The Blog

Bicyclists in the city of Chicago are, in a word, annoying. They are pedestrians when it suits them, and they are vehicles when it suits them. They exploit whatever law benefits them. At a red light they'll pull up between you and the car next to you to sneak by when the light turns green, yet there's no way they'll be able to accelerate faster than you and, subsequently, get in your way.
There are other annoyances as well, but they've all been covered: Weaving in and out of traffic, refusing to stop at stop signs for a pedestrian, cutting through intersections at high rates of speeds. The majority of these goofs are, naturally, twentysomething males, but not exclusively.

The comments on that post are pretty fascinating. My favorite so far is #11, by ellaesther:

"Laws I never would have thought needed writing:

1) Don’t throw things (from your car or at all, really) at bikers. Check.

2) Don’t dig up people’s graves and resell the plots (apparently some people in south suburban Chicago found whatever existing laws on this subject were not clear enough). Check.

3) Don’t have sex with a dead deer by the side of the road (not long ago, some man did this, somewhere in these United States, and got off, or got off lightly, because the authorities didn’t know what to charge him with. I’d research it, but I’m afraid I’d vomit into the Google).

Really, is it so hard, people?"

I have two stories that I defy anyone to blame on me being an "annoying biker."

I was waiting at a red light--yes, waiting at a full stop with my foot down, not track standing or circling or inching into the intersection--when the passenger in a contractor's truck threw a half-full 16-ounce bottle of soda at me and struck me in the lower back hard enough to bruise. My crime? I was in the right-hand lane, and the truck wanted to turn right, despite several signs reading NO RIGHT TURN ON RED. (In the absence of such signs, I make sure to stop far enough to the left that drivers can pass me to the right to make their turns.)

It gets better. While riding on the lakefront trail--a bike path, not even a road that I'm obligated to share with motor vehicles--I was shot at roughly a dozen times by the passenger in a car coming down the Lake Shore Drive exit lane near Montrose. Fortunately he missed every time--moving platform, moving target--and only knocked some twigs out of the trees around me, so I didn't get to find out the hard way whether the rifle he was using was a pellet gun or a paintball gun. But I don't think there's any arguing that this is some messed-up shit.

Whatever irritating bad behavior cyclists exhibit--and I commute by bike every day, so I see a lot of it--it doesn't justify straight-up assault. And drivers who bitch about cyclists tend to overlook a very simple fact: If we fuck up, we get killed. If you fuck up, we get killed. It ain't exactly a level playing field.

May I suggest that Critical Mass also plays a role in "Bike Rage.?" Having to be delayed once a month so a bunch of hip 20 somethings can tell you what an evil detriment to society you are just because you drive a car certainly damages the diplomacy between car people and bike people. I am in no way suggesting that the event justifies vandalism or assault, I am just trying to pinpoint causes of seemingly unprovoked throwing.

More generally, I think motorists in Chicago are just an angry lot. I see almost as many car to car altercations as I do car to bike.

Wow, I seriously didn't know this was an issue. Why would anyone think it's ok to throw something at a cyclist, let alone shoot at someone. Cyclist do make me a little nervous when I'm driving but I give them room and go about my business.

I forgot about the guy in Wicker Park who decided he needed to pass a line of *moving* traffic by swerving into the bike lane and then, finding me in his way, gunned his engine and nosed up to within 18 inches of my rear wheel. (Bear in mind we're both moving at 15+ MPH at this point. It was toward the end of Wicker Park Fest and the road was pretty congested.)

So I yelled at him--I don't usually yell, but he was genuinely scaring the bejesus out of me--and he pulled back into traffic. Then when he got up to the left of me, passing me like a sane driver is supposed to, he swerved suddenly and violently to within six inches of my left handlebar, I suppose to demonstrate (as if I didn't already know) that he could kill or cripple me for my insolence if he wanted. How dare I ride a bike! In the bike lane! With the flow of traffic! With a taillight and a headlight and a helmet!

