Pedestrians...Bikes...and joggers....

[coltle6920]

There are specific laws for motor vehicles but don't they also apply to pedestrians,bicyclists and joggers where they have the occasion to coexist??

When I was out and about today I came to a fourway stop sign.I was the first vehicle and after coming to a complete stop I started to proceed through the intersection.Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a jogger about 20yds away coming from my right.He seemed to be in his own little world.He had his little MP3 player on his hip and earbuds in both ears.It's amazing how much goes through your mind in what is maybe a split second.I was past the middle of the intersection but something told me to stop.It's a good thing that I stopped because the jogger didn't.

He would've been more embarrassed than hurt from doing a faceplant in the side of my truck.He never stopped or even realized how lucky he was.Two other drivers at the intersection looked at me and just shook their heads.

I just wished that there was some way to tell this jogger that he's lucky it was me and not someone else because the outcome could've been a lot worse.

 

[427mach1]

Around these parts, bikers are supposed to follow the same laws as drivers and pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way if they are in a cross-walk. GA state law dictates that vehicles must stop for pedestrians in a cross-walk; it doesn't matter if you have a green light and they have a "don't walk" signal. If you hit them, you are in deep doo-doo. You didn't mention whether he was jogging on the road or in the cross-walk but I would suggest you check your local laws...

 

[bk42261]

Up here in Maine, we're supposed to "allow a safety zone" for bicycles of THREE FEET!! (Except in some downtown areas , where there are signs saying that bicycles may use the WHOLE LANE!
The bike riders pay zero money for upkeep or improvements, but when a particular stretch of road is widened to allow "more convenient and safer" bicycle access, guess what happens to local and State Gas Taxes?
It's no wonder these [deleted] (for the most part) totally disregard all Stop signs and feel free to turn anywhere, anytime, with no indication that they are doing so.
If you didn't get the hint, I'm not a big fan of (most) bicycle "operators"

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Bicycle riders mostly DO pay for road upkeep and improvements, because they also own cars.

To answer the first question, they ARE subject to the same laws as motor vehicles. In many places, including where I live and drive, these laws are not properly enforced. However, stupid (and illegal) bicycling has consequences, regardless of LEO response. It is not usually repeated once the consequences ensue.

Darwin? John Forester?

 

[coltle6920]

Around these parts, bikers are supposed to follow the same laws as drivers and pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way if they are in a cross-walk. GA state law dictates that vehicles must stop for pedestrians in a cross-walk; it doesn't matter if you have a green light and they have a "don't walk" signal. If you hit them, you are in deep doo-doo. You didn't mention whether he was jogging on the road or in the cross-walk but I would suggest you check your local laws...

Like I said in my post...He was about 20yds away.I was already in the intersection and he was jogging down the sidewalk.I don't care if it's Georgia or even California.It was a fourway stop sign and he was nowhere near the intersection to give him the right of way.I see joggers every day that stop at intersections whether it's controlled by a light or just a stop sign.

The only time you have to give way to a pedestrian around here is if they're in the crosswalk and you are trying to make a turn.This idiot wasn't in the crosswalk or anywhere near it.

 

[rwsmith]

Tell that....

Tell that to the guy that rides around here full speed at night on a dirt bike with no lights. You never see him until he's gone and he won't stop or slow down for anything or anybody. We pulled on to our frontage road and was past the center when he zoomed around us. He had no place to go because trees grow very close to the road up against the fence that separates the road from the interstate. He didn't give a poot, but we were terrified that we almost hit somebody.

 

[coltle6920]

In our wacko city of Boulder Colorado a pedestrian can be fined for failing to use the button that signals when it is safe to cross at an intersection.Doesn't matter if there isn't a car on the road.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

New Mexico is the no.1 most dangerous state for pedestrians .
Did I mention that I walk a lot?
So far, so good!

 

[GaryS]

Many, if not most, of those bike riders also drive cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Which means that they pay just as much as do you in the way of taxes. Plus, they pay sales tax on the bikes, most of which are not cheap, as well as accessories.

I hate other bike riders who hog whole lanes, ride abreast, and ignore traffic laws. OTOH, I when I am out riding, I hate drivers who cut off bikes, don't stop at stop signs, and try to squeeze me off the road.

A little courtesy by both drivers and bike riders would go a long way.

Up here in Maine, we're supposed to "allow a safety zone" for bicycles of THREE FEET!! (Except in some downtown areas , where there are signs saying that bicycles may use the WHOLE LANE!
The bike riders pay zero money for upkeep or improvements, but when a particular stretch of road is widened to allow "more convenient and safer" bicycle access, guess what happens to local and State Gas Taxes?
It's no wonder these [deleted] (for the most part) totally disregard all Stop signs and feel free to turn anywhere, anytime, with no indication that they are doing so.
If you didn't get the hint, I'm not a big fan of (most) bicycle "operators"

In MA, the fine for driving into a crosswalk when pedestrians are present is $100.00. The fine for jaywalking is $1.00. Guess which one the police spend time enforcing. There was a recent proposal to raise the fine for jaywalking to the same as driving through a crosswalk. I'm not holding my breath.

