Distracted Driver Kills Cyclist. New Laws For Cyclists.

I'm amazed more are not hit by cars where I live. The roads around here were not designed for both. I have nothing against sharing the road with bicyclists but it must be a nerve racking way to keep fit.

I hear the original proposal suggested this as the preferred way to use a bike ^^^

road bikers are ghey...

We have hundreds of miles of private, interconnected bike roads away from traffic, but where I live because there are actual hills here (fla.) bikers still love to ride those little winding roads where they can hardly be seen and where they can also up their intake of exhaust fumes from the cars that do not run them over.

why is that Hall?

So we're surprised that politicians come up with stupid and inappropriate solutions to problems?

Who can explain the mentality of anyone who chooses to live in that shithole, Fabes?

And way more pedestrians and motorists are killed by distracted drivers, so it's not cyclists who are going to be hit (ha) with new laws.  Don't be surprised if distracted driving laws start to look more and more like impaired driving laws... it only takes one 'important' and/or very driven person's loved one being killed to start a M.A.D.D. type movement.

One More reason for Driverless Cars .

^I will never ride in a driverless car. 

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.wftv.com/www.wftv.com/www.wftv.com/www.wf...

Hall, You can question the rest of the states mentality like the women above, but my mentality is I will put up with a lot for some good fishing

>>>>>So we're surprised that politicians come up with stupid and inappropriate solutions to problems?

It's described as a proposal in the article.

This can be debated by others and reasonable measures can be made.

At least they are identifying a problem and trying to search for solutions.

>>>>One More reason for Driverless Cars .

Well, there was that one driverless car: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/uber-driverless-fatality.html

Still, seems statistically unlikely that more bicyclists would be killed by driverless cars vs. human-operated cars.

^^Awesome, fabes!

>>>>Cows helped Sanford officers corral a suspect who was on the 'moove' after crashing a stolen car, officials said.

Give those cows a medal! 

really I hope I didn't offend you Fabes... after all these years I figured a winkyface would have been totally mocked.

For the record, I generally don't like the way most cyclists ride either (and can't stand them on certain roads when I'm driving), so when I'm out training during the week, I take back mountain roads that get very little commute traffic and I try to use pullouts or at least get way over and as 'thin' as possible when a car comes up on me.  I also waive 'thanks' when they pause a minute at a blind turn and wait for a safer place to pass. 

On Saturdays I do ride with a group of young racers, ex-racers (like me), and wannabe racers.  The pack cruises through town along the coast before heading out into the farmland and mountain roads where it becomes an unofficial race.  The pack can get kinda big (25 to 75 riders), but we leave early and are completely out of town by 8:40am so pretty much the only drivers we piss off are tweaker surfers (ha, just kidding Turts/PLF. sort of). 

It's true that we block some traffic, but we've been doing the same exact ride/route every Saturday since the mid-70's when this place was a SUPER chill hippie haven and there was hardly anyone on the roads at any time of the day, so why should we have to stop our tradition/fun just because a bunch of interlopers-in-a-hurry have overcrowded the fuck out of the area?

To answer Fabes' question about bike paths, it sounds like Florida might have a different (better?) system.  In California there are tons of bike paths, but they don't connect large areas; are narrow; allow 2 way traffic; are generally mixed use (pedestrians, kids on tricycles, skateboarders, etc); and usually have speed limits, so it's actually a pretty limited (and dangerous) place for any longer, more serious riding.

One example of a ride a small group of us (7 dudes, one chick) did this year that actually required us to utilize bike paths was from here (Santa Cruz) to San Francisco, and back.  It's a huge ride (165 miles with +/-12,000' of climbing) that we knocked out in 9.5 hours riding time (12 hours total) at an average speed of just over 17 MPH. 

Along the way we were forced onto paths where the freeway was illegal to ride (though we did ride legal portions of the same freeway for short segments).  And since we also crossed the Golden Gate Bridge (over to the Marin side and back), we had to ride on the designated bike path/sidewalk, which was a totally insane obstacle course of slow riding tourists on rental bikes. 

It would have taken us at least two very frustrating days to do that same ride had it been on those types of paths the whole way (and no way in hell they're ever going to build bike paths through the Santa Cruz mountains and down the Hwy 1 coast anyway)...  it would be like riding a motorcycle for 500 miles in stop and go hwy traffic.  

And just like motorcyclists, we dig riding certain types of roads... it's a fucking blast to rip down a curvy mountain road (though we are constantly being held up by slow ass cars, so it does go both ways). 

Forcing cyclists to only ride on these types of bike paths would be like forcing all those hell raising deadheads back in the good 'ole days to see Grateful Dead shows in movie theaters with no drugs and in their seats.  It's just not the same experience.

There's a road race in my neck of the woods every weekend.  Usually several.  I have no issues with sharing the road with a respectful cyclist.  I do have issue when the cyclist chooses to use the rules of the road only when it is in their benefit.

.....

Hall, we cool, and I love all of the stupidity of Florida, makes it pretty interesting

I live  in Clermont (city of champions) small town in the hilly part of Florida. I live by our downtown water front and the city is huge on hosting triathlons, biking events, rowing, and we also have a National Training Center that pro athletes and olympians train. They close down  roads around my house for events and we are very used to having riders on our roads. 

http://www.sommersports.com/Events/Triathlons/Great-Clermont-Triathlon

the bike paths here are mostly wider than one lane of road.

http://interactive.orlandosentinel.com/bike-trails/

those look pretty nice... I'm going to throw it into the hat for areas to live during the Winter months after I retire.

>>>tweaker surfers<<<

Redundant.