I had to settle for giving him the finger at that point, but believe me, I did it as hard as I could.

On the encouraging side, at the next red light another driver leaned out of his window and said to me, "Man, you should get his license plate number. Call the police."

Alas, though I am not a slow cyclist, no way could I gain enough ground to get within sight of that guy's tags again.

So come on, drivers. Defend yourselves. Why don't I have the right to exist? I pay taxes in this city--why don't I get to use the roads without being assaulted and threatened and accosted a couple times a week? I don't even damage the pavement the way your cars do--even when I'm carrying my U-lock, my bike and I weigh maybe 200 pounds put together.

Oh, and anybody who tells me to ride on the sidewalk gets a handface. That's illegal in Chicago for anyone over the age of 12, and I'm 37.

nothing makes my blood boil more than DELIBERATE AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE toward bikers. would this same caveman be assaulting someone on the sidewalk with a pop can? and if you don't like driving in chicago where there's too many pedestrians and yahoo bikers, get out of your fucking cars, lazy lardasses. ride the train, fercrissakes. blatant trolling, i know. sorry. but i can't stand hearing stuff like this. it means something like critical mass needs to be even more massive.

I would love to see something like Idaho's bike law enacted here--it conforms with the way most responsible cyclists already ride, and it would obviate the argument so many drivers like to make: "But you don't come to a complete stop at every stop sign, like all cars obviously do! Therefore we're justified in assaulting or murdering you if you inconvenience us."

In short, Idaho law allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs. It has resulted in no increase in accidents over the 26 years it's been in force. More here:

http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2009…

That a law like that would be necessary is sad, but I'm not entirely surprised. I've been getting around Chicago almost only by bike for about 6 years, and have suffered plenty at the hands of impatient motorists, who think that just because their vehicle is capable of traveling faster than mine, that they have the right to do so at any time that suits them. Unfortunately, in all that time, I have had a few things thrown at me from cars. I don't know if it says more about me or about this city, but I interpreted that more as a racially-motivated statement about my presence in certain neighborhoods than standard driver aggression.

Carlos, as a cyclist, nothing annoys me more than other cyclists behaving badly. And there's no doubt that some of us do. But Chicago drivers are, in a word, annoying. They're impatient and frequently break the law, running red lights and driving too fast.

Have you ever considered that more cyclists on the road means less traffic, better air, and lower gas prices for you? The solution to bikes having to ride in front of cars is not for bikes to get off the road--it's for us to build infrastructure that includes a place for bikes to ride safely.

I am a bike commuter who takes a route that primarily has a bike lane. I stop at all lights, obey all laws, and use very predictable, safe behavior.

I have had cigarette butts flicked at me, garbage thrown at me, and even some cars deliberately weave at me and laugh about it.

I welcome a law like this, but I'm not sure if it'll do much good to change behavior.

I have been riding off and on in the city for around 10 years. Also, I am from the Southwest side. When I first started riding my bike around, as I had no car, I would drive down Archer Ave (pre-gentrification) and get things tossed out windows at me all the time. I would be yelled at, cursed at, told to get off the rode, bikes have no place, etc. Now, things are better and I feel slightly safer. I now have a car and I am more aware of bikes on the rode. But I understand the aggravation of some drivers toward a few errant bike riders. Now, I go through red lights when there are no cars around and yes, sometimes I roll through stop signs, but on my bike, I am not doing anything different than most people in cars. In fact, the most dangerous thing I witness by drivers is passing on the right. I witness it everyday on my bike or in my car, and it is so DANGEROUS. Yet, the police do nothing. I would be willing as a bike rider to adhere to every rule of the road if the police actually tickted drivers for their bad behavior.

I think the main problem is that the bicycle lanes in Chicago are shit. They are barely visible to drivers, and do practically nothing to protect bicyclists. At intersections, they force bicycles and cars together when they end right in the middle of a turn lane.