Boston used to have the highest per capita fatality rate for pedestrians. The then Mayor decided that something had to be done. So, he deployed the police in "Operation Crisscross". Police officers in plainclothes would step into crosswalks as vehicles approached and if they didn't stop they'd be cited by uniformed officers. The problem was that sometimes the plainclothes guys would wait until the car was IN the crosswalk before they stepped off the curb. After a while, this caused and uproar and the police took a more reasonable approach.

Of course the fact that the vast majority of people that were hit were jaywalking never entered into the conversation.

How do I know that? I responded to dozens and dozens of pedestrian struck calls (five in one night once), and don't recall ever encountering a patient that was even near a crosswalk.

 

[Watchdog]

The bike riders pay zero money for upkeep or improvements...

That's just totally false, no matter which state you live in.

 

[Rustyt1953]

The road is MINE, I tell you......MINE!!!

 

[pittpa]

Dash cams are cheap


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[BAM-BAM]

I live between two county parks..... lots of bike riders.

My favorites is my road .....

3 intersections with stop signs..... two are 2 of 3 are T intersections with 2 stop signs and one 4 way......................I'm stopped at a stop sign.......... bikers will pass me/others on the right and roll right through the stop sign and intersection...........................

also riding 2 abreast at 10 miles per hour ....... backing up traffic on the winding W Pa. rural roads

 

[NYlakesider]

Bicycle riders mostly DO pay for road upkeep and improvements, because they also own cars.

To answer the first question, they ARE subject to the same laws as motor vehicles. In many places, including where I live and drive, these laws are not properly enforced. However, stupid (and illegal) bicycling has consequences, regardless of LEO response. It is not usually repeated once the consequences ensue.

Darwin? John Forester?

Well I have 3 vechicles and I pay all sorts of taxes and fees for all of them. I sure as heck can only operate 1 at a time.

I will assume that most bike riders only pay for some of the vechicles they own, but think on the freebee bike they own the road. They are also supposed to obey rules about stop signs, traffic lights and yield signs. Its rare to see one of those people obey the law, most of that crew fells their way above little things like traffic rules.

 

[427mach1]

Like I said in my post...He was about 20yds away.I was already in the intersection and he was jogging down the sidewalk.I don't care if it's Georgia or even California.It was a fourway stop sign and he was nowhere near the intersection to give him the right of way.I see joggers every day that stop at intersections whether it's controlled by a light or just a stop sign.

The only time you have to give way to a pedestrian around here is if they're in the crosswalk and you are trying to make a turn.This idiot wasn't in the crosswalk or anywhere near it.

I don't understand... He was 20 yards away on the sidewalk.. If you would have hit him, where would he have been? Was he in the crosswalk at that point? If so, you would have been at fault in many states. In GA, it does NOT matter that you were there first. It does NOT matter that you came to a complete stop. It does NOT matter that he did not stop. If you hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk, it is YOUR fault. Like it or not, agree with it or not, that is the law around here.

 

[Farmer17]

We live in an isolated area near the big city so there are a lot of bicycle riders and I get slowed down for 10 or 20 seconds occasionally waiting to pass one. Yeah it's a big inconvenience for me when I'm in a hurry but I also really admire the people to have the gumption to get out and do some cardio and try really hard to be healthy. I'm sure there are a lot of obese slobs that complain because the bicycles slow them down on their way to buy Twinkies and beer, and to pick up their check for government provided health aid.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Bicyclists, especially commuters, are a welcome sight to me. Every bicycle ridden to work means one less car on the road and more room for me.

By the same token, I have no quarrel with spending my tax dollars on public transit even though I rarely use it, if ever. An express coach or articulated bus takes up to 65 cars off the road. Next time you are sitting motionless in a rush hour gridlock, count the nearest 65 cars, and imagine them gone. How much better would your driving experience be?

 

[Krell1]

In my experience I see people on bicycles use whatever laws they feel suit themselves at the time. They'll get off the bike and use a crosswalk. They'll ignore a stop sign especially when no other cars are in the way. They'll travel outside the bike lane for no real reason and they won't move over at all to allow drivers to pass.

 

[RSanch111]

Pedestrians don't have the right of way in a crosswalk if a car is already in the intersection. They THINK they do, but they don't. Also, crosswalks don't have to be painted. Not in MI anyway. Crossing the street from one sidewalk to another is crossing in a "crosswalk". For most city intersections where there are sidewalks, the intersection begins at the line of the sidewalk farthest away from the curb. In other words, on a typical residential block, the "intersection" begins at the property line and ends at the next property line across the street.

I've had to pull up beyond the stop bar to look around parked cars for approaching traffic before making a right turn and had pedestrians who were 50 feet away when I first entered the intersection, give me a dirty look for "blocking the intersection" and then try to walk around me.

Friend of mine is a member of the spandex army. He suits up in his Tour De France outfit and rides his $3,000.00 road bike all over the place. I tell him it's dumb to ride a bike in the street where we live and he said: "I have a right to ride in the street." I tell him: "I didn't say didn't have a right to, I implied that exercising the right is DUMB." Every time a see a bicyclist killed who was "dead right", I send him the article with a reminder that "momentum always wins". With all of the people on cell phones and putting on makeup and otherwise driving while distracted, you have to be some kind of nuts to ride a bicycle on a busy street.

 

[dougb1946]

Yes, I did pay for the road and if I chose to take my share from the middle, it's because I have 6000 lbs of steel and over 300hp. If your numbers are bigger, you can have the right-of-way.