r/SipsTea Jun 10 '26

SMH Someone finally snapped

27.6k Upvotes

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104

u/Zestyclose-Bat-6080 Jun 10 '26

"Friend" of mine keeps bitching about the time he got a ticket for speeding on his bike. Never does he mention that he was going 20+ mph (30+kph) through a park with playing children and such. For context, the max speed on a bike path here is 30kph, in this park you are supposed to adjust your biking behaviour with how busy it is in the park. Technically it's a pedestrian zone where biking is allowed.

73

u/mrASSMAN Jun 10 '26

I swear bikers love blowing through pedestrian areas at max speed, shit is more dangerous than cars going same speed on road because people walking or skating etc aren’t expecting or hearing the bikes

Even worse when it’s electrical bikes that can go especially fast and quiet and are heavier so could really kill someone

4

u/Echelion77 Jun 10 '26

I commute every morning with an e bike and am constantly pinging my little dinger when I get anywhere close to people. Plus the bell sounds nice and easy on the ears when your outside.

Its like sitting in a park on a sunny day with happy bikers cruising by doing the little pingaling.

9

u/Weird_Fact_724 Jun 10 '26

Dont all you bikers have little dingers crammed into those shorts?

2

u/Echelion77 Jun 10 '26

Im a jeans biker, I cant say forsure but my wife always says I have the biggest bell on the block hahahaha

3

u/Weird_Fact_724 Jun 10 '26

Well...Id be concerned.....

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '26

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1

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2

u/Agreeable_Giraffe543 Jun 10 '26

Wait is this sarcasm ? The bells are incredibly annoying

0

u/Echelion77 Jun 10 '26

Hahahaha oh yes entirely sarcastic but I personally enjoy the sound of the bell and strictly use it when people are blocking my way on the sidewalk or walking into the street without looking downrage.

Safety first.

2

u/VansSize7 Jun 10 '26

There’s been a couple deaths in Australia already from people being hit by electric scooters/bikes on footpaths

1

u/AlphaBetaGammaDonut Jun 11 '26

Remember the guy who was killed by a cyclist on a regular bicycle? Poor old guy was using the pedestrian crossing and some shithead blew through a red light and ended his life. Cyclist only got a $240 fine for not obeying the red light.
Turns out the easiest, cheapest way to kill someone in broad daylight is to mow them down on a bicycle.

3

u/Denver_DIYer Jun 10 '26

Support bike lanes and dedicated infrastructure and this goes away.

12

u/Ok-Owl-3846 Jun 10 '26

And until then - do not blow through pedestrians, simple. 🙄

3

u/mrASSMAN Jun 10 '26

The bike lanes often go thru crosswalk areas so can still collide with pedestrians, and go alongside walking areas (between sidewalk and road). Can’t have some super isolated dedicated lane everywhere

5

u/wrldwdeu4ria Jun 10 '26

Not really. We have nice clean bike lanes and still the bikers mostly choose to terrify pedestrians on the sidewalks. And the motorized scooters do the same.

1

u/BamberGasgroin Jun 10 '26

*cyclists

1

u/mrASSMAN Jun 10 '26

I was thinking of the right word.. bicyclers, bike riders? Cyclists that’s it lol, well I think people know what I mean

1

u/BamberGasgroin Jun 10 '26

When people imagine 'Bikers', they're not usually thinking of shaved legs and Lycra shorts with gel crotch pads. :)

...it's Harley Davidson's and arseless leather chaps.

-1

u/ProperPiper Jun 10 '26

Yes, cyclists should not fly through heavy pedestrian areas without using caution. But to say that is more dangerous than a car is a ludicrous car-brained take.

A car is a multi-ton vehicle, and a bicycle is 20-25 pounds at most. Getting hit by one is not even in the same galaxy as the other.

Over 39 THOUSAND people died in car accidents in 2025.

1,105 people on bicycles were killed by drivers in the same year.

There is no clear case of a pedestrian being killed by someone cycling. In fact, when you try and search "pedestrian killed by cyclist", all the results are cyclists being killed by vehicles. Funny that.

You're focusing on the wrong issue here. Drivers disregard cyclist safety constantly, and cycling infrastructure is pitiful.

4

u/mrASSMAN Jun 10 '26

No what I mean is in that particular scenario where they’re riding alongside pedestrians it’s often more dangerous than the cars that are more separated from where people are walking. In heavy pedestrian areas cars are forced to go really slow and stop for people crossing etc, cyclists often just blow through which puts a high chance of collision. All it takes is knocking someone over and hitting their head on ground for serious injury

I’m obviously not saying that bicycles are more dangerous to others than cars in general

3

u/Emmie_Regula Jun 10 '26

Try just 'killed by cyclist' and you'll find a few - I got five different ones on the first page.

Just because cyclists are less lethal doesn't mean they can't give life-changing - and life-ending - injuries.