At the very least, they should be fully painted with a high contrasting color to make them more visible. To make them actually effective, they should be separated from the street by a curb, allowing the parking lane to go on the outside of the bike path. Perhaps at some time in the future our "green" city could implement this feature.

anytime some asshole driver cuts me off while i'm riding my bike, i like to dent their trunk or smash in their rear view mirror with my u-lock... sometimes, if they have their window open, i open my water bottle and chuck it as hard as i can at their head.. works like a charm, and then i bike away like a maniacal ninja through inner city traffic. i'm not going to let some fat-ass in a SUV push me around. i think it's a pretty fair trade-off too: i mean, i almost get killed by an asshole, so then the asshole almost gets killed by me :)

@fagaliscious:

An inept troll, part of the problem, or both?

Ah, I see, so some of you up there are basically saying that "cyclists are asking for it". Uh-huh.

Look, I agree, some cyclists are adrenaline-crazed assholes. But I've commuted by bike in this city for 15 years, and every time I'm on the road, my life is endangered by drivers who apparently consider my presence, and the need to drive accordingly, as an inconvenience.

This is the problem. I am not an annoyance or inconvenience. I'm a commuter, just like you, trying to get myself around town without guzzling gas, without struggling with parking, and without paying half my salary in tickets, insurance, and car payments.

Bikes and pedestrians are legitimate citizens of the road. Face it, accept it, and drive accordingly.

Someone up there said it succinctly enough to repeat: If we fuck up, we get killed. If you fuck up, we get killed.

And if compassion doesn't convince you: I've got a small army of personal injury lawyers. They're drooling and hungry.

once some asshole in a car threw a sandwich at my friend who was riding his bike

Maybe there would be less hostility if cyclists were more inclined to obey the laws. Laws like stopping at red lights and stop signs, yielding to pedestrians, and NOT riding on the sidewalk. The environmental benefit of riding a bike (or walking, for that matter) don't bestow the right to disregard inconvenient laws -- if that were true, then crosswalks would merely be helpful but negligible suggestions.

Obviously nothing justifies assaults, but as a pedestrian who receives a lot of the same bullying from cyclists that cyclists complaint about receiving from motorists (and motorists bully pedestrians too, by the way), I understand the hate.

@sixseeds

"Maybe there would be less hostility if cyclists were more inclined to obey the laws."

People love to trot this out, and it needs knocking down.

First, road rage in general has little to do with lawbreaking and everything to do with assholes who think somebody's in their way--most folks who drive have had experience with being tailgated aggressively on the highway because they happened to set their cruise control below 80 MPH. Cyclists attract a lot of ire because they generally can't ride as fast as automotive traffic--and there's nothing illegal about riding your bike slower than 40 MPH.

Second, ask any cyclist whether the aggressive behavior he gets from drivers correlates at all with his riding style or his respect for stop signs. It does not. You can be as law-abiding as you like, and you'll still end up fucked with regularly.

I'm not saying cyclists should ignore traffic laws. But obeying traffic laws does not protect you from asshole drivers who don't recognize cyclists' right to the road. If every rider in the world spontaneously started adhering scrupulously to every local traffic regulation, drivers would still make trouble for them--they just wouldn't have their favorite excuses to justify that behavior anymore.

But of course the biggest problem with this statement is that it places the responsibility on cyclists to somehow avoid becoming the victim of shitty, illegal, dangerous, and potentially lethal behavior from drivers--the great majority of which is completely unprovoked. It suggests that threats, harassment, and assaults are what cyclists deserve--or at the very least what they should expect--and that it's cyclists' problem to figure out how to make those things stop.

Sorry, but this is bullshit. No one is forcing drivers to menace or strike cyclists. Viciousness is not the natural and expected state of any human in a car, to be taken as a given and worked around.

