There is a concept in kinetics, the 'mean free path', which refers to the distance a particle travels before it hits another. With Covid = fewer cars on the road = longer MFP = higher speeds for the 'mean drivers' before they hit someone.
Holland has found that the true solution is separate bike paths with dimensional hindrances so cars cannot traverse them. Here in Toronto the road stripes were found ineffective - 2000 pound concrete walled earth filled square rectangles commanded instant respect, and also serve as planters. There has been a renaissance of biking here and the government is responding - they could do better with an increase of one way streets that would allow more segregated bike paths.
Pedestrian deaths spike in U.S. as reckless driving surges
71–80 of 345 posts
Re: Pedestrian deaths spike in U.S. as reckless driving surges
#72In Austin Texas we have an absurdly well marked crosswalk on the way to the elementary school, to a close approximation nobody has ever stopped to let us cross. Our daughter was nearly killed once, so far. It seems so many people in America are so fat now they don’t imagine people would ever walk, so they drive without regard for pedestrians and active hostility towards cyclists and park in the way of sidewalks, maki…
...Hate to break it to you, but that's just Austin. Don't know what it is; but Travis County brings out some of the worst driving habits in people.
Re: Pedestrian deaths spike in U.S. as reckless driving surges
#73US infrastructure is focused around cars. People don't walk much because cities are spread out for wide roads meant for cars, highways, and parking lots. That makes the distances less walkable. Bikes don't have safe dedicated lanes in many places. Many cities eschew trains because they would rather put another lane on a road because of traffic jams. However, because of induced demand, and the infrastructure forcing e…
Also urban areas tend to get destroyed very quickly because of the culture the media and politicians connected to it push to the people living there (a Marxist oppression ideology with no categorical imperative so why not steel? There’s nothing you can do to improve things.) As soon as decent transit and walkability shows up everyone leaves.
Re: Pedestrian deaths spike in U.S. as reckless driving surges
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm all for cycling, but as a former bike messenger this take feels a bit extreme. The obesity crisis is real and people should get out and be more active. No matter how many concessions are made, most people are just unable to get over the lack of inertia and start cycling. Even if we allow for a hypothetical safety utopia, comments here will cite sweating as a deal breaker. I understand and empathize with beginners…
What exactly is the problem with sweating ? The rest of the world sweats without thinking about it.
Somehow it's perceived as a norm that you can't arrive at work, a restaurant, or the store, with any amount of sweat on you. There's a bit more to it than this, of course. Most American cities have more extreme climate, longer commutes, and more hills, than in the northern European cities that are held up as the gold standard of cycling culture, but people ride bikes in southern Europe too.
In turn, this makes it "necessary" to wear special cycling garb, change, and shower when you arrive at work. Vanishingly few workplaces provide a convenient place to shower and change.
But I ride my bike to work year-round in a city that gets (for instance) about 10 degrees hotter than Amsterdam, and I manage it.
Re: Pedestrian deaths spike in U.S. as reckless driving surges
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m in Ireland and there is a signposted pedestrian crossing that cars routinely ignore in a park near my house. A good technique, I’ve found, is point your phone at them as you prepare to cross. It seems to scare them into stopping. Normalisation of dangerous driving is a global phenomenon where car culture reigns.
elevated pedestrian crossing is the solution here. used across London with great effect. anyway, there are many ways to calm traffic.
We used to have lovely speedbumps every 50 meters or so in our neighborhood. Can’t drive fast if it’ll make your car fly.
