07-08-2015, 11:22 AM
(07-07-2015, 09:56 PM)Smore Wrote: Cyclists are generally more akin to pedestrians than to cars, what with the lack of thousands of pounds of metal and thrust and all....so, how often do pedestrians "blow through" a four-way stop with out coming to a full and complete stop if it is perceived to be safe for them to do so??
We have John Forester to thank for the vehicular cycling (VC) principle: "Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles."
There is no evidence for this principle, which was conjured out of thin air by Mr. Forester. The law as it is already has special rules for wide vehicles and for long/heavy vehicles (semis) but according to Mr. Forester there is no difference between a thousand pounds of steel requiring 75ft breaking distance and 30 pounds of aluminum with 15ft breaking distance.
Examples where different rules must apply are: bicycles should be allowed to drive on paved shoulders at all times. Not so cars. Bicycles can be parked on the sidewalk, not so cars. A bicycle at low speed has more in common with a scooter or electric wheelchair than with a car, but according to the Vehicular principle said bicycle is safest on the road with trucks overtaking it at 80km/h than on the sidewalk.
The threshold should be 10km/h which is jogging speed. If you are cycling faster than that, you belong on the road/cycling lane.
A bicycle moving at jogging speed is a pedestrian and should not yield to a stop sign any more than a pedestrian does, which is to say none at all. At speeds below 20km/h a rolling stop should be allowed, just like it is often done in practice by cars as well (the so called California stop).