“I hate you cyclist. I hope you get run over!” she yelled as she drove by. Really? Such a serious threat towards a cyclist? There is no need for this kind of aggressive behaviour. There are 2 lanes on Robie, skilled drivers would simply changed lane and pass a cyclist without thinking twice. Robie is not a highway, speed limit is still 50km/h even if there are 2 lanes. And when a cyclist is riding at 40km/h, is there really a need to speed them up?
There is always a balance in life. That cyclist you’ll one day get the strength to run over might turned out to be your neighbour, or your best friend’s husband, your co-worker or your boss (ok this one might be fair!). Or that cyclist could be the paramedic who was going to work and would have shown up that same evening to help your husband who was having a heart attack. There is always a balance in life. Nobody gains anything by running over a cyclist. Sharing the road is so simple: one meter for the cyclist, the rest for the driver. Sounds like a fair deal. Especially when there are 2 lanes.
I hope your expression of hate made you feel better and helped you cope with the rest of your day. But please, next time share the road. We all need every single paramedics we have in Nova Scotia. There is no need to run over one because he is a cyclist. —Share The Road
This article appears in May 23-29, 2013.
i’ve tried to become immune to the shout out, but it still stings. i try to suck it up, like every good buttercup^^
Well said OB!
You’ve missed your true vocation in life; Grief Counsellor.
The truth is Halifax is not designed for cyclists. There isn’t enough room, a lot of the time i’m stuck driving behind a cyclist waiting for a chance to illegally pass them. It’s not safe for both and that’s why I don’t bike to work anymore.
Drivers hate cyclists because they are unpredictable and dangerous. Some cities have real bicycle lanes we don’t and 40/km and hour on your bike I doubt that.
this city isn’t designed for many things, and i have gone that fast on my bike @6 a.m.
I disagree. Halifax was never designed for cars. We need more transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians.
Ronnie dear, have you been to Europe? The Netherlands is a prime example of how cars, people and bikes can get along. With their narrow streets, wall-to-wall tourists and hundreds of thousands of bicycles, somehow they seem to all get along. Maybe you and the OB are wrong?!
Halifax wasn’t built for trains, either. Hence, no trains.
Drivers and cyclists have a responsibility not to be stupid. I’ve seen raging stupidity from both sides.
the most ignorant comment regarding cycling in halifax has got to be the old and tired “the city wasn’t designed for bikes” argument.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike…
I’m also pretty sure yelling “I hope you get run over” to someone out of your car window is illegal. Next time this happens, please take the plate number down and call the police.
I agree 100% – I was out for my first ride to work of the season today, and narrowly missed being hit by cabs pulling over twice. That said, being a biker in HRM for 30+ years, and also a driver, I see far too many bikers not following rules of the road either, and this is a gut-punch for the cause. Stay right, take a lane at an intersection, signal turns and use lights at night. Then the anti-bike squad has no excuse to take out their frustration on the rest of us.
-J
lowcoaster you may not like it but yelling “i hope you get run over” at someone is no reason to call the cops simply because expressing a personal opinion isn’t illegal. This person isn’t uttering a threat but making a wish known.
Op you also need to learn the difference.
It makes the driver a douche. Not a criminal. Sorry.
264. (1) Criminal harassment – No person shall, without lawful authority and knowing
that another person is harassed or recklessly as to whether the other is harassed,
engage in conduct referred to in subsection (2) that causes that other person
reasonable, in all circumstances, to fear for their safety or the safety of anyone known to
them.
Ronnie, why is that hard to believe? When you’re on a flat with fully inflated tires, well maintained hubs and a good set of legs, you can go faster than 40kph.