Statistics don’t lie, but my experience doesn’t lie either. 90% of the assholes I encounter on the road are on bicycles.
FWIW, I live in Seattle, a famously bike-friendly city. Stop signs, red lights, pedestrians and even one-way street signs don’t seem to exist in the visual field of many cyclists here.
Obviously there are reasonable law-abiding bicyclists out there. Certainly all the cyclists online say they obey all the laws. But apparently I’m seeing an entirely different group of people in the real world, zooming around lawlessly.
What I've noticed is that the crimes of motorists, cyclists, and even pedestrians, are crimes of opportunity and convenience. In each case it's a matter of what's possible, offset by the chance of enforcement.
Motorists exceed the speed limit, roll through stop signs, and are looking at their phones while driving.
Cyclists blow through stop signs, and take advantage of shortcuts.
Pedestrians "jaywalk." There's not much else they can do.
FWIW, I live in Seattle, a famously bike-friendly city. Stop signs, red lights, pedestrians and even one-way street signs don’t seem to exist in the visual field of many cyclists here.
Obviously there are reasonable law-abiding bicyclists out there. Certainly all the cyclists online say they obey all the laws. But apparently I’m seeing an entirely different group of people in the real world, zooming around lawlessly.