Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/a35e9p/cyclist-bike-deaths-are-exploding-because-us-cities-are-car-friendly-death-traps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 There's no way in Hell I would ride a bike on the street in Los Angeles... Hell I don't even like walking and driving out here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_m_b_m_b_m Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 We need an official urbanist/urbanism thread. I know I'd fill it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodporne Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Jesus, now we're even blaming drivers for exploding cyclists? Fucking millenials... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentbob Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 They are terrible in my city though. We have some pretty wide bike lanes on some of our main streets and the cyclists ignore them. Lot of them will either sway in and out of the lane or ride 4-5 cyclists wide. I will swing out of the way to avoid them (half way into the 2nd lane when clear) and I still somehow pissed off one cyclists who thought I was too close to them. Slammed his hand on my hood when we got to a red light saying I was trying to hit him and could of killed him. I rolled down my window and I told him to stay in his own fucking lane and we wouldn’t have this problem. He was still yelling at me when it went green and got as far away from them as I could. Love my 4 wheels to his 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anathema- Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 On the one hand I feel bad for cyclists, on the other hand I don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 8 minutes ago, silentbob said: They are terrible in my city though. We have some pretty wide bike lanes on some of our main streets and the cyclists ignore them. Lot of them will either sway in and out of the lane or ride 4-5 cyclists wide. Unprotected strips of paint is not protection. People, including police and parking enforcement, frequently use bike lanes as standing lanes. It's extremely dangerous to get forced out of the bike lane due to people stopping their cars in them, which leads to many cyclists preferring to just not use the unprotected death strip bike lane. 9 minutes ago, silentbob said: Slammed his hand on my hood when we got to a red light saying I was trying to hit him and could of killed him. I rolled down my window and I told him to stay in his own fucking lane and we wouldn’t have this problem. He was still yelling at me when it went green and got as far away from them as I could. Love my 4 wheels to his 2 Something tells me you've never been on the receiving end of being menaced by motorists as a cyclist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Also, Cyclists rarely follow the rules of the road. I live in a very LEFT environment and those who bike feel entitled to behave pretty poorly when sharing a road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_m_b_m_b_m Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 2 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said: Also, Cyclists rarely follow the rules of the road. I live in a very LEFT environment and those who bike feel entitled to behave pretty poorly when sharing a road. Psst drivers don't follow the rules of the road either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Just now, b_m_b_m_b_m said: Psst drivers don't follow the rules of the road either So very true! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 13 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said: Also, Cyclists rarely follow the rules of the road. I live in a very LEFT environment and those who bike feel entitled to behave pretty poorly when sharing a road. 9 minutes ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said: Psst drivers don't follow the rules of the road either If cyclists actually came to a complete stop at every single stop sign (which drivers definitely don't do) then instead we'd be hearing whining about how long it takes cyclists to get moving out of a dead stop. Plus, the rules of the road generally assume that bicycles are basically miniature pedal-powered cars—cyclists break the rules largely to try to avoid getting killed because the rules for them have no basis in reality. E.g. one of the biggest sources of conflict between drivers and cycliusts is drivers simply not being able to see cyclists due to blind spots/other cars/etc, and running a red light lets the drivers see that the cyclist is on the road, and gives the cyclist the opportunity to do things like get over to the left to make a turn without having to worry about getting swiped by a motorist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Like peddling up the middle of a lane for a 1/2 mile hill, blocking all car traffic onto our campus each morning because they won't use the bike lane? That's the kind of entitlement I'm referring to folks. I have nothing against cycling, I have a lot against people being selfish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 3 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said: Like peddling up the middle of a lane for a 1/2 mile hill, blocking all car traffic onto our campus each morning because they won't use the bike lane? That's the kind of entitlement I'm referring to folks. I have nothing against cycling, I have a lot against people being selfish. 31 minutes ago, Jason said: Unprotected strips of paint is not protection. People, including police and parking enforcement, frequently use bike lanes as standing lanes. It's extremely dangerous to get forced out of the bike lane due to people stopping their cars in them, which leads to many cyclists preferring to just not use the unprotected death strip bike lane. Additionally, a lot of bike lanes put you directly in the door zone of the parked cars. But yeah, sure, how selfish and entitled to not want to die due to trying to use the deathtrap bike lane. From the OP article: Quote Some of the biggest issues are unprotected bike lanes in major cities, which lead to cyclists getting thrown into traffic by dooring—when a driver or passenger opens a car door in the path of a cyclist. Dooring accounted for 203 cyclist accidents in San Francisco from 2012-2015. In March, Airbnb employee Tess Rothstein, 30, was thrown from her bike and into oncoming traffic when she swerved to avoid an open door in the bike lane, and then was fatally crushed by a truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_m_b_m_b_m Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 2 minutes ago, Jason said: Additionally, a lot of bike lanes put you directly in the door zone of the parked cars. But yeah, sure, how selfish and entitled to not want to die due to trying to use the deathtrap bike lane. From the OP article: Don't forget bike lanes are often full of glass and other debris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CayceG Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 This is how a bike lane should be: It's the strip of black asphalt. Yes, it should be marked better. But the layout Munich has for bike transport is absolutely incredible. Separation from cars is essential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 Just now, Spork3245 said: 21 minutes ago, Jason said: Plus, the rules of the road generally assume that bicycles are basically miniature pedal-powered cars—cyclists break the rules largely to try to avoid getting killed because the rules for them have no basis in reality. E.g. one of the biggest sources of conflict between drivers and cycliusts is drivers simply not being able to see cyclists due to blind spots/other cars/etc, and running a red light lets the drivers see that the cyclist is on the road, and gives the cyclist the opportunity to do things like get over to the left to make a turn