Re: Pedestrian deaths spike in U.S. as reckless driving surges
#76Here in the UK they have just changed the Highway Code (the rules that given all road users, including pedestrians) so that pedestrians have ultimate right of way in almost all cases. It’s the opposite of the situation in the US, a pedestrian in the UK can cross the road anywhere and I believe cars have to stop and make way. It’s going to be interesting to see how it effects accident numbers, I’m worry it may actuall…
The small US city I live in made such a change, it we had several pedestrians get hit in the first year or so because drivers aren't used to it, can't see people very well, and pedestrians just figured everyone would now just stop. We changed the laws to restrict it to only crosswalks and added in a ton of new crosswalks. Even then, it was still a problem because pedestrians don't realize when someone can see them. I…
> "Crossing the road anywhere" is quite dumb, I think, and I guarantee you'll see a spike of pedestrians getting hit for a while
Wrong. It's the very opposite. Research shows that drivers increase their attention when they know that there can be obstacles and/or the road is not wide and straight.
Re: Pedestrian deaths spike in U.S. as reckless driving surges
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
How exactly did you get to “the cause of reckless driving is fat people who don’t walk everywhere?” Show your work. In most places in America walking is not a practical mode of transportation because of distance; it’s miles from your house to the grocery store, for instance. If you live in a city this might not be obvious to you but half the country lives in the burbs or rural areas. Separately, it would be nice if w…
The idea of walking is foreign to a huge number of Americans, regardless of how fat/thin they might be. Try living in the suburbs and telling someone you’re going to walk an errand that’s 5 miles round-trip. You might as well tell them you’re going to Mars. I grew up and lived in rural/suburban Florida (god-awful weather) and I never learned to drive. I walked everywhere (no sidewalks). People whose lives revolve aro…
People drive to the gym to run on a treadmill. I can allow for some circumstances where this makes sense, but that's not always the case.
Re: Pedestrian deaths spike in U.S. as reckless driving surges
#78In Austin Texas we have an absurdly well marked crosswalk on the way to the elementary school, to a close approximation nobody has ever stopped to let us cross. Our daughter was nearly killed once, so far. It seems so many people in America are so fat now they don’t imagine people would ever walk, so they drive without regard for pedestrians and active hostility towards cyclists and park in the way of sidewalks, maki…
How exactly did you get to “the cause of reckless driving is fat people who don’t walk everywhere?” Show your work. In most places in America walking is not a practical mode of transportation because of distance; it’s miles from your house to the grocery store, for instance. If you live in a city this might not be obvious to you but half the country lives in the burbs or rural areas. Separately, it would be nice if w…
Seeing sidewalks called financially unsustainable made my day.
Re: Pedestrian deaths spike in U.S. as reckless driving surges
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its just where you live. Welcome to large cities. You can move to more hospitable parts of the country where people still have basic respect for people. The politics in the South sure have annoyed me, but dealing with the public (i.e. people who you don't know) in everyday life is miles different compared to living in NY, CA, FL, TX etc.
Serious question: are FL and TX not "the South"? Or is it more about rural vs urban?
It really depends. I took an entire geography class back in college called "The South", and a big part of it was defining what exactly the south is. Some people would consider Texas and Florida to be parts of the south, but most do not. Florida and especially Texas, are part of their own thing. You're also right that its partially an urban versus rural thing, drivers in Atlanta or Charlotte can be very aggressive, but its nothing compared to trying to commute in Boston etc.
Re: Pedestrian deaths spike in U.S. as reckless driving surges
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
I forget where this was, but I recall seeing video of police crossing on a crosswalk undercover and whenever a vehicle would fail to yield a cruiser would appear and pull the offender over. I would like to see a lot more of this. In Chicago, people have always blown red lights at speed right in front of parked police cars because they know police won’t do anything (and I’m not even sure if the police are allowed to d…
>I would like to see a lot more of this. The problem is, it doesn't scale, especially in a city as big and violent as Chicago. It only works so long as police keep their foot on the gas (so to speak); they minute they let up on traffic enforcement (because of competing priorities) things will get worse again. If one person speeds, that person is an idiot. But if everyone speeds, the road engineer is an idiot. A syste…
We have automated pictures/registration and ticketing for cars that blow past a red light or somewhere else a camera is installed, if you have enough of them nobody speeds anywhere (without punishment)