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The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

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Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#571

Post by saiya-jin »

lucb1e wrote: post #379
saiya-jin wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotal evidence - i never wore helmet when growing up, nobody did. once had an accident on small bmx bike when I fell head first on tarmac, but didn't land on head and apart from scratches and being shaken all good (if parents only knew...). few years ago decided to buy new cross country (ie all-rounder) one, lightweight and blazing fast for what it is. Decided to go for a helmet for the first time. After 2 weeks,…

So, in summary, a helmet is a good idea if you drive full-speed around corners where you have no idea if it's clear?

based solely on my experience, apart from the part about full speed (i really wasn't going fast, maybe 20 kmh but terrain was bad), yes.

If I include what fiancee sees on emergencies, which most people don't even want to know about but it's real life anyway, then wear it everywhere on bike.

you can see people getting quite emotional feeling they know what's best for them. Usually never had an accident, so it cannot happen to them. Whatever, I wouldn't push it, use whatever you want. But 1) you will cover all medical cost caused by lack of helmet in case of accident and 2) I would be cautious what to push on kids, but once people get emotional on the topic any discussion is over, as seen in this thread

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#572

Post by ptaipale »

pja wrote: post #485
gambiting wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think those statistics are very very very heavily skewed and should be ignored. If you have a car accident, 99% of the time, it gets recorded. If you have a bike accident, if the police is not involved, where are you going to report it? To whom? Therefore, the only cases that do get reported are collisions with vehicles, or cases severe enough that cyclist gets taken to hospital - and in those cases, the situation…

Split, or crushed? Helmets absorb the energy of an impact by crushing - it’s a destructive process. It might have protected you from cuts & abrasions, but if it didn’t crush then it didn’t absorb any of the impact.

The helmet splitting is a result of the crush on impact. This is why you should always replace the helmet after it has been "useful" i.e. suffered an impact. Even if it stays in one piece, it has been crushed and lost some of its protection.

I think that the parent comment's statement "situations where a helmet has saved a life are rarely recorded" is a bit of an exaggeration, because quite often, if the helmet saves your head, you still suffer some other injuries. But it is indeed possible that people fall so that they suffer no other injuries, they'd just have cracked their head without the helmet.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#573

Post by [deleted] »

jvannistelrooy wrote: post #558
hollander wrote: post #555

To be honest, I never use my right arm to open the left door, and I never heard of this practise. But I will always look in the mirror or behind me to check if a bike or scooter comes up from behind. In big cities like Utrecht and Amsterdam, in certain neighbourhoods with lots of migrants, it is - as a cyclist - not safe to assume that someone will check for cyclists from behind. You - as cyclist - have to take care…

"In big cities like Utrecht and Amsterdam, in certain neighbourhoods with lots of migrants, it is - as a cyclist - not safe to assume that someone will check for cyclists from behind." Do you think migrants in Amsterdam and Utrecht are worse at checking for cyclists coming from behind than other people? If so, how do you know this? Have you experienced it yourself and did you assume the driver was a migrant, or do yo…

[deleted]

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#574

Post by GunboatDiplomat »

avar wrote: post #396
GunboatDiplomat wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put the lock cable through one of the holes in the top of the helmet. Now you can't get it off without breaking it.

This whole thread including this comment feels like people who haven't ever been to The Netherlands making suggestions that make no sense for the cycling culture here. So firstly as has been covered in other comments here, cyclists in The Netherlands don't want to wear helmets for their daily commuting, it doesn't solve any sort of safety problem for them when you factor in the inconvenience they cause. Secondly even…

>cyclists in The Netherlands don't want to wear helmets for their daily commuting, it doesn't solve any sort of safety problem for them when you factor in the inconvenience they cause.

This sounds very much like "I don't wear my seatbelt for commuting. It doesn't solve any sort of safety problem when you factor in the inconvenience it causes."

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#575

Post by hx87 »

vacri wrote: post #537
hx87 wrote: post #475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, because the passenger in a cab is never responsible for their actions.

Any time you see "Want to control X? Make a different person legally responsible", it's likely to be a disaster of an idea.

In this case we're making the person actually responsible (i.e. in control of the door) legally responsible. Not going to be a disaster by any means.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#576

Post by lkbm »

mjhagen wrote: post #265
arve0 wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or hang it on the bicycle?