without having to worry about getting swiped by a motorist. Also, cities have stopped putting up "share the road" signs precisely because drivers assumed the signs were aimed at cyclists when they were actually aimed at drivers. "Cyclists may use full lane" is now the preferred signage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anathema- Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Not sure why biking has to be done at such a speed as to make swerving necessary. Or maybe it wasn't necessary and the door that opens into a bike lane by design makes it obviously not the car driver's fault she swerved into traffic. Like, I'm all for making cities more walkable/bike worthy but unless we've got a magic wand then cars and bikes are going to share the road for a while and as much as drivers need to watch out for bikers I'm always struck by how no bike accident is ever ever attributed to the biker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 Just now, Anathema- said: Not sure why biking has to be done at such a speed as to make swerving necessary. Or maybe it wasn't necessary and the door that opens into a bike lane by design makes it obviously not the car driver's fault she swerved into traffic. This is an impressively stupid take on this topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anathema- Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 3 minutes ago, CayceG said: This is how a bike lane should be: It's the strip of black asphalt. Yes, it should be marked better. But the layout Munich has for bike transport is absolutely incredible. Separation from cars is essential. Yes. In VA beach it's separate from both cars and pedestrians. It's nice, but I've seen bikers there just on my short vacation pay no attention to pedestrians crossing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anathema- Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 4 minutes ago, Jason said: This is an impressively stupid take on this topic. Impress me then, electric scooters can go 12-15 mph (or more for non governed units) and have no issues stopping quickly. What's the difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 Just now, Anathema- said: Impress me then, electric scooters can go 12-15 mph and have no issues stopping quickly. What's the difference? Dooring is just as big of an issue for people on electric scooters and the problem isn't just the stopping speed of the device, it's the ability of a person to react in time to having a door throw open a few feet in front of them. Drivers need to look before opening their door. Full stop. The Dutch teach people to lean over and open the door with their right hand so that they're forced into a position where they can see if they're about to door someone. While in the US it's rampant for people to just fling their doors open without looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anathema- Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Just now, Jason said: Dooring is just as big of an issue for people on electric scooters and the problem isn't just the stopping speed of the device, it's the ability of a person to react in time to having a door throw open a few feet in front of them. [citation needed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anathema- Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Uh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_m_b_m_b_m Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 15 minutes ago, Anathema- said: Impress me then, electric scooters can go 12-15 mph (or more for non governed units) and have no issues stopping quickly. What's the difference? Simple Google search https://gothamist.com/news/man-on-electric-scooter-suffers-severe-head-trauma-after-getting-doored-in-brooklyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_m_b_m_b_m Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Segregated, dedicated, protected bike lanes will require road diets, and even though it really won't materially affect your commute, drivers will put up a fucking bitch fit about it. The transformation of Amsterdam from an American like car based hellworld into a cycling utopia required, in part, significant reduction in car lane miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Jason said: Also, cities have stopped putting up "share the road" signs precisely because drivers assumed the signs were aimed at cyclists when they were actually aimed at drivers. "Cyclists may use full lane" is now the preferred signage. I see cyclists go through red lights, not stop at stop signs, cut across highway lanes, be on the wrong side of the road, etc, constantly, and it’s never to “avoid getting killed”, it’s usually because they’re oblivious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 You gotta love how, like clockwork, a story about the atrocious state of cycling infrastructure results in whiny anecdotes that act like drivers don't rampantly engage in the same behaviors being whined about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 There are plenty of stories of dumb cyclists and dumb motorists, but the potential lethality of the latter relative to the former is so one sided we pretty much don’t need to talk about dumb cyclists. And I find most fellow cyclists to be insufferable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 As largely a pedestrian, I despise you both. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 9 minutes ago, Jason said: You gotta love how, like clockwork, a story about the atrocious state of cycling infrastructure results in whiny anecdotes that act like drivers don't rampantly engage in the same behaviors being whined about. I never said motorists weren’t also idiots, though. I just don’t see them weaving between cars on a daily basis in the suburbs. The city is the complete opposite with cars seemingly ignoring their existence instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 I routinely see drivers being aggressively aggro about weaving in and out of lanes trying to get get ahead of everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 22 minutes ago, sblfilms said: There are plenty of stories of dumb cyclists and dumb motorists, but the potential lethality of the latter relative to the former is so one sided we pretty much don’t need to talk about dumb cyclists. And I find most fellow cyclists to be insufferable The current state of cycling infrastructure self-selects for douchey aggressive men because that's the only demographic with sufficient risk tolerance to ride on the roads right now. In places like the Netherlands and Denmark, the state of cycling infrastructure allows it to be an activity EVERYONE engages in–grandmas, moms hauling kids around, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 They're changing a lot of bike lanes around here, giving them more width or protecting them going through underpasses. But like Spork is going on some "cyclists" (more like bike riders) are kind of assholes. There are legit cyclists - The ones who wear the helmet and the suit and stuff and just go down the street Then there are bike riders. These guys like to ride the wrong way on the sidewalk (If you get out of the way they say "thanks"), they like to use crosswalks to get the light to change and continue going down the sidewalk, they like to not even stop at stop signs. Also, they aren't even required to wear helmets. So these bike riders could do a lot to help protect themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 10 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: There are legit cyclists - The ones who wear the helmet and the suit and stuff and just go down the street "Legit cycling" doesn't require spandex. WTF? @b_m_b_m_b_m The entire point of this article is that cycling needs to be accessible to more than just the hardcore spandex warriors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.