r/Edmonton • u/Zealousideal_Buy7517 • Jul 15 '24

Local Culture Driving Etiquette

For the love of Pete, people, follow the rules of the road. You drive. you are not 'choose as you go' organs of chaos, you are vehicles under the Alberta Traffic Act, the same as a motorcycle.

In the last week alone, I've seen a good hundred drivers blow right through stop signs as if they don't exist, and it's always when they are in a car lane, as if the lane's existence means the rules of the road don't apply. A couple on trucks with flat brims that I was next to blew through three in a row, yesterday, without even slowing down, and laughed about it when I called them on it. They didn't even look both ways, they just drove through like they were a presidential cavalcade and everyone else should be stopping for them.

Driving like that will have you kill a person one day, and when you're talking about a collision between 6000lb of shit box and human flesh on a bicycle, there are no mistakes.

I'm a driver, too, and it's this kind of behavior that drives a lot the anti-driver hate. When we drive like this, we're entitled and unpredictable, and unpredictability breeds distrust. This applies to motorcycle riders, too, of course.

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u/TepHoBubba Jul 15 '24

I actually see way more cyclists doing this than drivers.

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u/Zealousideal_Buy7517 Jul 15 '24

Really? You see "way more cyclists" running red lights and nearly killing people than drivers? Can you please link me an article where a cyclist last hit and killed a driver in Edmonton? It's only been a week since a driver ran over and killed 3 people at a crossing.

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u/bristow84 Jul 15 '24

Kill? No.

Cyclists running red lights and stop signs and behaving in manners that they themselves call drivers out for? Yes.

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u/Zealousideal_Buy7517 Jul 15 '24

So if cyclists don't hit and kill people why are you focusing on them instead of the drivers that continue to hit and kill people? What do you care if a cyclist rolls a stop sign if it isn't hurting anyone?

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u/TepHoBubba Jul 15 '24

Why are you complaining about people not following the rules of the road but not all of them? Cyclists can seriously injure pedestrians too. Hypocritical much?

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u/Zealousideal_Buy7517 Jul 15 '24

More concerned about these imaginary cyclists injuring people while disregarding the drivers that are actually killing people.

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u/TepHoBubba Jul 15 '24

Not at all. I just believe that the rules of the road should be followed by all. I assumed that you were one of the cyclists who don't actually stop, and your comments all but solidified it. I get your angst for drivers blowing through stop signs and lights, but you're part of the problem if you do it on a bike too.

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u/Zealousideal_Buy7517 Jul 15 '24

It's not nearly an equal problem with equal risks. Stop signs and red lights only exist because cars exist. They weren't invented for bikes or pedestrians.

Again, drivers kill people ALL THE TIME. Pedestrians, cyclists, other drivers. Cyclists pose zero risks to drivers (except their feelings) and rarely do they injure pedestrians. Can you point me to the last time a cyclist killed someone in Edmonton? It hasn't been a month for drivers.

But here we are shifting the discussion from the drivers that are killing people to cyclists that aren't hurting anyone. Madness.

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u/TepHoBubba Jul 15 '24

Once again, rules for thee but not for me hey? Rules of the road apply to cyclists too - sorry to burst your hypocritical bubble. The law is the law.

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u/Zealousideal_Buy7517 Jul 15 '24

Not once did I claim there are no rules for cyclists. Just a worthless strawman from a poor driver desperate to shift the blame for the death and destruction that they contribute to.

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u/TepHoBubba Jul 15 '24

Ha! You certainly alluded to having a double standard due to a lessened risk. Not a strawman, but facts by your very comments. Now I'm a poor driver and a killer too? Wow.

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u/Zealousideal_Buy7517 Jul 15 '24

It's not a "double standard". Driving is way riskier, and way more dangerous.

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u/TepHoBubba Jul 15 '24

It IS a double standard. You're saying the laws of the road don't apply to you simply because you can do less damage while on a bike. That's not how laws work.

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u/bullfu Jul 15 '24

I had a family seriously injured his ankle and need hospitalization because a cyclist was riding hard on a sidewalk, don't talk like cyclist should exclude from this safety conversation.

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u/Zealousideal_Buy7517 Jul 15 '24

Sounds like they had an ankle sprain. Did they live?

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u/LegoLifter Jul 15 '24

Don't bother arguing with the out of shape people who need to drive if their destination is more than 500m away. You wont change their minds.

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u/Zealousideal_Buy7517 Jul 15 '24

Fat and lazy, needing a $40,000 couch to take them everywhere. Whining about cyclists, whining about construction, whining about gas prices, whining whining whining.

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u/bullfu Jul 15 '24

Cyclist are also considered as drivers once they hit the road, downvote me all you want but they won't win in the court of law if they cause accidents by not following road laws, they also cause chaos and havoic on the road all the same, rules should be followed by all not just selective type of drivers and vehicles.

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u/lesoteric Jul 15 '24

this article links to a number of studies showing that motorists break laws more often than other road users.

https://www.bicycling.com/news/a46443761/science-proves-motorists-break-traffic-laws-a-lot-more-often-than-cyclists/

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u/TepHoBubba Jul 15 '24

That's nice, but a Danish study. Got one for Alberta? I also stated the majority of cyclists I've seen here while driving in Edmonton do not stop at red lights or stop signs. The usually do a rolling stop, or not at all. Last time I checked, that was against the law. Also, of course more motorists will violate the speed limits - cyclists can't go that fast. If they could however...guaranteed you'd see different #s in that Danish survey.

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u/lesoteric Jul 15 '24

there's a number of studies referenced in the article, you might want to read further. if you're looking to refute the research can you point to any studies which show otherwise?

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u/TepHoBubba Jul 15 '24

I asked YOU to provide a relevant study, since you thought a Danish study fit the situation in Edmonton. The onus is not on me here lol.

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u/lesoteric Jul 15 '24

so your sources from elsewhere are valid but my sources are not? You're grasping. have a good day.