So….. there’s a blog post and column on the NY Times’s “Bay Area” Edition that’s getting a lot of comments from cyclists. Of course they would, they seem by title alone to be trolling for comments:
San Francisco’s Cyclists Facing Backlash for Flouting Rules of the Road (link) & The Backlash Against Cyclists (link).
(It’s been picked up on other sites like SFist).
There’s a video too (below)
Videotape a typical intersection and do the math. A scan of 40 minutes of footage shot during morning rush hour at the four-way stop of Duboce and Steiner Streets showed the following:
¶Seven cyclists came to a complete stop.¶Fifteen cyclists paused.¶Ninety-one cyclists blew right through the intersection.Videotape a typical intersection and do the math. A scan of 40 minutes of footage shot during morning rush hour at the four-way stop of Duboce and Steiner Streets showed the following:-Seven cyclists came to a complete stop.
-Fifteen cyclists paused.
-Ninety-one cyclists blew right through the intersection.
trying to catch me ridin' dirty
Here’s the thing though- that video is sped up. And although it’s my opinion, I don’t think you can tell who really paused and who “blew through” the intersection.
It’s a 40 minute video sped up so it is only 8 mins of youtube fun (uggh, put some music on the video at least).
The other thing that’s misleading is the intersection they film. The one they did film is Duboce and Steiner. It’s a 4 way stop (it’s about a 3 way stop in the video though, there’s been construction going on the street where the camera is). It’s a good one to film because it’s not a perfect X and there’s a lot going on there- bikes, cars, pedestrians w/ dogs and the dreaded Muni train (there are train tracks in that street). (google map)
If they really wanted to tick people off they should have filmed another intersection two or three blocks away. They could have put the camera either at Haight and Pierce(?) or maybe anywhere on Market in the Financial Dist. where cyclists really blow through crosswalks. Market & Brady Alley would be a good example going downtown, or across the street in the evening commute (Market & Page & Rose).
But back to my rant- I think the real reason the video annoys me is because I’m in it. If you scan ahead to about 1:52ish, right after the woman walks across the street to meet her ride, I come in and turn in front of the camera. I’m the fat one in a bright orange shirt and yellow/orange handlebar light.
Now, I’m not super defensive about this- but this is why I think it’s a misleading count-
The day the video is filmed was the day after the big storm. I had worked from home that day and took my computer home (it’s in the bag on my back… I normally don’t wear a bag, I *hate* wearing backpacks or messenger bags when I ride (mostly because I don’t like most of them).
On days when it’s bone dry I usually unclip my right foot when I get near those tracks because I got spooked once when I fishtailed off of the second track. (that’s also why most of the riders take such a L-shaped turn in that video).
I usually pause at that intersection because there’s almost always a car coming down Duboce (from the left side of the video). I almost always signal too unless I’m directly behind another rider. I also remember that car turning in front of me. And like I said, I remember that day because it was wet as hell still on the road– I was going slowly that morning.
Trivia- see all the sand in the middle of the road? You know what most of that is from? It’s from Muni cars, they dump sand on the tracks if the drivers are worried about their brakes failing…
Anyway, what’s my point? The usual, not much except
1) I think that column author is just trying to rile people up with the titles
2) I think the video’s way too fast to get an accurate “count” of who is doing what.
I feel like George on Seinfeld– I PAUSED damnit, I PAUSED!!
If anything- just be shocked at how many cars come to a stop.
Here’s the video:
I doubt you’ll make it through the whole video, it’s boring as hell.
