Brian Smith
I haven't seen them hitting cars, but I have seen them pretty far out into the lane. Then again, they do have a right to be on the road and do not have to limit themselves to a thing strip along the bumpy edge of the pavement. When I ride my bicycle I ride far enough to the left that I will not be forced off the road by pbutting cars. Many motorists don't seem to realize that the bicyclist has a right to be on the road and that if there is oncoming traffic they should slow down and pbutt when there is room, and not try to squeeze between the bike and the oncoming vehicle.
We have a lot of problem bikers around here. I live in an area where there are a lot of bicycle races, and a lot of cyclists practice on the local rides. We get herds of them coming down our road, 2 and 3 across. Aside from their failure to keep to the ride, it is a road with rolling hills and a lot of speeding cars. They are taking their lives into their hands. The other major problem is their failure to stop at stop signs. I don't know why so many cyclists don't realize that stop signs apply to them too. It is bad enough when the odd lone cyclist blows the stop, but when you get 20 or more of them doing it at the same time it's just asking for trouble.
As for bikes causing accidents.... this site has some interesting statistics:
According to their data on car-bike accidents, only 37% of the cyclists were in the correct position, 22% failed to yield at an intersection, 19% were on the wrong side of the road, 16% had turned or swerved from the curb and 7% were riding on sidewalks.
I was hit by car while cycling a few years ago. Some old lady had stopped at a stop sign and I was making a left turn. She pulled out while I was halfway around. I can tell you from personal experience that you fly a long why when you get hit, even at low speed. I was lucky not to be injured, though it cost over $300 to repair my bike. The old bird thought the accident was my fault because she had stopped and yielded the right away but that I cut in front of her while she was turning. Duh. I fared better than two friends of mine who were out riding one day. An beginner driver in an oncoming car lost control, crossed the road and hit them both. She lost a leg at the scene. He had serious head injuries and died in the hospital three months later.
