sharing the road

A recent discussion elsewhere prompts me to ask this of the people
here.

What does "sharing the road" mean to you?

What should others do to share it?

What should you do?


Zebee

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 00:44:15 +0000, Zebee Johnstone wrote:

What does "sharing the road" mean to you?

Social behaviour - ie treating the road as a communal area. That means
trying to minimise your impact on other users while maintaining your own
safety and sanity. Stopping for an orange light, giving space if there's a
signal and you can reasonably do so, getting out of the way of faster
traffic if it's reasonable to do so.

Every now and then I seem to meet a like minded individual, and driving
becomes a whole lot more pleasant.

--
Dave Hughes |
I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
A recent discussion elsewhere prompts me to ask this of the people
here.

What does "sharing the road" mean to you?

Using the road responsibly, abiding by the road laws.

What should others do to share it?

The same.

Zebee Johnstone Wrote:
A recent discussion elsewhere prompts me to ask this of the
people
here.

What does "sharing the road" mean to you?

What should others do to share it?

What should you do?


Zebee

When I am riding my bike on the road I am considerate of the people
driving cars,
When I am driving my car I am considerate of people riding their bikes

In the vast majority of cases where problems arise is where cyclists or
motorists try and gain a few seconds advantage eg cyclist running a red,
motorist not prepare to wait to go around a cyclist and pushing them
into the gutter, if we all relaxed a little and were not in such a
hurry there is room for us all.


--
jake_dmp

Bleve wrote:

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
A recent discussion elsewhere prompts me to ask this of the people
here.

What does "sharing the road" mean to you?

Using the road responsibly, abiding by the road laws.

What should others do to share it?

The same.

Further than just abiding by the laws, I try to extend small courtesies
to other road users. If it's safe for me to give a little bit of extra
space in the lane for a car to pass, I'll do so. Sometimes if I'm
waiting at a red light to go straight but there's a green left arrow
and a car is waiting behind me, I'll shuffle across so that the car can
take the arrow.

In return, I appreciate it when motorists extend small courtesies back
to cyclists even though they are not required by law. Things like
making room for bike traffic to filter through stopped cars at a red
light, or keeping clear of the bike lane while waiting to parallel
park.

wrote:
Bleve wrote:

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
A recent discussion elsewhere prompts me to ask this of the people
here.

What does "sharing the road" mean to you?

Using the road responsibly, abiding by the road laws.

What should others do to share it?

The same.

Further than just abiding by the laws, I try to extend small courtesies
to other road users. If it's safe for me to give a little bit of extra
space in the lane for a car to pass, I'll do so. Sometimes if I'm
waiting at a red light to go straight but there's a green left arrow
and a car is waiting behind me, I'll shuffle across so that the car can
take the arrow.

I always do that too, as a courtesy thing. Usually I get a thankyou
wave for it.

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
A recent discussion elsewhere prompts me to ask this of the people
here.

What does "sharing the road" mean to you?

It is a goal to which I believe we should all aspire and in the
meantime, we should be learning all methods to bring this about.


What should others do to share it?
I haven't got any to share

What should you do?

Lots of ideas on the internet.
Park old lounges to slow down traffic,
Lower road speeds to 10kms per hour in your street
Mark out a backetball court, cricket pitch, etc on your street.
etc






Zebee

I agree - I've always considered the whole "sharing the road" thing to
not mean anyything about the road rules per se, but actually about
being courteous to each other.

Being considerate. And not being a pr!ck. If you're a cyclist, don't
take a lane if you have an ample shoulder. If you are a car driver,
don't squeeze past if you clearly don't have room. And above all,
no-one should be a cranky-puss!!

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Simple, yeah??

Cheers,
Abby

Absent Husband wrote:
snip
Being considerate. And not being a pr!ck. If you're a cyclist, don't
take a lane if you have an ample shoulder. If you are a car driver,
don't squeeze past if you clearly don't have room. And above all,
no-one should be a cranky-puss!!
snip

Except LotteBum. She has the right to be a crank-puss and I'm not going
to tell her otherwise!

Tam

Zebee Johnstone Wrote:
A recent discussion elsewhere prompts me to ask this of the people
here.

What does "sharing the road" mean to you?

What should others do to share it?

What should you do?


ZebeeGood question; the answer is not so easy.

To me, sharing the road means asserting your rights within the bounds
of the law.

For example, claiming the lane is not only my right, and lawful but it
is the safest way to ride a bicycle; particualarly on narrow streets
and lanes.

It infuriates me to see other cyclists clinging to the gutter. You see
them having to merge out into the traffic to go around a parked car
then, cling the gutter again for 50m only to merge out again.

Having said that, if it is a wide boulevarde, or a huge shoulder, then
keep left if you don't need to weave in and out.

I find this dangerous and irresponsible.

Not only is it dangerous to be weaving in and out of the traffic, it
re-enforces the notion that cyclists belong in the gutter or; that
motorists have every right to force their way around you.

It may be courteous to move over, but it is not always safe or
responsible.

So, sharing the road means:

Asserting yourself
Keeping within the law.

Scotty


--
scotty72