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Illegal turn: making a left when explicitly disallowed by a signs. Passing a car on the left and then making a right in front of it (usually at traffic signals). Basically anything that ignores traffic control signs designating what turns are allowed out of whatever lane. I'm not saying I can't relate to the choices, but they're still illegal and often confusing to drivers too.

Go riding on a commute someday and count violations, every one of them, even speeding (but you have to include the 15 mph bike trails along with that). I can guarantee you that you'll wind up with a higher number of violations per capita for cyclists. And it's not close. I saw one cyclist this morning over a 5 mile stretch commit a multitude of offenses; he failed to yield to pedestrians at least three times, passed illegally over a solid yellow line, went the wrong way down one street, sped on the trail, road, and sidewalk (and I know because I was moving at the same pace and I my speedometer said I was speeding by a wide margin), tailgated me for several miles (drafting, against my wishes), cut off cars at intersections with stopped lights at separate intersections, entered an intersection on a red light, never signaled a turn (that's like 15 separate offenses alone). These guys do this every single day, there are lots of them. I have never in my life met a driver who racked up such a variety of offenses in such a short distance.

Drivers commit offenses, but by and large, they're civil and conscientious people. It's just that there are so many of them, you're inevitably going to run into some bad ones. A far higher fraction of cyclists are completely inept. And I say this as a person who bikes thousands of miles a year. I have a much greater fear of cyclists on a per capita basis than I do cars.

by Jon on Jun 7, 2012 6:05 pm • link • report