Joined: May 2013
Posts: 19
Cyclists & Roundabouts - Right of Way
7/16/2016 at 7:22 PM
I know we need another cycling thread like we all need a hole in the head, but this is the second time this has happened to me this year. I may get some sort of flak about this but I’d like to find out your opinion.
While biking South down 34th at 8:00am this morning I approached the first roundabout. (now coming from a larger city I know the importance of following the rules of the road the same as a car. I also travel with a flashing red strobe all the time to make sure you see me) as I got to the roundabout I yielded as you should car or bike and made sure no traffic was close enough to me that if they entered after me it would cause issues due to speed differences, anyways, in the roundabout I can see a car coming pretty fast towards the entrance on the right in what I assume was an attempt to try to beat me while I am already in the roundabout. They entered that intersection very quickly and luckily I had not been traveling any faster than I was otherwise I could have been hit square on my side.
This isn't the first time I have seen motorists either fail to yield or try to beat a cyclist I see it all the time. Now to be fair, most drivers here are so great at letting me or us go past them at intersections or giving us tons of room passing and yielding to us. So good on you out there. This also go for cyclists: they need to ensure that they yield the same as a car.
So please please, yield at these roundabouts, just because you can enter and exit faster than another vehicle be a bike or a car then that your right to enter an intersection supersedes that of anyone else. Really this goes for any roundabout.
Edited by tannerpidbo, 2016-07-16 19:25:24