’s no exaggeration to say that the number of law-abiding cyclists in that city are next to none.
For the next three years, I rode with a more careful understanding of my rights and my responsibility on the road. But I had even more trouble from motorists as a law-abiding rider, simply because they assumed I was just like all the cyclists, so I must be in the wrong. I was hit by two cars without even so much as an apology when I was riding in the bike lane. Turning vehicles just figured I was supposed to stop for them as they swung in front of me to park. Instead, curses and fist shakes were my reward for being in their way.
I just came back from a visit to Philly two days ago. The number of cyclists has shot up – I’d say there were nearly double the number of cyclists on the roads as there were when I left the city two years ago. It was shocking how many more of us there were. And as I waited patiently behind the buses at the traffic light, numerous cyclists zoomed between the cars on the left and the bus in front of me. This is par for the course in Philly. Not a single cyclist stayed to the right of the road during my entire stay, unless they were on one of the bike lane roads (If they weren’t riding the WRONG way on the bike lane).
When you’re on a bicycle, it’s challenging to get exercise when you’re stuck behind a line of traffic. And right in the line of exhaust fumes. It almost doesn’t seem fair to be on a slower-moving vehicle only to be forced to move even slower still.
During my visit this time, I did my time on the non-bike lane roads in order to get to the bike lanes, and once I reached them, my grip on the handlebars loosened. It was a relief to ride where I felt the cars really were more considerate of my place on the road. I am not an across-the-board proponent for bike lanes, but in Philly’s case, I’d say they are worth it. Not the answer to the issue, but there is potential.
Anyway, this driver’s lament is hard to really understand if you have never driven/rode a bike in Philly. A tiny part of me is glad the cyclists got ticketed, though I really hope all of the tickets were doled out for valid traffic fallacies and not just tickets to prove a point as apart of a larger crackdown on cyclists. It seems like an intelligent person such as myself would be able to figure this out on my own right away, but it was not as intuitive as one would imagine it should be, based on the overall traffic patterns of the city.
That being said, many motorists in that city don’t make it easy for the cyclists. I think a lot of the issues they have with cyclists began with their attitudes, and have resulted in a lot of ill-will that cause cyclists to lash out in the ways they do. I’ve had countless incidents with motorists, who really do believe that cyclists do not belong on the roads. Others have gone out of their way to scare or even hurt cyclists in a sordid attempt to correct a cyclist’s unlawful behavior. It could be leftover rage from prior incidents with smart-ass cyclists – and boy there are plenty of them. But if this doesn’t seem inhumane, such as someone who commented to this post with a hope to see cyclists hit by a bus, then we have bigger issues than traffic concerns. After all – there are all kinds of things motorists need to be cautious of when they are driving, and when I look over at motorists who are reading the paper in traffic, or talking on the phone, or whatever, it’s difficult to give them the benefit of the doubt. Many cyclists are not in the right, but drivers are in a position to pay better attention to the traffic than many of them do. Just because traffic is bumper-to-bumper is not a signal that it’s a good time to catch up on email. If you’re that busy, SEPTA might be a better option.
Driving any vehicle in the city is not fun for anyone. It requires a great deal of patience that is sparse when you are expected to be somewhere. It may be asking too much for city dwellers to find patience while operating a vehicle, motorized or non, but it is necessary to help to quell some of this deep-seated aggression. Understanding also goes a long way. After accidentally blowing through a stop sign that was partially hidden from my view, I caught up with the driver and apologized. “No big deal,” he said, and meant it.
July 23rd, 2011 at 10:02 pm
To all the other posters, I disagree that Philly is full of angry drivers. I been biking to work for 8 years, and have only been honked and a handful of times and of course been told to get on the sidewalk by a few hilarious people. Dude, something happened that you didn’t expect, you were startled, it’s ok. Bike / drive with your head up Philly!
July 24th, 2011 at 8:36 am
Then may be I can get paid to write a hate article against her.
July 25th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
We’ll vote for carbon tax, gas tax, toll roads parking restrictions and promote sky-high insurance rates and lowered speed limits. Sadly, there will be more deaths and injuries but I guess that’s the cost of freedom.
July 28th, 2011 at 2:17 am
I wish I had a camera for every car that cut me off, made me switch lanes, or just made me fuggin unsafe in front of them. you seriously have to be the most weird, bimbo-ish, uninformed person in Philly. You ride a bike around the city and think it’s a great idea? Well… don’t… stick to your car. please.
July 28th, 2011 at 7:54 am
August 25th, 2011 at 2:35 am
August 25th, 2011 at 2:37 am