Drivers have sole responsibility for their own behavior. Riding a bike on a city street does not make it OK for drivers to fuck with you. Not even riding a bike poorly justifies such a response. No driver would simply accept that other drivers have the right to attack him if he rolls through a stop sign or makes an illegal U-turn.

In short, threats and attacks against bikers can only be stopped by the people who are committing them. Period. No more of this "They're making me do it!" shit.

I was at a full stop at Wrightwood & Halsted, waiting to make a left turn on 7/19/09. A guy ran up to me and yelled out "It's ok cuz you're wearing a helmet!" and punched my head.

Last night I was riding north on Sheffield just north of Irving when a car drove up and a passenger threw something that hit the side of my face. I looked at the car which was now in front of me, the backseat passenger had opened his door to look at me and confirm I was hit. He laughed and the car sped off.

Last year, two women trying to hail cabs kicked me while I was riding north on Halsted too. All this violence is unacceptable. They have all put my life in danger and all I did was ride a bike. We need more laws to protect bikers.

I agree with Phil! Obeying traffic laws doesn't mean that bikers will be safe. I have been physically assaulted 5 times by pedestrians and drivers while riding my bike and I was obeying traffic laws!!! It enrages me that people can physically harm me, put my life in danger, get away with it and say it's my fault because I'm a biker.

@two wheel real deal

This man speaks truth.

@Philip Montoro: I guess I wasn't clear in my last post -- I wasn't condoning ANY violence, and I am complaining solely as a pedestrian. I don't drive in Chicago, so I'm not in a position to bully cyclists even if I want to. In fact, as a pedestrian, I'm one step lower on the commuter food chain, and cyclists bully me in exactly the same ways. I can't tell you the number times I've had them charge at me on the sidewalk -- ironically beneath the signs posted at frequent intervals detailing the illegality of their behavior. Or the number of times they've nearly plowed into me at stop signs or lights where I had right of way. Yeah, drivers screw up, cyclists get hurt or killed. So do pedestrians. You're ignoring the fact that cyclists disregarding laws can hurt themselves and others too.

"First, road rage in general has little to do with lawbreaking and everything to do with assholes who think somebody's in their way."

Too true. Like the cyclists who decide that I'm in their way when they want to ride on the sidewalk or blow a red light.

"Second, ask any cyclist whether the aggressive behavior he gets from drivers correlates at all with his riding style or his respect for stop signs. It does not. You can be as law-abiding as you like, and you'll still end up fucked with regularly."

Replace "cyclist" with "pedestrian" and "drivers" with "cyclists."

"But of course the biggest problem with this statement is that it places the responsibility on cyclists to somehow avoid becoming the victim of shitty, illegal, dangerous, and potentially lethal behavior from drivers--the great majority of which is completely unprovoked. It suggests that threats, harassment, and assaults are what cyclists deserve--or at the very least what they should expect--and that it's cyclists' problem to figure out how to make those things stop."

Now you're just putting words in my mouth. At no time have I encouraged or condoned violence between anybody. And yes, it's EVERYBODY'S responsibility to contribute to road safety -- I shouldn't run out into traffic, and cars should obey speed limits, and cyclists should acknowledge stop signs.

My point was that I understand the frustration people feel towards cyclists. After about the half dozenth time a cyclist nearly hits me in a single day, I'm definitely fantasizing about retaliating -- although with what, I can't imagine, since I carry no weapons and lack the protection of a vehicle.

If cyclists want respect, they should consider giving some, and not just to the people who can hurt them.

Hipsters aren't the problem! Neither is Critical Mass! Drivers & pedestrians attack bikers indiscriminately. They don't have the time to inspect a bike chain or look for cut-off shorts before they assault bikers. Hell, you don't even have to wear clothes. At last year's World Naked Bike Ride a dude lunged at a naked girl and almost knocked her off her bike. These people just don't care about human life. I don't hate fagaliscious for his actions. After 5 assaults, I'm starting to think a little retaliation is ok.

