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Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

theatlantic.com

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Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#81

Post by bancars »

nmeofthestate wrote: post #60
Lio wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds shocking if you only travel in car as it doesn't affect you as much but if you ride a bike it's a fact of life in many areas. For example if you wear lycra, you will probably find that a percentage of people will regularly try to "punish" you because they think you "look funny". The mildest form of punishment will be them driving as close to you as they dare. That could be 50mph 12"s away. That's like stand…

I've cycled for decades and never had such an incident of aggression from drivers. Maybe it depends on some other factors in addition to the drivers.

You’re incredibly fortunate then. Count your blessings but please don’t discount the experiences of those of us who have been victims of abuse by drivers on the road. Thank you.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#82

Post by anonymou2 »

Lio wrote: post #64
nmeofthestate wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've cycled for decades and never had such an incident of aggression from drivers. Maybe it depends on some other factors in addition to the drivers.

Speaking personally I'd like to know what those factors are. Is it just location? Is it the type of bike or the clothes we wear? There was this study https://helmets.org/walkerstudy.htm which has some interesting conclusions but the sample size is a bit small to be statistically valid IMHO. Oh and I'd add, if it's not clear already, that most drivers seem to be very nice and considerate people. It's just that there a…

I'd say a lot has to do with cyclist behavior. Hugging the curb does not help, it invites motorists to pass even when it is not safe to do so. It is much safer to take the lane, occupy the middle of it, so other vehicles coming from behind know that they either have to wait or change lanes to pass. Segregating cyclists into cyclists-only lanes do not help either. As they usually force them to ride as if they where hugging the curb or in any case give the impression that it is not safe to take the lane. Plus of course all other problems caused at intersections.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#84

Post by quickthrower2 »

imtringued wrote: post #78
chronolitus wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me float you a hypothetical situation: you're in command of a few tons of steel, and your priority is to get to some arbitrary location. Your second priority, I assume, is to not murder anyone. Here's what you know about the environment : it is populated with (harmless fleshly) people who are also going about fulfilling goals 1 and 2. You know with high probability that at any given moment one might quickly cross…

Reducing your speed increases the likely hood of collisions because pedestrians tend to no care about their safety at all if they can shave off 2 seconds. They don't wait for your car to pass. If you are on the left lane and the right lane is free then they will walk onto the street and anticipate that you will pass them by the time they have reached the left lane. If you reduce your speed then their guess turns out…

I think the idea is to drive slower but still consistently and predictably.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#85

Post by lukeqsee »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #76
methodover wrote: post #43

“Given New York’s lax enforcement record, the Freakonomics podcast described running over pedestrians there as “the perfect crime.”” I was driving in Oakland when the car in front of me didn’t slow down for a pedestrian in the crosswalk. The pedestrian disappeared in front of the car. I stopped my car, got out, found the struck young woman trembling and bleeding in the street. The speed limit was 30 miles per hour. I…

Wait, what!? In Europe if you strike a pedestrian on the crosswalk you'll definitely loose your license and be looking at manslaughter charges too while your insurance company will murder you after paying the victim's medical/disability/court bills.

In Europe, if you strike a pedestrian outside a crosswalk, the same might happen to you depending on the jurisdiction. Pedestrians create their own right of way, practically speaking (if not judicially). :-)

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#86

Post by dredmorbius »

Pamar wrote: post #3
dredmorbius wrote: post #2

Corollary: the biggest impacts to energy consumption lie in land use and building code changes, secondarily in consumption habits. See LLNL's 2018 energy flow chart: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/content/assets/images/energy/us/... (PDF: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/content/assets/docs/2018_United-... ) Of 101 quads, 28 go to transport. Industrial use. is dominated by relatively clean natural gas (methane), with a large…

hugely reduces ... ? can you please complete your message? Also, do you mean that places like Japan, or the central, older parts of European cities are more efficient?

Apologies: hugely reduces per capita and total energy budgets.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#87

Post by stevenwoo »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #76
methodover wrote: post #43

“Given New York’s lax enforcement record, the Freakonomics podcast described running over pedestrians there as “the perfect crime.”” I was driving in Oakland when the car in front of me didn’t slow down for a pedestrian in the crosswalk. The pedestrian disappeared in front of the car. I stopped my car, got out, found the struck young woman trembling and bleeding in the street. The speed limit was 30 miles per hour. I…

Wait, what!? In Europe if you strike a pedestrian on the crosswalk you'll definitely loose your license and be looking at manslaughter charges too while your insurance company will murder you after paying the victim's medical/disability/court bills.

It's like the article states - it's actually unusual for a non drunk driver in America to face charges when in any incident with a bicyclist or pedestrian even with a death unless there is a LEO watching or LEO victim. It's a common topic on blogs about cycling in the USA.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#88

Post by claudius »

DarkWiiPlayer wrote: post #40

> traffic violence > automobile supremacy The language of this article just makes me cringe. Other than that, it's really quite reasonable though.

>> automobile supremacy

I had two drivers within the last 12 hours taking my right of way by illegally driving onto a cycle path when turning from a side street into a main street.

Both claimed that they couldn't see into the main street if they didn't drive over the cycle path first, but somehow while both of them were perfectly happy taking cyclists right of way, they did not want to take other motorists right of way by driving directly onto the main street.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#89

Post by dannyw »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #77
icebraining wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't Japanese cities often talked about as an example of good public transport (particularly trains) and reasonably dense areas with low housing prices?

True, although Japan is so different from the West culturally that I'm not sure you can make realistic comparisons.

Counties with significant domestic car industries:

* USA * Japan

Countries out of the first list, with policies favouring cars:

1/2

Conclusion:

Insufficient data.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#90

Post by dredmorbius »

schoen wrote: post #5
dredmorbius wrote: post #2

Corollary: the biggest impacts to energy consumption lie in land use and building code changes, secondarily in consumption habits. See LLNL's 2018 energy flow chart: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/content/assets/images/energy/us/... (PDF: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/content/assets/docs/2018_United-... ) Of 101 quads, 28 go to transport. Industrial use. is dominated by relatively clean natural gas (methane), with a large…

That flowchart is super-terrific; thanks for sharing it!

LLNL have produced these since the early 1970s, with both retrospective estimates to the to the 1950s and forecasts through 2000, created ~1975 (actual usage is well below forecast).

Archives online at the link or its parent.

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