As someone who bikes everywhere, I think this is the most annoying thing I encounter. [View all]

[F4lconF16]

Something my school sent out as part of a transportation awareness campaign.

"I saw that a bike was waiting at a stop sign to cross the busy street I was driving on, so I stopped and gestured for the bike to go. The bicyclist just gave me a sour look and waved me on. What gives? I was trying to be nice."

Every road user wants predictability from other road users. That person bicycling was waiting for a natural gap in traffic to cross, just as any other vehicle on the road would. When you stopped, even though the law would have you proceed, you made the situation less predictable. Sure, you stopped, but what about traffic coming the other way? What about cars behind you, who might choose to speed around you? When you stop, it creates pressure on the person bicycling to cross at a time not of their choosing if they don’t, they are now holding up traffic.

Less experienced bicyclists may cross under this pressure without a full awareness of the risks involved with this unpredictable situation. Stop when the law requires you to stop or yield in order to drive predictably around pedestrians and bicyclists. However, when bikes are in motion, you should always be prepared to stop if they don’t. You should also be prepared to stop for people trying to cross at a marked or unmarked crosswalk, including people on bikes.

Please, drivers, if you have the right of way, KEEP GOING. It makes it so much easier on us when you do.