The Dutch Reach: A No-Tech Way to Save Bicyclists’ Lives
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Re: The Dutch Reach: A No-Tech Way to Save Bicyclists’ Lives
#2While I generally think things like this article are great and helpful, I think incentivizing individual behavior changes is a good way to distract from actual changes that will make cities more liveable: actual infrastructure and road and transit changes. That's the real answer to all of this. The unsafe nature of many cities especially in the US is a systemic problem, not just a personal behavior problem.
Re: The Dutch Reach: A No-Tech Way to Save Bicyclists’ Lives
#3Same concept, very thoroughly discussed two years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12674533 -- with plenty of tangential bike shedding as HN does with bike articles.
Including the observation (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12675829) that the "Dutch Reach" is perhaps not universally known in Holland.
Re: The Dutch Reach: A No-Tech Way to Save Bicyclists’ Lives
#4I'm always using the Dutch Mirror which is that shiny reflective thing attached to the driver's door which I cleverly abuse to see if something is coming from behind before I get out of the car. I've been testing it a lot in The Netherlands. Nobody died so far so it must work but YMMV.
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edit: I have a Dutch driver's license and definitely would've known about it.
Re: The Dutch Reach: A No-Tech Way to Save Bicyclists’ Lives
#5When the Dutch were rolling out the education programme to get motorists to unlock their seat belts in this special cyclist-conscious way that the American public were getting airbags.
The original premise of the airbag was that motorists would not need seat belts, that the airbag would kick into action and save the day:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbag#As_a_substitute_to_seat...
This is quite indicative of cultural differences, almost comically so. The Dutch are going in the direction of being grown adults, caring and being responsible. Meanwhile, in the land of the mighty dollar, the car dependent consumers are not even expected to look out for themselves.
Re: The Dutch Reach: A No-Tech Way to Save Bicyclists’ Lives
#6I'm always using the Dutch Mirror which is that shiny reflective thing attached to the driver's door which I cleverly abuse to see if something is coming from behind before I get out of the car. I've been testing it a lot in The Netherlands. Nobody died so far so it must work but YMMV. -- edit: I have a Dutch driver's license and definitely would've known about it.
In Germany you have to do a look over your left shoulder, because that mirror isn't enough to see when bikes/vehicles are left of you.
Re: The Dutch Reach: A No-Tech Way to Save Bicyclists’ Lives
#7Seems like one more sensor on my car could do this far better.
Re: The Dutch Reach: A No-Tech Way to Save Bicyclists’ Lives
#8I'm always using the Dutch Mirror which is that shiny reflective thing attached to the driver's door which I cleverly abuse to see if something is coming from behind before I get out of the car. I've been testing it a lot in The Netherlands. Nobody died so far so it must work but YMMV. -- edit: I have a Dutch driver's license and definitely would've known about it.
You need to also check the "blind spot" (1) which is big enough to lose a truck in let alone a cyclist.
1 - https://duckduckgo.com/?q=car+blind+spots&t=brave&ia=images&...
Re: The Dutch Reach: A No-Tech Way to Save Bicyclists’ Lives
#9[deleted]
Re: The Dutch Reach: A No-Tech Way to Save Bicyclists’ Lives
#10While I generally think things like this article are great and helpful, I think incentivizing individual behavior changes is a good way to distract from actual changes that will make cities more liveable: actual infrastructure and road and transit changes. That's the real answer to all of this. The unsafe nature of many cities especially in the US is a systemic problem, not just a personal behavior problem.
It's both an infrastructure and driver behavior problem.
As a daily transportation cyclist for about 10 years, I know from experience that much bike infrastructure in the US is more safety theater than actual safety improvements. Infrastructure makes cyclists feel safer, but it can amplify certain problems to the point where it might be making the roads less safe.
There are two cycletracks near where I work in Austin. I almost never ride on either, mostly because many drivers turn into them at intersections without looking. The city put up many signs to say to yield to cyclists, but these have had no effect best I can tell. I'd much rather take the lane and be seen. This is counterintuitive to many people, particularly non-cyclists, but the evidence I've seen in my daily life is overwhelming. These types of crashes are often called "right hooks" and they are well known to experienced cyclists.
Add on top of that the unsafe passes from drivers. Add the distracted driving. Add the speeding. Add the illegal parking in the bike lane (even protected lanes). Add the tailgating. Add the abuse from thankfully a far smaller number of people than any of the mentioned problems. It's clear to me that both infrastructure and behavior changes are needed.