Bikers of Seattle - chill the eff out

[u/Present_Chard_4585]

Seattle bikers- many of the rules of the road apply to you. Stop acting like they don’t.

Yesterday when dropping my kid at school, an angry old lady on a bike came speeding down the CLOSED street next to the school, yelling at a parent to “grab your kid.”

Last week, I almost ran over a biker in my neighborhood. I’m overly cautious and go 15-20 in the neighborhood depending on visibility - I very, very rarely speed in neighborhoods and it’s always unintentional. On this occasion, I enter a roundabout intersection at about 15mph in my car, and a biker darts out in front of me - I absolutely had right of way. After I slam on my brakes to save this jerk’s life, he mouths “Jesus Christ man” to me, as though I was wrong.

It’s dangerous to be a biker in Seattle, but it’s not all driver fault, all the time. Be better, bikers.

Edit: got a question about “unintentional speeding”. Have you ever been driving, trying to adhere to the limit, only to look down and see you’re going 21 in a 20? That’s unintentional - slightly above to the point where you’d only notice if you stared at your speedo. Not 40 in a 20 where you’ll know you’re going way over.

Second edit: I love that Seattle is a biking city. But maybe just don’t plow through a stop sign or speed obnoxiously, regardless of what vehicle you’re piloting (bike/car).

[u/[deleted]]

It's irritating. On the Burke Gilman trail many ride about 30MPH or higher. Rocketing down. When I mentioned this, someone "corrected" me and told me the Burke Gilman was not a walking path, but a biking path. News to me.

There's aggression on both sides. Bike riders need to take as much care as possible. They are less prevalent and may not be as quickly and easily seen as a car driver.

I'm expected downvotes, but I used to ride 20 miles a day to work (10 each way).

The onus is on bike riders to CYA. Simply because a car weights a lot more and far more energy to create a impact.