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US Cities Are Becoming More Dangerous for Cyclists and Pedestrians

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Re: US Cities Are Becoming More Dangerous for Cyclists and Pedestrians

#131

Post by enraged_camel »

btrettel wrote: post #120
justinph wrote: post #11

This article fails to mention one of the biggest factors, which is the increased prevalence of SUVs and Trucks. These oversized vehicles have higher grilles and increased mass. The higher grille means injuries that on a car would have been a leg injury where the pedestrian ends up on the hood are abdominal injuries where the pedestrian can be pushed under the vehicle. The increased mass also means longer stopping dis…

When I moved to Texas I did not anticipate this. As a cyclist, I will definitely keep the types of vehicles in mind when choosing a place to live from here on. Texans do worse, as "grille guards" are particularly common: http://www.frontier-gear.com/products/grille-guards/ When I first saw one of these I thought it was something out of Mad Max. The vast majority of these people don't need these grille guards as they…

Even Austin, the most liberal of Texas cities, is horrible.

A friend of mine, who is a bike-trail advocate, was intentionally hit by the car behind him while he was stopped at a red light waiting to make a right turn. He said he waited a bit too long, the car behind him honked impatiently first, then bumped into him. He fell to the side and bruised his leg, while the perpetrator non-nonchalantly drove by, made their right turn and drove away.

Re: US Cities Are Becoming More Dangerous for Cyclists and Pedestrians

#132

Post by randcraw »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #101
dmonagha wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Native and lived in Florida most of my life as well. Everything you just said was true. There was a guy in my hometown, very well known surfer who was killed by a speeding car simply while waiting to cross the street. We have ghost bikes everywhere as well.

Florida is rated the most dangerous state for pedestrians.

The video in the OP says it's Arizona. Or maybe more are killed there while more are simply maimed in FL.

Much of the problem isn't snowbirds. It's the low rate of prosecution for vehicular manslaughter. Southern states seems especially tolerant of driver irresponsibility, perhaps because the victim is perceived as 'an outsider' -- i.e. not someone cluelessly driving a giant SUV.

Re: US Cities Are Becoming More Dangerous for Cyclists and Pedestrians

#133

Post by tapland »

rmdashrfstar wrote: post #126
jbarberu wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Sorry if this sounds rude It does, a little bit, but that's ok. No, it wasn't a surprise that it wasn't as bike friendly as Sweden. My comment was I was shocked at how extremely hostile Florida in particular was. I hadn't been to Florida prior to moving here. I committed to move away from Sweden because my wife couldn't stand it any more, the social aspects of Sweden are not all that peachy. It's really hard to brea…

Can you elaborate on what you mean about the social aspects of Sweden not being peachy? Many people in the US describe Sweden as a utopia for Americans looking for a new foreign country to call home... any input on that sentiment would be appreciated.

You do not talk to others in public. You do not meet new people at the gym, at bars, at anywhere. If you are lucky you work in a small startup-office where employees go drink after work on fridays and where you can get to know them.

American tourists can be heard over all other sound in the metro- and trainstations in Stockholm because the natural level of noise-making is so different.

Re: US Cities Are Becoming More Dangerous for Cyclists and Pedestrians

#134

Post by magduf »

jgys wrote: post #76
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sure is important when death is on the line. It's no consolation telling St Peter "But I was within the law!" It's risky out there. Everybody, please keep your heads up!

Also don't dress too provocatively, or you'll be asking for it. ... Oh, wait, we're victim blaming about something else this time?

It doesn't matter if you're right when you're dead.

Re: US Cities Are Becoming More Dangerous for Cyclists and Pedestrians

#135

Post by vkou »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #123
jbarberu wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've also lived in Spain for a short time, which isn't exactly known for their great drivers. Central Florida is worse by miles. People stare at their phones while moving (at a light is bad enough, but at least you won't hit anyone), they drive with about a car's length of distance while going 45mph, shifting lanes without using their signals and other crazy shenanigans. I'm just astounded by the complete disregard f…

There's two kinds of "bad" drivers. There's "the insurance company does not like it when you drive this way because you will likely cost them money" bad drivers and there's "legitimately doing a poor or ineffective job at accomplishing the task of driving". Weaving through traffic at +20 and passing on the inside in a rotary are examples of the former. Paying more attention to your phone than to driving is an example…

There's a tonne of tourists driving in Hawaii, and yet, I've never had that bad an experience driving there.

Actually, that's not true. Highway 360 on Maui (The road to Hana) was the most terrifying driving I've ever seen, but that is due to the state of the road, and the familiarity (and lack of interest in spending more time then they have to on it) of the locals.

