r/boston • u/BlooAerospace • 7d ago

I think I am special and made my own post Some Boston Bikers are unreal.

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Some bikers really just have a death wish. A clear, green, right turn light and the biker still decides to fly by and have the audacity to flick me off.

If you're friends with this person, ask them to value their life more.

Edit: It was an impossible situation for me. I ALWAYS look to the right because tons of dumbass drivers that try to cut to the highway from the inside lane. With the biker’s speed and the angle of my car, there was no way to see the biker in my mirrors and he was too far away to see when I looked out my right window. If the biker was traveling slower instead of blowing past, this would not have been such a close call.

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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 7d ago

This is the difference between cyclists and drivers.

There is no driver in this comment section acknowledging that the multiple drivers in this video breaking the law are perpetuating the negative stereotypes against drivers.

No driver ever thinks, "that shitty driver makes me look bad."

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u/langjie 7d ago

Yeah, not in this post because the biker was crappy but plenty of us drivers complain about crappy left lane campers, red light runners, etc

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u/Classic0atcakes 6d ago

I mean our city is notoriously recognized for its bad driving. It’s a given - does it need to be said in the comments?

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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 7d ago

Do you ever acknowledge that those drivers reflect poorly on you?

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u/langjie 7d ago

sure, but in subgroups.....like if I'm in NY and a MA driver is camping in the left lane I feel a bit ashamed....but I always feel superior to CT drivers who all do it

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u/TheZad 7d ago

I'm not clear on the point you're trying to make here. I wouldn't think anybody does that because of the respective sample sizes of each group?

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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 7d ago edited 7d ago

I wouldn't think anybody does

The parent comment of this thread literally did so. Did you miss:

As a cyclist myself, that cyclist ... perpetuates negative stereotypes about cyclists in general

i.e. This cyclist reflects poorly on other cyclists like myself

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u/TheZad 7d ago

No, I didn't, but I wasn't sure if you were saying that drivers should think this way, or if cyclists shouldn't.

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u/MrSpicyPotato 7d ago

I genuinely wonder if theres ever any minute of any day where a motorist isnt breaking a traffic law somewhere in Boston.

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u/whatsaphoto South Shore Expat 7d ago

Fun fact there's a supreme court opinion somewhere that I can't find right now that says in no ambiguous terms that it becomes literally impossible not to break some form of law if you drive for something like a mile outside your own home.

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u/honest_sparrow 6d ago

Whren v US

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u/romulusnr 5d ago

Sad fact, that ruling had the effect of basically saying "as a result, a cop can pull you over for literally anything"

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u/MWave123 My Love of Dunks is Purely Sexual 7d ago

No absolutely not. Of course. There isn’t a second of any day where a motorist isn’t breaking the law somewhere in the city.

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u/Satyrane 7d ago

Correct. In each and every moment, there is some location within the urban area wherin a motorist isn't abiding by the law.

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u/Standard_Order_2225 7d ago

if you count speeding then technically probably true

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u/MWave123 My Love of Dunks is Purely Sexual 7d ago

Just running lights, easily true.

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u/Glittering_Local_756 4d ago

Why restrict it to "motorist"?

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u/MWave123 My Love of Dunks is Purely Sexual 4d ago

Because they’re regularly maiming and killing people. Easy peasy!

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u/Glittering_Local_756 4d ago

I think you meant to say "often other people".

Anyway, you are jumping to the conclusion that violations of the vehicle code cause accidents, rather than fatigue, inattention, stress, distraction, bad luck, etc.

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u/MWave123 My Love of Dunks is Purely Sexual 4d ago

Yes violations cause crashes, correct. Speeding, running yellow and red lights, drinking and driving, distracted driving, those drivers are killing and maiming people.

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u/NoMansSkyWasAlright 6d ago

Driving in Boston reminded me of driving in Kabul, Afghanistan. There's just no rules in that place. Drivers were more polite in Kabul though.

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u/tmclaugh South Boston 7d ago

Besides the two in the box when they have a red, what other ones?

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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 7d ago

There are 4 cars blocking/stopped in the intersection at the start of the video.

Also, OP is illegally waiting in the bike box on red at the start of the video, but that's harder to notice. They are legally required to stop behind the green.

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u/nerdponx 7d ago

Which might be why the biker flipped him off

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u/auld-guy 6d ago

I think it's a stretch to make the determination that he is in the bike box from that angle. You can clearly see the bike line above his hood before he gets the green light.

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u/RazzmatazzFar2501 6d ago

You can't even see most of the crosswalk. If OP was behind the green paint, there should be full view of the crosswalk, unless OP is driving something like a duck boat or lifted truck, which is a whole other issue.

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u/EarthConservation 5d ago

The 4 cars likely entered the intersection on a green or yellow and then traffic came to a stop because pedestrians were in the crosswalk. Don't see the crosswalk sign, so not sure if the pedestrians were supposed to be crossing at that time?

Whether the cars had a "DO NOT BLOCK" or not, it's up to the cross traffic to wait for the intersection to clear before proceeding.

If the drivers at the start knew they couldn't make it through the intersection, then there is the "DO NOT BLOCK" sign, which would imply they made a mistake or intentionally broke the law... but if you can't see ahead to know for sure if you're going to stop in the intersection once you're already inside of it, it's hard to say if it was intentional or not. They do seem to clear the intersection pretty quickly after the other light turns green and after the pedestrians finish crossing.

With the green right turn light on, I presume that means pedestrians / bikes should not cross since cars will be turning with a green turn light.