@sixseeds

You're right, I did put words in your mouth. I apologize. A lot of drivers use a similar argument ("If they'd only stop at stop signs!") to sloppily justify reprehensible behavior, and I was responding to you as though you were one of them. That was my mistake--I got up on my soapbox and got carried away.

I hope it goes without saying that cyclists ought to stay the hell off sidewalks (except if they're kids), be respectful of pedestrians trying to cross the road (crosswalk or no crosswalk), and give wide berths to those folks who've taken to the bike paths on foot. (Likewise, joggers: Please look over your shoulder before you make a U-turn across the path! Especially if you've got earbuds in and can't hear anyone approaching from behind.)

I've been a little hung up on the bike/car dynamic, as you point out. If by focusing on it so maniacally I've given the impression that I don't think cyclists owe the same courtesy to pedestrians that drivers owe to cyclists, I'm sorry. I've got nothing but respect for anybody who chooses to make the sacrifices necessary to get around in Chicago without adding another car to our clogged and beat-to-hell roadways.

Sixseeds is wrong about not being in a position to assault bikers. I have been punched & kicked by pedestrians while minding my own business. 2 weeks ago a guy ran up to me on the street and punched me in the head! I didn't do a damn thing to him! Pedestrians and joggers can endanger the lives of cyclists. Why do all these joggers think it's ok to go the wrong way of traffic in a bike lane!?! Why can't they stay on the sidewalk or a treadmill? They expect me to move closer to the angry car lanes and endanger my life so they can burn some calories? Hell no! They need to get out the way and they never do!

Philip Montoro,quit acting like a big girl's blouse and get over yourself, what a wankstain hipster dufus

@katekate

Who are you calling a hipster?

For every bad driver there are a hundred good ones who are polite and careful with cyclists. Thanks to them, I've never been hit and the only thing that's been tossed from a window at me was a kiss.

I think the problem is on both sides. On one hand, drivers need to be more aware of cyclists. On the other hand, I have seen a lot of cyclists that completely break road rules and cut off cars, etc, because they believe that are in the right and can do what they please on the road. Like my mother always said, it takes two to tango.

I'm afraid this article is going to increase bike-hatred. I'm a bike commuter and do my best to respect drivers. I bike around 4800 miles a year and have no horror stories to report as far as road-rage. This morning actually, I was in a center left turn lane on a 2-lane road, waiting behind the car ahead of me, and a guy approached from behind- not turning left with us, just passing along in his own lane, and A. for some reason, decided that I was doing something wrong (like existing) even though I was not in his way and was OBEYING THE LAW; B. that it (whatever "it" was) was somehow his business; and C. that the best thing to do was cuss me out on his merry way up the road. Why do I even bother trying to be courteous to drivers?

One other point to throw into the mix is that, unlike cars, bikes haven't killed anyone -- including pedestrians -- in this City for at least the last 15 years (I could find about 7 cases worldwide) that wasn't on the bike. I'm frankly getting pretty tired of hearing pedestrians rant about the "threat" that bikes pose to them, while cars mow down at least one of them each week.

As a biker I take it as a given that drivers aren't going to see me and are not going to pay attention to me. I think it's pretty naive to think that because you are on a bike that the roads are going to be some utopian bicycling paradise where every driver on the road pays attention to every single thing going on around them. in a city a driver has a lot to pay attention to and a biker is sometimes going to go under their radar. it sucks, but its the reality of riding bikes on the road, bikers need to accept this hard reality and when getting on a bike ride defensively with the knowledge that a car door could open in front of them at anytime, a car could cut them off at anytime and not react like they have never made a mistake in their lives. Everyone makes mistakes, do they deserve to have their car smashed by a biker's u-lock for making a mistake-no, just like a biker doesn't deserve to be hit when he/she runs a red light. Having said that i do realize that this is a different issue than a driver purposefully throwing something at a biker-that is 100% inexcusable and the driver should have his license revoked.