Twitch is a corporation, mate. They're already a person with rights, except when it benefits them to not be.
Like cyclists. Are they pedestrian? Are they a vehicle? Its whichever one benefits them the most at the moment.
Grrr...
Can they at least be bothered to learn the laws that govern them, though?
No, they ride across the street to change sidewalks instead of doing the legal thing and getting off the bike before getting onto the crosswalk, then pushing it across. They don't count as a vehicle then, they count as a pedestrian, and in that specific instance of crossing the street it's illegal to ride it. But how many people a day do I see doing that? Counting the days where I don't leave the house, an average of 1. Not counting those days, closer to 20.
If you're going to be a pedestrian and ride on the sidewalks, get off your bike when crossing the street. If you're going to be a vehicle and ride on the street, get off the sidewalk/crosswalk! You're only allowed to ride your bike over a crosswalk if you're going in the direction the cars are going, not the people. You could run into someone and seriously injure them that way, or a car could come out of no-where and you'd get hurt a lot more than if you were walking! They'd have to surgically remove the bike from your legs, and nobody wants that. So stop riding on crosswalks and walk!
A lot of cyclists do a lot of stupid shit, which really bothers me as a cyclist, but that particular case causes no harm whatsoever... Of course they could hit someone, they can do that on the sidewalk exactly as easily. Which is why proper bicyclists like me are super careful on sidewalks and make ourselves known before passing someone. And... If a car hits them, they might get injured more?
I often *do* dismount when using a crosswalk, but only if there are pedestrians around to walk along with. Otherwise it's a stupid waste.
It's pretty unusual for me to be on sidewalks anyway, since I have to go slow and be so careful... Mostly something I do at night, rather than trust the drivers to be perceptive, or even sober. Or, when I need to turn left on a multi-lane road and would rather not merge across. Because I'm courteous. (oh and because I used to live in a place where biking on the sidewalk was illegal, so I didn't do it (when there were pedestrians anywhere close))
Then there needs to be some serious reform, because they sure as hell shouldn't be on the road
Fuck that. I'm traffic, and I'm far more courteous and alert than the average driver. Not because I'm nice, but because I'm basically riding a particularly flimsy motorcycle with inch-wide tires. And I'm still alive.
Yes, I did just suggest I'm still alive because I don't piss off motorists. I have had plenty of glass and aluminum thrown at me anyway though, particularly on empty country roads where I was no hindrance. There's also the always hilarious "surprise scream" maneuver, popular among drunk fratboys with some terrifying insecurity. Terrifying since it drives them to joyride drunk and grief people. In real life, the retards.
It's like a monthly occurrence, fucking college towns.
Cycle lanes.
Generally a bad idea. The ones where I live are fortunately too small for cars to borrow, which is good for multiple reasons (waste of space, for one). It's a bad precedent. Bicycles belong in lanes with other traffic - Sometimes I need to make a left turn, you know? A courteous bicyclist allows space for cars to pass *in the same lane* unless they're one of those obese gas-guzzling monstrosities, or the driver doesn't know where their edge is. Not my problem, merge or borrow the other lane if you have to.
Even without cars borrowing them like apparently happens other places, they fill up with grit, branches, and *lots* of broken glass. Despite being a supposed gift for cyclists, they're considerably worse than hugging the curb (even with those fuckin diagonal-holed storm drains... Just hold the handlebars really tight.) It's analogous to a racial ghetto. Have a special, shitty place! Stay out of our road.
Okay maybe I should discuss some of the things cyclists do that I hate, to be fair:
Ignoring stop signs - get under 5mph *at least* and carefully look both ways. And for fuck's sake respect the order of arrival. You're traffic!
Riding in the left lane (US). You're not a fucking pedestrian, particularly not in the fucking road! You're traffic!
Riding up beside parked cars at a light. WHYYY, why would you make those people pass you!? Being passed sucks, and there's no benefit! Just wait in your place, you're traffic!
(maybe ok if making a right turn on red, but I'd dismount for that. Out of fucking respect for fellow traffic. Instead I track-stand, which I hope has entertained a few people)
Quietly riding past pedestrians. Even though I got used to it on campus, it's still a bit creepy. Give them notice or a wide berth. You're not traffic here but still.
Not giving cars space to pass when reasonable. A while back some activist cyclists promoted "aggressive cycling" which basically fought anti-cyclist motorists by being a pain to all motorists. What sucks is that it IS safer for the cyclist to be an asshole, since few drivers will actually be provoked into assault, and hugging the curb to be passed can be a little risky. Still, motorists just see a cyclist being an asshole. So this is/was a bad idea that made us look bad.
(Exception: Critical Mass, where a bunch of cyclists do this together as an organized, localized protest with a clear message. Drivers get a clear message from the chants and signs. Choose areas where drivers can detour along side roads, otherwise it's too much)
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Topic: Things that made you go "WTF?" today o_O (Read 13183267 times)