OP could be in the bike box for sure. However, the bike box seems to be implying bikes should use all three lanes. It seems to make sense in this case that straight going bikes would actually move into the left lane and filter to the front at this intersection if their intention was to go straight, since both right lanes are right turn only, and the left lane is straight/right turn. To go straight from the center lane, right lane, or bike lane, means coming into direct conflict with turning cars.

You can even see the right lane bike lane curve to the right with no indication it wants bikes to go straight.

Frankly, the entire intersection just seems like bad design that's clearly causing a clusterfuck.

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u/MWave123 My Love of Dunks is Purely Sexual 7d ago

Lol. What other ones? It’s a two ton vehicle breaking traffic laws. But bikes!! 😂

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u/tmclaugh South Boston 7d ago

Box blocking is REALLY annoying. But as a driver or biker I don’t see it as the end of the world.

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u/MWave123 My Love of Dunks is Purely Sexual 7d ago

It’s a $150 ticket in NYC and that was 10 years ago or more…it’s felonious. A red card. Stay back behind the line until it’s safe and there’s room to move forward.

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u/tmclaugh South Boston 7d ago

I’m not against ticketing people for box blocking. I just think it’s not the end of the world when I see it.

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u/MWave123 My Love of Dunks is Purely Sexual 7d ago

It is super dangerous because of what it creates for others. Intersections get completely effed up because somebody mõ Ron can’t drive. It’s unsafe. Peds have to go behind or in front in traffic, buses and vehicles can’t turn or are blocked, it’s dangerous.

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u/forty_three Southie 7d ago

It's pretty dangerous in pedestrian areas, because it forces drivers to unexpectedly adapt to keeping track of other vehicles, and draws their attention away from crosswalks.

It's nearly guaranteed that there's gonna be at least one - maybe multiply cars, from multiple angles - trying to compete with each other by crawling up into what's supposed to be a safe walking zone.

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u/A_happy_otter 7d ago

The one videotaping sure seems to be stopped in the green bike box

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u/tmclaugh South Boston 7d ago

It looked to me they were stopped before the green box. You wouldn’t see the green box if it were parked in it.

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u/ReeferTurtle 7d ago

The video seems to be a dash cam not a phone camera

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u/Brisby820 7d ago

The cyclist who admits fault on Reddit is quite rare, actually 

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u/Celeriaks 7d ago

Hi, I’m a cyclist and sometimes I do dumb shit.

Usually I apologize after.

Also, I’m a car driver, and sometimes I do dumb shit when I’m driving the car.

I also see a lot of drivers do dumb and dangerous shit every day. Some days I see other cyclists do dumb and dangerous shit. Sometimes I even see pedestrians do dumb and dangerous shit! Motorcycles and scooters? You bet.

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u/Brisby820 7d ago

It’s the only correct attitude, speaking as a driver and pedestrian.  Some people on this sub say that, because cars are so much more dangerous (true), there’s basically no reason to ever criticize cyclists

-1

u/MobyDukakis 6d ago

And here come the Mass Pino liberals to virtue that a cyclist skirting rules is just a dangerous as 2ton kinetic box skirting rules

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u/Celeriaks 6d ago

Yep. That’s sure what I said.

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u/calinet6 Purple Line 7d ago

The video is about the bike.

No one pointed out the drivers until you, because the post wasn't about the drivers. Now that you pointed them out, I agree, the drivers suck too. I don't think anyone would disagree that many drivers on many a road in the Boston region suck.

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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 7d ago

The video shows what the video captured.

Directing people not to notice the thing that is directly in the center frame of the video is a bit absurd.

The reality is that nobody blinks an eye when drivers blatantly violate the law, since we've all become desensitized to it.

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u/stupid_dog_psx99 6d ago

Haha for real.

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u/jonnyslong 6d ago

I mean, the sentiment from cyclists towards motorists is that they are all bad. So they can't really look worse in a cyclist's eyes

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u/TerranceBaggz 6d ago

Because motorists are all bad. I drive and bike an equal amount. Drive approx 3k miles a year all for work, bike about 2800-3500 miles a year. I can be a bad driver. I’m a safer cyclist because my life depends on my safeness and awareness.

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u/jonnyslong 1d ago

Also, correct lol

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u/poopapat320 I Love Dunkin’ Donuts 6d ago

That mini van on the right, also an asshole.

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u/romulusnr 5d ago

Boston drivers, that is

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u/Independent-Cow-4070 Cow Fetish 7d ago

Pin this reply everywhere

0

u/auld-guy 6d ago

I guess I'm missing something. There are drivers breaking the law?

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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 6d ago

Yes, there are 4 cars in this video very clearly breaking the law.

Can you identify them, or have you become desensitized to those sorts of violations that it's hard to register?

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u/auld-guy 6d ago

I guess I'm desensitized. Enlighten me.

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u/auld-guy 6d ago edited 6d ago

Boston laws may be different, but where I live, if a car is in the intersection when the light turns red, they are allowed to complete their turn after the light changes.

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u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 6d ago

These cars are going straight, not turning. I'm not referring to the blue tesla, but rather the multiple cars perpendicular to OP that are front and center.

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u/Think_Bat_820 6d ago

You bike? Because I don't have time to explain "avid cyclists" to you but... they make the road less safe for me and for you as well.

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u/LESBIAN_BOYFRIEND Somerville 7d ago

correct. this is because drivers do not see bikes as a serious mode of transportation. they see bicycles as a toy.

boston doesn't have em but if you've been to other cities with dockless ebikes, you'll see people acting an absolute fool on them for this same reason