RAGE!

Comm. Ave. numskull in a car thinks the bike lane goes away when it snows….it doesn’t.

Keep calm and carry on people, don’t be like this guy. The advent of tiny cameras is going to revolutionize traffic incidents in court. Russia had a spate of people throwing themselves against parked cars and then claiming they were hit, so now “dash cams” are very popular there (all those crazy videos on the internet are almost all from Russia), I hope that all cyclists start riding around with cameras so that things like this can be documented and reported.

Share the road, all the time, even in the snow. Bikes have the full legal right to use the entire lane, it doesn’t suddenly become legal to be a jerk just because its cold out. I have noticed that many people when in the wrong will substitute “Im sorry, I should have been paying attention.” for “FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!”

Also love the accents, nothing says “Boston” like two guys screaming at each other in the snow with accents. FAHCK YOU! NAH FAHCK YOU! WICKED! FAHCK!

Thanks Greg for the tip on the video.

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Awesome Paris Bike Lane

There is so much to love here, the short curbs make it highly unlikely people will park there but allow emergency vehicles the ability to hop over them, the parked cars protect from run away vehicles, and the road markings make it clear who the lane is for (if being too narrow for cars didn’t already make them aware of that).  They even lowered the curbs on the bike side a little to allow you to run up onto them to prevent crashing if you were to come into contact with that side.

Thanks John for sending in this picture.

Dear City,

Can we have these!

Love

Boston Cyclists.

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Cambridge Studying Solutions For Door Zone Bike Lanes

Cambridge seems to be running a study for how new markings in “door zone” bike lanes can reduce the instances of dooring. (thanks John for the tip)

BICYCLE LANE STUDY UNDERWAY SUMMER/FALL 2011
This summer, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (REF) is conducting a study
evaluating various ways of marking bicycle lanes; Cambridge and Chicago are the two cities being
used for the research, each being busy urban areas with many cyclists.
The study will be looking at various bike lane widths on streets with and without on-street parking. The
study sites in Cambridge are Massachusetts Avenue between Harvard and Porter Square and
Prospect Street between Hampshire Street and Broadway.
The study will evaluate the influence of bike lane widths on how motorists and bicyclists travel on the
road and the comfort level of both bicyclists and motorists under various conditions. The study will
also look at how markings may help diminish the risk of “dooring,” where motorists parking
suddenly open car doors into the path of travel of cyclists.
Most of the line markings that are being used are temporary, and city staff will use information from the
study to help determine the preferred solution for the long term.
As part of the study, researchers will be surveying motorists and cyclists about their experiences and
perceptions. There is no personal data gathered as part of that study and the responses are
completely anonymous. If you are stopped while traveling, we would appreciate your responding,
but if you do not want to, just say “no, thank you,” and there will be no pressure.
If you have questions about the study, please feel free to contact Cara Seiderman,
[email protected]

I am all for studies like this, if it turns out a simple addition, or editing of the current way bike lanes are painted could reduce this risk, hurray!

In the mean time here are some tips for how to not get doored in a door zone bike lane.

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What It’s Like To Get Doored

From the forum

I hate hate hate when cabs discharge people into the bike lane (or into any lane that is not the side of the road). Hopefully this passenger and this cab driver were both issued tickets on the spot, as dooring someone is now a ticket-able offense.

Always assume every door will be opening, if you are riding in a bike lane, or not. Also this guy is wwaaaaaayyyy more calm than I would have been. Way to keep your cool dude.

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I Say Give Him The Money Back

Just so you all know (this is in NYC but the law is the same here), Bike lanes are to keep cars out, not bikes in. You can leave the bike lane whenever you feel you need to/want to. You have the full legal right to use the entire lane, cars are not allowed in the bike lane.

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