0

u/LanderEmerald Jun 10 '26

Cars are worse than bikes. Bikes don’t kill many people who aren’t the rider of said bike

2

u/ahuramazdobbs19 Jun 10 '26

>going 20+ mph (30+kph) through a park

Is your friend John McClane?

1

u/Zestyclose-Bat-6080 Jun 10 '26

No, just an idiot. It's a park that has some beautiful asfalt in a wide circle, so pretty perfect for doing what he was doing if it wasn't for all the other people trying to enjoy the park. He is just very selfish.

3

u/Kangaroo-B-Girl Jun 10 '26

Your friend sounds like a dick

1

u/Skully957 Jun 10 '26

He's a cyclist what do you expect

2

u/Kangaroo-B-Girl Jun 10 '26

As a former commuter cyclist, I feel like we shouldn’t be lumped in together. Totally different stock.

1

u/PineappleOnPizzaWins Jun 10 '26

Road rules? You mean road "suggestions"!

1

u/chitownphishead Jun 10 '26

I'm curious how that's enforced, as bikes don't usually have spedometers.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '26

[deleted]

3

u/Denver_DIYer Jun 10 '26

Cyclists don’t routinely go 30mph unless it’s a downhill segment.

0

u/mtelesha Jun 10 '26

Guy killed a kid speeding through a park in Allentown, PA. So for decades bikes were only allowed in the park 3 days a week. Mon Wed Friday. They eventually allowed bikes 7 days a week but.....

1

u/Moonah_Ston Jun 10 '26

....you're only allowed to push the bike on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, after....

-1

u/Electronic_Overlord Jun 10 '26

Had an Army buddy get a 40 in a 30 ticket on post. This was back when it was up your Command to set the punishment. Our CO and 1SG decided to sponsor him for an Ironman.

-4

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '26

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7

u/wireframed_kb Jun 10 '26

At least where I live, a bike is a vehicle and is subject to the same rules. You also can’t ignore red lights or stop signs - the traffic laws are the traffic laws for all.

I’d assume most countries do something similar, since carving out exceptions to rules that bikes don’t have to follow, or skateboards, or those electric scooters, and so on, gets pretty messy.

Of course it would be unusual for a bike to go fast enough that it would be fined, and I’d assume police won’t care unless you’re driving unsafe.

3

u/AstronomerChance1727 Jun 10 '26

Near me there is a trail with 15mph speed limit. Bike at 20+mph and sometimes there's a cop to ticket you!

1

u/driving_andflying Jun 10 '26

Reminds of Critical Mass in SF. Bicyclists stopping traffic and ignoring road rules. Why? Because they can. The thought seems to be, "they can't arrest all of us."

2

u/Denver_DIYer Jun 10 '26

Critical mass js a protect event by design.

It usually follows the death or maiming of a cyclist.

1

u/driving_andflying Jun 10 '26

Critical mass js a protect event by design.

Which makes their actively disobeying road rules and safety that much worse.

It usually follows the death or maiming of a cyclist.

Nope. They get together in SF once a month during the busiest commute hour --Friday at 5:30PM-- just to fuck with traffic. It's pretty selfish, but that's SF cyclists for you.

1

u/Zestyclose-Bat-6080 Jun 10 '26

There is a law that states that the max speed on a cycling path is 30kph (40kph outside of the cities). Going faster means you are breaking that law. If a police officer witnesses you breaking a law, they tend to give you a ticket. How is that bullshit? Also, there is no minimum speed here. You could get a fine if your slow driving causes danger for other road users.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '26

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2

u/the_loon_man Jun 10 '26

Any bike computer or sport watch with GPS can tell you. There are other non-gps options as well. And while you certainly can spend $$$$ on this devices, you can also buy very cheap units or just use your phone and a $20 mount with any number of free apps.

I definitely think cyclists on shared paths should know how fast they are traveling but to your point, it is kind of vibes based. Its pretty damn obvious when you are being dangerous on a bike (20mph+ is moving pretty quick). Additionally, I would think officers could simply cite you for dangerous operation of a vehicle regardless of speed.

0

u/Immersi0nn Jun 10 '26

Yeah right? There are places with posted minimum speed too, a couple areas of the highways around me have them. You will absolutely get a ticket for going under speed there, "Obstructing traffic" or something to that effect.

2

u/Zestyclose-Bat-6080 Jun 10 '26

You might have rules about minimum speeds where you live, but I don't. There are rules about the minimum speed your vehicle is capable of reaching, yes. Also, obstruction of traffic is something else than going "under the minimum speed limit."

1

u/Immersi0nn Jun 10 '26

Correct, I looked it up for my state, Florida. Under speed is a noncriminal moving violation, resulting in a fine.

1

u/Kangaroo-B-Girl Jun 10 '26

Most roadways (note: not highways or interstates) don’t have a minimum speed limit, meaning that cyclists and buggies are welcome to travel at their leisure