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How to Not Get Hit by Cars

bicyclesafe.com

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Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#231

Post by avianlyric »

lelanthran wrote: post #200
avianlyric wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I assure you almost all car drivers get annoyed by slow-moving[1] obstacles in their path, whether car, camel or bike. > > Why on earth would you think that someone would not get annoyed? Oh I’m so sorry. Clearly driver annoyance is far more important than avoiding cycle and pedestrian, death and injury. Please go right ahead, intimidate and mow those slow moving obstacles. Prehaps driver should take some time to r…

> Oh I’m so sorry. Clearly driver annoyance is far more important than avoiding cycle and pedestrian, death and injury. Please go right ahead, intimidate and mow those slow moving obstacles. That wasn't the point I made. People get annoyed by obstacles; it's a people reaction, not a car-driver reaction. Are you seriously saying that cyclists won't be annoyed if they were forced to share their route with much slower m…

How does annoyance justify not allowing cyclist to use the road safely?

> Are you seriously saying that cyclists won't be annoyed if they were forced to share their route with much slower moving obstacles?

I'm sure they would. But it's much harder to kill a person with a bike during a road rage incident, than it is to kill a person with a car. That's the fundamental difference here, cyclist annoyance has never led to pedestrian death, can you honestly say the same is true of car drivers?

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#232

Post by lamontcg »

xaedes wrote: post #197
lamontcg wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only time I nearly hit a bicyclist they were riding in the sidewalk where I didn't expect them at all when they crossed in front of me. I like having the option of using the sidewalk when the street is a mess (particularly to bypass construction zones safely) but in general sidewalks are the wrong answer. Anyone who thinks they can boil it all down to yelling at bicyclists to just get off the roads isn't really t…

That is why I suggested: > Avoid crossing street at intersections that are not ultimately regulated by traffic lights. Instead try to find a crossing, preferable with traffic lights, on a street with enough distance to intersections where cars could suddenly appear from. And a car driving on sidewalk should be super focused. I mean the car does not belong there at all!

Your suggestion is just nonsense that you haven't bothered to think through at all. You'll find the most traffic lights down arterials, but all the side roads feeding into the arterial will have stop signs so that the arterial can move faster.

Dunno why you're talking about cars driving on sidewalks. I was talking about when I bike I sometimes do use the sidewalk when the street is a mess. You also have to bike the whole way at not much more than walking speed.

Which I think is your preferred solution. Get all the bikes onto the sidewalks and make them go as slow as pedestrians and then people won't use bikes and you'll never have to negotiate passing one on the road. Which is all about your convenience, and the opposite of bicycle safety.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#233

Post by [deleted] »

adrianN wrote: post #162
Retric wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just understand if you take up a traffic lane when a bike lane is right next to you, some cars will pass you then slow down to walking speed in front of you. Hostility results in hostility, and you’re not surrounded by steel.

I'd prefer that to getting run over tbh. What usually happens is that cars do a "punishment pass" with way to little space.

[deleted]

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#234

Post by Retric »

adrianN wrote: post #162
Retric wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just understand if you take up a traffic lane when a bike lane is right next to you, some cars will pass you then slow down to walking speed in front of you. Hostility results in hostility, and you’re not surrounded by steel.

I'd prefer that to getting run over tbh. What usually happens is that cars do a "punishment pass" with way to little space.

I wouldn’t assume seeing you is going to prevent everyone from running you over if their pissed off enough. I have heard accounts of drivers swerving at cyclists that pissed them off and it’s not like people practice doing it.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#235

Post by notacoward »

misslibby wrote: post #226
adrianN wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are bicycles with three wheels. There are also electric bicycles with three wheels. They require neither effort nor balance to ride, make a rather large part of the city accessible if proper infrastructure exists, and they have storage capacity, e.g. for groceries.

I don't see any elderly people using them. Nice thought, but I am not convinced.

