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Things people blamed on bicycles

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Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#51

Post by mattashii »

usrusr wrote: post #43
mattashii wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> waaaaay to fast for the pedestrian side. Uh, what? Reaching 15km/h is not unheard of for running either, so why would that be waaaaay too fast on a bike in mainly pedestrian areas? Sure, the bike should slow down to lower speeds than their norm to ensure safety for all people involved in traffic, but isn't that no different from how cars shouldn't go 100km/h+ in city centers?

And why would cyclists go 15 km/h? By that matter, cars aren't too fast for the sidewalk either.

Because the cyclist is considered a guest in foot traffic areas, it should slow down to match safe speeds in those situations.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#52

Post by ChrisRR »

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

In the UK as a cyclist I still get so much hate on the road. I'm just trying to get to work like everyone else, but people still drive their cars up right behind me, squeeze past when there's not enough space, beep their horns and shout out the window.

And then the justification is always "well I saw a cyclist run a red light once, therefore all cyclists are shit"

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#53

Post by illuminati1911 »

fzfaa wrote: post #36
mnd999 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a lot more hate for bicycles since I stopped driving and started walking as it turns out.

When driving, cyclists are dangerous for themselves and for others. When walking, cyclists have absolutely no regard for my physical safety. When I lived in a city with a lot of cyclists I ended up developing some kind of fear that made me look around all the time because of how many cyclists had almost killed me when I was peacefully walking along the pavement. Oh god how I hate cyclists.

I love cycling and bicycles, but I have to say you have a point in your second statement. Back in the days when I used to live in Helsinki, streets became much more dangerous after cycling became popular and city built dedicated cycling lanes. Suddenly all the hipsters with their 5000 USD handmake Swiss custom bikes are out there to kill the pedestrians.

Outside of some developing countries I've never felt threatened by cars, but I've been just less than a second away from death or permanent disability because of bicycles in Helsinki, Berlin, Tel Aviv etc.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#54

Post by turing_complete »

There is nothing new under the sun. Today we have "Things people blame on cars".

I've read many Americans that argue that cars are somehow destructive to community live. Here in Europe, people in rural areas or small towns are entirely dependend on cars, even more, they love their cars (and rightfully so). Yet, they have healthy communities, live in large houses. Nature is near, history at hand (look, you have a nice, old forest, a lake, and a medieval castle over there!), and the air is clean. On the other hand, in large cities, you might not need a car most of the time and many people don't have one. Still, this does not create vibrant communities where people just spontaneously interact with each other. You just have more things to choose from on Uber eats.

I still like large cities for the sheer amount of interesting people you meet; but the ideal is a small, car-heavy community in the vicinity of a large metropolis. Note: Those communities grew organically, they have a long history, and you can feel it. This makes them different from the two prominent technocratic urban planning fantasies: McMansion suburbs as well as the new car-free "communities".

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#55

Post by andrewshadura »

eptcyka wrote: post #49
imgabe wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no legitimate reason to hate on any other mode of transportation. Unless you're on an interstate or other highway that specifically forbids certain vehicles or has a minimum speed, everyone else has the same right to use the road you do.

Generally yes, but, especially in California, people often forget that it's the slower vehicle's responsibility to yield to faster traffic, regardless of the type of slower vehicle. EDIT: Yield here is a misnomer, what I mean to convey is that slower moving traffic by law is supposed to pass faster moving traffic if it's possible to do so safely, and this is a feat that I rarely see take place, be it with cyclists or…

No? It absolutely isn't, why would you even think so?

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#56

Post by ChrisRR »

eloisius wrote: post #22
gernb wrote: post #4

I wonder if the "cross a red light anytime I want to on a bike" is the reason so many are now doing the same in their cars. it could be (1) got used to it on a bike so repeating in car (2) saw cyclists get away with it so decided might as well do the same (3) unrelated reason note: I'm seeing egregious traffic violations by cars every time I drive now which was not true say 10yrs ago. Don't know what changed as a cyc…

I'm guessing (3). For one, I'm not sure that your observation is because you've gotten older and have become a more cautious driver, or if there is a quantifiable uptick in traffic violations. I also subjectively observed a behavior change right around the time COVID was declared a global pandemic and shelter in place orders were issued. At the time, I thought to myself that everyone was driving like they were in the…

Or if it's just confirmation bias. Once you notice something happening you start seeing it all the time.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#57

Post by phicoh »

eptcyka wrote: post #47
mrweasel wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

How am I supposed to make a left turn at an intersection? Other than that, yes, being on the far right on the road is where I'd feel safest.

On a busy road the only safe option is to make two crossings: stay on the right and cross and then cross again. It is very annoying.

Depending on the situation, you can indeed move to a lane that turns left. But it requires cooperation from drivers. So in places where drivers are either hostile to bikes or likely to overlook bikes, it is not a safe way to turn.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#58

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#59

Post by mattashii »

hellweaver666 wrote: post #42
mattashii wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> waaaaay to fast for the pedestrian side. Uh, what? Reaching 15km/h is not unheard of for running either, so why would that be waaaaay too fast on a bike in mainly pedestrian areas? Sure, the bike should slow down to lower speeds than their norm to ensure safety for all people involved in traffic, but isn't that no different from how cars shouldn't go 100km/h+ in city centers?

I live in Amsterdam, 15km/h is a "slow" bike. Most fit adults cruise at around 20km/h and e-bikes are often blasting along at 25km/h+ The problem with bikes is that most don't have a speedo so they have no clue how fast they are travelling.

I see your point, but Amsterdam generally has separate lanes for cars, bikes and foot traffic.

The point I was making is that it is safe to use a bike in foot traffic areas if you slow down to match the expected speeds of your surrounding traffic; such as using a bike in the historical city center of e.g. Amersfoort or Utrecht, where there is usually a lot of foot traffic and little car traffic, and no separate bike lanes.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#60

Post by ChrisRR »

mnd999 wrote: post #32
sasaf5 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's actually because of pedestrians jaywalking all the time. Horrible example for car ownership abiding citizens. As if it wasn't enough, they also make traffic a lot more dangerous by selfishly exposing themselves unvehicled.

For me, from the UK, jaywalking is a strange law, we’ve never had it and I don’t really know why it exists elsewhere. It makes streets more pedestrian friendly and encourages drivers to look out for them.

Yeah from the UK it seems so weird. I look up and down the road; if it's clear, I cross.
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