You are hereKVUE updates story on cyclists and stop signs, plus more news about news
KVUE updates story on cyclists and stop signs, plus more news about news
On Monday KVUE ran a rather inflamatory piece on some cyclists claims that the APD was increasing ticketing of stop sign runners. Within 24 hours it managed to cause quite a stir in the community, generating over 130 comments in the article's comments section and creating a similar amount of buzz on the blogs and forums. Well last night they ran a follow-up story and tried to show a little more balance in their reporting, including comments from both sides of the aisle, a short interview with A2W blogger Elliott McFadden, and some actual numbers from their short empirical study on Austin red-light running cyclists. The following are a few of the comments they featured, including one by the main subject of the original piece, Patrick R-I-L-E-Y:
"Last time I checked there was no motor on my bicycle and that's the difference. I should not be responsible for the same laws..." - Patrick Riley
"Patrick Riley for Mayor!!! Bicyclists should be allowed to treat stop signs as yield signs." - LibertarianBiker
"As a cyclist and triathelete, I say good for APD!! These idiots encourage car to bike road rage and are the one's who make it unsafe for law abiding cyclists on the roads." - Renegade Terry
"If you think APD is targeting you too much, I think they're not targeting you enough." - GREG3564
KVUE filmed the cyclists at a relatively busy Shoal Creek intersection, from 8-9am on 3 separate mornings the previous week. In that time they filmed 64 cyclists going through the intersection, and of these cyclists:
3% STOPPED
36% ROLLED
61% DID NOT STOP
These numbers were pretty much what I was expecting, and goes to show what the majority of us already know, and that's that even though a lot of cyclists may talk game about stopping every time, obeying every law and being Mr. Legal Eagle Safety Biker Guy who scoffs at all us anarchist, lawbreaker biker punks; the fact of the matter is that VERY RARELY do any of us actually stop for stop signs. So quit being so fucking uptight about it already, y'all.
Thankfully they also got some decent quotes from Elliott, both explaining the "Idaho Stop" law as well as highlighting the need for further safety research into how cyclists interact with traffic. He mentioned that ticketing is PART of the solution, but that there's a lot more too it. Thanks for keeping 'em honest, Elliott! Unfortunately the story doesn't have a text version posted, so you've got to watch their video-on-demand version, complete with car ads (at least for me).
Also on the news front, other cities are looking at Governor Hairdo's veto of the Safe Passing Bill. The Houston Chronicle wrote about it Sunday, as did The Examiner. I really like The Examiner's headline:
Yeah, that about sums it up. As always, the comments section of the Chronicle article is AMAZING.
Finally, a bit of local news: Rob, the main man behind Bike Polo in ATX managed to break his wrist and won't be able to play for a bit, though he'll still be there organizing and cheering. Stop by Eastwoods Park either Thursday at 5:30pm or Sunday at 2 to wish him a speedy recovery and play some polo. Shit, with all the real players breaking shit, maybe this means I'll actually be able to score a goal or two! DOPE!
I think that it just kicks ass that there were SO MANY cyclists randomly going through that intersection at that early hour, as a normal part of their day, whether they chose to come to a complete stop or not. BIKE CITY!!!
Most of those geezers on bikes who give you the stink eye or disown you for rolling a stop sign probably do not pedal a bicycle every day. "Commute? *scoff* I only sweat when I put my spandex on!" Using good judgement is not a crime!
Because I know hypocrisy when I see it, I decided to perform an inpromptu 'journalistic study' while waiting at the bus stop (corner of Woodrow and N. Loop). In a span of 15 mins, roughly 90 cars came through this 4-way stop. I didn't bother to videotape or log the results, but what I found was really quite damning. Roughly 95% of drivers did a rolling stop if they were there first or there was no x-traffic or they were alone. In the event of more than 2 cars at the intersection, the numbers might have reached 60% compliance with the law.
It's not about bicycles, it's about humans interpreting a situation, regardless of whether they're in a car, bike, or on foot. We all do the same exact thing. Truth be told, pedestrians and cyclists can adapt to this type of interpretation a lot easier.
KVUE's piece is NOT journalism.
at 2:23! Damn I'm sexy.
If you ride a bike please for your own safety. Look and look again when going through stops. Cars win every time when they hit bikes. Sorry if you think I'm "beating a dead horse". Be safe.
... did they also count how many cars ran the stop sign or rolled through it?
I think it's safe to assume "no", since motorists weren't the target of their story. Honestly I've been through those intersections more times than I can count and though cars occasionally roll the sign, I think it's a lot less than the 97% (according to their numbers) of cyclists that do it.
... but I'll bet that more than 30% of the cars roll through it.
It wouldn't totally blow their point, but would put a significant dent in it.
But yes, it's not the purpose of their story, so I'll bet they either didn't keep track or did and kept it to themselves.
Though if *zero* cars rolled through the stop sign while they were watching, I'll bet they would have mentioned that.