Vancouver drivers and the Right of Way.

What's the deal with drivers not following proper Right of Way around cyclists?

On every commute I find at least one driver not following proper right of way and treating my like a pedestrian. Specifically when crossing 3rd at St. Andrews. Cars will stop in traffic going one way, but people that actually know what's going on won't stop going the other way so I have one lane stopped incorrectly for me and then basically have to push out and get the other lane to stop as if I am a pedestrian crossing or just wait for a break and watch the stopped lane back up with lots of cars.

/rant

Trying not too stereotype here####

Yes, I find a similar thing happens fairly frequently, typically with older women of an oriental disposition who can barely see above the steering wheel.

A junction I use everyday has two lines of traffic approaching a set of traffic lights and I have to turn left up a side road just back from the lights. Invariably someone stops in their left hand lane and tries to wave me across the traffic when I don't have right of way, yet they block my view of traffic on their right hand lane.

What results is a kind of standoff situation as I'm not moving when I can't tell whether it is safe and they seem to assume I'm gonna make a suicidal move in front of them so they don't move either.

Still, at least they don't try to run me off the road…

I've have not found there to be one particular type of driver that does this. Every race, colour, age seems to do it at some point.

When someone incorrectly stops for me (usually when I am at a stop sign that happens to be next to a cross walk) and tries to wave me across, I find avoiding eye contact and looking the other way gets them to carry on fairly quickly. If I make eye contact it usually becomes a type of standoff situation that eventually ends with them yelling at me to "follow the rules of the road" as they speed away.

What's the deal with drivers not following proper Right of Way around cyclists?

On every commute I find at least one driver not following proper right of way and treating my like a pedestrian. Specifically when crossing 3rd at St. Andrews. Cars will stop in traffic going one way, but people that actually know what's going on won't stop going the other way so I have one lane stopped incorrectly for me and then basically have to push out and get the other lane to stop as if I am a pedestrian crossing or just wait for a break and watch the stopped lane back up with lots of cars.

/rant

Stop crossing there , and go one block west and use the lights. OR go two blocks east and charge the gaps between the cars.
IMO 3rd and St Andrews is a shitty intersection , a bus stop on each side . And poor sight lines due to the parked cars.

After years of commuting , i learned to avoid certain intersections on my route due to drivers , sight lines , lack of women commuters too gawk at ect ect .

there was a saying of being aware of the Mass vs brain ratio when commuting .

i hear ya shirk and i do sympathize . . .

but i do see how some drivers don't know what to expect when dealing with cyclists . some of us play it straight up , rules of the road , i'm gonna take on all the rights and responsibilities of a rightful user of the road , while others make us all look bad with their antics .

remember that thread a while back where the guy was advocating being purposely erratic to draw attention to himself ? he wasn't doing us any favors as cyclists trying to gain credibility as users of the road .

personally , i have been finding more and more motorists watching out for me , and stopping and waving me through intersections , even when i've just approached the intersection and am beginning to size up the situation . i always make sure to wave and acknowledge their gesture .

one thing i'd like to see here in whistler is more cyclists observing the most basic rule of the road : travel in the correct direction when on the highway . my personal pet peeve is encountering a guy coming the other way , with them wondering which side i'm going to take . . . i'm going to take the safe side dummy , you ride out into oncoming traffic :lol:

but i do see how some drivers don't know what to expect when dealing with cyclists . some of us play it straight up , rules of the road , i'm gonna take on all the rights and responsibilities of a rightful user of the road , while others make us all look bad with their antics . :

That's it right there.
In my younger more testosterone charged days I was know to loudly curse drivers who treated me like a pedestrian.

Sorta' can't blame the poor sods though, there's so many ill informed and just downright selfish cyclists who take advantage of the un-knowing motorist re-enforcing their (the motorists) confusion about how to treat cyclists.

That's it right there.
In my younger more testosterone charged days I was know to loudly curse drivers who treated me like a pedestrian.

Sorta' can't blame the poor sods though, there's so many ill informed and just downright selfish cyclists who take advantage of the un-knowing motorist re-enforcing their (the motorists) confusion about how to treat cyclists.

The bike lanes down Quebec are a perfect example of this. When I first started commuting, I strictly followed the rules of the road, obeyed all the stop signs and it just caused more confusion (drivers were even yielding to me at two way stop signs where I had the sign and they didn't). Problem for the drivers is that so many bikers blow through the stop signs on the way down the hill, they have to stop if they don't want to hit anyone. In the end, I just gave up and took a different route.

I was thinking cycling in Vancouver must be pretty safe because a lot of people ride like they've never come off, been hit by a car or hit a person. In my experience these all result in body pain and has led me to become more cautious over time…

Yes it is frustrating ain't it. There's no answer to it. Some drivers seem to think no cyclists have the right of way in any situation. Others seem to give every one the right of way and stop for anything because they are too timid. Symptom of a crowded place really.

It would be much easier if cyclists just didn't have right of way ever. That's how it is where I live and it makes things a lot less complicated. A lot more cyclists die but that's their own dumbass fault for cruising obliviously through intersections getting in the way of speeding cars. I've witnessed a few cyclists get hit here and everytime they gave the car no chance whatsoever to avoid them.

When cars act like you're not even there it makes them more predictable and easier not to get hit by.

What I hate more than anything is when I'm doing 50km/h down a main road in Vancouver and I see a car that wants to turn right from a side street. You can never be 100% sure if they're gonna pull out or not. If they see you 99% of the time they will but if you slow down because you don't trust them (why would you trust them?) there's a chance of them getting offended.

Over here I know 100% that they are definitely going to pull out in front of me, there's no guessing at all.

I agree with Fast Orange. Newton's Laws should trump the criminal code.

m1v1 + m2v2 = you die and I don't even get a scratch on my 400 lb grill guard. That doesn't change no matter what planet you are on, let alone what country.

I agree with Fast Orange. Newton's Laws should trump the criminal code.

m1v1 + m2v2 = you die and I don't even get a scratch on my 400 lb grill guard. That doesn't change no matter what planet you are on, let alone what country.

Have you and my old man been conversing?

On every commute I find at least one driver not following proper right of way and treating my like a pedestrian. Specifically when crossing 3rd at St. Andrews. Cars will stop in traffic going one way, but people that actually know what's going on won't stop going the other way so I have one lane stopped incorrectly for me and then basically have to push out and get the other lane to stop as if I am a pedestrian crossing or just wait for a break and watch the stopped lane back up with lots of cars.

exactly! Thats what I'm talking about in the other thread. And thats the exact intersection that I had in mind

I've totally gotten hollered at there for not stopping to let a cyclist ride across. Hollered I tell ya!