From: walsh@optilink.UUCP (Mark Walsh)
Newsgroups: ba.motorcycles
Subject: Re: Motorcyclist Hits Bicyclist...
Date: 14 Oct 92 21:54:04 GMT
Organization: Optilink Corporation, Petaluma, CA

From article <2928073307.1.p00004@psilink.com>, by p00004@psilink.com (Michael Smith):

>>i occasionally give two quick toots on the horn when i'm about
>>200 or 300 feet away.  that way the rider won't be startled,
>>and knows someone is coming.  usually i do it when there are
>>two abreast; this gives bicyclists plenty of time to line up.

This is very considerate.  Perhaps this fellow should be
reported to the Un-American Activities Committee.

> It annoys the hell out of me. Car horns don't have tone-of-voice, so 
> it's impossible to tell a benign honk from an angry one.

Car horns do indeed have 'tone-of-voice,' and that is the
duration of their application.  A quarter of a second blip
means "hello, just thought you would like to know that I
am behind you," whereas a ten second blast means "get the
h*ll off the road, *ssh*le!"

> If you came up 
> behind a slow-moving car, would you honk just so the driver would know 
> you were there? If you did, the slow driver would probably read it as an 
> expression of impatience. 

Usually, that car has nowhere to go, so honking would be
moot unless the car was impeeding traffic in a big way.
But those of us on bicycles can certainly be courteous
enough to allow others to pass where it is safe.
Imagine the mayhem if a group of guys got together and
went out on the freeway in their cars in a pack in such
a manner that nobody could pass them.

> Personally, if I'm riding on the pavement, it'll be because that's the 
> only safe place to ride. Even the benign honk seems to imply that the 
> cyclist *ought* to move over and let you squeeze past in the same lane; 
> this is also -- forgive me if I've misread you --  the implication of 
> the phrase "line up" in your post. I consider this quite dangerous and 
> won't do it. 

Dangerous?  If the group of people that you ride with
cannot safely "line up," they need to work on their
riding skills.  I would suggest a wide, straight,
deserted road for starters.  It also might be wise to
re-read CVC sections 21200 through about 21205 which,
among other things, state that bicycles are to ride
single file.  Not that this is how we should always
ride, but the law exists for a reason.

> When you see cyclists on the pavement, it's safe to assume they're not
> there out of absent-mindedness; they're there deliberately. Just pretend

Usually, when we speak of a "cyclist on the pavement,"
we speak of somebody who has involuntarily dismounted. :-)

> they're farm tractors. Loaf along for awhile, let the old pulse rate 
> subside, and pull across the centerline and pass in the other lane when 
> it's safe to do so.  

Do you ride as if you are a farm tractor?  Most farm   
tractors that I have seen need not have much concern
about being rear-ended.  Why force another vehicle to
pass over the centerline, when it is safer to lane
share?  Would you like your progress to be impeded by
the lazyness of others?  This kind of egocentricism on
the part of a few causes resentment against cyclists,
all of whom must bear the brunt of it.
-- 
Mark Walsh (walsh@optilink) -- UUCP: uunet!optilink!walsh
AOL: BigCookie -- Amateur Radio: KC6RKZ@WX3K -- USCF: L10861
"What, me worry?" - William M. Gaines, 1922-1992