How many elderly people do you see at all? If you think about it, you might realize there are several explanations other than "nobody uses those things"

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#236

Post by notacoward »

_9c1y wrote: post #208
paulnpace wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, the universe shall operate on the bicyclist's time and speed. Anyone disagreeing with this is hostile and should receive lashes for being such an angry hater of anything that is good and just in this world. I think the problem here is there is scarce resources, and you cannot understand or deal with this in any other way than to force everyone to live in the universe as you expect them to. All people shall trave…

I completely agree with you on these points. When unbending, the cyclists’ stance on this kind of thing feels very misattuned to physics and social awareness. Doesn’t it create more carbon emissions to cause cars to be on the road for twice as long, running at less-efficient speeds? Especially when a cyclist blocking a half-dozen or more cars could pull over for 30 seconds to let them pass. And sure, equal rights to…

> a cyclist blocking a half-dozen or more cars could pull over for 30 seconds to let them pass

But then they wouldn't get their Strava KoM! Oh, the horror.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#237

Post by 1970-01-01 »

alistairSH wrote: post #96
1970-01-01 wrote: post #55

https://bicyclesafe.com/#wrongway I hate this term. The wrong way is simply the safest choice in blind hill situations with ignorant and distracted drivers.

The wrong way is simply the safest choice in blind hill situations with ignorant and distracted drivers. Is it? I’m incredulous. As a driver, I would hate to crest a hill on a country road and have a cyclist coming straight at me. I’d have to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid him. That’s bad. As a cyclist, I would hate to crest a hill on a country road and have a car coming straight at me. Because if it doesn’t s…

You've assumed the road is wide enough for byway traffic. Around here they are 30 feet wide, including at the crest.

>As a driver, I would hate to crest a hill on a country road and have a cyclist coming straight at me. I’d have to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid him. That’s bad.

This occurs on both sides of the crest. You can only hope for a near miss.

>As a cyclist, I would hate to crest a hill on a country road and have a car coming straight at me. Because if it doesn’t swerve, we run into each other head-on.

That's up to you. You can choose jump as a last resort. Getting hit from behind, you're unaware of everything until you're launched into the sky.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#238

Post by lobocinza »

thomasahle wrote: post #117
Retric wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just understand if you take up a traffic lane when a bike lane is right next to you, some cars will pass you then slow down to walking speed in front of you. Hostility results in hostility, and you’re not surrounded by steel.

> some cars will pass you then slow down to walking speed in front of you. I have never heard of this happening to anybody.

Seem it daily. Generally it's kind of unconscious and dumb but sometimes it's malicious and dangerous (I guess being passed by a cyclist hurts some idiots ego).

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#239

Post by foxes »

Victim blaming? If you hit a bike while in a car you are a mindless zombie cager. The solution is to restrict car travel in cities.

Inb4 wall of text replies about edge cases. Those are 100% obvious. Tradies, sick people needing transport blah blah blah. Its not insightful or interesting. Those edge cases clearly might need an exemption, but also if you remove majority of pointless car trips you can put in way more public transport, eg bus every 5 mins. Probably way better for elderly etc who should probably not be driving anyway. Bikes, better public transport, better pedestrian spaces undoubtedly improve outcomes for those groups instead of some choking car polluted grid lock wasteland.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#240

Post by darkerside »

kqr wrote: post #35
darkerside wrote: post #14

Am important tip that want mentioned in here. At any even slightly risky maneuvers like the ones described, I stand up in the pedals and move my head to make obvious eye contact with the driver. Something about the exaggerated head movement seems to be really effective at getting people to pay attention. I guess we're all just hardwired to notice when someone notices us.

That said, many accidents happen when driver look absentmindedly "through" a cyclist, who assumes they were noticed by the driver. It looks like the driver looks at the cyclist from the cyclists point of view, but the driver had their attention scanning for other types of traffic.

Yes, that is always possible, and this only helps with that
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