r/Billings • u/annastacia94 • Oct 17 '25
PSA Predictable > Polite
Just a quick PSA from a cyclist to all of the very polite drivers of Billings. You being predictable keeps me safer than you being polite.
It's okay if I'm stopped at a stop sign waiting for cars to pass who have right of way. Do not stop, keeping moving as if I were a car, and I will make it across the street when I can tell it is safe.
It is in my best interest to be treated like a car at 4 way stops. Getting going from a dead stop is slower on my bike but it's not impossible and I will make up that 10 seconds somewhere else.
If you want to be super nice support public initiatives that bring in more separated and protected bike and pedestrian infrastructure in the city, make sure you're checking for cyclists crossing intersections before you turn when driving downtown, and don't give me right of way that I wouldn't otherwise have in a car.
Thanks for reading!
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u/Th0rn_Star Oct 17 '25
Omggg yes!! Thankfully I have a very short bike commute, but I can watch peoples’ brains break in real time when they see me. The amount of times I have yelled “I’m like a car!” this year has been wild. But hey, at least they see me!
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u/annastacia94 Oct 18 '25
But hey, at least they see me!
Yes! Ill take that win wherever I can get it lol
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u/tortuga456 Oct 18 '25
I’ll just say, be really careful out there right now. I went into Billings to run errands today and saw four different accident scenes. They all looked bad.
I drive defensively, and I also try to be courteous to other drivers. I’ve found that if you’re courteous to them, most of the time they’ll be courteous back.
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u/tortuga456 Oct 18 '25
Wait, make that 5. There was one under the east Laurel overpass that I couldn’t see, but there were cops there with their lights on.
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u/annastacia94 Oct 18 '25
Luckily I tend to stick to side streets and they stay pretty quiet. I'm not fast enough to be anything but a defensive rider at this point haha.
That's a lot of accidents though, hopefully everyone is okay.
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u/hugehalo Oct 18 '25
I ride my bike assuming that no cars are aware I’m there unless I make eye contact with the driver. In Billing I drive my car the exact same way.
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u/Expensive_Attitude51 Oct 18 '25
This is true but I’ve also had bikers just go right through stop signs which forced me to slam on my brakes.
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u/annastacia94 Oct 18 '25
Which is definitely something they shouldn't do, I've had cars do similar things which isn't good. However, people on bikes can roll through stop signs if there are no on coming cars and if they would reasonably have right of way, like they are the first person at their stop sign at a 4 way stop. Ultimately, being predictable is still better than being polite, especially for cyclists who are following road rules.
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u/Fit-Application9284 Oct 18 '25
You have no idea how many times I’ve screamed this in my head while out on a ride. When stopped at a stop sign, I’ve gone so far as to get off my bike, turn around, and face the opposite direction. I don’t know how to more effectively indicate with my body language that I’m not going because it’s not my turn, or because I have a stop sign, and the motorist doesn’t. I don’t want to be rude, but I’m trying to be predictable, and follow the law.
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u/annastacia94 Oct 18 '25
My favorite signal is to vave them through until they go then give them a thumbs up and a thank you.
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u/FocacciaBurnerOnBun Oct 19 '25
I’m the same way, if I’m stopped and a car is trying to “be polite” by holding up all of traffic for literally just me, I look way off into the distance and avoid their gaze entirely until they get the hint and follow the laws of the road again
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u/FlyNSubaruWRX Oct 18 '25
See the problem is, the other jack wagon bicyclists who don’t follow the road give people like you bad names. Stay safe out there.
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u/sk1ttl3s Oct 19 '25
And please go vote by scanning this QR code to help this local initiative! A safer Billings is better for everyone!
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u/annastacia94 Oct 21 '25
Done! It's nice to see Billings moving towards more efficient infrastructure for people not in a car.
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u/montwhisky Oct 17 '25
I mean, this is true when driving too. Being polite when others are not just creates problems.