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Things people blamed on bicycles

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Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#331

Post by kuschku »

markus_zhang wrote: post #307

There are so much love for bicycles. I'll offer something from the other side that people who drive. What I really find it scary is that cyclists often take the road as they wish and then block dozens of vehicles, or do something else that might seem to be quite normal from their perspective, but nevertheless is dangerous from drivers' perspective (e.g. suddenly get into road from sidewalk, are you going to cross or…

A bicycle has the same right to the road that a car has. Just like you'd have to slow down for a tractor, you're supposed to slow down for bicycles as well.

Roads exist for all road users, not just for drivers.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#332

Post by LAC-Tech »

tcfhgj wrote: post #106
LAC-Tech wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never found bicycles to be a massive issue on roads. They're slow and narrow, so they're easy to overtake. Where I am there's often tractors on the road. A lot harder to overtake, and I still manage to refrain from getting angry at them either! People need to just chill the fuck out.

They're only narrow when they drive in the dooring zone and minimum distance isn't kept during overtaking (Germany: 1.5m in town, else 2m)

1. Most of the time I encounter cyclists is on country roads, which is 90% of my driving.

2. In the city they're even less of an issue, because the speed limit is 50 km/h and they're doing what, 20-40km/h? It's not that big a deal especially if you factor in intersections, roundabouts, etc.

3. They're still narrower than farm tractors. Or herds of cattle. It's just not that big a deal.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#333

Post by bwindels »

markus_zhang wrote: post #316
vocram wrote: post #15

Hate for bicycles hasn’t changed. People think a bike travel is recreational, and thus less important than a car travel. Someone goes out of their way to affirm that, by having to overtake bikes or not let them overtake their cars. A couple of times I met cars busting their brakes trying to keep up with me with a disc road bike on long technical descents

The point, from a driver's perspective, is that driving is a social activity, so whoever does not behave well is not welcomed, drivers or cyclists. I have no issue if cyclists are riding on reserved lanes, but I DO have an issue if 1) they are blocking other vehicles for 20+ seconds, 2) suddenly come onto road from sidewalk, 3) anything else that adds mental burden to other people That said, I hope ALL roads have cyc…

So if you can't safely overtake a bicycle, you expect it to stop by the side of the road to let you pass after 20 seconds?

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#334

Post by bwindels »

mrweasel wrote: post #38
vocram wrote: post #15

Hate for bicycles hasn’t changed. People think a bike travel is recreational, and thus less important than a car travel. Someone goes out of their way to affirm that, by having to overtake bikes or not let them overtake their cars. A couple of times I met cars busting their brakes trying to keep up with me with a disc road bike on long technical descents

Hate to say it, but when I see how bikes are "integrated" into for example American traffic, I don't blame the drivers at all. WTF is a bike doing in the middle of the road? If there's no bike lanes, then the bikes go all the way to the right, there are almost no exceptions. I've watches a few videos of people biking, on bike lanes, in New York, and those lanes are placed by a mad man. Sometimes they are even on the…

If there is no bike lane, the only safe thing to do as a cyclist is to take the full lane, because there is not enough space for cars to safely overtake you. That won't stop some drivers from doing it anyway, so better block them and be safe.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#335

Post by LAC-Tech »

bipson wrote: post #112
LAC-Tech wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never found bicycles to be a massive issue on roads. They're slow and narrow, so they're easy to overtake. Where I am there's often tractors on the road. A lot harder to overtake, and I still manage to refrain from getting angry at them either! People need to just chill the fuck out.

A lot of people, those around me included, seem to not grasp that for safe overtake of a bicycle you still require a second lane (at least partially) besides your own. But in traffic and the laws lane usage is binary. There is no such thing as half lanes, you cannot use the second lane "a little". You either need it, or you don't. So overtaking a bicycle, a motorbike, a pedestrian on the road or a tractor, etc. it is…

Are you implying I don't know that? I'm always at least partially in the second lane when I pass them. IIRC the recommendation is a metre and a half of space which is what I go for.

It's still a lot easier than passing a tractor.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#336

Post by mlang79 »

montebicyclelo wrote: post #114

Cycling is cheap, often faster than driving (in my city), healthy, less noisy, creates vastly less pollution, less dangerous to pedastrians... And I'd guess that about 95% of drivers that I come across are respectful of the danger they present - overtaking with enough space, and not at too high a speed (my city doesn't have great bike lanes). Unfortunately, a typical journey involves passing more than 20 cars, which…

As a blind pedastian, I disagree violently. I typically hurt myself once a week because a careless cyclist put their bicycle in an inappropriate place. In front of a shop, because they are just going in for a minute, for example. Cyclists do the most harm to blind individuals in a city. Cars cant even come close.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#337

Post by simplebutimpact »

montebicyclelo wrote: post #114

Cycling is cheap, often faster than driving (in my city), healthy, less noisy, creates vastly less pollution, less dangerous to pedastrians... And I'd guess that about 95% of drivers that I come across are respectful of the danger they present - overtaking with enough space, and not at too high a speed (my city doesn't have great bike lanes). Unfortunately, a typical journey involves passing more than 20 cars, which…

The law should enforce passing distance on both cars and bikes. E.g. no more should a bike be allowed to pass a car unless there is one meter of clearance then a car should be allowed to pass a bike without one meter of clearance.

Enforcing such a law would remove the vast majority of dangerous interactions between cars and bikes.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#338

Post by LtWorf »

LAC-Tech wrote: post #64
vocram wrote: post #15

Hate for bicycles hasn’t changed. People think a bike travel is recreational, and thus less important than a car travel. Someone goes out of their way to affirm that, by having to overtake bikes or not let them overtake their cars. A couple of times I met cars busting their brakes trying to keep up with me with a disc road bike on long technical descents

I've never found bicycles to be a massive issue on roads. They're slow and narrow, so they're easy to overtake. Where I am there's often tractors on the road. A lot harder to overtake, and I still manage to refrain from getting angry at them either! People need to just chill the fuck out.

> They're slow and narrow, so they're easy to overtake.

In italy they go side by side in groups of 2 or 3… (which is forbidden but who cares).

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#339

Post by DonHopkins »

soco wrote: post #317
grardb wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you get too drunk to ride a bicycle every time you go out for drinks?

The good thing is, "too drunk to ride a bike" happens much earlier than "too drunk". And while with a car some push it and still drive drunk (sometimes with horrendous consequences), a bike has this safety mechanism where they simply cannot be ridden when drunk.

It's as if all bikes came with their own tamper proof drunk driver detector and drunk usage preventer: a built-in continuous driver balance testing system, even more reliable than a breathalyzer, and able to detect all kinds of other drugs too.

Drunk tricycle driving and bikes with training wheels: now those much more inherently dangerous problems!

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