Part of the problem is that most bicycles can't even maintain the lowest of speed limits of 25mph, let alone if they're riding on a 35 or 45mph road. So if there's not a designated bike lane, it's immediately dangerous, which causes fear (on both sides), which breeds resentment and contempt. But a lot of that could be avoided with common sense and common courtesy, which as we've all observed is on a steep decline.
w/r/t surface streets and secondary roadways, that's only true if you operate your motor vehicle under the premise that there were never be anything in the roadway to impede your progress at speed....walkers, joggers, bicyclists, horses, etc. Which we all know is not the case or the expectation. I think just about every state includes all of the above as legal occupants of the roads and streets. Granted, they have specific rules to follow, just like MVOs. w/r/t limited access roads, I agree that you have an expectation that there will not commonly be vehicles on the road unable to maintain the posted speed.
I've posted this elsewhere but it's applicible:
WIW, PA vehicle code, title 75, considers a bicycle a vehicle subject to rules common to all vehicles permitted on the road; they are entitled to use the lane of travel when the shoulder is absent, they are overtaking a slower vehicle or conditions of the shoulder are unsafe. Lighting is only required when the bicycle is operated after sunset and before dawn. Riders are permitted by law to ride 2 a breast. (not included in the link is a recent change to the law that specifies a 4' clearance requirement when passing a bicyclist on the road) Here's an excerpt of some of the applicable sections:
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/...rward?OpenForm
I'm actually one of those bicyclists that attempts to follow the laws, ride with respect for other users of the road (including the running zombies who appear to be oblivious to everyone & everything around them
) and ride with my safety as a priority. When you ride & act expecting other vehicles to obey the rules of the road, it can be dangerous too; the vehicles around me often don't follow those same rules & will jeopardize my safety unnecessarily by doing things like trying to pass me with little to no clearance, passing me at stop signs, completely ignoring my right of way at an intersection, etc..etc..etc. I was riding into the lane of travel the other day because a section of the road/shoulder was totally destroyed by last winter's brutal weather and a woman in a civic came right up on my wheel, blaring her horn & yelled at me to 'get the F off the road and on the shoulder where you belong, arsehole'. Of course, we were the only two vehicles on the road at that time, plenty of visibility & she had zero reason not to just go around me and continue on her way.
Yeah, seeing other cyclists completely ignore the rules of the road frustrates me too. I give them grief when I encounter and they generally don't give a crap..just like the car & truck drivers who routinely disregard the safety of other road users.
What we need is
everyone to respect each other and behave accordingly. Until that unlikely day, I'll keep legally and defensively riding my bike on the road, expecting the worst of other vehicles and rarely being surprised when I experience it.
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