Biker Rules in Austin!

Since I've been riding for a few weeks here and have experience first hand at how traffic goes I guess I'm qualified to talk about it a little... =D

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First of all, it took me a while to get used to look at the proper traffic direction when I got here. In case you do not know, driver is on the left side. So to be safe, I look at both sides before crossing...

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Secondly, Austin drivers are extremely law-abiding and courteous! They don't cut queue (unlike us lovely Malaysians) and they follow this first-come-first-go system at intersections - meaning if you reach the crossing first, they will let you go and then the 3rd driver to arrive will give way to the 2nd driver and so on. It's the same when two roads combined into one; each driver on both sides take turns to go.

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One more thing, drivers here really do a COMPLETE stop at the stop signs! Even when there isn't any traffic, they'll still stop! So when I ride, I had to stop too (sometimes I just slow down before going to save on momentum =P).

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Another thing I like to mention is that they treat any 2 wheel vehicles (bicycle included =D) like a normal car. That means, when I have to wait at the traffic light junction, I take the whole lane to myself. It's the law here really (my fav) - we bicyclist aren't allow to weave between cars like what we usually see those motorbikers and cyclists alike doing in Malaysia (me included).

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Besides those awesome rules, I think the Austin government here just implemented a law that says drivers must give at least 3 feet of distance between themselves and cyclist or pedestrians whenever possible. Cool isn't it?

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I left the best for the last; Austin is known for being a cyclist-friendly city in US. There are numerous DEDICATED cyclist lane along many of the roads here! Awesome! I'm being so pampered here I'm worried I won't get used to the crazy traffic in Malaysia...

Cyclist lane along many of the roads in Austin