I’m constantly almost being run into by bicyclists who are breaking traffic laws — whether I’m in my car or on my scooter (which I guarantee would injure me if they hit me) — because they don’t stop for stop signs, won’t bother stopping for red lights on traffic signals if they don’t see any traffic coming, and they completely DO act like they own the road. They’re especially bad on the residential side streets that don’t have traffic signals, only stop signs (which they blow through). They aren’t required to have any insurance, so even if they are at fault in a collision and the other person is injured or their property is damaged, they get off with — at the most — a traffic citation & small fine.

Bicyclists whine constantly about bad auto & truck drivers, but above & beyond their own constant breaking of traffic laws, this past year has seen bicyclists physically attacking cars and their drivers. One man who was assaulted is a bike activist who was in his car on a family outing, and when he yelled at a bicyclist for breaking traffic laws, the guy piked up his bicycle and beat the man’s car with it, then punched the driver!

To those who say these are the exceptions and not the rule, let me tell them they haven’t spent any significant time driving in Portland. I’ve seen exactly TWO bicyclists stop for a stop sign in the last year, and both times it startled me so badly that I almost couldn’t believe I’d seen it happen.

I bike quite a bit, but I don’t think I personally own the street because of my amazing connection to Earth.

People do need to be more aware of bicyclists. I have had a couple friends clipped by assholes who didn’t even stop. But we make our societal rules for the masses, not the outliers. Our infrastructure is (sadly) set up for automobile traffic nearly to the exclusion of other. We pretty much require a car just to be able to maintain gainful employment and get the basics we need to live (shopping). Holier-than-thou bicyclists aren’t helping anyone, much less their own cause when they make a nuisance of themselves.