That would certainly not get stolen.

I've been doing this in Austin for years. And not just a helmet: * $40 pump attached to the seat tube. * $20 helmet on the handlebars * $20 biking gloves in the helmet * $80 biking jersey on the handlebars * $20 bike light * $?? seat pouch, with bike tools.

I've had the bike light stolen twice (both in January this year), and the jersey vanished once, but I think it blew away. No one's ever taken my helmet, which has somewhat surprised me. I've also gotten too lazy to lock my tires these past few years, and they've been let alone.

Admittedly anecdotal and maybe a little lucky, but there don't seem to be people trolling around for bike helmets to steal. They're probably not easy to resell. I'd go for the pumps and lights first, personally.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#578

Post by Eric_WVGG »

ralfn wrote: post #402
saiya-jin wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotal evidence - i never wore helmet when growing up, nobody did. once had an accident on small bmx bike when I fell head first on tarmac, but didn't land on head and apart from scratches and being shaken all good (if parents only knew...). few years ago decided to buy new cross country (ie all-rounder) one, lightweight and blazing fast for what it is. Decided to go for a helmet for the first time. After 2 weeks,…

This focus on helmets is ridiculous, because you only have to types of bikes: 1. Death traps 2. Dutch bikes You want less people to die in traffic while riding a bike? Don't make a helmet mandatory. Make the dutch bike mandatory. Your bike needs to be heavy. You need to sit up straight. And if you stretch your legs you have to stand. Whenever i see the images of americans on rice bikes and mountain bikes in NYC, i to…

“If i would hit a door with a dutch bike, i wouldn't fall, i would just stand still. And the door will likely be a bit broken.” I'm sorry but this is nonsense. Even if it weighed five hundred pounds, as long as the handlebars are on a lubricated pivot, forward motion and striking the handlebar will knock the bike over.

p.s. as a NYC cyclist, whenever I see a Dutch bike I think it looks incredibly inefficient. But that’s cool, whatever, all bikes are good as long as they're ridden safely.

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#579

Post by raarts »

For a pretty thorough description of how The Netherlands achieves safe biking, see this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0GA901oGe4

"Fred Young, a Landscape Architect based in Seattle, led us through a visual tour of Dutch cycling infrastructure, share insights of the transportation experts he met and show how cycling is a part of daily life in the Netherlands."

Re: The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored”

#580

Post by hollander »

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #578
ralfn wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This focus on helmets is ridiculous, because you only have to types of bikes: 1. Death traps 2. Dutch bikes You want less people to die in traffic while riding a bike? Don't make a helmet mandatory. Make the dutch bike mandatory. Your bike needs to be heavy. You need to sit up straight. And if you stretch your legs you have to stand. Whenever i see the images of americans on rice bikes and mountain bikes in NYC, i to…

“If i would hit a door with a dutch bike, i wouldn't fall, i would just stand still. And the door will likely be a bit broken.” I'm sorry but this is nonsense. Even if it weighed five hundred pounds, as long as the handlebars are on a lubricated pivot, forward motion and striking the handlebar will knock the bike over. p.s. as a NYC cyclist, whenever I see a Dutch bike I think it looks incredibly inefficient. But tha…

Dutch bike are different, more sturdy, built for bad weather, built for being outside in rain and wind and cold all day and night. Most of the time they are parked outdoors because there is no room to park them inside the house, especially in the bigger cities. They are relatively heavy, but simple and can easily survive twenty years outside. They will look horrible, dirty, old, broken, and they are.

Many bikes here have wheels that are not straight anymore. But still they are used daily. Tires are soft, chain is worn out, and still it works. They not only carry the cyclist but also his or her friend on the bagage holder on the back, which is probably wobbly.

OK, what I'm describing here is the typical student bicycle. It may not be efficient, but it is cheap and it works and it gets you there. We don't use these bicycles for long distances, but for short onces, going from home to the supermarket or school.

In Amsterdam and Utrecht at Central Station they have bicycle parking lots for about 20.000 bikes. And many times you have to search and search to find an empty spot. When you park your bike here, anyone can throw his or her bike against it, or pull another bike out of it with force, damaging your bike. Not everyone acts like this, but it happens now and then.

So bikes are efficient in a different way than the bikes I see on pictures in NYC.

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