Re: US Cities Are Becoming More Dangerous for Cyclists and Pedestrians

#136

Post by randcraw »

jetrink wrote: post #43
jbarberu wrote: post #20

Having recently moved to Florida from Sweden, I was shocked at how biker/pedestrian hostile it is here. I naively thought I'd be able to live a more active lifestyle because of the nicer weather, but instead I'm driving a car everywhere as I wouldn't feel safe on a bike. It seems to be a pretty vicious cycle of the infrastructure being hostile to biking so nobody does it, nobody is biking so the roads are optimized f…

Another anecdote about Florida: I bike almost every day during good weather in Chicago and though I know it isn't the safest activity, I've never had a serious incident. I traveled to Florida last Fall and was struck by a car on my very first bike ride there. I was on a dedicated bike path that was separated from the road by a grass strip and was hit by a car turning into a driveway. It was 11am on a sunny day, but t…

I'm guessing the driver faced almost no penalty for running you down. That's the main reason this problem persists, IMHO, no serious consequences for the cretins.

Go to jail or lose your license for a year plus impound your car -- only that kind of response will save pedestrian lives.

Re: US Cities Are Becoming More Dangerous for Cyclists and Pedestrians

#138

Post by nradov »

everdev wrote: post #115
ainiriand wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I totally understand your point, I think that the cyclists are not the ones putting themselves in danger. They have every right to use the road safely. The danger is caused by the divers. There are many reasons for this but the most common is not taking sufficient separation from the cyclist when passing them. Here in Spain is 1.5m but you don't usually see many cars so close.

Biking on a windy road with no shoulder is like swimming in a harbor. If you turn a blind corner and there's an oncoming car and a bike in your lane you need exceptional reflexes to avoid and accident. Most roads were designed for cars not bikes. I'm all for bike Lanes, but there should be a minimum speed limit on roads too. It's similarly not safe to be going 5mph on a 35mph road.

When going around a blind corner you have to reduce speed enough to be able to stop quickly or avoid any obstacles. This is just basic defensive driving. It's not about bikes; deer, fallen tree branches, and stalled cars are common on those roads.

Re: US Cities Are Becoming More Dangerous for Cyclists and Pedestrians

#139

Post by cletus »

Weird. This article doesn't mention what (IMHO) is one of the biggest factors impacting pedestrian and cyclist safety: the ability in almost all of the US to turn right at red lights.

I live in NYC where this is illegal in the five boroughs. Weirdly I've met more than a few people who live here who didn't know this. You will come across drivers who don't know this too occasionally who'll give you attitude if you walk when you have right of way.

I've visited the Bay Area a lot and honestly I'm terrified of being a pedestrian or cyclist there. When a car hits a red light and wants to turn right the driver will naturally just look left for oncoming traffic. In doing so they'll not be able to see pedestrian coming from the right who might need to cross the road there and they seem more oblivious to cyclists coming from the left.

Couple that with roads that are typically much wider and you feel like you're taking your life in your hands every time you cross the road. In Palo Alto there's a crosswalk across El Camino where it's 6 lanes (IIRC). Not in a million years could you convince me to use it. You just don't know how drivers are going to react. Will they see you? Will they stop for you? Who knows? It's better to cross where there isn't one so you can predict car movement.

I don't know how the US ended up with this turning right at a red light rule. I haven't personally been in another country where this is the case. But I can't think of a more anti-pedestrian and anti-cyclist rule than this.

Re: US Cities Are Becoming More Dangerous for Cyclists and Pedestrians

#140

Post by toomuchtodo »

randcraw wrote: post #132
toomuchtodo wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Florida is rated the most dangerous state for pedestrians.

The video in the OP says it's Arizona. Or maybe more are killed there while more are simply maimed in FL. Much of the problem isn't snowbirds. It's the low rate of prosecution for vehicular manslaughter. Southern states seems especially tolerant of driver irresponsibility, perhaps because the victim is perceived as 'an outsider' -- i.e. not someone cluelessly driving a giant SUV.

Other states might be more dangerous if you take into account incidents that don't result in loss of life, but Florida has the highest rate of fatalities per 100k people.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article224923045.html

"Walking may be hazardous to your health. In Florida, the risk of fatality on foot is significantly higher than in any other state.

Nine of the 20 deadliest U.S. cities for pedestrians are in Florida, with Orlando ranked as least safe and the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolis ranked No. 14 in the 2019 “Dangerous By Design” report from Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition."

If you like walking or biking, don't move to Florida.

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