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Things people blamed on bicycles

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Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#391

Post by microtonal »

vishnugupta wrote: post #274
DoubleFree wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem of dangerous interactions between drivers and cyclists is much smaller here in the Netherlands, mainly due to two reasons. The first reason is the infrastructure, both visible and invisible. Separated bicycle lanes are commonplace and in the few places where they intersect with car traffic, care is taken to make crossing safe and comfortable. This visible infrastructure is complemented by the concept of "…

Third reason, law. In an incident between cycle and car, the car is deemed to be at fault by default. Unless the cyclist does something outrageously stupid bordering on committing suicide.

IANAL, but actually it's even stronger. If the cyclist/pedestrial is at fault, the car driver is normally responsible for 50% of the damage. The reason is that a cyclist (or pedestrian) has a higher chance of heavy injury due to the mass of a car. The primary exception to this is 'force majeure', which is apparently exceptionally hard to prove [1] (the example that the linked page gives is someone pushes a person in front of a car).

[1] https://www.anwb.nl/juridisch-advies/aanrijding-en-dan/aansp...

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#392

Post by usrusr »

411111111111111 wrote: post #257
moffkalast wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Going out for drinks? Bike. As long as you don't actually drink anything hah. Everyone's a designated driver with bikes.

Tbf, the danger of drunk cycling is significantly lower to third parties vs driving in a car. And you're unlikely to succeed if you're too drunk as well, as you still need to balance - which drunk people can't. It's still illegal in most places however, so your point stands

Drunk cyclists can. Back in my wild years, on some occasions walking to the bike was the difficult part. Bikes are much better at self-stabilizing than legs. The main danger (outside of going too fast, if you happen to have the training) is losing track of traffic. This isn't much of a problem on deserted night-time streets, but can easily be overwhelming during the day. Don't ever consider the bike when planning for daytime drinking.

As for the law, it's good to have limits to drunk cycling, but it's important to have them tolerate a considerably higher BAC than those for driving.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#393

Post by InCityDreams »

antihero wrote: post #310
DoubleFree wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem of dangerous interactions between drivers and cyclists is much smaller here in the Netherlands, mainly due to two reasons. The first reason is the infrastructure, both visible and invisible. Separated bicycle lanes are commonplace and in the few places where they intersect with car traffic, care is taken to make crossing safe and comfortable. This visible infrastructure is complemented by the concept of "…

Just need a way to deal with bike theft. My number one concern is parking my pretty decent bike within view of where I’m sitting or not leaving it unattended for over five minutes. I’m insured, but I have a bond with my wheels! If anyone has recommendations for stealth theft detection/tracking devices I’m all ears.

Amazon do bike alarms. $16? Kind of intended for motorbikes(?) but when i turn then both on - one wedged under the seat and another less permanently attached - the conversations generated guarantee me onlookers (bar/ cafe) almost look after the bike for me. Decent lock, too. Drop the chain off and whack it out of gear (it hurts if you forget). If im inside and i see someone checking out thd bike i 'test' the alarm.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#394

Post by pessimizer »

atoav wrote: post #137
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…

This kind of driver is the same that would accelerate towards you as you (legally) cross a road only to stop at a red light 50m behind you – a red light was clearly visible from where they were when they saw you. For them driving is just about their own emotion. The moment they see someone "who deserves it" their emotion takes over and their brain switches off. People like that should have their driving license taken…

Drivers go out of their way to pass me on a motorscooter, I guess because I remind them of a bicycle. My scooter accelerates from 0-60 before you can say "zero to sixty" and tops out at 80mph. Sometimes they're driving so dangerously that I slow down to let them pass both because they might hurt someone, and because I don't want somebody so crazy behind me.

I find it bizarre how much some drivers feel like they're imposed upon by other people who dare to be outside.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#395

Post by micromacrofoot »

mlang79 wrote: post #355
kuschku wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many bike parking spaces does your city have? In cities with well-maintained bike infrastructure, I’ve never seen this become an issue.

Quoted post unavailable.

seems like a cheap shot at vegans for no reason though

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#396

Post by ehnto »

peoplefromibiza wrote: post #239
davisoneee wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if a driver has to 'squeeze past', they are a bad driver. if a driver is driving so close that they couldn't react to a cyclist falling, they are a bad driver. You should drive within safe limits. If you cannot brake in the distance between you and the car in front, you are _too close_. If you squeeze to overtake, you are too close. Potholes exist. Wind exists. In the UK, the (edit) guidance is that you should pass a…

> if a driver has to 'squeeze past', they are a bad driver if they do not kill you, they are not. or maybe if you are scared of other road users and need a "safe space" you aren't a good road user. just maybe > if a driver is driving so close that they couldn't react to a cyclist falling, they are a bad welcome to the reality. I'm not driving too close to you, you are zig-zaging in the middle of the street and you we…

> welcome to the reality.

You are in control of your car no?

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#397

Post by InCityDreams »

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…

Do you also get angry at traffic lights?

Regardless, I'll take a bet you've never actually read your country's rules regarding bicycles.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#398

Post by tim333 »

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…

In the UK they are now clamping down on that a bit after the recent law change. See for example "Audi driver £4,500 out of pocket for passing cyclist too closely says he was 4ft away" https://metro.co.uk/2022/06/15/bridgend-driver-passed-cyclis...

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#399

Post by kuschku »

antihero wrote: post #310
DoubleFree wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem of dangerous interactions between drivers and cyclists is much smaller here in the Netherlands, mainly due to two reasons. The first reason is the infrastructure, both visible and invisible. Separated bicycle lanes are commonplace and in the few places where they intersect with car traffic, care is taken to make crossing safe and comfortable. This visible infrastructure is complemented by the concept of "…

Just need a way to deal with bike theft. My number one concern is parking my pretty decent bike within view of where I’m sitting or not leaving it unattended for over five minutes. I’m insured, but I have a bond with my wheels! If anyone has recommendations for stealth theft detection/tracking devices I’m all ears.

Honestly (at least from my experiences in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Essen, and Kiel): As long as your bike isn’t super expensive (e.g., I’ve got this: https://boc24.de/products/bocas-bari-trapez) and you’ve locked it with a lock that’s resistant to bolt cutters (even something as simple as https://www.kaufland.de/product/313003426/), it’s not going to get stolen.

Even if you’ve locked it overnight for multiple days at the main train station (tested in Düsseldorf and Kiel), it’s going to be fine.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#400

Post by usrusr »

microtherion wrote: post #370
beowulfey wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both of my hits while riding a bike have been because of cars turning. For one, the driver was turning right and only looked left -- I was still in front of him, and he never looked ahead; T-boned! For the other, I pull up to a stoplight alongside a few cars, against the curb. There is only one lane for left/right/straight. No one had on turn signals. Light turns green, so myself and the first car go straight. Second…

As a former bicyclist, I try to be extra mindful of bicyclists when driving. One of the right turns on a common route I take is on a downhill slope, and I've noticed cyclists passing me on the right even when I already had my turn signal on for several seconds. I hate to use the common refrain, but it really seems to me that a higher percentage of bicyclists drive like maniacs. What purpose, exactly, does driving wit…

> One of the right turns on a common route I take is on a downhill slope, and I've noticed cyclists passing me on the right even when I already had my turn signal on for several seconds.

So you expect to get unlawful right of way because your vehicle is big and dangerous. Allow me to not share your view about who's a maniac.

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