2011-04-19

It's spring, the kamikaze bicyclists are out

Yesterday and today I was trying to navigate Berlin's streets with my car. I had to drive from Oberschöneweide up to Prenzlauer Berg yesterday and today from home to Oberschöneweide.

The part-time bicyclists have gotten their bicycles out of the cellar, but they forgot to get bike helmets out and they forgot to check if the lights still work. They've also forgotten how the traffic regulations work. I've had all of the following happen in just these few days:

  • Bikers ignoring red lights (too numerous to count)
  • Biker cruising diagonally over the crossing, where at least one arm was a red light
  • Biker coming down the hill faster than the speed limit for cars (who are slowing) so that they can just maybe make it across the light
  • Bikers swerve around a car parked in the second row without looking
  • Bikers scooting between two parked lines of car and stopping with a big yellow bus right of them that will be turning left into the normal traffic lane. This biker had no helmet on.
  • Bikers telephoning while biking
  • Bikers having a nice chat with each other while biking side by side in Prenzlauer Berg
I know that the car and bus and truck drivers are worse, but the rules do actually save lives, I assume. 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

seems to me, you should have gotten your bike out, too....